Practicing Recipes

Hi All!
I am embarking on a new adventure with KICS, Cooks n Corks, and the Coquitlam Farmer's Market. Beginning in May I will be teaching cooking classes! We are starting with 2 and we will go from there. The focus of the classes will be what is fresh, local and in season. May 25th is the first class. I will source as many of my ingredients as I can from the amazing selection of goodies at Cooks N Corks, and the wonderful vendors at Market. The following recipe is my first experiment. Good thing my family and friends are willing to be guinea pigs while I play!

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS, GARLIC SCAPES AND SAUSAGE


Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 C. dried penne (or other tubular pasta)
3 C chopped asparagus
1 C chopped garlic scapes
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove  minced garlic
1/2 tsp fleur de sel
2 Tbsp KICS lemonade syrup
1 tsp anchovy paste (Do NOT leave this out, it is the magic ingredient!) (After KICS of course!)
4-5 mild italian sausages, casings removed
grated Asiago cheese, for serving

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook past according to package directions. In the last 2-3 minutes, add the asparagus and garlic scapes and cook until bright green and crisp. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, drain pasta and vegetables.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together oil, KICS, anchovy paste, garlic, 1/2 tsp coarse salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Set aside.
Brown sausage in frying pan until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
Return pasta and vegetables to big pot, add sausage and oil mixture. Toss well to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed to form a thin sauce that coats the pasta.
Serve sprinkled with grated Asiago cheese.

I was so impressed with the way this turned out that I ate 2 bowls!
Let me know what you think.

So much excitement!!

It has been quite a couple of weeks. New recipes, new opportunities, new challenges. I don't know where to start. So...how about telling you what started the madness. Me and my big ideas.

I made a new recipe two weeks ago to play around some more with my lemonade and Dyanna's Aji. I ended up with a fabulous chickpea stew. ( Recipe to follow!) While I was creating I got to thinking that our local paper needs another column. This one should focus on local food, and promote the farmer's market (of which I am a passionate member). I sent my idea off to the editor of the Tri-City News, and he liked the idea. Now I am waiting to hear if I will be writing it!

After I made the stew, I thought I would take some down to my friend Septembre at Cooks n Corks because some of the ingredients came from her store. That led to me proposing a series of cooking classes, again focusing on fresh, local market food. I am now teaching those! Mark your calendars for May 25th and June 22nd.

Now I'm thinking about recipes, learning about what is in season, and wondering what I have gotten myself into! At the end of the day, I am soooo excited!

In honour of all this madness, here are TWO new recipes.

CHICKPEA STEW

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp KICS Lemonade Syrup
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs ACE CURRY TO GO Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Fleur de Sel with Herbes de provence
2 tbsp original AJI
14 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian spices
14 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 Cups chopped spinach,
1 small chopped zucchini

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Saute onions til soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer till sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes.

Serve over couscous.


And for dessert....

APPLE STRAWBERRY CRISP

10 small Ambrosia apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices
1 Lb strawberries, sliced
1 and 1/2 C KICS MANGO LEMONADE SYRUP, divided
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 C rolled oats
1 C flour
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C slivered almonds
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Mix apples and strawberries together in s large bowl, set aside. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 C KICS syrup with cornstarch and mix into a paste. Add remaining KICS and cook over medium heat until thickened and clear. Pour into fruit and stir to combine. Pour fruit into baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and crumble over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees, 45 minutes. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.

New Market Recipe

Happy Market Day Everyone!

I had a fabulous day at the Coquitlam Winter Market. My friend Dyanna and I shared a table. She sells the most amazing condiment called "AJI". It defies description. Some say it is a salsa, some say its a relish, I say its delicious and I wouldn't make my meatloaf without it. In honour of our pairing today, I made a new quinoa salad using KICS and AJI in the dressing. It was a hit!! We handed out samples all day and everyone enjoyed it. So...here is the recipe.

1 c quinoa

1 c chicken stock and 3/4 c water.

Cook the quinoa in the liquid, set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, make the dressing.

1/3 c olive oil

1/3 c KICS Lemonade Syrup

4 tbsp original AJI

1/2 tsp fleur de sel with herbs d'provence

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 clove minced garlic.

Combine the above ingredients and set aside.

When the quinoa is cool, combine it with about half the dressing and whatever chopped veggies you have on hand. I used spinach, red pepper, tomato, red onion, grated carrot and asparagus. Add more dressing if needed.

I thought any left over dressing was tasty enough to make a marinade too, or just drizzled over some new spring greens with a bit of feta. Maybe I will make that for the next market! You will have to come and see.

SPRING!!

The snowdrops are finished, the daffies are almost out and the new Farmer's Market season is just around the corner. We are excited for the new season. New markets, new flavours, new friends. I guess I am as programmed as the rest of us to start looking toward lighter, brighter food. I made a new soup today that features ham and navy beans, spinach, asparagus and finished with KICS to bring it all together. I am rather impressed if I do say so myself!

SPRING HAM SOUP

1 ham hock
10 cups cold water
1 quartered onion
2 cloves garlic
Put this in a big pot, bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer 4 hours. Strain off the liquid, saving the liquid and the ham bone. Pick all the meat off the bone and return it to the liquid. Discard the onion and garlic.

To the pot add the following:
1 finely chopped onion,
2 cloves minced garlic
1 x 19oz navy beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup finely chopped spinach
1 cup finely chopped asparagus
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup small pasta ( I used acini di pepe)
1 tsp fleur de sel with herbs d'provence (this is a salt mix by Cote d'Azur that I buy at Cooks and Corks)
freshly ground peppper to taste
Simmer 30 mins or so
Add  1/3 cup KICS Lemonade syrup and adjust seasoning if necessary


My girls and  I love to go to Bosa Foods just of Boundary and First in Vancouver. They have an astonishing selection of pastas. We pick out 2 or 3 each to take home and play with. Acini de pepe is my new favourite for soups. It is a tiny ball, and when it is cooked it keeps its shape and doesn't go all mushy.

The Fleur de sel with Herbs d'provence is another favourite spring ingredient. It finishes new spring greens beautifully. Thanks to my friend Diana in Kamloops for introducing me to this.

Fall Nesting

It's that time of year when I invariably start to hunker down for the winter. That means cleaning out cupboards and tidying shelves, as well as baking and cooking and filling up the freezer. The Curtis's have something on every night, so a freezer full of easy to prepare meals and lunch treats is a must. With that in mind, I'd like to share a new recipe. Buy a bag of big frozen shrimp from Costco (I buy the ones in the pink bag) and use it to make 2 or 3 freezer bags to grab when you need a fast meal.

KICS LEMON ZUCCHINI SHRIMP

Divide the bag of shrimp into 2 or 3 ziplock freezer bags (depends on how many you need to feed) and do not thaw.
Add To each bag
1 chopped zucchini
1tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp minced hot chili (leave in the seeds if you want it hotter)
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tsp minced ginger (I Keep a ginger root in the freezer and just grate what I need)
1/2 KICS Lemonade Syrup

Mix it all up in the bag and pop it back in the freezer. When you need a quick meal, stir fry it over high heat and serve it over freshly cooked rice. If you want an even faster meal, you can cook the rice ahead of time and split it into bags too. Staple the bags of rice to the bags of shrimp (above the plastic zip) and steam the rice while you are cooking the shrimp.

New Ideas!!

Hello again,
I figured I better post something new before I forgot how to do this. Dear Di is off in Niger teaching sewing for a few weeks and can't bail me out! I am trying to create a spice rub. How does lemon, pepper, garlic, onion, ginger and salt sound? I tried it tonight on some pork tenderloin and it was a hit in the Curtis house. I am also working on a sweet blend too, to use in baking. Put together lemon, nutmeg and ginger last night, then used it in a white chocolate chip cookie. MMMMM Yum!!

Let me know if you have any ideas for rubs. I am open to suggestions.

Cheers,
Karen

New Markets

Check out the new Coquitlam Farmer's Market at Spirit Square. Located right behind City Hall and the library. it is beautiful green space filled with music and all your favourite vendors. It runs Fridays from 4-8pm.
My daughter Hailey and her friend Devon work the market for me and will make you feel welcome. They have samples of  lemonade, LUSCIOUS CREATION"S cake truffle pops, and new this week, my neighbour's marvelous spice, TAWABEL...A Taste of Africa!!! You can eat your way through our booth and  come away satisfied.

In Honour of Mona's return to market with TAWABEL, here is recipe that uses both her spice and my lemonade.

TAWABEL/KICS Chicken

Combine 1 cup KICS Lemonade Syrup with 1 TBSP TAWABEL spice mix. Use it to marinade your favourite chicken pieces, then cook chicken as usual.

You will be delighted by the complex, rich spice.