Cooking like a TV Chef

I started cooking at about 12 years old or it could have been earlier but that's about when I remember actually having a say about what was being cooked in my kitchen at home.   My mom who actually didn't like cooking would cook dinner almost every night.  She wasn't too good with the breakfast and lunches and I was kind of on my own to work that out.  My dad was the master of weekend breakfasts though so at least I would get a big breakfast most weekends when he was in the mood to make what he liked.

When I was a kid and most other kids were watching cartoons and teen shows or whatever was geared to kids,  I was watching Cooking Shows like Julia Child and whoever was on at the time.   I learned a lot of things about food that my mother didn't know and got to see that there was an unlimited amount of ideas when it came to food and recipes.  I am still addicted to watching cooking shows on TV and one of my favourite shows that I try and watch everyday now that I am at home is THE CHEW on ABC.  I love this show because it has some of my favourite people as hosts who all contribute their own individual personalities and experience to the show.   It's not just a cooking show it's kind of like an entertainment hour that is wrapped around food.  I used to watch Mario Batali's cooking show years ago and love that he brings all kinds of Italian dishes to the show.  I also love Clinton Kelly who is also the host of What not to Wear, a show where I learned that a lot of people don't know how to dress themselves.  He brings his touch of craftiness, style and entertaining to the show.  Carla Hall was on one of the Food Network competition shows and that's how I was aware of her before the Chew.  She has a Southern Charm and brings her recipes from the South to the Show and her catering knowledge.  Michael Symon I only knew as an Iron Chef prior to the Chew but I love Michael Symon and his love of all Pork products and his infectious laugh.  He brings the party and the rock n roll to the show.  Daphne Oz brings the balance to the show when it comes to indulgence and provides recipes that are more health concious, due to the fact that she grew up in a healthy household as Dr. Oz's daughter and had written a book about losing weight when she was in College.

I watch the show as much as I can and I laugh while I get inspired to cook new recipes.  Yesterday Daphne made a Sweet potato and kale Soup recipe that was like a super charged super food soup.  All the things that boost your immune system and help fight cancer and other diseases in one bowl.  It looked interesting and I realized that I had all those ingredients already and could make a pot of it.   So this morning I got out all of my ingredients and whipped up a batch for lunch.  I kicked up the spices for a warming effect that also boosts the thermogenic properties in the soup.

I pretty much made the recipe pretty similar to Daphne's Recipe but I didn't follow the amounts and added a couple of things.   I added mustard seed, leeks, shallots instead of the onions.   I used frozen Kale because I had that and didn't have any fresh Kale.  It probably made it easier because it's already blanched and chopped so all I had to do is dump it into the soup.  I had frozen chicken stock so I used that instead of water for the soup.

I had a whack of vegetables and this soup made it easy to get your 7-10 servings of vegetables in your day.  This is a great winter soup and I will freeze the rest of it for those days when I need a health boost and some warm soup.


Thanks Daphne for the Inspiration and thanks to the Chew crew for making me laugh and learn everyday.

A meal in a Pita pocket

A quick summer meal in a Pita Pocket.

I was watching the show the Chew this week and Daphne Oz made a burger in a pita with salad that reminded me of  a similar recipe I made up years ago.

My recipe is based on what I had at home and what I tasted once at a Caravan multicultural event where I had a falafel that tasted a bit different than other falafels that I tasted.

I never had falafel mix handy so I would use ground meat instead.

I was probably in my 20's when i created this and I tend to make it the most in the summer when the tomatoes and cucumbers are in season and taste their best.

Here's my version

Ingredients:

1 tomato chopped

1 cucumber quartered and chopped

4 mini dill pickles (I use Bick's)

2 iceberg lettuce leaves ripped into small pieces

1 tsp harissa chili paste or you could add dry chili flakes or cayenne for heat.

1 green pepper (i didn't have one this time but usually put it in)

salt and pepper to taste

Tzaziki (cucumbers, dill, lemon juice, salt and greek yoghurt)

Pita Bread

Mini Meatballs

- 1 pound of ground beef

- a couple of tbsp's of bread crumbs

- 1 egg

- salt and pepper

- 1 garlic clove

- 1 tbsp of onion powder or fresh onion

- 1 tbsp fresh or dried parsley

Directions:

Mix the mini meatball mixture and roll into about 1" round balls and pan fry in olive oil until fully cooked and brown.

In a bowl combine tomatoes, cucumber, pickles, lettuce, chili paste, green pepper and salt and pepper.

Toast the Pita bread until warm or you can toast it on a grill pan just until it is hot but before it gets hard.    Cut it in half.

Add about 3 or 4 mini meatballs into the pita pockets.

Add the Tzatziki and salad mixture and fill it but do not overstuff it.

That's it..  It takes a bit of prep but it's really quick to assemble.

Other options that I have used in the past instead of tzatziki were adding Hummus, sour cream, Tahini sauce with lemon juice depending on what I had in the fridge.   

So you can experiment a bit to make it the way you like it.