An Easy Dinner with Falafel

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Our Growing Paynes

With the hot days of summer, I’ve been getting into a slight rut of salads and quick meals to make in order to stay cool. That’s getting old! So it was time to try something new. My sister had mentioned a few times that falafel is delicious so I thought I’d look into making it. Turns out, it’s very easy to make and is healthy to boot. I will definitely be making Falafel again.

I checked out several recipes then made up my own in order to have it fit into a low FODMAP diet. For example, instead of onions, I used green onion and replaced garlic with garlic infused oil. There are also two camps with Falafel. The traditional way is to get dried chickpeas and soak them. Or you can drain canned chickpeas and remove excess moisture with paper towels/kitchen roll. Purists, understandably, don’t like this method and that’s ok. You just need to use a bit of flour with canned chickpeas. I made the mistake the first time and didn’t use the flour as the mixture seemed quite firm. It wasn’t and we ended up with a falafel spread. Still tasted really good but not what I was going for!

I made homemade gyros and tzatziki sauce to go along with the falafel.

Technique for An Easy Dinner with Falafel

Drain the chick peas, also known as garbanzo beans, and let them sit for at least half an hour to dry a bit.

Put the rest of the ingredients, except the garlic oil, into a food processor.

Pulse the ingredients until they are well incorporated.

Heat up the oil in a large skillet. Form the falafel into palm sized oval patties.

Place into the skillet and cook until the bottom is browned then flip and cook until the other side is browned. While these are cooking, finish up the gyros and prep the ingredients you want in the gyros. I did up lettuce and tomatoes.

Layer the lettuce, tomato, falafel and tzatziki sauce onto the gyro.

Fold and enjoy.

We’ve been introducing more vegetarian meals to our diet. It’s cheaper, healthier and better for the environment. I read a fact the other day that half the world’s potato crops go to feed animals. Not that we’re giving up meat, just being more selective in our meals. We’re already in the habit of sourcing humanely raised local meat but it was time for more balance. Now, with a teenage boy in the house who is insisting on growing like a weed, I try to find meals he’ll down without skipping a beat. I was quite happy when he gave this meal a thumbs up. An Easy Dinner with Falafel has loads of flavour and seriously easy to make.

An Easy Dinner with Falafel

An easy recipe to make falafel that goes great with gyros and tzatziki sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword An Easy Dinner with Falafel

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

1 15oz can of chick peas/garbanzo beans
3/4 cup chopped scallions/spring onion
1 cup fresh parsley
1 cup fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 cup lemon juice 1oz
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp garlic infused oil

Instructions

Drain and rinse the chickpeas about a half hour before food prep.
Place all ingredients, except the garlic infused oil, into the food processer. Pulse until all the ingredients are incorporated and it's somewhat smooth.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Form the mixtures into palm sized oval patties. Place into the skillet and brown each sides until cook through.
Serve with homemade gyros and tzatziki sauce.

Chicken Curry with Mint

Posted on June 18, 2021 by Our Growing Paynes

This year is just ticking by so quickly. Our daughter went back to college for the spring semester and poof she’s back again. Which is fine by us! Before she dashed off to be an EMT at overnight camp for the summer, we tried to make the dinners she liked to get some good homemade food into her. Times like this gets rarer and rarer, as it should be, as she starts leading her life. With one more year of having our son home, we best get on board with the empty nest bit. Despite having an early nasty heat wave, we’ve been lucky with having a decent spring this year so I was happy to make, at our daughter’s request, a Chicken Curry with Mint and my husband made Naan on our grill.

During the heat wave here in town, there was a food festival downtown. Our town had lifted the mask mandate a few days prior as our vaccination rates are pretty high. It was so nice to do something normal but also felt so weird walking round without a mask. We did come away with a few new inspirations for dishes to make at home. Despite the heat, we had a lot of fun letting our hair down so to speak!

Technique for Chicken Curry with Mint

I took inspiration from the book called the Best Ever Curry Cookbook by Mridula Baljekar. The original recipe is call Karahi Chicken with Mint. A Karahi is like a wok. Given where we are currently staying, we can’t use the wok on the glass stove top so I used a skillet. I also adjusted the recipe based on what I had in the pantry. The recipe called for boiling the chicken. I’m not a fan of that technique, I prefer sautéing chicken.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and begin to sauté the chicken. After a few minutes, when the chicken starts to brown add the scallions/spring onions and ginger to the skillet.

I’ve been using minced ginger as I find it’s less waste than buying the fresh and not being able to use it up in time. It still has quite the punch of flavour. Stir well and cook until the scallions/spring onions start to soften.

At this point, add the rest of the ingredients. Instead of fresh tomatoes that were called for in the original recipe I like to used diced fire roasted tomatoes. The flavour is more concentrated which is perfect for this dish. Bring to a simmer and cook for about ten minutes on low medium heat. This is when you should taste test the curry. Adjust any flavours as needed. I added more ginger to this. I should have added more mint as it wasn’t as strong a note as I would have liked. There isn’t any right or wrong way to do this. If you like it, it’s good.

Once the naan is grilled, serve up the Chicken Curry with Mint. It was a lovely spring evening in the back garden listening to the cat birds demanding more grape jelly. They are so vocal! We finished off the evening with having a fire and making s’mores. I love family evenings like this.

Chicken Curry with Mint

Chicken Curry with Mint is a warming curry that is flavourful and very easy to make

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Chicken Curry with Mint

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 3

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegtable oil
1 lb skinless and boneless chicken breast, cut into strips 450g
3 scallions/spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp minced ginger 30ml
14 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tsp chili flakes
1-2 tbsp lemon juice 30ml
2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro/coriander leaves 30ml
2 tbsp freshly chopped mint 30ml
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Sauté the chicken until it starts to brown.
Add the scallions/spring onions and ginger to the skillet. Stir well and cook until the scallions/spring onions begin to soften.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low medium for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavours to come together. At this time adjust any flavours as needed to your liking.
Serve with naan or rice. Garnish with the fresh herbs.

Sun-dried Tomato Tuscan Sauce

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Our Growing Paynes

Yesterday we got a teaser of spring and it was wonderful. Warm, sunny and energizing. I was very happy to see the sun battling the ice. The ice and I have been on particularly bad terms this year as I slipped at the beginning of January and broke my finger. I did finally order Yak Traks, though they don’t work on very slick ice. There have been a few near splits as well so bring on spring. Sadly, I know there will be a few more snow storms but I’ll just pretend while it lasts.

As we’re still in winter, comforting food is still important. I had seen several versions of a Tuscan Parmesan sauce and thought I would do my own version and make a Sun-dried Tomato Tuscan Sauce. I had my dish with pan seared salmon and did up pan seared chicken for my husband and son. I love salmon, I could eat it every day.

While this would be perfectly delicious with pasta but I wanted to keep it lighter so I did roast potatoes and a bed of fresh baby spinach.

Technique for Sun-dried Tomato Tuscan Sauce

Because this is a relatively quick sauce, particularly if you use sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, start cooking the chicken first. I pan seared the chicken in a large skillet before finishing it off in the oven while I made the sauce.

In the skillet that was used for the chicken add a bit more olive oil. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook on medium low for a few minutes. Since we moved, we no longer have our gas stove and boy do I miss that control gas gives you over electric. You have to anticipate the heat level. Once the sun-dried tomatoes have cooked for a couple of minutes, add the scallions and garlic. Cook for a further couple of minutes.

Add the white wine and let reduce for a minute. At this point start pan searing the salmon. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Add the cream to the skillet with the sun-dried tomatoes. Bring to a simmer but don’t boil.

Once the sauce starts to thicken a bit add the parsley and parmesan cheese.

When the chicken and salmon are almost finished toss in the spinach and allow it to wilt a bit.

To plate, place a handful of fresh baby spinach on the plate. Lay the salmon on the spinach and spoon the sauce over the salmon. Grate fresh parmesan over the dish and serve immediately.

Sun-dried Tomato Tuscan Sauce

Flavours of Italy can be found in this easy and delicious sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Sun-dried Tomato Tuscan Sauce

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

1 Salmon fillet per person
2-3 tbsp olive oil
5-7 sun-dried tomatoes sliced
1 scallion/spring onion sliced
1-2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup white wine 4oz
3/4 cup heavy cream 6oz
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 handful of fresh baby spinach per plate
sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute for a few minutes.
Add the garlic and scallions. After cooking for a couple of minutes add the white wine. Simmer to reduce down about a third. Lower the heat and add the cream. Don't boil, just simmer.
Start pan searing the salmon in a skillet with some olive oil so it will be done about the time the sauce is finished.
As the sauce starts to thicken, add the parmesan cheese and parsley. Season the sauce with sea salt and pepper.
Once the salmon nearly finished, add the cup of spinach to the sauce to wilt.
To plate, add a handful of fresh baby spinach. Place the salmon on the spinach and spoon the sauce over the salmon. Grate fresh parmesan over the dish and serve immediately.

Bok Choi with Shiitake Mushrooms

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Our Growing Paynes

This longer than intended break from blogging occurred because we had a big change in our lives. As those that follow me know, we’ll be moving back to the UK next year so we would have had to sell our home. We always thought it would take awhile to sell our home as it’s not like a lot of people are clamouring for Queen Anne Victorians. Who’d have thought in a raging pandemic, the real estate market would set itself on fire? So suddenly we were faced with several weeks going flat out to get the house ready and list it. In a few days it was under agreement. So we had to find a rental quickly and get a move on, literally.

This all meant we were too tired and stressed to think about cooking creatively. There were a lot of takeaways and routine throwing meals together. As we’ve settled into our temporary home, we’ve started to breath again and it was time to have fun with cooking again.

My sister loves authentic Chinese food and we were talking about how hard that is to find in this country and I was intrigued about recipes. Luckily, I have a colleague, whose family is from China, and I picked her brains. She gave me a couple of recipes, one of which is this one. I added the rice noodles and seared marinated pork.

Technique for Bok Choi and Shiitake Mushrooms

This is a very easy meal to make, you just need to do a couple things at least an hour before.

Boil water and cover the shiitake mushrooms until they are covered by at least an inch/2.5cm. Set aside to rehydrate the mushrooms. You’ll want to keep the liquid for later.

Trim any tough fat and fibers from the pork. Mix the ingredients for the marinade and make sure the pork loin is coated well. Chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Heat up the garlic infused olive oil in a large skillet. Sear both sides of the pork and transfer the pork to a baking dish and cook until done. Cook the rice noodles at this point according the directions on the package.

Depending on the size of the bok choi cut in half or quarter them. Wash and dry them and set aside.

In the skillet the pork was seared in add the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms. Sauté them in the oil for a minute or so and then add the liquid from the mushrooms and the sherry, simmer on low for a couple of minutes.

Add the chicken stock with the corn flour and bring to a boil. Reduce slightly and lower the temperature so it is a low simmer. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Add the bok choi. Keep turning as it cooks so the bok choi is evenly coated with the sauce. Cook until the bok choi starts to soften. I like my greens to be on the crisp side but feel free to cook until soft all the way through. It’s a texture thing with me. Remove the bok choi from the sauce and then add the rice noodles to the sauce and toss until the noodles are evenly coated.

Slice the pork once it’s had a chance to rest for several minutes. Add the noodles to the plate and then layer the pork and bok choi. Serve immediately.

I found this Bok Choi with Shiitake Mushrooms delicious but very mild in flavour. When I talked to my colleague, she mentioned sometimes adding hoisin sauce to make this dish bolder. I will have to try that next time. It was so nice to get cooking again, I can’t tell you.

Bok Choi with Shiitake Mushrooms

A flavourful dish with sherry and mushrooms

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Marinade for Pork Loin

2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp rice vinegar
Sea salt and Pepper
1 lb pork loin 453 grams

Bok Choi and Shiitake Mushroom

3 medium sized bok choi
7-10 dried shiitake mushrooms depending on size
1/2 cup liquid from mushrooms 4oz
3 tbsp dry cooking sherry
1/2 cup chicken stock 4oz
1 tbsp corn starch/corn flour
sea salt and pepper
1 package of rice noodles

Instructions

Pork Loin

Trim the pork loin of any tough fat or fibers.
Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the pork, making sure it's well coated. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Sear both sides of the pork loin and then cook in the oven until done.

Bok Choi and Shiitake Mushrooms

Cut the shiitake mushrooms in half or quarters. Boil water and cover the mushrooms by at least an inch/2.5cm. Set aside to rehydrate. Keep the liquid.
Cut the bok choi in half and clean and dry.
Once the mushrooms have rehydrated add them to the skillet with hot olive oil. Sautè for a few minutes before adding the liquid from the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes on a simmer, reducing the liquid then add the sherry. Keep it on a low simmer.
Mix the corn starch/corn flour with the chicken stock and mix well so there aren't any lumps. Add it to the skillet and bring to a boil. Stir well so it doesn't catch on the bottom then reduce to a simmer. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add more sherry if needed.
While the sauce is being made, cook and drain the rice noodles.
Add the bok choi to the skillet and turn as it cooks so the sauce coats the bok choi evenly. Cook it to the degree of softness you prefer.
Remove the bok choi and set aside. Add the rice noodles to the skillet and toss so they are coated in the noodles.

Plating

Add the noodles to the plate. After resting the pork loin for a several minutes, slice it and place it on the noodles. Add the bok choi, serve immediately.

Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

Where we live, the length of our growing season isn’t guaranteed. Winter can be 4-6 months long depending on the mood of Mother Nature so second harvests of veg usually isn’t in the cards. But my husband decided to experiment a bit with the peas. The packet always says you can do two plantings but we’ve never had luck with that but he took peas from the pods that had gone past it a bit and planted those peas. Lo and behold, it worked! We did have to cover them a few times with the frosts we’ve had. Thank goodness as there seems to be a shortage of peas in the grocery shops and it’s a key veg in my Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork.

With this insane year it has been fascinating what becomes scarce in the shops. Now it’s peas but I’ve had trouble getting Coleman’s mustard, Old Bay seasoning and sour cream. Olives were scarce but that must be because of the spike in martini drinking. Like most people, a crystal ball would be handy so I can try to stay ahead of the curve!

I like mixing it up with risotto, it is such a versatile ingredient so it’s fun to think outside the box. I was in the mood for more German inspired flavours for this dish and I love trappist ale. It’s a great pairing with Jarlsberg cheese that is in this dish.

Technique for Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

You couldn’t get an easier marinade if you tried. Beer, mustard, sea salt and pepper. That’s it.

Stir the ingredients and add the pork. Cover and chill for about an hour.

When it is time to cook the risotto, prep all the ingredients and get the grill heated. In a large skillet, heat up the garlic infused olive oil. Add the scallions and mushrooms.

Sauté for a few minutes, then add the risotto.

Cook for a minute. Add the mustard and stir well. Cook for another minute then add the beer.

As the liquid reduces, gradually add the veg bouillon to the dish while stirring frequently. When you start adding the bouillon, add the peas. At this point start grilling the pork. Cooking the risotto will take about 20-25 minutes. You don’t want it boiling but a decent simmer is good.

When you put in the last of the bouillon, add the cheese. There needs to be enough liquid for the cheese to melt into.

Once the pork is cooked, allow it to rest a few minutes before slicing it.

Top the risotto with the sliced pork and grate some Jarlsberg over the dish. Serve immediately.

It’s such a good feeling to be able to use and eat food that we grew ourselves, can’t get more local than that!

Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

A fun twist on risotto with trappist ale and Jarlsberg cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine German

Keyword Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

Grilled Pork

1 lb Pork Loin 453g
1 cup Trappist ale 8oz
2 tbsp stone ground mustard
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trappist Ale Risotto

2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1/2 medium sized scallion/green onion chopped
3-5 shiitake mushrooms chopped
2 tbsp stone ground mustard
1 cup Trappist ale 8oz
1 1/2 cup risotto 290g
1 cup frozen peas 130g
5 cups veg bouillon, needs to be hot. 40oz
1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese 85g
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Grilled Pork

Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the pork loin. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
Heat the grill to medium high. Cook the pork until very light pink in the centre. Once cooked, let it rest for several minutes before slicing.

Trappist Ale Risotto

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the scallions/spring onions and mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes.
Add the risotto and cook for a minute. Then add the mustard. Stir well and cook for another minute. Then add the Trappist Ale. Cook again for another minute.
Begin adding the bouillon 1/2-1 cup at a time. Add the peas at this point as well. You don't want the risotto to be boiling but you want a good simmer going. As the liquid reduces, add more bouillon. Throughout this process stir frequently.
When the last of the bouillon is being added, add the cheese. Stir well and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Putting it all together

Slice the pork. Spoon the risotto onto a plate. Place the pork on top of the risotto and grate Jarlsberg over the top. Serve immediately.

Roasted Curry Chicken

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

I got the idea to do this Roasted Curry Chicken during this past weekend when we had a yard sale. There was a definite need for a clear out and I hate throwing things in the tip when someone else might find a use for something. One customer had some butternut squash in her car and she gave me some. As she loves habaneros, we did a trade. I thought the butternut squash would be great with a curry dish. Sadly the squash was rotten from within.

Luckily I bought some Japanese sweet potatoes. They aren’t orange like regular sweet potatoes and aren’t as sweet but their flavour is perfect to pair with a spicy curry.

This dish is perfect for a busy evening. Most of this was cooking while I walked the dogs. It’s important to have quick flavourful and nutritious meals in the back pocket for when life gets hectic. Still need to eat well!

Oh, I had forgotten to mention the excitement we had in my previous post. It was a Sunday afternoon and we noticed some activity in our front yard. Out we went and the people immediately said “don’t go into your back garden!” Turns out there was a 400lb male black bear on walkabout. This photo was about 50 feet from our driveway. A beautiful beast.

Technique for Roasted Curry Chicken

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. If you have a convection/fan oven, use that.

Slice the Japanese sweet potato and brush with olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

In a baking dish, place the chicken thighs in the dish. Add the chicken stock and season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and curry powder. Cover and place the chicken and sweet potatoes in the oven. It will take 30-45 minutes for both to cook. Half way through cooking, remove the cover from the chicken so the skin will roast nicely.

In a skillet, heat up the garlic infused olive oil. Begin sautéing the scallions, red pepper, mushrooms and the habanero. As the habanero came from our garden, I only used half as they pack quite the punch.

Add the minced ginger, tomatoes, chili powder, curry powder, cumin and cilantro/coriander leaves. Bring to a simmer. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

I do love roasted chicken.

The chicken and sweet potato should be done about the same time. Serve immediately after spooning the tomato mixture over the chicken. Enjoy!

Roasted Curry Chicken

A warming meal that is quick and easy to make on a busy evening.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword Roasted Curry Chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

2 Japanese sweet potatoes sliced in half
4 chicken thighs with bone in and skin
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock 4oz
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
2 tbsp chopped scallions/green onion 11g
2 tbsp chopped red pepper 18g
1/2 habanero chopped
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes 14oz
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2-1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. If you have a convection/fan oven, use that.
Slice the Japanese sweet potato in half lengthwise. Brush the halves with olive oil and then season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place on a baking sheet.
In a baking dish, place the chicken thighes in the dish, skin side up. Sprinkly the curry powder over the chicken and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the chicken stock. Cover the dish.
Place the sweet potato and chicken in the oven. Cook for 30-45 minutes. About halfway through, remove the cover from the chicken so the skin roasts and gets nice and crispy.
Heat the garlic infused olive oil in a skillet. Add the scallions/green onions, red pepper, mushrooms and habanero. Sauté for a few minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Stir frequently so the tomato doesn't catch on the bottom. Simmer until the sweet potato and chicken are cooked.
To serve, place the sweet potato and chicken on the plate. Spoon the tomato mixture over the chicken and serve immediately.

Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

I spied a treat at the shop the other day in the form of Coho wild salmon. I’m not a fan of farmed fish so I love it when certain types come into season. I was in the mood to recreate a dish my mum used to make when I was younger. When I used to work with her she would bring in the previous night’s leftovers so I was lucky to eat well right out of university. At least one decent meal a day! One of my favourites was salmon, peas and potatoes. So I made Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce with jacket potatoes and peas from our garden.

I chose dill sauce because I had a lot of fresh dill left over from making my husband Hungarian mushroom soup. I’ve realised I have not done a post on that so I shall have to make it again and do up a post to share.

Technique for Grilled Salmon and Dill Sauce

Heat the grill so it’s nice and hot. This will give the salmon a nice sear while keeping the centre moist. Slice a lemon. Place the slices on the grill and place the salmon on the lemon slices. It keeps the salmon from burning and gives it a lovely lemon flavour.

In a small saucepan, heat up some garlic infused olive oil. If you can have garlic, use two chopped cloves and regular olive oil. Sauté the chopped dill for a few minutes.

Add the mustard and the white wine and simmer to reduce a bit. Turn down the heat to low.

Add the cremé fraîche, this is a lovely alternative to regular cream. Stir in the cremé fraîche and keep it warm on low heat. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Spoon the sauce over the salmon and serve. This is such an easy dish to make but you are rewarded with high end flavour.

Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

A perfect pairing of dill and seafood.

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 2

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

1/2 lb Fresh salmon 226g
1 lemon, sliced
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tbsp stone ground mustard
1/3 cup white wine 2.5oz
3 tbsp cremé fraîche
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Grilled Salmon

Season the salmon with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Slice the lemon
Heat the grill to high heat. Place the slices of lemon onto the grill and place the salmon on the lemon. Grill until the fish has a nice sear and the centre is cooked to medium. Slightly pink in the centre.

Dill Sauce

In a small saucepan, heat up the garlic infused olive oil and sauté the dill for a few minutes.
Add the mustard and white wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce for a couple of minutes.
Lower the heat to the lowest setting. Add the cremé fraîche. Mix well and keep it just warm. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Putting it together

Place the grilled salmon on a plate and spoon the dill sauce over the salmon and serve immediately.

Moroccan Grilled Steak

Posted on September 17, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

We are getting into cool humidity free weather and I’m loving it. It is so refreshing to be outside and not feel suffocated by a blanket of thick air. While I don’t jump on the fad of pumpkin spice, seriously that is out of control, I do love bringing back warming flavours in our cooking. I needed to come up with a dish to use the aubergines in our garden so I made a Moroccan Grilled Steak dish. Perfect for the cooler evenings, though this weekend we are already under a frost warning. I really hope that doesn’t mean winter is too close! We’ll need to bring out the blankets for the veg so we can keep them going.

I made this with steak but this could easily be made with chicken, lamb or even tofu. I also made this with garlic infused olive oil but feel free to throw in a few cloves of garlic.

Technique for the Moroccan Grilled Steak

At least a couple of hours prior to making dinner, prepare the steak and the marinade. I like using steak tips as I’m grilling and they generally come out nice and tender even after the high heat of the grill.

Put the marinade ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well. Add the steak and make sure it’s covered well.

Cover and place in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. When it is time to cook dinner, grill the steak, giving it a nice sear. I grill my steak about 8 minutes, turning it half way through, as I like it on the rare side. Time it with the rest of the meal so it has several minutes to rest.

Technique for the Veg and Couscous

I prefer Israeli couscous over the regular couscous but using the regular couscous will work perfectly well. Just cook it according to the directions. Cook the couscous while the veg is cooking.

Sauté the aubergine and shiitake mushrooms in the garlic infused olive oil for a few minutes before adding the scallions and cilantro/coriander leaves. Then add the remaining marinade to the skillet. If you need more sauce, just increase the ingredients of the marinade equally to keep the balance of the flavours.

Add the cooked couscous and the chopped stems of the swiss chard. Cook for a minute or so then add the chopped leaves of the swiss chard. Cook for a minute until the leaves wilt a bit.

Slice the steak and serve over the veg and couscous mixture. This is a great dish to welcome autumn back and to use up the veg in the garden before the frost hits. Fingers crossed we get an autumn longer than a couple of weeks!

Moroccan Grilled Steak

Moroccan Grilled Steak with Israeli Couscous and Aubergine

Course Main Course

Cuisine Moroccan

Keyword Moroccan Grilled Steak

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Moroccan Grilled Steak

1 lb steak tips 453g
1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamin
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
dash lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Couscous and veg

1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous 183g
2 cups aubergine/eggplant cubed 130g
2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
2 cups shiitake mushroom, chopped 60g
1/2 cup sliced scallions 15g
2 cups swiss chard, chopped 40g

Instructions

Moroccan Grilled Steak

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl and add the steak. Cover and place in the fridge. Marinate for at least a couple of hours.
When it is time to cook dinner, heat the grill on high and cook the steak. You want the outside seared well. As I prefer the steak to be on the rare side, I cook it for 4 minutes then turn and cook another 4 minutes. Rest for several minutes.

Israeli couscous and Veg

Cook the couscous according to the instructions on the box or bag.
Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the aubergine and shiitake mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes.
Add the cilantro/coriander leaves and scallions and cook for a few minutes. Then add the marinade used for the steak. If you need more sauce, add the ingredients of the marinade in the proportions of the original marinade until you have enough sauce. Do a bit at a time so you suddenly don't have soup.
Add the cooked couscous and the stems of the chopped swiss chard. Cook again for a minute or so then add the chopped leaves of the swiss chard. Cook until they start to wilt.

Putting it together

Slice the steak. Spoon the couscous and veg mixture onto the plate and top with the steak. Serve.

Southwest Quinoa Wrap

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

One upside to the high heat of summer is this is the time where our veg gardens start really giving up their bounty. This year our 8 tomato plants are acting like we planted 30 plants. On the other hand, our leeks have decided this year is not their year. Thankfully, our local co-op has all the seasonal fresh produce. Plenty to make a Southwest Quinoa Wrap.

This is a vegetarian dish that has loads of protein but it is very easy to add meat or seafood to this dish. This is also low FODMAP if you stick with the portions allowed for the ingredients. For example, I have corn and black beans in this dish. Corn if kept under 38g is good and black beans need to be under 40g. This dish has enough ingredients that this isn’t an issue.

I’m also trying to find meals that are healthy but filling enough for a teenage boy. The way he eats, he should be at least 7 foot tall by now!

Technique for Southwest Quinoa Wrap

Prep all the ingredients while the quinoa is cooking. The quinoa takes about 20 minutes to cook but the rest cooks quickly.

In a skillet, heat up the olive oil and begin to cook the scallions, leeks, corn and black beans.

Add the chili powder, cumin, lime juice and cilantro/coriander leaves. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Mix in the cooked quinoa.

Start layering the fresh ingredients on the quinoa wrap. I included some mung beans that we needed to use up. That’s the great thing about this dish, there isn’t any wrong veg to use.

Add the cooked mixture and top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Salsa would be a nice addition but it’s not always low FODMAP.

This was a delicious and filling meal. Though to be honest my son had more before he went to bed. At least he’s not eating junk!

Southwest Quinoa Wrap

A delicious vegetarian dish that fits with the low FODMAP diet

Course Main Course

Cuisine Southwest

Keyword Southwest Quinoa Wrap

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

8 Quinoa Wraps
1 cup cooked quinoa 185g
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped leeks 89g
1/2 cup chopped scallions/spring onions (the green part) 50g
1 cup frozen corn 164g
1 cup black beans, drained 260g
1-2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
lettuce
cucumber, sliced
tomato, sliced
carrot, sliced
mung beans
dollop of sour cream
shredded cheese

Instructions

Cook the quinoa according to the package's instructions. Takes about 20 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Cook the scallions, leeks, corn and black beans for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, sea salt, pepper, lime juice and cilantro/coriander leaves. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the lettuce, tomato, cucumber and carrot to the centre of the quinoa wrap.
Add in the cooked quinoa to the skillet and mix well.
Spoon the heated veg mixture over the centre of the wrap. Add the sour cream and shredded cheese. You can also top with salsa. Fold the wrap and cut into two. Serve the dish.

Scallops with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

We’re in the thick of summer with high heat and soup like humidity, my least favourite weather. I feel like we hibernate more in the summer than we do in the winter but the heat just saps all energy out of the body. This calls for quick and light meals such as Scallops with Sun-dried Tomatoes.

We should be getting a break in the weather this weekend. I really hope for once the weather people are correct. So often we are disappointed given how erroneous the forecast often is. Very rarely we are pleasantly surprised!

Technique for Scallops with Sun-dried Tomatoes

This recipe is low FODMAP as I use garlic scapes instead of garlic. Obviously if you don’t have to worry about garlic, use that instead as it gives more of that lovely garlic flavour.

Garlic scapes are in season at the moment and they do lend a fresh flavour to this dish.

Heat the oil to medium in a skillet. Start slowing sautéing the tomatoes to release their flavour and to soften them a bit. Keep frequently to keep it from catching. I made the error of getting distracted with something else and burnt the first batch of tomatoes.

Add the scapes and sauté for a couple of minutes before adding the lemon juice and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Meanwhile prep the scallops by dabbing them with paper towels/kitchen roll to dry them a bit. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place into a skillet with the hot oil. Allow to cook for a few minutes until they freely come away from the skillet.

Turn over and cook the other side.

I roasted potatoes in duck fat, such a guilty pleasure! Place the scallops over a bed of greens and top with the sun-dried tomato mixture. As my husband and son don’t like seafood I marinated steak with balsamic vinegar, grilled it and served it with the sun-dried tomatoes.

Scallops with Sun-dried Tomatoes

A flavourful Italian summer meal with garlic scapes and sun-dried tomatoes

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Scallops with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

8 Sea Scallops
2 tbsp olive oil for scallops
2 tbsp olive oil for sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes 1oz
1/3 cup chopped garlic scapes 2oz
1 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Scallops

Dab scallops with paper towel/kitchen roll to remove excess moisture. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Heat up the olive oil in a skillet. Place the scallops into the skillet. Cook on one side until the scallops freely move from the skillet. Turn and cook the other side.

Sun-dried Tomato mixture

Heat the olive oil in a skillet to medium heat. Start cooking the sun-dried tomatoes. Stir frequently to keep the tomatoes from catching.
After a few minutes add the garlic scapes. Sauté for a couple of minutes then add the lemon juice. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Putting it all together

On a bed of greens, place the scallops. Top with the sun-dried tomato mixture and serve.