Just a little ditty that you might want to save for a special dinner, new years perhaps? I love scallops and seldom indulge, but once in awhile I can’t help myself. I pull into the parking lot where the resident fish bus is parked and load up on the good stuff from the coast. J despises the fact that anyone sells fish out of a school bus, so I make sure to go when he’s not with me. It’s not like the guys got salmon filets on the unwashed seats of school kids, I mean it’s all gutted and filled with freezers, what’s the big deal?
There are really so many ways to become enamoured with these little ocean morsels, seared, covered in butter and salt and pepper is my preferred method, super simple is sometimes best. You could serve these beauties with a nice mash, or grilled veggies, some steamed spinach and thick balsamic glaze or of course crispy shallots and sautéed kale with tamari.
So our celebrations are complete, we rang in the solstice with gift giving and a wonderful meal. J got me two handmade Japanese knives that are sharper than a serpents tooth. I mean they are the sharpest knives I’ve ever used, I barely touched a cucumber and it sliced right through. So now I’m trying to come up with a dish that involves copious amounts of finely chopped vegetables to show off the majesty of these knives. Any suggestions? Too bad I made french onion soup with ten onions last week with my incredibly dull knives.
Perfect Seared Scallops with Crispy Shallots and Kale
Author: Chantelle
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
10 scallops
1 Tbs+1 tsp clarified butter or ghee
1 tsp olive oil or coconut oil
salt+pepper
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
1 tsp tamari
1 shallot, very finely sliced
Instructions
Thoroughly dry the scallops and lightly sprinkle salt and pepper, heat a cast iron pan and add the clarified butter and oil, when it starts to smoke add the scallops, don't overcrowd the pan. Cook scallops for approx. 2 minutes per side, depending on their size it may take a bit less or more time. Refrain from turning unnecessarily as they won't brown up as nicely.
In a separate frying pan, heat up some more oil or clarified butter and add the shallot. Fry until crispy, add the kale and tamari and cover for 2 minutes until kale is nice and soft.
Happy Solstice everyone! The longest night is upon us, and I think we’re all ready to welcome back the light. This time of year, for me, is all about inner reflection, looking back on the last years happenings. It’s an exciting time to realize the potential that you can harness in 365 days. This time last year I had a little baby bump and had no idea what to expect but now I have this sweet little angel and it all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. I am so in love with life and the capacity for us all to achieve great things, to full fill our wildest dreams, to learn new skills, practice old ones and reformulate our outlook so that it serves us all the better.
After a day of frolicking around the city, people watching in the busy shopping mall and running around trying to get all the last minute goodies taken care of, I’m so glad that we’re celebrating solstice this year. The mad rush of the 24th is no longer looming because it just doesn’t matter, phew. Tomorrow morning we’ll get up slow, drink baileys and coffee, make a quiche or a giant frittata and open gifts while my dad films the whole thing. We’re roasting a beautiful free range turkey, complete with all the fix ins, and for the one and only time this year our entire family will sit down together and share a meal. I’m so incredibly grateful for all of this, I know what a monumental blessing it is to have a loving family, I wish everyone had that.
Now without further adieu, these little imitation ferrero rochers are delightful and a great little treat to spread joy with to all. I like to plop them into an egg carton for a makeshift box of chocolates. Of course, these beauties are free of unknown nasty preservatives or other weird ingredients, and I personally like them better than their commercial counterparts. All they need is some fancy gold wrapping and a little stick, et voila!
French onion soup can’t come from a packet, it cannot be had by a chemical laden powder. It’s essence is steeped with time and a wack load of onions which all melt down to practically nothing. There’s a reason why it’s french, the slow caramelization process is one which only the french could invent. Tried and true this recipe is one that my Grandmother taught me when I was about 10. It’s more of a technique than it is a recipe really. You can’t just fry up some onions and add stock, the depth of flavour comes from a long and slow all day melt down of the onions, perfect for a sunday afternoon or a start in the morning while the grass still clings to its frosty sleeve. Feel like you need a good cry but you just can’t let it out? French onion soup to the rescue, drown your sorrows while twelve onions force the raw emotion out of you, and then just let it melt away, allow the release just like the onions. You’ll see the volume of your onions wilt to 1/4 of their original fullness, what a great example they set.
Tomorrow morning we embark on a journey of epic proportions. A visit to the frozen wasteland of soviet like architecture, dear old Edmonton. While I’m happy to no longer live there, I adore my family and cannot wait to spend time with them. This year we’re having a solstice celebration before my brother and his fiancee depart for her families place. It’s baby Mavs first road trip so my fingers are crossed that he doesn’t learn how to unbuckle himself, as he has adeptly shown in the past. My outstanding procrastination skills have brought me here to this moment where its more important to write about classic french onion soup than it is to pack and get ready. I don’t care, I work best under pressure anyway.
1 baguette sliced and toasted (I used spelt sourdough) (optional)
½ C grated gruyere cheese
½ C grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter or ghee and add the onions,thyme and bay leaf. Stir and allow them to cook down for at least 3 hours, stirring every so often. Near the end give them a colour boost by amping up the heat for a few minutes and stirring continually.
With the heat on high, add the red wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate, cooking on high for about 2 minutes.
Add the beef stock, salt and pepper to taste and let it all come to a simmer.
Ladle to hot soup into 4 oven proof bowls, set oven to broil.
Top each bowl with a few pieces of toasted baguette and a generous amout of cheese. Place bowls on a baking tray in case of spillage and bake under the broiler until golden brown.
Those days when you wake up and realize the house is an absolute disaster, the plants are thirsty, the dust bunnies are about to come alive and yet all I want to do is cook and make more of a mess. The benefit of working in restaurants is you don’t usually have to do the dishes, creative prowess is unleashed when there’s no dishes involved, I swear. But I won’t let my creative urges be tamed, the dishes can pile up, until eventually someone decides to crank some bouncy tunes and get ‘er done. Until then, there’s this rejuvenating fennel salad speckled with sweet pods of the juiciest pomegranate ever, crunchy green and purple pistachios, salty firm organic feta all drizzled with a simple olive oil, lemon and sesame seed dressing. This salad is amazing by itself but I can only imagine would be the perfect side for lamb shanks or grilled chicken.
I know it’s time to get baking delicious festive treats but to tell the truth I haven’t been struck with the spirit yet. Actually it feels a lot more like March than December and I’m not complaining. Though I do hope there’s a bit of snow in Edmonton when we go for Christmas. By then I’ll likely post 7 cookie and treat recipes in 2 days because my mom decorates to the nines and even if there’s not a flake of snow on the ground it’ll still feel like christmas when we get there. Poor mom, she had to take down all her fake snow blankets and move baby Jesus and the crew over to a higher table so that baby Mav won’t pull them all to their demise. He’s getting pretty agile and his absolute favourite thing is to pull stuff off of high tables, but he’s certainly got some guardian angels watching over him. Yesterday he pulled down a light wicker shelf that had a heavy piece of pottery sitting on it along with my heavy golden snale, it missed him by an inch though I think he learned his lesson as it was quite the shock.
Let me just start by saying, I never knew making gravlax or lox as some call it, to be so astoundingly easy. If you’re unfamiliar gravlax is cured salmon, just as flavourful as smoked salmon without all the work. Seriously guys this is easier than cooking a salmon in the oven, it took me all of 5 minutes and 2 days in the fridge and the result is stunning! The colour from the beetroot is just unbelievable, wild salmon is beautiful to begin with but infuse it with beetroot and the monochromatic natural fuchsia hue is almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
Winter is officially here, it’s bloody hard to take a good photograph with the sun hidden behind the mountains all day. Now is the essential time to ensure we’re getting enough omega-3 and vitamin D. What’s more enjoyable way than salmon? Those who know me, know that I adore Jamie Oliver. His show Jamie Does, shows him gallivanting on foodie adventures all over the world. This recipe is from the Stockholm edition, I didn’t follow the recipe to the T but it worked out great anyways.
There you have it, I’m going to post my version of the recipe as well. This homemade beetroot gravlax is so beautiful just by itself but I have been enjoying it with fresh simple salads, poached eggs and with india curries.
This isn’t just your typical diner style spanish omelette. It’s loaded with caramelized onions, smoky chorizo sausage, sautéed kale and garlic, sprinkle a little feta cheese if you’re into that, regardless this omelette is fantastic and will get any day off to a great start. I’m not a morning person, but I have a little person that pulls my hair until I finally roll out of bed at 7am. Seriously I’m trying to be better, this new season of motherhood and early mornings isn’t going to change anytime soon. Every morning I try and think of what I’m grateful for while I’m still laying in bed, this simple practice sets such a positive tone for the day. Hearty breakfasts like this one make mornings all the better, I let the onions caramelize for an hour while I sip my coffee and the house fills with inviting smells. I will become a morning person, yes, I will.
Heat a medium sized frying pan or skillet and add oil or fat (I used bacon fat)
Add onions and turn heat to medium, let the onions gain some colour before turning the heat down and covering for up to an hour (you can skip this step if you don't want caramelized onions.)
Add chorizo and garlic, turn the heat up and sautee for a few minutes before adding kale, cook kale until it just begins to wilt. Remove from pan and set aside.
For the omelette, whip 3 eggs together, add a touch of oil or fat to your hot pan, pour the eggs in a steady stream and turn down the heat. Use a spatula to pull the egg from the edges to the middle allowing uncooked egg to fill in the gap. Cover for 1 minute.
Add half the chorizo mixture along the middle of the omelette and feta if you like. Cover for another minute and plate. Repeat for however many omelettes you want to make. Adorn with green onions and a squeeze of lemon.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
