Summer-time Burger

I use portabella mushrooms (also known as Agarics bisporus) instead of hamburger buns when having a burger. I will warn you that they are messy! But at twenty-two calories per hundred grams and no fat I can deal with the mess. And I don't feel as guilty as I should that there is bacon and cheddar cheese hiding in the middle of that burger. Shhh, our secret.  

To add to the mess factor I dress one side of the "bun" with dijon mustard and the other with snap pea coconut chutney. Oh my! That chutney is so de-lish, I could eat it by the spoonful. The chutney is thanks to KarenFood. You might know her as a regular visitor on CBC Radio with Terry McLeod on the weekends. But I digress, if you're in the Winnipeg area you just might be lucky enough to pick up some Snap Pea and Coconut Chutney at the Hydro Building's downtown Farmers Market on Thursdays.

Good Eats!

Green Eggs & Ham

2 slices of polenta

2 slices Canadian Back Bacon

2 poached eggs

Topped with Guacamole 

Gluten-free Eggs Benedict

Substitute sliced Polenta for the traditional English muffin,

don't skip on the Canadian bacon, 

top with perfectly poached eggs (3 minutes)

and finish with salsa sauce!

A perfect Sunday morning breakfast.  

Happy eating!  

Retro Style Dinner

Last night's dinner was a retro throw-back with Duck a l'Orange and homemade gravy. I found the recipe over at Epicurious.com and goodness it is a keeper.  

The star of the evening was the duck. I found this bird over at the newly discovered Marcello's, a quaint little butcher shop in the neighbourhood.  

I did stray a wee bit from the recipe and doubled the spice rub and I added ground ginger to the mix.

For the gravy I followed the recipe with no tweaks and it turned out perfectly delicious. Cooking the sugar until it reached that golden caramel created a deep and rich gravy.  

Oh and braised cabbage! Instead of grated apples, I used 1/2 a jar of homemade apple sauce which I do believe I prefer much more.

I spent half the day in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up but my goodness it was worth it. I made this meal for the folks and they seemed please too. And that is what made it worth all the work.

Happy Eating!

Braised Red Cabbage

Thinly sliced onions

minced garlic

fresh thyme

bacon drippings

chopped granny smith apple

apple sauce

apple juice with equal amounts of water

red wine vinegar

brown sugar

red cabbage

parsley

cooked diced gluten-free bacon

Braised Short Ribs

Bison Short Ribs

Fresh Thyme

Minced Garlic

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

Fennel

Onions

Celery

Beef broth

Seared and then cooked slowly in a low oven for about four hours until the meat just falls off the bone...

Serve with braised red cabbage.  

Christmas Left-overs

What to do with left-overs? You can re-heat and eat but that just gets boring after a couple of repeats. I came home with left-over broccoli and mash potatoes after no one stepped up.

The other day I made Broccoli, Bacon and Cheddar Quiche with a Mash Potato Crust. There are tons of recipes out there on the world wide web for different versions of mash potato crusted quiche. Here is my version:

I just brushed the pan with olive oil, filled with mash potatoes, brushed with more olive oil and baked in the oven until it started to brown.


Then I added a layer of bacon, broccoli, 6 eggs seasoned and a splash of milk before adding on top of the crust. Then I topped with cheddar cheese before baking for 30 minutes.

Mighty. Fine. Quiche. And gluten-free too!