Author: Hilary

Swedish “Meatballs” with Egg Noodles

~ Hilary ~ 1 Comment

Lets just start off this post by saying that these “meatballs” became more of a Hungarian goulash (as my mom said).   No wonder Canadian Living didn’t accompany this recipe with a photo in their September issue…

So here’s the story: At around 6:30 p.m. on Monday evening, anyone who entered my household would have thought I had gone mad.  Leaning over a stove that I wasn’t used to, I rapidly watched my delicate, hand-shaped meatballs rapidly become an unsatisfying, greyish mush.  Sure they smelled delicious, but that didn’t stop me from storming around my kitchen, asking my mom why in the world she didn’t have a non-stick pan.  Oh kitchen ordeals.  As a disclaimer, this entire issue probably could have been avoided if I had put in the mere 1.5 eggs that I was supposed to.  Rather than dividing this slimy little egg membrane in order to one and a half times the recipe, I just plopped the whole thing in, deliriously mixing in a frenzy of inflated happiness.  Do not try this at home.

Although I am normally a strict believer that if something doesn’t look nice, then it won’t taste good, this goulash/meatballs/whatever you want to call it actually didn’t taste bad.  My brother went back for seconds (which may not be saying much, since he is a 16-year-old boy) and I got compliments once again from good ol’ ma and pa.

ALSO, this meal marks the first time I have EVER eaten mushrooms.  Go me!

ALSO2: I would like to throw an extra-special shout out to my mom, who had to deal firsthand with my psychotic meatball breakdown.

Apple and Spinach Salad with Cheddar

~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

Please read the following, which is the most amusing excerpt I have ever seen in a cooking recipe:

“Bring salad to table, pause for admiration of your arrangement, pour on the dressing, toss and serve.”

With these explicit instructions, I ensured that my family “oohed” and “ahhed” for an appropriate amount of time before I tossed and served this salad.  I was very proud.

Believe it or not, this meal represented the first time I have ever eaten a spinach salad.  I have decided that it is critical for me to try other leafy greens, and expand my salad appreciation beyond that of the caesar variety.  Consistent with what my mom has been telling me for years and years, spinach does not have that much of a taste.  It was nice though – like a softer, more chewy version of lettuce.  Like lettuce without the gross white spines that I always try to pick out my salads.

The three main add-ins to this salad: apples, toasted almonds and cheddar cheese, made a HUGE difference and I got several compliments throughout the meal from both my mom and dad.  My younger brother, however, refused to eat more than a single leaf, at which time he proclaimed that the salad tasted like Lay’s chips.  Regardless of my brother’s distaste, the entire big bowl of salad was demolished by the end of dinner and, as my mom just said, “there’s no bigger compliment than to have an empty bowl at the end of the meal.”

PS: Toasting almonds makes the most insanely huge difference.  Try it.
PPS: I used Royal Gala apples and normal cheddar cheese…cheaper, yet still delicious.

Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Black Beans (my very first gluten-free potluck)

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Jane, who was the Student Experience Office’s administrative assistant up until a short two days ago, is now working in a different campus office (we’re really, really happy she got the job, she is awesome!) so we decided to have a belated birthday/going away potluck for her.  Now for any of you who actually read what I write, you’ll know that Jane has an intolerance to gluten (which is unfortunately one of my favourite things in the world).

With Jane’s allergy in mind and my strange urge to cook something with quinoa, I decided to make Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Black Beans. I was extremely pleased when this salad turned out to be a siesta-in-a-bowl, with mexican-themed ingredients like corn and black beans.  With there not really being a dressing, I found it had a perfect balance of flavours.

Near death experience: Getting my food to the office is usually a difficult ordeal, and this morning proved no different.  My poor early-morning decision-making skills placed me in a tricky situation in which I found myself in a short dress balancing a big salad bowl in one hand, while trying the steer my bike with the other.  Normally, I am a perfectly competent single-handed bike rider, however the added challenge of me having to constantly readjust my dress as to not flash the universe, combined with the heat of my new jacket made the ride a pain.  Needless to say my ankle is now cut up from a near bike-tumbling experience (my superb balancing skills saved my life!).  I hope the pictures made this ride worth it!

Home this weekend, planning on cooking LOADS of tasty stuff for the fam!

Dill Grilled Salmon and Mini Potato Zucchini Latkes

~ Hilary ~ 1 Comment

With the clock quickly ticking on my friend Gord’s blogger challenge, I knew that last night was as good a time as any to complete my task.  Just to remind you all, my challenge was to take one of Gord’s recipes and make it my own.  This being said, I decided to take his “Cheddar Zucchini Patties” post and ditch the cheese in favour of a hefty amount of grated potato and chopped dill.  I must admit, I can’t take total credit for this idea, and was inspired (as always) by the Canadian Living recipe for Mini Potato Zucchini Latkes.  I first saw this recipe in the mini cookbook that accompanied September’s issue of the magazine, which my mom very dearly supplied me with when she visited last week.  The only major alteration I made to the recipe was to add two tablespoons of finely chopped dill, to add some sort of consistent flavour to my meal.  These latkes turned out pretty well, however I think I definitely could have benefitted from cooking them a bit longer, as the insides still had a bit of a munchy consistency.  Overall, these latkes provided the perfect accompaniment to my salmon, completed a chellenge and were the best “dinner food that reminds me of a breakfast meal” that I’ve had in a while.

Alright, so the salmon!  Let me tell you, Canadian Living has countless recipes containing three ingredients: lemon, dill and fish.  It was quite the challenge to choose just one (I, of course, needed to use up the dill leftover from my potato and corn salad last week), but I eventually settled on the one called Dill Grilled Trout (yes, I realize I made salmon, but the recipe called for either!) This recipe saw the Glorious Return 2.0 of the beloved George Foreman grill, something which made me an extremely happy camper.

On an unrelated but otherwise interesting note: I have actually planned out my meals for the next week!  I’m not sure where this sudden urge for organization is coming from, but I’m excited!