Mixing Bowl Kids

E is for Empanadas

Spanish for "to bake in pastry", empanadas are a staple in many South American and Asian kitchens. Often filled with a beef and raisin mixture or a chicken and cheese mixture, empanadas are as unique to the regions they come as the regions are themselves.

When I set out to make these gems, I didn't have any beef on hand and my chicken had already been barbecued earlier in the week, so we opted to make a vegetarian empanada.  Stuffed with black beans, salsa and cheese these are yummy alternative to the meat-based empanadas we're more familiar with.  As a family we try to vegetarian a few times a week anyways, so this was a good choice for us.

Now, as much as I love spending much of my time in the kitchen this is not something I would make in the early morning for the school lunch-box.  It is, however, definitely something I would make a batch of on a Sunday morning and freeze for school lunches.  My boys can easily help with this and love to mix the filling together, place it on the dough and press the pastry together.  Crimping the edges with a fork is also a child friendly task for even the youngest of kitchen helpers.  I might suggest doubling the dough recipe and making an assortment of fillings, all of which could be kept frozen.  While making your morning coffee or tea, remove a few from the freezer, pop them in the oven and your kiddies are off to school with a warm, delicious lunch. 

While making these I was thinking of the many different cultures in the world that make a dish with a stuffed pastry.  Slavic countries have the pierogi, Jamaica has it's patty, Germany boasts a great strudel and Italian's were so brilliant to create the calzone.  I suppose it's only natural South America and Asia have their empanadas, and they're own individual versions at that. 

Don't forget to leave your suggestions for "E" foods in the comments section.  So far I'm really loving each and every suggestion you have all had.  In the meantime, have a lovely weekend friends...we're expecting to spend much of ours under cloudy skies, but that provides an opportunity to finish a really great book so I don't mind to much...

Empanada Dough, adapted from Epicurious.com

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cold butter, diced

1 egg

1/3 icy cold water

1 tbsp white vinegar.

~ Place the flours and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir to combine.

~ Add the butter and mix with the flour mixture until coarse and mealy.

~ In a small mixing bowl combine the egg, water and vinegar.  Add to the flour mixture and stir with a fork.

~ Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead 10-12 times.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.

~ Remove from the plastic wrap and divide into two.  Roll out one piece to 1/4" thickness and using a 3" cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough.  Set aside to make the filling.

Empanada Filling

1 can black beans, rinsed well

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup grated monterry jack cheese

egg wash:

1 egg

1 tbsp cold water

~ Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.

~ Place a small amount of the mixture on one of the pieces of the empanada dough.  Top with another piece of dough and press the two pieces together.  Crimp the edges with a fork and place on the baking sheet.

~ Once all of the empanadas are put together, brush the tops with the egg wash.

~ Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

~ Enjoy!

**If you choose to freeze them prior to baking, once the filling has been placed on the dough and it's been folded over and crimped, place the baking sheets on the freezer to flash freeze the empanadas. Once frozen, place in a container and remove from freezer when needed.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

The French Turkey Burger

Burgers are an essential part of our BBQ fare and I'm sure it's the same for many of you.  We try to be conscious of eating too much meat, specifically red meat, so we stitched to turkey a few summers ago and are enjoying it immensely.  Using several different turkey burger recipes, to great success, I decided to start playing around with the toppings and have now ended up with a French Turkey Burger, and Italian one and a Mexican version as well. 

In honor of my love of France, I thought I would share "The French Turkey" Burger.  Easy to make and very tasty as well, or so I'm told by my sous-chefs.  Speaking of the sous-chefs...I'm a little wary of having them work with raw meat, so in the case of burgers they can assemble the add-ins for me, measure them out and add everything to the bowl.  I then mix and shape the burgers while they make the condiment, if we need one, or organize the buns and other items for the table.  At this point we also don't allow them to work with the BBQ, so while it's a meal they can help prepare, I find it's still one that we need to be 95% responsible for.

Have a lovely day wherever you are.  We're entertaining cousins here today with a fun treat that I hope to share with you tomorrow.  

French Turkey Burgers, my recipe

2 lbs. ground turkey

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 heads of roasted garlic*

2/3 cups oats

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

1 egg yolk

2/3 cups of mayo

2 tbsp. fresh sage, minced

10 slices of brie

mixed greens

~ Combine the turkey, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, oats, apple and egg in a large mixing bowl.  Using your fingers mix to incorporate all of the ingredients well.  Shape into burgers (make them to the size that works best for you) and place on a dinner plate.  

~ Refrigerate burgers for at least 15 minutes.  While they are chilling, combine the mayo and sage and set aside.

~ Grill the burgers on med-high heat until cooked through (approx. 10 minutes per side).

~ Top with a slice of brie and continue cooking until the cheese has melted.

~ Spread the sage mixture over the bottom half of a bun, top with greens, the burger and remaining bun.

~ Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic

2 heads of garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

~ Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

~ Slice the top off the head of garlic.

~ Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

~ Wrap in aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.

~ Squeeze the garlic out from the head into a bowl and mash all the cloves together. 

Garlic Naan

A super easy recipe to make, Naan is a great addition to any family dinner.  We ate it last night with some Indian-spiced chicken and turmeric-scented rice, but I think it would would be great to serve with shish kebobs at a summer bbq.  Served up with some corn on the cob or grilled veggies, it would complete the meal nicely.

I was a bit apprehensive when I decided to make the nann - I really had no idea what it entailed - and let me tell you, it couldn't have been easier.  A simple dough mixture left to rise, punched down and shaped into balls, rolled out and grilled.  Simple...and oh so good.

The weekend is here and I couldn't be happier...Happy Friday everyone!

Garlic Naan, adapted from this Allrecipes recipe

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp milk

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp salt

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup melted butter or oil

~ In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. 

~ Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and garlic and combine well.

~ Add flour and mix well  to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. 

~ Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume,

~ Punch down dough.  Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

~ Heat your grill, panini press, electric griddle or non-stick pan.  At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. 

~ Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter/oil, and turn over. Brush cooked side with oil/butter and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

~ Enjoy!

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Lunches around the world

                             

I find myself increasingly interested in reading up on the eating habits of other cultures.  Through my readings I have learned that social, economical, religious, environmental and political factors often influence how people eat.  I'm most interested in learning about the foods children are eating specifically as it pertains to their lunches.  

Many nations support a hot-lunch program in the school and below is a sampling of what some of the menus look like:

France - Grapefruit, grilled chicken and green beans, a cheese course, rice pudding and tangerines

Thailand - Red curry chicken, rice, sauteed pork and salad

Japan - Glass bottle of milk, bowl of rice, fish, pickled salad, soup with tofu and veggies

Norway - Open faced sandwich of cheese, meat and veg, milk, yogurt, fruit

Ukraine - Borscht (beet soup), sausages and mashed potatoes, boiled buckwheat, biscuits or pancakes

Taiwan - Rice, 2 or 3 veggies, meat, bowl of soup

India - Rice, cookies veggie curry, yogurt or buttermilk

Puerto Rico - Rice and beans, salad, meat and milk

The US - Burgers and fries, fizzy sodas

Interesting information, isn't it?  Of course, I do realize that this is a broad generalization, but I love to see how diverse the menus are and how reflective they are of the individual cultures.  One thing most nations do seem to have in common (except North American's) is that lunch is eaten as the main meal of the day - with dinner being made of simpler foods served in smaller portions.

I'd love to hear from all of you...What are your children eating for lunch these days?  Do they stay at school or go home?  Do they heat a hot lunch? Have a great Tuesday.... 

A French Spring Salad

One year ago today I landed at Pearson International Airport, fresh from an exciting, relaxing, much desired trip to Paris with my husband.  It was truly the honeymoon we hadn't yet shared and despite missing my boys terribly,  I loved every minute of the time we were away.  Upon our return I asked my husband how soon we could go back (just so I had an idea of how long of a wait it would be) and he told me we would attempt to go once every five years.  So, I'm happy to report that now that a year has passed, there are only four more to go until we trek across the Atlantic back to the land I love so.

I think when most people head to France they look forward to viewing some of the historic sights the country has to offer.  I travel a bit differently.  My mind was on culinary boutiques, city markets, boulangeries and cheese shops.  Mona Lisa who?  I needed to find the best macaroon I could find..and in only four days time.  So, as we perused the shops and markets in search of good food, I couldn't help but notice the most amazing asparagus I had ever laid eyes on.  We weren't privy to great asparagus in Ontario yet but in Paris it was available in abundance...thin and thick stalks, white and green varieties and so inexpensive a family could exist off it for a few euros each week (at least that's how it seemed). 

When I returned home and began making more seasonally Spring meals, asparagus was all I could think of and last year we ate in many delicious ways.  I'm happy to report that even my children enjoyed it, especially when wrapped in bacon and roasted in the oven.  This year, for Easter dinner, my thoughts turned back to that luscious asparagus from last April and I knew I needed to create a dish showcasing this delectable veg .  So I came up with the above salad using my favourite French flavours such as asparagus, lemon, lavender, thyme and French feta. 

My family loves this salad.  There were no complaints about the vegetables embedded in the orzo (red pepper, asparagus and peas), and that is always a great sign of success as far as I'm concerned.  We also took a loosey-goosey approach to the recipe, and the few extra glugs of olive oil added by my youngest only made the dish taste better.  Made in large quantities, the leftovers work great for weekday lunches, and only taste better the longer they are left in the fridge.  Did I mention there are only four more years to go until Paris and I are reunited?  I can't wait, but in the meantime this salad will satisfy my taste buds looking for that fresh French food they adore.  

Asparagus Spring Salad, my recipe

*This recipe doesn't have a lot of quantities as it's based purely on individual taste.  Add as much olive oil and seasonings as you desire.

2 cups orzo, cooked

1 bunch asparagus, stems of the stalk removed

1 red onion, slided and de-seeded

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup French feta cheese

olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

lemon zest 

Fresh thyme

Lavender

salt and pepper

~ Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place asparagus and red pepper on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until crisp, approx. 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.  When cool slice into small pieces, or to whatever size desired

~ In a large mixing bowl add the orzo, peas, asparagus, red pepper and feta.  Mix well to combine.  Add some olive oil (as much as you desire), 1 tsp of lemon juice, the zest of one lemon and as much thyme, lavender, salt and pepper as you like.  

~ Mix well and place in the fridge until you are ready to eat.  Will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.