Transforming Leftovers – Turmeric and Twine

One-Pan Roasted Winter Meal

January 25, 2015January 25, 2015Turmeric and Twine2 Comments

It’s cold.

I like to think of this dish as a kind of soup without the broth. Warming, cozy and comforting, I make it all the time when I want something easy. It is kind of a non-recipe and can make good use of random bits of food you have lying around. Put as much or as little of each as you want/have. Improvise. Create.

One-Pan Roasted Winter Meal

Ingredients

brussel sprouts, cleaned and quartered
sausage or tofu (or your protein of choice)
onion, chopped
garlic, lots
sauerkraut and some of the juice
sun-dried tomatoes
mushrooms, halved or quartered
carrots
bell pepper
any vegetable

Dressing:

olive oil
toasted sesame oil
salt
black pepper
lemon
rosemary
cumin

Directions

Preheat oven at 425ºF/220ºC/Gas Mark 7.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

All ingredients are to cleaned and chopped into bite sized pieces. They should be around the same size so they bake evenly. Put everything directly into your casserole dish/baking pan.

Drizzle the dressing all over the ingredients and mix until everything is saturated.

Put the uncovered pan in the oven for about 45-50 minutes. Check every 15 minutes and stir so nothing gets burned. When the carrots (or potatoes, if you use them) are soft, remove from heat.

Garnish with Greek yogurt, hot sauce and more cracked black pepper. Dig in.

How to Be a Master Leftover Wrangler

December 29, 2014Turmeric and TwineLeave a comment

Too much leftover rice? Stuff Something!

I have a slightly bizarre sense of pride regarding my ability to make an exciting meal out of left over food. I prefer to think of these meals as transformations, rather than leftovers. As a cook for a community where many events and retreats are held, I often find myself serving anywhere from 30-100 people for meals. Depending on the popularity and quantity of previously made dishes, there are often leftovers, sometimes very large amounts of them. Since I really hate throwing food out, I always try to make something different with leftovers so the community members don’t find themselves stuck with the same meals over and over. Simple and effective transformations happen regularly. Have an excess of leftover vegetables? Blended soups are excellent ways to transform veggies into something fun and new. Sick of all that chili? Turn it into an enchilada casserole.

Sauces and spreads help entice. Blend your leftovers into a dippable delight.

Here are a few tricks behind the Art of Leftover Wrangling:

a) You have to be fearless. Don’t be afraid of flavour. Don’t be afraid to do something unconventional. This also means you can’t be afraid to fail. Honestly, if I’d have given up after making that horrible vinegary collard green soup that one time, my tail would still be down marking my shame. If you do ruin a dish (or several) don’t let it deter you from future transformationing.

b) Use your senses, not your preconceived idea of what you think does or does not go well together. Taste everything in combinations before counting them out.

c) Blend. Blend. Blend. Blend soups, blend sauces, blend dips. An emersion blender is a cook’s best friend.

d) If you’ve overcooked a piece of meat or let your fish get too dry, turn it into a sumptuous burger by mixing it with a grain, blended vegetables and some raw eggs to bind it. Transformed!

e) If all else fails, throw your leftovers in a pan and top it with some cheese. Seriously. Melted cheese makes everything better.

When all else fails... wrap in bacon. — When all else fails… wrap in bacon.

I actually find working with leftovers to be fun and rewarding, especially when you thought it was a lost cause. It forces me to be creative with what I have available. This blog will feature leftovers transformed. I will regularly post re-creations, tips and ideas.

Happy transforming!

Transformation: Red Wine and Coffee Reduction on Dark Chocolate Raspberry Crepes

March 10, 2014December 29, 2014Turmeric and TwineLeave a comment

A week ago, I posted my recipe for my coffee reduction along with the mishaps of trying to flavour pair it. I had almost given up. But not before realizing that it belongs on something sweet. I should’ve known from the beginning.

Without further ado, I give you coffee and crepes. Absolutely gorgeous.

Red Wine and Coffee Reduction on Dark Chocolate Raspberry Crepes

Serves 6-7

Ingredients

For the crepes:

1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

2 cups whole raspberries
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon sugar
100 grams dark chocolate
2 tablespoon milk

The recipe for coffee reduction can be found here.

Directions

For the crepes:

On the stove top, melt the butter. Then add the milk and heat until warm but do not let it boil.

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour and crack the eggs into the bowl. Whisk the mixture.

Slowly add the milk and butter to the flour mixture in multiple batches.

Heat a fry pan and melt a small tab of butter in it. Ladle a scoop or two of the crepe batter into the pan and roll the pan around to get a nice, thin and even layer. Cook for a minute or two.

Take a spatula around the edges to make sure the crepe isn’t stuck. It should be ready to flip when it moves on its own when the pan is shaken.

Time to flip it. Get a good grip on your spatula. Wedge it under the crepe and flip the spatula and pan in a simultaneous and smooth action. Don’t worry. I messed up a few flips, but the crepes are surprisingly forgiving. Repeat until the batter is gone.

For the filling:

In a small pot, heat the raspberries, sugar and lemon on medium low heat. Crush the raspberries with a spoon and mix well.

In a separate pot, melt the chocolate with milk on low heat.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of coffee reduction onto a plate. Then place a crepe on top. Fill half of it with raspberries and chocolate and then fold in half to cover the filling.

Spoon another teaspoon of coffee reduction on top.

Try not to get a stomachache from eating too much. It might be a challenge.

Homemade Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches

May 9, 2013Turmeric and TwineLeave a comment

Oh you poor thing! Too many homemade graham crackers lying around? I understand. I’ve had the same problem countless times.

Here’s what you do:

Take 2 crackers.

Insert your favorite ice cream.

Attempt to eat in a dignified manner.

Go take a shower to clean up.

Repeat.

Transformations: Dill Scallion Butter Chicken Sausage with Beet Puree and Artichoke Fennel Salad with Cucumber and Wasabi + Your Appetite

January 29, 2013December 29, 2014Turmeric and Twine2 Comments

Remember that beet salad I posted a little while ago? The tangy, creamy and colourful one? Well, I made a lot of it and started to get really sick of eating it. I love beets and I love salad and have a high tolerance for both, but there’s only so much I can take of any one thing on repeat. It was imperative to exercise my leftover transforming skills in a big way.

A beautiful plate and/or presentation of a dish, including bright colours and pleasant forms, can change your hunger level and alter how attracted you are towards any food or dish presented to you (excepting anything with bananas… they will always be evil). Dishes that are beautifully arranged actually whet your appetite and make you hungrier.

Colour plays a crucial role in our attraction to food. Studies have shown that blue is the least appetizing colour to eat. Our foraging ancestors learned to avoid toxic and spoiled foods, which were often blue, purple, grey and black (berries, eggplant, etc, excluded). That behaviour has been imprinted on us. So when food is dyed blue, our appetites turn cold. In fact, dieters are advised to use blue place mats, lights, plates, etc… when eating to aid in appetite suppression.

Umm... not so appetizing. — Umm… not so appetizing.

Foods that are red, orange, green and yellow (depending on culture) are apparently the most appetizing and exciting to us. Red is the colour of passion, intimacy and enthusiasm and all that registers when we look at our food. Cool.

So, in honor of red, I give you beets. Yes, more of them.

This dish was actually inspired by food items that had to be used from my kitchen. They were either in great abundance or approaching their expiration dates. I had made some dill scallion butter in the summer when the garden was overflowing with dill. I made a large batch and since butter freezes well, most of it went into the freezer. It’s very easy to make (put dill, scallions and softened butter into your food processor and blend) and really tasty on everything. I use it on popcorn, toast and sometimes to fry eggs. It works gorgeously when frying up an Applegate Chicken and Apple sausage, too.

The recipe for the beet salad can be found here. Place a cup of it in a blender (adding a bit more dressing for texture) and blend until smooth.

And, of course, we have the artichoke heart fennel salad with cucumber and wasabi. Everything about this dish was heaven to eat. And to look at.

Artichoke Heart Fennel Salad with Cucumber and Wasabi

Ingredients

2 steamed artichoke hearts, remove spiky leaves and quarter (you could heat up frozen or canned artichokes, which is a lot easier, but not nearly as good. Avoid the marinated kind)
1 cup fennel bulb, sliced (about ¼ of a whole bulb)
1 cup small seed cucumber, sliced
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice
¼ tsp wasabi paste (or powder mixed with water 1:1)

Directions

Mix ingredients.

Plate the salad with a dill scallion butter chicken sausage and beet puree in an artful way that fills you with passion and feelings of intimacy and piques your enthusiasm.

Look at. Admire. Devour.

Transformation: Spicy Tilapia Quinoa Burgers Crusted With Almond and Hurricane Sandy

October 28, 2012December 29, 2014Turmeric and Twine2 Comments

With Halloween coming up so soon, I’ve been spending a lot of my free time working on my costume (posts on that to come soon!). Unfortunately, because of the impending destruction of Hurricane Sandy, I might be all dressed up with nowhere to go. Oh Sandy, you’re such a costume block.

Hurricane Sandy is supposed to reach New York tomorrow evening. We have been warned about possible flooding, power outages and very high winds. There is a possibility that we will lose power for about a week. Eww.

My area of the Berkshires is just outside of the affected region and hopefully shouldn’t be hit too hard. My mum has informed me that our water is connected to the electricity, so if the power goes out, we’ll have no running water. Eww squared. Being in a wooded area, trees fall often. The biggest threat to us that Sandy will throw our way is falling trees. We’ll see how that goes.

My transformation recipe this week was inspired by the extra baked tilapia (with a gorgeous tamari, Dijon, garlic and ginger sauce) that I had hanging out in my fridge. Tilapia is a flakey white fish – delicate in flavour and not too fishy. It easily gets overcooked and disappointingly dry, which no one is fond of. I needed to find a way to make the texture more appealing.

Quinoa provided some answers to my query. The chenopod quinoa is often confused as a grain due to its grain-like appearance. Actually, it is closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds. Light and unique in flavour, quinoa provides many nutrients like phosphorus, iron and calcium.

I wasn’t concerned about the quinoa overpowering the fish, so I made them into burgers.

Spicy Tilapia Quinoa Burgers Crusted With Almond

Ingredients

2-3 leftover filets of tilapia
2 cups of cooked quinoa
½ cup oil cured black olives (kalamata will also work)
½ cup dried cranberries
1 or 2 jalapeños
2 small green bell peppers
¼ cup fresh basil
2 small carrots (about 1 cup)
1 cup pickles (2 large spears)
1 cup spinach or arugula
1 cup onion
2 eggs
2 tbsp tamari
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh ginger
½ to 1 tsp salt
crushed almonds (about a cup)

Directions

Preheat oven at 400ºF/200ºC/Gas mark 6

In a bowl, flake the filets into small pieces and add the quinoa.

In a food processor, blend all of the ingredients except the fish, quinoa and crushed almonds. Blend until there are no big chunks.

Mix blended contents with the fish and quinoa.

Form the mix into burgers and coat them with the crushed almonds. Lay your burgers on a lightly oiled pan.

Place in the oven and allow them to bake for about 30 minutes. They should be brown on the outside and not threaten to fall apart if moved.

Immediately place a burger on toast with avocado and alfalfa sprouts and devour.

Makes 8-10 burgers.

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