Pineapple Rice

Finally, a side dish to add! This will make about four servings. 

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp of fresh ginger, grated

1 cup of long or short-grain white rice

1 cup Pineapple fresh or canned

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

Red chili flakes, to taste

Salt, to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.

Toss in the garlic and ginger. Sauté for about 5 minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and toast it for about 2 minutes. Stir gently until the rice is lightly golden.

Stir in the pineapple, soy sauce, brown sugar, red chili flakes, and salt. Sauté for another minute.

Pour in 1.5 cups of water and increase the heat to high, bringing it to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes until the water evaporates.

Turn off the heat and let the rice sit covered for 5 minutes.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

First attempt at a curry. LFG! 

1 tbsp virgin olive oil

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 small yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 can (540 ml) of diced tomatoes

2 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz can coconut milk

1 tsp fresh black pepper, plus more to taste

2 tbsp fresh lime juice, optional


Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Add the garam masala, curry powder, and cumin to the pot. Let sit for about 30 seconds before stirring.

Add the diced tomatoes and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and lost their shape.

Add the chickpeas, coconut milk, sweet potato, and pepper. Include salt if that's your thing.

Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Add the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I served this with naan bread, but it can go over a bed of rice as well. Or both.

Pesto Orzo Soup

Made this for the first time a couple of nights ago, and it was love at first try. 

The original recipe called for two cups or orzo, but I have reduced that to one because it turned into more of a thick pasta dish than a soup. I haven't tried the single cup version yet, so maybe I'll want to go back to two. 

1 tablespoon olive oil

4-6 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup dry orzo pasta

6 cups vegetable broth

1 can white beans

1/2 bunch kale, finely shredded

1/2 cup basil pesto

1/2 cup whole milk or canned full fat coconut milk

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Juice of 1 lemon

Black pepper, sprinkled

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the butter until fully melted, then stir in the orzo. Cook until golden, 1-3 minutes.

Pour in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Stir in the beans and kale.

Simmer 8-10 minutes until the orzo is al dente, stirring often. It should become very creamy.

Stir in the pesto, milk, parmesan, and lemon juice. Cook another few minutes until warmed through.

Give it a good sprinkle of black pepper, and serve! 

Cajun Popcorn

This is another one where you benefit from moving fast.  You want your butter ready to go when your popcorn is still good and hot.

1 bag of microwavable popcorn

1/4 of melted butter

Juice from half a lime

1 teaspoon of Cajun spice

2 teaspoons of grated parmesan cheese

Get your large bowl ready to receive the popcorn, and you will need a large spoon for stiring.

Mix the spice and cheese together, then prepare the 1/4 cup of melted butter. 

While the popcorn is in the microwave, squeeze the lime juice into the butter and stir well.

When the popcorn is done, dump about half into the bowl, then spread some of the "lime butter" on it, and sprinkle some of the spice.

Dump the rest of the popcorn, then the rest of the lime butter, then the remaining spice.

Stir the entire mixture well to ensure that the spice is evenly spread. 

Green Olive Pasta

I'm undecided about this one. I don't recall anyone critiquing an Italian meal and complaining that the pasta was not crunchy enough. It was an unusual feature, but the flavour was certainly pleasant.

This is done in two parts. To prepare the breadcrumbs, you will need...

1 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Zest of 1 small lemon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add the panko breadcrumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove crumbs from the heat. Stir in the lemon zest, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt, and mix to combine. Set the breadcrumbs and the sauté pan aside.

As for the main event...

Pasta. No kidding. I used penne, about half a package. I don't believe that the kind of pasta actually matters.

Two half cups of pitted green olives, divided as each will be used separately. 

1 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

A quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Half a teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 cloves minced garlic

Half a cup of parmesan cheese plus more for garnish

A quarter cup of fresh lemon juice

Cook pasta until al dented according to directions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and set aside.

Place one of the half cups of olives in a food processor, along with the parsley, red pepper flakes, and pepper, and pulse until a thick, clumpy paste forms.

Roughly chop the reserved cup of olives.

In the same pan you prepare the breadcrumbs in, heat the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the fresh minced garlic and sauté for a minute of two. 

Add the olive mixture and chopped olives, parmesan, and a quarter cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan, stirring constantly.

Continue to cook, stirring often, until the parmesan melts throughout. If the sauce seems too thick, feel free to add water ¼ cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency. 

Off the heat, stir in the pasta and lemon juice, mixing until it’s fully coated in the sauce.

Garnish with the lemony breadcrumbs, parmesan and parsley, and serve!

I may end up trying it again without the breadcrumbs, because the pasta in the lemony olive/parmesan mix seemed like a winner.  

Gnocchi Bolognese

This recipe was retained from a Chef's Plate order from several years ago. All the Chef's Plate ingredients came pre-measured and packaged, obviously, so translating the dimensions is proving to be a bit challenging. It may require a few tweaks after experimentation. 

It was labelled as being "easy", and that's my speed, baby. 😎

This is intended for two solid servings, with some leftover sauce.

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 cups of gnocchi.

1 can of tomato paste (156 ml).

1 can of tomato sauce (398 ml)

2 1/2 cup of ground beef (or your substitute of choice)

1/2 cup of diced carrot.

1/2 cup of diced yellow onion.

2 cloves of garlic, minced. 

1 tablespoon of Italian spice

1/2 cup (?) of asiago cheese

1/2 cup red wine 

Heat the oil in a large pan.

At medium heat, cook the beef, carrots, onions, garlic, and tomato paste for 5-6 minutes.

Add the red wine and cook for about another minute. 

Stir in the tomato sauce and spices, then let it simmer.

Once the sauce is simmering, reduce heat slightly, add half of the cheese, and stir in well. 

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water. Scoop them out into bowls when they go from being sinkers to floaters.

Top the gnocchi with sauce, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and serve. 

Gumbo!!

2 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1/4 cup brown rice 

1 large onion, diced 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tablespoons white flour 

3 cups vegetable stock 

1 (28 ounce / 796 ml) can diced tomatoes 

1 (540 ml) can mixed beans 

1/2 cup zucchini, diced 

1/2 cup bell pepper, diced 

2 stalk celery, diced 

Salt, pepper, hot sauce, to taste. Maybe a shake of your standard Cajun spice mix. 
 

Cook the brown rice according to package directions, and set to the side.

In a large sauce pan, sauté the onion in the vegetable oil for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté 1 more minute.

Add the flour and stir until it is fully mixed with the oil.

Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, beans, brown rice, zucchini, bell pepper, and celery. Let this simmer for 15 minutes or so until the bell peppers are completely cooked.

The original recipe calls for okra, but I normally use zucchini because we are far more likely to have it on hand. One of these days I'll try it.

I can't make gumbo without thinking of this guy that I saw at Bluesfest years ago, making gumbo during his concert.  This isn't from that show, but you'll get the idea. He still tours, so maybe one day I'll get to try his version!