ham & pea soup with white beans

after our thanksgiving dinners I decided to try making some post-thanksgiving soups. always a good idea!

the first soup I made was "ham & pea soup with white beans"
I didn't use a recipe, but rather just went on some advice from my mom and some experimenting.

directions:
take the ham bones and any leftover ham meat and place in a large pot. cover with water. place on the stove at about medium-high heat. stir and allow to come to a gentle boil. at that point, lower the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer (uncovered) for about 5-6 hours. stirring occasionally.

after the 6 hours, remove all of the bones and meat. throw out the bones, but keep the meat in a container to use later. strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer, to get rid of any unwanted "extras". Put in the fridge to cool. When it cools through, the fat will rise to the top of the broth, and harden in a layer that you can (literally) peel/roll off (gross, but nice to get rid of it!) If you won't be making the soup within a few days, freeze so that it keeps. Otherwise put in a large pot again (once it has cooled, it will be quite gelatinous and thick. as you heat it back up it will liquify.

At this point, I cooked about 3-4 cups of frozen peas, then put them about a cup at time into a blender with a bit of the broth. Puree it completely, and then put into the pot. continue until all of the peas are completely pureed.

i used dry white beans, so I cooked them according to the recipe on the bag. then I pureed them with the same method, adding some broth to the beans until it was completely pureed. continue to keep on the stove at medium-high heat. add pepper to taste (it shouldn't really need any salt since ham is a fairly salty meat.) add in the meat that you reserved previously. at this point, it is ready to eat!

serve with some cornbread (click here for the cornbread recipe), hot out of the oven. and enjoy on a cool autumn day.

beef samosas with dipping sauce

samosas are one of my favourite treats
i like to get a few and eat them for supper - so i thought i should take the time to try and make them myself :)
first try is pretty successful if i do say so myself!

ingredients:
2 large potatoes, peeled & chopped into small pieces
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf, crushed
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (i omitted this, because i had a cilantro overdose in guatemala, and don't love it much now)
2 tbsp chopped green chill peppers (i forgot to buy this.. so omitted it but I think it would've added some needed spice!)

dough:
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp water

Directions:
Dough:
Mix all ingredients together with your fingers until it forms a dough. Add tiny bit more water if needed (i needed quite a bit more water)
Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until smooth.
Wrap in plastic and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes

Filling:
bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. stir in potatoes and peas. cook until potatoes are tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. drain and set aside

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil. brown cumin seeds and bay leaf. mix in onions and ground beef. cook until beef is evenly brown and onions are soft, about 5 minutes. mix in garlic.

Add all the seasonins (ginger, paper, salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chill powder, cinnamon and cardamom) and stir.

add the potatoes and peas.

Roll out the dough and cut into squares. place a spoonful (or two) into the middle of the dough

then pull the corners into the middle, pinch so that all 4 corners are tight together. then press the sides of the dough together to close them tightly. place on a greased pan, and then brush the samosas with melted butter.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or more, until lightly golden brown.

serve with this sauce:

The Dipping Sauce*:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Heat to boiling, then let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. it will reduce slightly.

Serve warm or at room temperature with hot samosas.

*I'm not convinced this is the best, or right sauce, but it'll do :)

ashley & michael's go to meal

so this isn't as much a recipe as it is a suggestion of a delicious, healthy, quick, go to meal!

michael & i are crazy about peanut sauce. we love it. it's so tasty & zippy.  so here is our go to, peanuty, delicious stirfry

Peanut Stir Fry

ingredients:

brocoli
snap peas
peppers (our favorites are red, yellow & orange)
onion
* i have also used: black beans, chick peas, corn, cauliflower - just didn't use them today
beef (i buy the "stir fry strips" - it's so much easier & fast!) or you can use chicken
peanut stir fry sauce (i buy the compliments brand from Sobeys)
rice noodles (also from sobeys, in the ethnic aisle)

directions:
stir fry your meat with a small amount of oil over medium-high heat.
chop up vegetables, slice the peppers julienne & then half way so they are bite size
put all the vegetables into the pan with the meat once it's cooked through
at the same time, boil a kettle of water. place the rice noodles in a sieve inside a bowl. once the kettle has boiled, pour the water over the noodles so that it sits in the water in the bowl. it will take about 7 minutes for them to cook all the way through.
pour the sauce over the vegetable/meat combo & stir.
drain the noodles - at this point i use scissors to cut the noodles - as rice noodles can often be sticky if they are too long
mix the noodles into the meat/vegetables & you're ready to eat.
*some nice salted peanuts tossed in would really spice things up!!

enjoy.

not a great picture - but i was too hungry to stop & take an actual picture!!