Roasted shoulder of lamb for Easter

I hosted my parents for Easter this year, and in between doing several chores around the house (thanks, Dad!) and avoiding some nasty winter-ish weather, we ate pretty well.

I had in my mind that I wanted to serve up lamb for Sunday dinner, and naturally went first to Jamie Oliver to see what he suggested. I landed on his recipe for roasted shoulder of lamb, and immediately started to drool over his descriptions of flavourful meat that fell off the bone after four hours in a low oven. I happened to catch an episode of Jamie at Home earlier in the week, and we watched it on Friday evening, our mouths watering as Jamie demonstrated how an economical cut of meat (his term) could be transformed with slow, even cooking. We were sold and a menu of lamb was set.

Then came the difficult task of actually finding a lamb shoulder to cook. No luck at Farm Boy, or a butcher shop in the market. I asked my mum to try the butcher's in Lakefield (who were open on Good Friday -- heathens!), and nothing there either. Same result at Ralph's butcher shop in Norwood too.

I was worried we might have to resort to a lamb leg and admit defeat.

But I decided to give one last try on Saturday morning and we hit the jackpot at a very busy Glebe Meat Market. There were several shoulders to choose from, and the butcher offered to slice and dice it any way we wanted. We ended up with about a five pound roast, mostly shoulder with a few ribs attached. Off to the cash register where I forked over $36 for our little beauty. What was that you said about an economical cut, Jamie?? I supposed if you're a gazillionaire like our friend the Naked Chef, this isn't much money to spend on dinner. And it was a treat, I told myself, while silently cursing the lamb and muttering he'd better be worth it.

And worth it he (she?) was! This lamb was probably the most delicious I've ever had, if I do say so modestly and unashamedly. The best part is that's it was super simple to prepare with incredibly outstanding results.

Here's the roast before it went in the oven, covered in rosemary and garlic and lying in my new roasting pan, that I christened for the event. The pan was so massive that it didn't quite fit in my teeny tiny oven, and had to go in on an angle in order for the door to close.

And about four hours later, it came out looking like this. The bones fell right out and we could pull apart the meat with forks. So, so good.

Here's what the table looked like with good china and cutlery. Not baa-ad for a holiday meal, huh?

Increcible roasted shoulder of lamb
From Jamie at Home

• a large bunch of fresh rosemary
• 1 x 2kg shoulder of lamb
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bulb of garlic, unpeeled, broken into cloves

Preheat your oven to full whack. Slash the fat side of the lamb all over with a sharp knife. Lay half the sprigs of rosemary and half the garlic cloves on the bottom of a high-sided roasting tray, rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place it in the tray on top of the rosemary and garlic, and put the rest of the rosemary and garlic on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with tinfoil and place in the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 170°C/325°F/gas 3 and cook for 4 hours – it’s done if you can pull the meat apart easily with two forks.

Baked kale chips

Back in the dark ages when I earned my keep as a babysitter, I used to sit for one family who were more than a bit on the crunchy granoloa side of things. On my first night on the job, I had the typical tour of the house and learned about emergency phone protocols, bedtime routines and the like. When the tour landed in the kitchen, the mom turned the discussion to snacks.

"The kids can have some chips and juice before bed," she said, pulling a box of corn flakes from the cupboard. "The juice is in the fridge and the cups are above the sink."

"Great," I said. "And where are the chips?"

"Here," she said, pointing to the corn flakes. "We put them in a bowl and tell the kids they're chips. Clever, huh?"

Seriously? I was so flabbergasted I wasn't quite sure what to say, but I knew for sure those kids were getting a raw deal. I completely understand not wanting to feed your kids chips, but if that's how you feel, then don't sugar coat -- or in this case, corn coat -- the situation and pass off one food for another. What about popcorn as a snack? It's not that unhealthy, and at least it's a legitimate snack food and not a breakfast cereal posing as a latenight treat. Can you imagine how peeved those kids must have been when they actually experienced real chips for the first time? Talk about setting up your children not to trust you about anything!

I was reminded of that chip anecdote when I made these kale chips last week. If you read food blogs as I do, then you'll know that baked kale was all the foodie rage a while ago. Everyone was raving about its greatness, and it turns out, it was warranted praise. These chips really do bake into crisp, salty chips that you feel almost guilty snacking on. Now you're never going to be fooled into thinking they're potato chips, but with the crispy texture and salty kick, they are quite tasty. Think more of a seaweedy flavour rather than starch (and I mean that in a good way). Apart from the salt and a trace amount of oil, these chips are good for you too. Why not get some vitamin A and C the next time you snuggle in to watch a movie and fancy a snack?

Here's how the chips look pre-baking, all glisteny with oily goodness. I think you could experiment with different flavoured oils for a slightly different taste.

And after a while in the oven, they come out dehydrated and super crisp. Perhaps not the most attractive snack food you've ever seen, but believe me, they are good. And the bonus is they stayed crispy, covered and uncovered, for several days after they were baked. The chips are pretty fragile once they're baked, so you have to handle them delicately. One recipe I saw suggested crunching up the chips and adding to popcorn. It's a total doubling up of snack foods, but what's wrong with that?

Baked Kale Chips
Adapted from a bunch of inspiring places and found here

1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale (I used curly kale, but any kind will do. Apparently chard and other greens work well too.)
1 tablespoon olive oil (or enough to coat your leaves lightly)
Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Chickpea burgers

It's almost barbecue season! This weekend was the first real spring-like taste we've had so far in 2011. The snow is slowly retreating from my backyard, revealing some pretty nasty looking grass. I hope the lawn elves come by soon to rake everything up. But since it'll be several weeks before I actually haul my barbecue out of the garage and fire it up, I thought I would give these burgers a try. In truth, I wanted to make something with chickpeas again and this seemed like a nice compromise. As far as veggie burgers go, these ones are okay, but didn't knock my socks off. They're nicely spiced, but if I were to make them again, I'd increse the amount of spices and garlic. I also found them a bit too sweet with the carrot and red pepper. Maybe a little grated horseradish would provide a much-needed kick? Anyway, start by blending up the chickpeas, pepper and carrots in the food processor. You'll likely have to scrape down the sides several times to get everything the same consistency.

Blend until you end up with something like this. The result was much redder than I had anticipated, due to the pepper and carrot.

Then scrape the puree into a bowl and add in the oninons you sauteed earlier. The recipe says specifically not to brown them, so kindly ignore the brown flecks on mine. Note the spices in the right hand corner. Also, I didn't have bread crumbs, so I substituted in oats, the quick cooking kind. Oh, and you'll have to imagine half a cup of parsley, because I didn't have any of that either.

Shape into patties and set to bake on a pan drizzled with olive oil. The recipe says to make 10-12 patties, but I settled on seven. If you did go for a dozen, the burgers would be more slider size than a regular patty.

And here's what the final product looks like. I had to cook them a bit longer than stated, and I flipped them over part way through to get even browning on both sides. I didn't eat these burger style (e.g. on a bun with fixings) but you definitely could. For the leftovers, I'm going to whip up some kind of yogurt sauce for these. They need a little "something".

Chickpea burgers Adapted from The Three Greek Sisters and as seen on Cityline Preheat oven to 400F Makes 10-12 patties 2 tssp olive oil 1 yellow onion, diced 2 cups chickpeas, cooked 1 red pepper, deseeded and quartered 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 carrot, chopped 1 1/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cumin, group 1/4 tsp corriander, ground 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced olive oil for coating 1) Heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool. 2) Place the chickpeas, red pepper, garlic, and carrot in a food processor and pulse until all of the ingredients are blended. Transfer to the large bowl with the onions. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and use your hands to combine the ingredients. 3) Shape the mixture into patties and use a brush to lightly grease both sides of the patties with olive oil. 4) Transfer the patties to a baking sheet and place in the middle of a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the patties are golden-brown on both sides. 5) Use a spatula to remove the patties from the baking sheet. Serve on a bun with your favourite garnishes: pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, red onions, the possibilities are endless! NOTE … The chickpea mixture can be prepared on the morning of serving day and stored in the refrigerator until ready to shape into patties.

Creamy baked potato and celeriac

I had to dig into the recipe archives for this one, not because I haven't been cooking lately, but mostly because I haven't cooked anything new lately. I have however been eating some great things, including a messy, drippy, insanely good burger from this place. Seriously, if you live in Ottawa, go to Hintonburger as soon as possible. You may have to wait in a smoky line, and you may be forced to eat in your car, but you definitely won't be disappointed. But back to the dish at hand. I first made it for Christmas dinner, where it accompanied some roast beef for dinner. Christmas is long past, but with this weekend's chilly temperatures, you might be mistaken in thinking it was right around the corner. Brrr. Anyway, if you're looking for a hearty side to warm you up and fill your tummy, this one is great. It's from the brilliant Jamie at Home book, which is probably my favourite Jamie Oliver book to date. The dish is essentially a scalloped potato concoction, though perhaps a bit easier to throw together? (that's a total guess on my part as I've never made scalloped potatoes before.)

Begin by sourcing out a fresh brain. Kidding! This is celeariac, but it kinda looks like a brain doesn't it? You'll find it in the grocery store near the potatoes or other root veggies. It often has a lot of dirt stuck in all the cracks and crevices, so you'll have to use your knife to peel away all the craggy, bumpy bits to reveal the off-white flesh beneath. Celeriac, if you've never had it before, has a flavour somewhere in between a potato, parsnip and maybe a turnip. It's also great in soup, or even pureed as a side.

After you have all the veggies chopped, in they go to a pan to be covered by milk, sage and parmesan cheese. And after a while in the oven, out comes a bubbly, cheesy mess that I defy any one to pass up. Please forgive the blacked edges -- blame my dirty oven which I refuse to clean until I replace it! Creamy baked potato and celeriac From Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver 4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus a couple extra knobs, divided 2 pounds potatoes, peeled 1 small celeriac, peeled and halved Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 pint heavy cream (I used some milk and some cream) 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1/2 a small bunch fresh sage, leaves picked and roughly chopped 4 ounces freshly grated Parmesan, divided Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a large, shallow baking dish. Slice the potatoes and celeriac into disks just under 1-inch thick. Place the slices into a large pan, cover with cold water, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander and allow the vegetables to steam dry for a minute or so. Put back into the pan with the cream, chopped garlic, sage, half the Parmesan and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix together, then tip into the buttered baking dish and spread out evenly. Pour any mixture left in the pan over the top. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and cook in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not a lot of introduction needed for these cookies. They're made with 100 per cent whole wheat flour, which you would think would result in a dense, heavy product. But instead, these cookies have kind of a nutty, wheaty flavour, somewhat akin to digestive biscuits.

I brought a tin of them to work and it was empty by 10:30 a.m. What more proof do you need?

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Good to the Grain, by Kim Boyce and found on Orangette

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into ¼- and ½-inch pieces, or bittersweet chips

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. (If you have no parchment, you can butter the sheets.)

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to blend.

Put the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl, and blend on low speed until the flour is just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate, and mix on low speed until evenly combined. (If you have no stand mixer, you can do all of this with handheld electric beaters and/or a large, sturdy spoon.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then use your hands to turn and gently massage the dough, making sure all the flour is absorbed.

Scoop mounds of dough about 3 tablespoons in size onto the baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie. (I was able to fit about 8 cookies on each sheet, staggering them in three rows.)

Bake the cookies for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly browned. Transfer the cookies, still on parchment, to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

These cookies are very good while still warm from the oven, but I find that you can taste the wheat more – in a good way – once they’ve cooled.

Yield: about 20 cookies

Power up

Ever heard of the key power foods you're supposed to eat for maximum health? Well I managed to combine several of them into one meal this week. Bammo! Take that power foods.

So here's what I did: I boosted up regular old salmon cakes with two super health additions -- kale and quinoa. I had both cooked in advance, and added the chopped kale (probably 1/2 cup or so) to just about a cup of quinoa. Then, in went a tin of salmon, mashed a fork, some dried dill, two beaten eggs and lots of pepper and salt.

Here's how they looked in a pan with just about a teaspoon of olive oil. They were fairly wet, but still held together well.

I had them with an orange and fennel salad. Healthy and powerful!

Molasses oat bread

This weekend was fully of just about the crappiest weather we’ve seen so far this winter. First it snowed a bit on Friday night, then proceeded to rain, and rain, and rain, and then rain some more on Saturday. Then the temperature dropped off again Saturday night and it snowed, leaving approximately two feet of ice over every possible surface, which was then covered in 15 cm of snow. Imagine how happy I was on Sunday afternoon to spend almost two hours chipping my car out from its ice bubble, and then shovelling and clearing away shards and boulders of ice and snow from just about everything else.

This is the snow pile in front of my house. There's a complete shrub buried in there somewhere!

Needless to say, it was a good weekend to stay indoors and avoid anything that might be falling from the sky. And what could be a more perfect complement to a hibernation weekend than freshly baked bread?

In addition to the weather, a conversation with my Dad on Saturday where he mentioned how much he likes molasses inspired me to make this.

The molasses imparts a bit of sweetness to the loaf, and also turns it a soft brown colour. This is useful for fooling yourself into thinking this is actually a healthy, whole wheat loaf, when in fact it’s the kind of light and fluffy mix you only get with white flour. I let my loaf rise in the pan a bit too long (blame a nap), but it still turned out well. It’s great fresh, and warm from the oven, but also nice toasted with some honey drizzled on top.


Start by soaking your oats in some warm water.

And get the yeast started. Make sure it's fresh and the water's plenty warm.

Then add in the butter and molasses to the softened oats. The recipe calls for the butter to be at room temperature, but I wasn't convinced it would incorporate very well that way. So I ended up fishing it out and nuking it 'til it was melted.

Start kneading. This is a pretty sticky dough, so you'll need lots of flour.

Knead until everything comes together and it looks something like this.

And then it will look like this after an hour or so of rising. I covered the bowl in plastic and let it rise in the microwave (turned off) with a cut of hot water in it.

And then, by the second rise, it should look like this. I let this rise a little too long, but it didn't collapse.

And here it is fresh from the oven, smelling great. I found it didn't take quite as long to bake as the recipe said.

Want a slice?

Molasses-oat bread
Adapted from Bon Appetit, 1994 and found here

1/2 cup packed old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope dry yeast
6 tablespoons lightly unsulfured molasses
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour

Place 1/2 cup oats in large bowl of electric mixer fitted with dough hook; pour 3/4 cup boiling water over.

Let stand 30 minutes (water will be absorbed and oatmeal will be very soft).
pour 1 cup warm water into 2-cup glass measuring cup. sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. let stand until yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes.

Mix molasses, 2 tablespoons butter and salt into oat mixture in bowl. mix in yeast mixture.

Add enough flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form medium-soft dough, mixing at medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes.

Turn out dough onto floured surface. knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if dough is too sticky, about 5 minutes.

Form dough into ball. butter large bowl; add dough, turning to coat. cover bowl with plastic wrap, then towel.

Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F.

Butter 9×5-inch loaf pan.

Punch down dough; turn out into floured surface and knead 3 minutes.

Form into a loaf. transfer to prepared pan.

Cover with plastic, then towel; let rise in warm draft-free area until dough has risen about 1/2 inch above rim of pan, about 45 minutes.

Bake bread 10 minutes; reduce temperature to 350°F.

Bake 25 minutes longer. brush top of bread with glaze; sprinkle 1 tablespoon oats over. bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to rack to cool.