Indian dahl & saag stew with leftover shredded turkey

  

This past weekend was American Thanksgiving and since we just love turkey & gravy and stuff my cousins and I decided it would be the perfect time to indulge in another family Thanksgiving celebration. We had a delicious time filling our faces with buttermilk mashed potatoes, crispy brussel sprouts, moist turkey and enough chocolate bourbon pecan pie to send anyone into a full blown food coma. Sunday we were all left with the age old problem (not a problem at all in my house) of what to do with all the left over turkey. This delicious recipe really transforms the turkey into a super satisfying Indian inspired stew. You can also use leftover shredded chicken or dare I say pork. I've adapted this recipe from my moms version of a Bonnie Stern red lentil stew recipe. Enjoy!

Summer Fresh dips & spreads

The people from Summer Fresh were nice enough to send me a freeze packed case filled with a bunch of their delicious dips and spreads. Unfortunately the original pictures were on my old black berry and were all lost when my phone decided to take a deep dive into the toilet, I've since switched to iphone. Any ways the point of today's post is that these Summer Fresh dips are pretty awesome and aren't just good with some pita bread or tortilla chips. I really like to use a few spoonfuls instead of salad dressing or adding them to a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of lemon or vinegar. The Jalapeno was excellent over a red cabbage and carrot slaw, and the cucumber and feta worked like a delicious charm on my favorite kale salad with avocado and cherry tomatoes. One of their most famous dips - the artichoke and asiago I simply spread over a sliced baguette and toasted it so the the spread just melted into the bread. This was just heavenly and would be great served along side a creamy tomato soup. I really liked all of the dips except for the sesame topped one and that's just because I'm allergic to sesame so I couldn't eat it. You guys know I'm not a huge fan of pre packaged products but these Summer fresh dips are gluten and lactose free and are made with simple high quality ingredients. They taste great and are an easy add on to sandwiches and salads for extra flavor. Try them out and let me know what you think.

 

Simple roasted cauliflower & sweet potato soup

Happy Friday all. Here's a fast and delicious soup that will warm your belly during these cold months ahead. Peel and chop two sweet potatoes. Pull 1 head of cauliflower apart. Season both with olive oil salt and pepper and scatter on two baking sheets. Roast at 350 until soft and or golden (about 20 mins for the cauliflower and 35 for the sweet potato). In the meantime sauté a cooking onion and a few garlic cloves then add in the roasted veg. If you any thyme dry or fresh you can add it in. Cook for a few mins before adding a quart of water or stock then purée. Add in more stock or water depending on how thick you like your soup. Taste for seasoning and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt. #yum
Have a delicious weekend y'all xo

Pesto fusilli - how to keep your pesto vibrant green

Oh hello snobs and snobettes. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying all of falls beautiful offerings. Since it was 17º here in Toronto yesterday it really got me thinking about summer and one of my favorite homemade condiments... pesto. This versatile sauce originated from Genoa (Italiay) and is made traditionally from fresh basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil and pine nuts. When I make it I leave out the pine nuts which can cut back on some calories and $$$ but certainly doesn't cut back on any flavor. You can also substitute the pine nuts for walnuts or hazelnuts for a modern twist. One thing about pesto that drives me completely crazy is when the herbs oxidize and you end up with a murky dark coloured pesto. If you follow my simple steps you'll end up with vibrant gorgeous green every time. 

PREP: For the pesto combine a bunch fresh basil (discard stems), 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 lemon juiced, about a half a cup of grated parmesan, a pinch of salt & pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Blend everything up using a hand blender (or standing blender). If mixture is too thick continue to drizzle more olive oil as you blend. Taste and season with more lemon or cheese to your liking. For the vegetables slice the zucchini and eggplant about 1/2 inch length wise. Brush with olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper. One of my tips would be to buy pre roasted peppers from the antipasto bar at your grocery store or the jarred variety which can be a much needed time saver for busy home cooks.

COOK: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente. Strain pasta and toss in a small amount of olive oil before spreading it out on a large baking sheet or pan to cool. The olive oil will prevent the pasta from sticking and clumping up into a solid mass. Using a cast iron grill pan (or bbq) grill up the zucchini and eggplant for a few mins on each side (the eggplant will take slightly longer). Let everything cool then cut into strips.

TIPS: Make sure the pasta and the veg are all cooled before combining everything with the pesto - this is they key to keeping your pesto pasta looking good.  If you follow that rule you will never have dirty brown looking sauce again. 

- Chow for now

Mulled bourbon apple cider

Hi y'all. Just trying out a post from my iPhone. I wanted to hate this photo from a few weeks back when I made a delicious mulled cider with a shot of bourbon. The key is simmering your apple cider with a whole spice/ herb blend. I used two cinnamon sticks a couple of star anise, few sprigs of thyme and two orange peels (be sure not to include the white pith, which adds bitterness). Use a shot of your favorite bourbon and 4-6 oz of hot cider. If your thinly slice a whole apple it makes a beautiful garnish! Serve this warm cocktail for the holidays or on a cool October night perfect for a hurricane or Halloween. Have a safe and week everyone. Good luck bearing the cold rainy weather. Chow for now. 

Roasted Pumpkin and poblano soup with coconut milk

Today is the day. A cold rainy mess here in Toronto definitely a day for a delicious pumpkin soup. This soup is the bomb as they say and was certainly one of the stars at our Thanksgiving dinner. I hope you love it as much as my family did. For an extra touch toast the pumpkin seeds up with a dash of cinnamon, cumin and sugar. You can also toast up some shredded coconut in a pan on medium high, just be sure to use a non stick pan, agitate it constantly and remove as soon as you achieve the perfect golden brown colour. 

PREP: Rough chop pumpkin and roast (on a parchment lined baking sheet) at 350º with a drizzle of honey, coconut oil, salt and pepper for 30 -45 mins. At the same time roast off the poblano peppers until the skin is charred on all sides. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The steam will loosen the skin and make it very easy to remove.  Rough chop all of the other ingredients. When the roasted peppers have cooled remove skin and seeds.
COOK: Sautée onions, garlic, carrot & celery in coconut oil until tender. Add spices, roasted pumpkin & poblanos, stock or water and allow everything to simmer for 10 minutes or so, then add coconut milk and puree soup with hand blender until smooth. Taste to check seasoning/ sweetness. 

Like my pumpkin photo? If so follow me on twitter & instagram @thetomatosnob aka JaimeVerkPerez

Cold season damn it!

Hi all. Sorry I haven't posted the recipe for Roasted pumpkin and Poblano soup yet. It seems that between getting over my "cold" and  the weekend I've actually ended up with another cold. At least this one has all the usual "cold" symptoms. This week has been cray with a bunch of events, out of town guests and one of my best friends weddings. I'll post the recipe as soon as I can. 
Chow for now!

Feeling crappy & suffering from Thanksgiving withdrawal

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in days but I've been pretty under the weather and uninspired over the past two weeks. Maybe not uninspired but way too tired and run down to sit at the computer to do anything productive what-so-ever. I tell ya, this cold which doesn't even have the right to be called a cold since it lacks all basic cold principals such as a sneezing, sniffling and any sort of nasal issue. This "cold" is the type of cold that probably would have wiped out half the population 200 years ago. Needless to say it has  taken it's toll on me. I feel slightly like I did in third year university when I had mono for five months - bad times to say the least. My throat had been crazy sore, I have a hacking old lady smokers cough, the headache of a coffee addict first thing in the morning before they've had their first cup and just overall feelings of nausea, exhaustion and overall  crap. I had a nice sleep last night for the first time in days thanks to the fact that I had the fore sight to drug myself with advil cold and sinus an hour before bedtime yesterday. I'm almost feeling human today and will actually attempt a workout, which I need desperately since I've been feasting on not one but two days of Thanksgiving heaven. I hope everyone had a delicious holiday over here in Canada. These photos are some highlights of my long and delectable weekend. Check back tomorrow for my recipe for Roasted pumpkin & poblano soup with coconut milk (your welcome to any vegans that stumble over here). 
Chow for now xo 

A speedy fast ending hopefully in a feast

For those of my Jewish readers may you have an easy and meaningful fast. I couldn't help but provide some comic relief with some of my favorite ecards about Yom Kippur before repenting for all the naughty things I've done and eaten last year. For those of my non Jewish readers if you are curious about this sacred day we call Yom Kippur please check out this "fact" sheet.  G'mar Chatima Tov - may you be sealed in the book of life.  
xo Jaime aka The Tomato Snob

Tuna Tartare inspired by Asia de Cuba

Asia de Cuba is one of my all time favorite restaurants. In fact I can still remember my first meal there when I was 18 years old. My mom took me to NY city for my birthday and we ate our way through some of the cities best and trendiest restaurants. Till this day my mom is one of the most serious foodies I know, I guess we now know where I get it from. Anyways Asia de Cuba is fabulous restaurant with locations in NY,  London, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. The food is tapas style with influences from Cuban & Asian cuisine.
 
This tuna tartare is my take on their famous dish "Tunapica". To make to make the dish a little more heart healthy I serve it in cucumber cups instead of deep fried wantons. Either way the tartare is to die for! If you don't have time to make cucumber cups or fry your own wantons you can serve it up on potato or tarot chips as well.  What's great about serving an appetizer like this is you can prep everything in advance then quickly toss it together right before serving. If you like spice you can add a drizzle of sambal or sriracha to the dressing.

STEPS:
1 - for the dressing add finely chopped chives to the lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, grape seed oil, minced garlic & ginger, and a pinch of s & p
2 - finely chop the tuna and refrigerate until you are ready to use it
3 - toast slivered almonds in a pan over medium heat until golden
4 - combine coconut, currants and almonds once they have cooled down 
5 - remove cucumber skin (using a carrot peeler) and divide into 1" pieces, then punch out using a cookie cutter, then wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate until ready to serve
6 - toss tuna, dressing, & dry mixture together and spoon into cucumber bites. 
7 - garnish with a sliver of green onion or panko bread crumbs 

So grateful for the #twitterlove from the operators at Asia de Cuba, many thanks. Now when can a girl get a calamari salad in Toronto?