Felix-”What are we having for supper”?

Me- “I was thinking of making a tofu quiche”

Felix – “Awww why? That doesn’t sound good”

Me- “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you go to the fridge and choose what will go in it”?

Felix- “Yah o.k”

He comes back with a Fennel bulb.

Fennel Tofu Quiche

1-unbaked 9 inch pie crust

4 Cups diced fennel

1-Tablespoon olive oil

1- Onion, finely diced

2-Cloves garlic, minced

1-Pound firm tofu, drained

-1/2 Cup soy milk or rice milk

-1/4 Teaspoon Dijon mustard

-3/4 Teaspoon salt

-1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1 Tablespoon dried parsley

-2 Teaspoons of white miso

-Splash of mirin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees . Bake pie crust in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until golden. Stir in the fennel. Saute for 5 minutes. Add a big splash of mirin and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

In a blender combine tofu, soy milk, mustard, salt, nutmeg, miso and parsley ; blend until smooth. In a large bowl combine tofu mixture with fennel mixture. Pour into pie crust.

Bake in preheated oven for  40-45 minutes, or until quiche is set. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Me-”So Felix what do you think of the quiche”?

Click here to view the embedded video.

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

*CHANGE OF DATE! 

This month is all about Salsa! August 11 at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING  OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

Nope not ginger… or potato! Jerusalem artichoke.

My aunt and Uncle are growing Organic Jerusalem artichokes here on Prince Edward Island (to make an order call 902-566-3055). They gave  me some to try last week and here is what I did with them.

-1Lb Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed well and sliced into 1 inch pieces

-4-6 small dried bay leaves

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-Pinch of sea salt

-A generous splash of Mirin

-1 tbsp olive oil

-Fresh ground pepper (optional)

In a cast Iron frying pan, heat oil and add the artichokes. Saute until browned on both sides. Add the bay leaves, garlic, mirin and salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and place on low. Simmer until liquid is gone about 7-10 minutes. Serve.

( I loved the flavor of this dish but the texture of cooked Jerusalem artichoke takes a bit of getting used to )

-I also added sliced raw Jerusalem artichoke to salads.

Savory Squash Pie

Crust

-2 Cups whole wheat flour

-Pinch of sea salt

-1 tsp whole cumin

-1/3 Cup olive oil

-1/3 Cup rice syrup

-1/2 Cup cold water

Mix all ingredients together and knead the dough for a few min. spread dough with fingers into a deep 12 ” pie dish. Make sure to press the dough evenly up the sides of the pie dish. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake for 15 min at 350 degrees. Take out and let cool while making the filling.

Filling

-4 Cups buttercup squash, peeled, de-seeded and cubed

-2 Potatoes, peeled and cubed

-2 Onions, diced

-2 Cloves of garlic, minced

-1 Cup of corn kernels

-1 Cup of grated mochi

-1/2 red pepper, diced (optional)

-1 tsp dried thyme

-1 pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg

-1/2 tsp sea salt

-Oil for saute

In a medium sized pot steam the squash and the potatoes until tender. About 12 min. Place into a bowl. Mash with a potato masher and set aside.

In a cast iron pan saute the onion, garlic and pepper until soft. Add the corn and cook for 2 more minutes.

Mix mashed squash and potatoes with all remaining ingredients. Spoon into pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Celery Apple Salad

-4 stalks of celery, sliced on a diagonal

-1/4 of an onion, sliced into thin half moons

-2 medium sized apples(I used Honey Crisp), cored and sliced thin.

-1 tsp Dijon mustard

-1 tsp sesame oil

-1 Lemon, juiced

-1 tsp rice syrup

- Pinch of sea salt

- fresh ground pepper(optional)

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

And to finish off I have an Odd movie. Last Spring we had an amazing time going to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. The dressing up, the plays, the magic, the sword fighting and the Knights were super entertaining and so was the food…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Green Rolls

1 big bunch of collard greens, steamed

2-3 carrots boiled whole , cut in half length wise

1/4 tsp umeboshi paste

1tsp toasted sesame seeds

1/4  Cup caramelized red onions (made with olive oil and a touch of maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt)

bamboo sushi mat

Steam or blanch collard greens whole for about 2 minutes . Lay them out flat on the sushi mat Veins up, stems facing out. Alternate the direction of the stems so they are not all on one side. Cover sushi mat with one or two layers of collard greens then about 1/3 of the way up just like when making sushi .Place half a carrot, sesame seeds and the onions. Spread a thin layer of umeboshi paste . Then roll up all the ingredients in the mat and keeping the mat around the greens roll squeeze out any excess water. Place on a cutting board and cut the greens “log” into thin slices approx 12.

We had a wonderful, beautiful summer out in the countryside. The children ran feral and my in laws grew the most abundant  garden! We hosted wwoofers and had lots of amazing guests!

The best summer project was the Potato puppet movie we did with our friend Jamie shannon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We have been “away” (as we Islanders say) for 9 years, minus the summers. Last week I drove a 20 foot U-Haul truck from Connecticut to beautiful Prince Edward Island . We are so happy to be home! Forgive me for the delay in posts as I am still surrounded by boxes and just today found the computer and plugged myself into the very slow Dial-up connection:)

Please enjoy this short interview with Lucy while we unpack and get settled:)

The kids came home singing that annoying McDonald’s commercial ,and after the 100th time I said “That’s it let’s make it” !

-Sourdough buns

-1 lb Halibut

-1 lb  extra firm tofu

-Earths best soy butter (optional)

-Soy cheese slices

-Tarter sauce

-Olive oil

-Bread crumbs

Halibut/Tofu

Coat both sides of the halibut/tofu in bread crumbs and set aside. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron frying pan.When the oil is hot place the fish/tofu in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until there is a nice golden crust. Flip over the fish/tofu and sprinkle with a little salt/pepper or ume vinegar. cook for another 2-3 min. Place a lid on top of the pan and cook for another 1-2 min then place on bun.

Tarter sauce

Mix together a little soy mayonnaise and a diced dill pickle.Or  blanch a 1/4 lb of tofu and blend till smooth add a couple of drops of lemon juice or ume vinegar and a diced dill pickle.

See you all when we get back!

Have a beautiful weekend. See you when we get back.