short + sweet

i’ve been a little obsessed with scallops. i’ve been so so so busy with everything, that they are a delicious, satisfying and quick meal. i also like to think they’re healthier to eat, but I guess basting it in the pan with bubbling butter and bacon fat might counteract any of my intentions to eat healthier.

those big guys are seared off on both sides in a super hot pan, and served with roasted asparagus, and a cauliflower puree. finishing with lemon juice and herbs (i used parsley an dill) is quite crucial to cut into the richness of this dish.

it’s a fake

mmmm good on a cold day. this is lamb “tagine” minus the tagine. so i guess this is just lamb. this is just lamb braised with onions, garlic, freshly grated ginger, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, saffron, tomatoes, fresh chili, honey, some stock, and with golden raisins and dried peaches thrown in for the last 10 minutes of simmering. this was probably a combination of a few recipes that i googled.

its a pretty basic recipe that has you browning the meat and taking it out of the pot, then cooking the onions, garlic and spices in oil in the same pot to brown it and bring out the flavours. then throw it all together and braise for about 2 hours!

easy. served over a bed of couscous and topped with fresh parsley.

mmmm, just lamb.

toss & turn

pancakes?! i made pancakes?! and ate them?! i love breakfast but i rarely ever eat pancakes or waffles. maybe a crepe or 2 but i’m not a bread or pastry lover. i bought a bunch of blueberries (i’ve been going fruit crazy with clementines, pineapple, and recently bought a “melorange”? that i’ve yet to try).

i still need a solid pancake recipe. everytime i’ve made them its been out of a “best pancake recipe” google search, which you can imagine probably comes up with some pretty awful ones. i went with a martha stewart recipe, and i’ve found her recipes to be really hit or miss. i’m not posting the recipe because i don’t suggest anyone uses it…

if anyone out there has an easy, beautiful pancake recipe please pass it on! i’ve been thinking i probably need to whip the egg whites separately and fold it into the batter for super fluffy pancakes, it just seems like one step too much in terms of kitchen work.

these blueberry pancakes were topped with a square of butter and some lovely maple syrup.

lazy huevos

this was a quickie breakfast a while ago, my version of a fridge huevos rancheros… there are no black beans (that would’ve required work), but there is a crispy but yolky duck egg, avocado, cherry tomato and roasted poblano salsa, cilantro, manchego cheese and lime on a crispy tortilla. if i didn’t crisp up the avo this could’ve been some kinda breakfast taco!

yum.

to soothe or not to soothe

so i’ve been mildly sick for weeks, and the only thing that’ll make me feel better has been bowls upon bowls of delicious home made soup. pork ribs were on sale, which turned into a pork rib soup, with a broth made of pork broth, star anise, cinnamon, parsley, ginger, garlic, onion, soy sauce, black peppercorns, and thai chili. beautiful. if i happened to have lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves they definitely would’ve made it in. as amazing as this is, it never ever even compared to the soups my mom and my grandma made. they have not-so-secret ingredients like dried orange peel, dried scallop and other dried mysterious things.

this was enjoyed with rice noodles and some bok choi. the pork ribs do look a dry, but i assure you, a couple hours braised in that deep broth revealed tender and delicious pork ribs.

one and only

i’ve been off school for about a month and the cooking bug hasn’t hit me the entire time. but of course, breakfast will always be the one and only meal i want to make.

above is potato cakes cooked in duck fat, with a poached duck egg, roasted asparagus and smoked salmon. in the picture below you can see the size difference of the 4 duck eggs, compared to the chicken eggs on the right. they’re firmer and deliciously rich – soooo good with a gooey yolk.

hopefully more cooking to come.

rise & shine

holy breakfast!

my schedule only really leaves me the mornings to make food – night times are either full of work, school or squeezing in social time when i’m not sleeping. that means A LOT of eating out or beer for dinner.

i bought a fair sized loaf of brioche, which has been the theme for most of my breakfasts (oh, and pig or course). brioche french toast, and toasted brioche for sandwiches! made my own breakfast pork patty. amen.