Dejah

dcarch: Thanks for the CNY contributions. Wishing I had easy access to LIVE tilapia... The fish seemed to fit perfectly on the plate. What did you layer on top of the fish? Lapcheung? Deep fried? They look pretty lean, so I wondered...

Oh hell. I'm licking the damn screen again. That looks so tasty. Chinese roast duck would require a trip to one of the Asian markets and with more snow on the way it won't likely happen this week. Oh well. Something to plan for the future.Anna: With the Big Easy, you too can have Chinese roast duck without an Asian market:-)

Liuzhou: Taro and pork belly was my Mom's favourite dish. Haven't made it for a few years. Yours look SO tempting, but I'd be the only one who'd enjoy it. I am waiting to be blowing away by food feasts from Chinese New Year! Prawncracker! Where are you? We can always count on you to show us your feasts. I was laid low by the "flu", so by the time I was able to cook this past weekend, I just made JAI - the vegetarian dish - or called Buddha's Delight. There's something about seamoss that really appeals to me, especially mixed with siu choy and gingko nuts. Gung Hai Fat Choy, Everyone! This combination was well received by my stomach. My 1.8 year-old granddaughter loved picking up the different ingredients and trying them out. Gotta start them young.

I have been making carrot fries in the oven in place of potato, rice, and breads. These are really good. Cauliflower "steaks" are also good substitutes for potatoes, and easier than cauliflower fries.

basquecook: that amount of heat would blow the top of my head off! But I'll bet it was great. Liked the grouper. Would this work with any whole fish? We love cumin, so I might try this in the Big Easy if I can find "fish baskets" for the BBQ, AND if the weather smartens up!

Bruce: We are avoiding potato, rice and bread at the moment, so as a substitute, we have lots of vegetables. Instead of boiled, steamed carrots, etc, I cut them into "fries", blanch them for about 5 minutes in the microwave. The fries are drained and dried off, sprinkled with vegetable oil, salt, then roasted in a single layer at 450F. I turn them once and they are really very good...good enough like fries that I dip them in spicy ketsup! We are on the 17-Day diet, and carrots is one of the cleansing vegetables that we can eat.

Plantes Vertes: Thanks for that info' for the shirataki rice product. I'll look for them next time I'm in the big city! I already use the noodles, so another option for when we are doing carb-free is great. I picked up a new griddle yesterday at, of all places, my favourite greenhouse! This was in the discount section...$89.99 with 50% off. It's a surgical stainless steel griddle with glass lid. I grilled turkey breast fillets seasoned with fresh ground black pepper and lemon zest for supper. After browning, added a bit of chicken stock and covered to finish cooking, cooked off the little bit of liquid, then added blanched sugar snap peas and Shanghai bok choy to grill for the last few minutes. Everything turned out great! We also had carrot fries done in the oven. Squeeze of lemon juice was perfect on the moist and tender fillets.

Thanks, Ann_T and kayb re-comments on the chicken and trout. They were both enjoyed:-) Had some left over from both to add to a lunch salad. Love the looks of your fried rice, Ann_T, and that carbonnades will be perfect on the lousy winter days we've been having... robirdstx: Beautiful crust on those mini crab cakes! kayb: Yes. I do have an oval crock pot and big enough for the chicken to lie lengthways I cooked it mostly breasts down, turned it around once onto its back, then back onto the breasts. The skin wasn't crisp...just looked that way once it "dried" off a bit. We didn't eat the skin as it wasn't crispy like when I cook them in the Big Easy! Was in a bit of a hurry tonight after spending too long shopping. Cubed up a chicken breast and a couple of thighs and made Thai Basil Chicken. Had some mini bell peppers and grape tomatoes and these went under the broiler. I also made cauliflower fried rice. This would have been much better if we had REAL rice...

Supper tonight: Steelhead trout sandwiched between layers of cilantro, scallion, ginger, jalapeno peppers, lime slices, lemongrass, and Kaffir lime leaves, wrapped in foil and baked in the oven for 45 minutes. Sides: mixed vegetables "sauteed" in chicken stock and pan seared firm tofu.

Meredith: I had a small piece of the breast leftover (had unexpected company) and put it in my watercress salad to lunch. It's lovely, moist and flavourful. You are right...it just might be even better the next day. As for broccoslaw, I love it. One supermarket here sells the MANN brand and it's never woody. I just use Kraft Mango Chipotle dressing , throw in some cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and coconut flakes, and even my husband will eat it - and he hates broccoli.

Made soy sauce chicken in the crock pot last night. Made up the aromatics, soy sauce and let it cook for 2 hours on high. Seemed to have been the right temp. as it just sent out lovely aromas without a bubble breaking the surface. It produced that silky chicken texture that my Mom always loved.

Made the Betty Crocker recipe for Slow-cooker Coconut Chicken soup while I slept last night. Added the coconut milk, sliced mushrooms, and chopped basil this morning before I went to work. I used a "mature stewing chicken" instead of just boneless skinless thighs. When I took the breast out before adding the last 3 ingredients, it was really firm! Uh oh...not good eating...I shredded the meat and left it soaking for the day while I was at work. Came home late and tried a couple spoonfuls as I was starving...Mmmm...mmmmm GOOD! Even the breast meat was good. It'll be even better once it heats up - in time for supper!

Anna N: I love the look of the creamy eggs on portabello cap and the beansprouts. I think you also did the poached egg on cap with spinach and grape tomatoes? I made that last week and loved it. Now, I must make this latest version. eGullet is indeed a wonderful source for "what should I make for..." Last night, we had the Citrus Marinated Roast Chicken from Fine Cooking that Smithy had in her blog. Even before cooking, the whole thing looked delicious and refreshing for a cloudy Jan. prairie day. Smithy added pomegranate; I added kaffir limes leaves. While it was in the oven, the smell was incredible! The finished product: A bite? Definitely a keeper! Thanks Smithy for the inspiration!

Patrick: What Ann_T and Franci said...DOUBLE that, actually...Wow...WOW!

Thanks for a great week, Smithy! You've given me a couple of new recipes to try out. Tonight, we are having the Citrus Marinated Roast Chicken with my addition of Kaffir lime leaves;-). It's now enjoying the marinade in the fridge.

I didn't have a fish basket used for BBQs, but I really wanted to cook the rainbow trouts I picked up in the Big Easy. They fell off the hooks once they started cooking. I ended up putting the fish on the half rack that fit into the BE. The trouts were seasoned with a "cajun spice mix", stuffed with parsley, Meyer lemon slices, and kaffir lime leaves (gotta use the bounty somehow before the next fresh batch comes in!) The fish turned out lovely. Anxious to try again once I pick up a fish basket!

Luckily, I can buy short cut ribs at our non-Asian supermarkets. I guess our population is such that there is a demand for these "sweet 'n' sour" cut ribs. I've been making coffee-flavoured ribs that we first tasted in Singapore - a lovely change from sweet 'n' sour.

lennyk: See if you can find some heavy poultry skewers (ones used to close up openings in poultry after stuffing) and bend them into hooks. That's what I do. rotus: Did you ever buy the Big Easy? I know you were tempted.

I am so enjoying your blog but suffering terribly with kitchen envy. I've just added your citrus marinated roast chicken to my weekend cooking list, along with your meyer lemon fish. Thank you!

It was excellent! Let us know when you are coming - we'll do lunch! That would be wonderful! Will definitely keep lunch with you ladies in my plans!

Temperature in the -single digits after a a couple of weeks of -30C with some days of windchill at -50C. Time to head out to the Big Easy! 2 nights ago, I cooked 2 chickens stuffed with fresh Kaffir lime leaves. It's got to be my favourite taste, and I don't think I'll be running out of leaves any time soon. I won't post pics of the chickens - just see above. A friend was pruning his kaffir lime tree and asked if I was running low from the last bag he gave me. Just in time I quickly replied. My coffee table is 4.5 feet by 2.5 feet. This pile is 12 inches deep. Once I stripped off the leaves, I got SEVEN large ziplock bags full! He also gave me several branches of bay leaves and some of the kaffir limes. Last night, I cut up cubes of pork shoulder, marinated them in coconut milk, lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger. Today, I strung them onto skewers using the branches from the lime leaves. My hands felt a bit raw as the branches have tiny thorns on them. I did trim them before using, but they still left a bump. I laid the skewers across the basket - should have remembered to just stand them up in the basket. I think they would have cooked more evenly. Only 2 skewers had to cook longer in the BE. The others were perfect. I loved the charred bits of fat coated with coconut milk! To use more of the leaves, I tore up several, added to jasmine rice along with some green cardamom for flavour. The rice cooked up like sticky rice - must have used more water than usual, but it was perfect with the pork! A squeeze of lime was added to the pork. The kaffir added a lovely aroma and flavour. The coconut milk didn't come thru' as strong as I thought, but it helped with the char.

Must make a longer trip to GTA - maybe this summer. I have yet to find calamari as you two enjoy, and now...this exquisite squid! I hope it was as good as the picture looked.

Smithy: I enjoyed reading your posts in glamping, so I am happy to see you blogging this week. Your first post already has me excited - to see those silicone covers! Hubby picked up a set of non-descript covers at one of the mall kiosks in desperation for a stocking stuffer for me. They came in a plastic bag with NO description whatsoever. He tried to remember what the vendor told him, so you can just imagine... I've only used mine as covers for use in the microwave and washing by hand, but they are great! I'm hesitant to use them in the oven because there was no information on them, but I will definitely look for the pretty ones that you have. I assume they can be found in any kitchenware store? Can you provide more detail on the "New Radwan Fish"? I have 2 bags of Meyer lemons and would love to try this dish. I must also look for your juicer. My niece gave me one a few years back, and it's useless unless you're doing half a lime!

Finally got the Big Easy back from my brother's where we cooked the Xmas turkey for the family gathering. AND, the temperature's back to "tolerable" with no windchill warnings of -50C. Time to satisfy my need for BE chicken! Did two chickens so I'd have lots on hand to share and for lunch. The bottom one was marinated with "chicken rub" by a company called Szeged. I love their Hungarian Hot Paprika, so I thought I"d try their chicken rub. It's pretty basic but it was good. The top chicken is stuffed with Kaffir lime leaves - my favourite. With -18C temperatures, I was able to cook the 2 chickens in 1.5 hours. Did up some mixed vegetables in the wok, seasoned only with no-salt chicken broth. We had some moo gwa (hairy squash) soup with pork and rehydrated oysters about an hour before supper. Dessert was "previously frozen" durian, for which I have developed a craving since our trip to Malaysia! These are not as "aromatic" as the fresh, but they satisfy my need.,, I accidentally ate the little piece of mint with the durian, and it tasted great together!

Would love to get that lamb chop recipe. Lamb chops were just seasoned with Montreal Steak Spice and seared in a hot pan. They were great, especially with mint sauce...