canarygirl’s blog

Doing my morning blog rounds I was over at Peter’s site (Kalofagas) longingly looking at his Eggs Benedict recipe (by the way, go and check that out you guys…it is seriously killing me I want it so badly), and realized there was a post just below that one that I hadn’t seen!  WHAT?  He had posted a delicious Chinese Take-out menu, and mentioned that it was part of a round up to be found at Mochachocolatarita’s Website.  I am SO glad he posted that, because her website is fantastic!  It’s so cool how we bloggers network and find each other through others’ blog posts.  I had never seen Mochachocolatarita’s site before.  That is a sin right there…her site is awesome.  No, more like AWESOME!  And Right now she’s hosting an event celebrating her 88th post, called, “Chinese Take-Out Party,” where each entrant submits their take on Chinese take-out. 

I think that this might be sheer luck on my part, because I had planned to post this anyway, but to come in just under the wire like this and be able to participate in a fun event?  Even better!

This recipe was something I came up with after having taken out a loin roast, and began wondering what to do with it.  The weather has been pretty warm, so regular roast with mashed potatoes didn’t really seem to fit the bill.  Avocados are currently at over 11 euros a kilo (that’s like $8-9 a pound), so Tex-Mex was out (you know it’s illegal to eat Tex-Mex without guacamole, don’t you? )…what to do?  Hmmm.  Why not go Asian with it?  Yes!  That was the answer I was looking for. 

For the recipes, please visit: http://canarygirl.com/?p=179

Did I scare you? I mean, the idea of frozen salad probably isn’t that appealing. LOL But. And this is a pretty big BUT. (no, it’s not mine! ) Gazpacho. Sorbet. Combine the two and you have a bit of frozen heaven. This traditional Spanish soup is always served chilled, and often with ice…why not go just another step and turn it into sorbet, I asked? Top that with the traditional finely chopped vegetables for added crunch, and you have entered into yum world. This one is going to be making regular appearances at our summer table, folks. It’s the perfect way to begin a meal in the sweltering heat of summer, or even as an afternoon snack. It’s packed with vegetables, very low in fat, and delicious. Oh!  And super easy.  So whatcha waitin for?

For the recipe in English and en español, please visit:   http://canarygirl.com/?p=177

Orange and chocolate are one of those perfect combinations…like wine and cheese, or pears and cheese, lemon and chicken…Chocolate *obviously* is fantastic on it’s own, but man, when you add that extra little zing of orange, it just elevates it to new levels.  As the site’s one year anniversary approached, I wondered what would be the perfect recipe to celebrate with?  I toyed with a drink recipe, cakes, some really decadent main…nothing really jumped out at me.  After the site crash last week (which still is not fully resolved, btw…I still have to edit a gazillion posts wraught with Â’s and gobbledy gook. ), I was rather uninspired…I huddled around my bowls of soup and or plates of mashed potatoes like someone was going to take them away.  What can I say…soup and mashed potatoes are comforting to the heart as well as the tummy. lol  Finally I decided that I would do a chocolate mousse.  But, I thought, it’s got to be the best damned mousse ever.  I’ve got to add some orange in there, and some booze! :lol: The last mousse recipe I tried was excellent, though a bit too involved for everyday.  This recipe, folks is easy enough for a weekday (it only takes about 10 minutes to make), and you’ll have enough to last for at least a few days of delicious desserts—more if you freeze some into mousse pops.  And!? Since this particular recipe has booze in it?  It’s alllllll for you.  The kids will have to sit this one out. (You *can* omit the Cointreau for the kids of course, and just up the water a tad, but it’s more fun this way. ) This is grown up mousse.  Mom and Dad mousse.  Perfect mousse.  See?  Wanna bite?

I perused the internet to find a recipe that was simple and quick, yet used quality ingredients, and found the perfect starting point posted by Debra47 at Group Recipes.  I adapted her recipe to make the one I had in my mind.  If you like chocolate and you like oranges?  You are going to love this, guys. This is what I have left:

For the recipe and step by step photos, please visit:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=176

(insert balloons, streamers and confetti here) Time to Par-tay!

Canarygirl.com is one year old!  It seems like just the other day when I started off on my own in the blogosphere…I had been blogging at Vox for quite a while, and before that had just shared recipes and photos on various sites across the web.  So now, a few hundred recipes later, and almost as many posts, I’m proud to celebrate my anniversary with you!  Thank you all so much, dear readers…your comments and encouragement have meant (and mean!) the world to me, and I am always inspired by your wonderfulness. (yes, I invent words when I feel it’s necessary. lol)  There are so many of you I look to for my morning food blog fix!  I am so thrilled to be celebrating this anniversary with you that I’ve decided to Have a contest on the site!  I’m going to give away one of my hardcover cookbooks to one of you awesome readers. 

All you need to do to enter the contest, is leave me a comment at:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=174, letting me know you'd like to enter the contest! :)  Good luck! 

So, remember last week, when I was telling you how badly I wanted to try ZenChef’s (over at Chefs Gone Wild) Clam Risotto?  Well, I did it.  I made his absolutely remarkable risotto and I’m sort of half wondering if I have died and gone to heaven?  Did I?  Somebody let me know if you read this post…to let me know if I died or not.  I mean seriously…it’s *that* good.  I even screwed it up a little–I forgot the lemon juice until after we finished eating it.  Did I mention there was not a single grain of rice left over?  We even licked the cockle shells clean.   I was going to make some really inappropriate joke about sucking cockle shells, but I’d better not.  But we did. lol  ;)  If you know me, you know that I cannot follow a recipe exactly.  It really is some sort of impossibility for me.  I do not feel complete if I don’t change things up at least just a little.  After all, a recipe really should just be a springboard for our own creativity, right?  So, I will note my (minimal) changes, even though I did stick pretty close to Zen’s original post. 

So, would you look at this?  Don’t you just want to dive into that plate of creamy risotto bliss?  Trust me, it’ll be the best dive you’ve ever performed.

zens risotto

April is such a fickle month, isn’t it?  I mean sheesh!  A couple of weeks ago, temps were soaring into the 90’sF/30’sC, and this week we are back to cool and windy.  I was all set to buy a pool for the kids to hang out in on the weekends, and now, we’re back to soup and jackets.  I don’t mind the soup part (being a self professed soup junkie and all), but jackets?  I want summer dangit!  Since summer has taken another run for the hills, at least for now, I must console us with soups to warm the heart and soul.  That’s the part I like! lol  One of my best friends in the whole world, (and bratty girl) Lizzie shared her recipe for Drunken Mushroom Soup a few years ago.  It is such a great soup….and of course has my main pre-req’s for most of the recipes prepared in this house…quick, easy, and out of this world delicious.   All of Lizzie’s recipes are so elegant, and generally are light on the workload, but heavy on taste and heavy on ”wow” factor.  This recipe is exactly that…quick, easy, elegant, and WOW! that’s good!  Perfect for company or for everyday (you know I don’t save special foods for special occasions), this little bowl of goodness can be made ahead and simply reheated when needed.  Which for me is right now. lol  Since making this for the first time, I have gradually altered the ingredients and technique just a bit, which is why I’ve changed the name…I prepare this almost as if it were a French Onion Soup, with the addition of a couple of extras and a substitution or two for others. 

Recipe is here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=167

Wine recommendation: The original recipe calls for Vermouth, so I'm going to go with a red Vermouth for this one. 

"french" mushroom soup

Oooh, and a steep price it is….Free.  LOL  Before moving here to the Canaries it never–and I mean NEVER–would have occurred to me to make my own mayonnaise.  I mean, why?  It’s so easy to buy it at the store, and inexpensive to boot.  Why would anyone even bother?  But then I tried my mother in law’s alioli.   It was like a serious revelation, a turning point in my life.  Homemade mayo?  WAY better than store bought.  Add garlic?  Even *better* than WAY better than store bought.  It only takes about 2 minutes start to finish, too.  You’ll need a food processor or blender with an opening at the top to pour in the oil, but it really is one of the easiest things in the world to make.  So that’s recipe number one of this post.  Keep reading for a super easy spring/summer sandwich…

(recipes are here: http://canarygirl.com/?p=166)

Now, let’s move on to that sandwich I promised. Would you LOOK at this organic baby watercress my veggie vendor had?!

Doesn’t that just look fresh and delicious?! Watercress is a very common ingredient in Canarian cooking. We make stews with it, salads, and the ever popular, “Sandwich de Berros.” (berros=watercress) The watercress sandwich is common for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, and is often served at family gatherings and parties. The sandwiches are great when you first make them, but in my opinion are even better the next day, so they are a perfect make ahead addition to whatever fun gathering you have planned.

Wow, that old saying of “You learn something new every day,” really is true, isn’t it?  I was thinking of writing a cute little title for this dish, playing on an old Mother Goose rhyme; Mary, Mary, quite contrary…etc, until I read the history and significance of the rhyme.  Um, let’s not use that particular imagery on the cooking blog. Yikes! So, a simple title will have to suffice, because the only other clever thing I can think up using the word, “cockle,” is probably also inappropriate for a cooking blog. lol

It’s Cockle season!  Yes!  Cockles are (in my opinion) better than clams….they are a type of mollusk, small and heart shaped, and if you really would like to know all about them, here is a link to Wikipedia detailing the exact nature of the creature.  What Wikipedia doesn’t tell you, though, is that the cockle is delicious!  It’s sweeter than a clam, and quite tender and succulent.

ZenChef over at Chefs Gone Wild made a delectable looking clam risotto the other day, which I had planned on trying this week.  Unfortunately, my market’s clams left much to be desired.  Which is strange, considering that they are almost always available and fresh and begging to be purchased and made into something wonderful.  They did, however, have cockles, and I think that I’m almost happy that the cockles were screaming at me instead.  The delicately sweet flavor lends itself really, really well to this garlicky white sauce,  And over pasta?  Yum.  I will definitely try Zen’s delicious risotto soon, though. 

Giz and Psychgrad over at Equal Opportunity Kitchen are hosting a blogging event called Tried, Tested and True. 

The event is basically a roundup of our favorite recipes, the ones that are always in rotation, that get rave reviews from our families, friends and anyone else that is lucky enough to dine at our tables! ;)  I have quite a few recipes that fit this description, but the one I thought of immediately was Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Broccoli and Fusilli.  Originally, one of my best friends in the whole wide world, Elle at Elle’s New England Kitchen,  shared this recipe with us gals, and I couldn’t WAIT to go out and get the stuff to try it.  I mean, jeez!  It’s got all of my favorite stuff in there!  Chicken, greens, gaaaaahlic, freshly grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano, a delicious lemon pepper vinagrette…and the pasta…holy dear Lords of pasta, this is just amazing….her recipe began with bow-ties, but I’ve since switched to fusilli (the twisty, spiraly lookin stuff).  Broccoli is probably one of my favorite vegetables, throw in some more parm, toasted pine nuts, lemon and garlic–OH and butterrrrr and you have me swooning with delight.  Elle’s recipes *always* rock my world.  And I mean ALWAYS.  What can I say?  The girl can cook, folks. 

Now, the perfect accompaniment to this meal IMNSHO, is the Broccoli and Fusilli. Also Elle’s recipe.

recipes are here:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=164

So, remember I was telling you about all the grilling we’ve been doing?  Often times, the leftover grilled meats and vegetables are less than appealing, am I right?  I mean, who wants to eat a cold chorizo?  Chorizo is one of the best things EVAH just off the coals, but later?  Not so great.  They tend to be dry when reheated, and generally not the most appetizing of foods.  Other ingredients are easier to find uses for, like roasted peppers and baked potatoes for example.  Potato salad, anyone?  But, I was feeling guilty about tossing all of those lovely chorizos after our barbecues…there must be *some* way to salvage them?  Well, there is.  And it’s delicious!  And they are revived to their delectable juicy selves.  Awesome! :D  Just look at these tasty little bites of goodness:

tortilla de chorizo y pimientos

There are many names for this particular style of egg dish.  Here in Spain, we call it a “tortilla,” whereas in Italy, it’s called, “frittata,” and in the States it’s generally referred to as an omelette (depending on your heritage, that is. lol).  The funny thing is that tortillas are made with eggs, but it’s really about the ingredients you add to them.  Traditional Spanish tortillas are all about the potatoes.  This one includes the conventional potatoes, but also includes delicious toasted garlic, onion, roasted red peppers and grilled chorizo to make for a mighty tasty, wonderfully easy meal.

Recipe is here:  http://canarygirl.com/?p=163