Niku dango (Japanese meatballs)

We make niku dango every couple of weeks. It's a beFOODled favourite and a family recipe. The meatballs are made from minced pork and made even more delicious by cooking in a sweet and sticky soy sauce. They are perfect over rice. Sometimes I add a layer of spinach or arugula in between the rice and meatballs to sneak in some veggies. Lately I've been making extra rice so that we can have fried rice the next day.

Niku Dango (Japanese meatballs)

Meatballs
500 g ground pork
one onion, minced
one inch piece of ginger, minced
4 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (optional)
1 tsp dijon mustard (optional)
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

Sauce
5 Tbsp each of sugar, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
water
a little cornstarch for thickening

In a bowl, combine the meatball ingredients: pork, onion, ginger, mushrooms, sugar (and breadcrumbs and mustard, if using) and salt and pepper. Gently combine the ingredients using a fork. Form into two-inch meatballs.

In a large wide-bottomed frying pan or Dutch oven, heat some olive oil on medium heat. Add all of the meatballs, turning several times to brown the outsides on two or three sides.

Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a pitcher and stir. Add enough water to make the sauce up to two cups.

When the meatballs have browned on three sides, pour all of the sauce into the pan. Stir to coat all the meatballs. Bring to a boil, then cover the pan and lower the heat to simmer for five-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Serve five meatballs with a little sauce on top of rice with chopped green onions for garnish. You'll have lots of leftovers for lunch the next day.

French onion soup

From the archives ... but pic is new!

I've blogged about French onion soup before (here's the recipe) but just had to mention it again. I make this soup often and always take lots of pictures because it's so photogenic. Here's a shot with a tempting spoonful just ready for a lucky someone (in this case S) to take a bite.

I make this soup in the slow cooker and we get about three meals each. Lately I've been making extra croûtes with the Gruyère so that we can keep dipping once the top layer is gone.

This soup is so delicious and always reminds me of our culinary vacation in France, where we learned Provençal cooking and which I documented on this blog over several posts in the fall of 2008. I did my very best to eat French onion soup every day, at least during the few days that we were in Paris where it seems to be on every menu. To this day, we still reminisce about our trip to France over French-onion-soup days ♥

French lentil soup with sausage and potato

I've taken to making a big batch of this thick, hearty soup quite regularly. It makes a nice hot lunch for S to take to work and also fortifies us for lifting heavy babies. A big pot lasts us a week and is great value for the cost of the ingredients, most of which are common pantry items.

I use a chunk of parmesan in place of salt because it adds flavour as well as saltiness. I usually make this soup with either potato or chickpeas, but I've listed both here for an extra-chunky, winterized version. I hope you find this recipe as delicious as we do. S is not big on veggies let alone lentils, but even he loves the flavour parade this soup brings out.

French lentil soup with sausage and potato

2 Tbsp olive oil for frying

2 medium onions, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery sticks, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup lentils de Puy

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp herbes de Provence

2 bay leaves

1 chunk (or rind) of parmesan cheese

8 cups water

1 package “Little Gems” new potatoes, quartered, or 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

meat from 2 sausages (chorizo, mild Italian or hot Italian are nice)

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

chopped parsley

Put the lentils in a bowl and rinse with cold water four times or until the water runs clear. Set aside.

On the stove, warm the olive oil in the bottom of a big stock pot on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions, celery and carrot. Stir until tender but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic after five.

Add the rinsed lentils, tomatoes, bay leaves, herbes de Provence, parmesan and water to the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

If using chickpeas, drain them in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Set aside.

Score the sausages lengthwise with a sharp knife to separate the meat from the skins. Discard the skins and set aside the meat. I usually crumble it in by hand when it's time to add it to the soup.

After the soup has simmered for thirty minutes, add the potatoes and/or chickpeas and chunks of sausage meat. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, topping up with half a cup of water if needed.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar and serve. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Thai coconut chicken soup

One rotisserie chicken goes a long way. I bought one last weekend and we had it four ways: a Friday night dinner of drumsticks and fries with Swiss Chalet sauce from a package, then chicken breast and arugula baguette sandwiches for lunches, then homemade chicken stock and the rest of the meat to make this soup!

Thai coconut chicken soup

4 cups chicken stock
1 400-ml can unsweetened coconut milk
2 small red chiles, finely sliced and no seeds
1 lemongrass stalk, cut into long pieces
3 Tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce, but then omit the salt)
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
pinch of salt
6 cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded 
juice of half a lime
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Bring the chicken stock and coconut milk to a boil in a stock pot.

Reduce heat and add the chiles, lemongrass, fish sauce, ginger and salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add in the mushrooms, chicken and lime juice. Simmer for five minutes. Remove the lemongrass and sprinkle with cilantro before serving.

Fish chowder with onion and cheddar scones

Our parents took turns staying with us after the babies were born. They cooked for us and we were so thankful because we had no time to feed ourselves. After a week of gross hospital food, home cooking tasted incredible! They're all great cooks. This soup is among my favourites from those early days with newborns. It's my mom's recipe and it's delicious, filling and comforting.

You can use any fish but it's best to do a combo of sturdy fishes (halibut, tilapia, monkfish, lobster, etc.) and delicate ones, like haddock and sole. The sturdy fishes hold together to add chunkiness, whereas the delicate ones fall apart and add to the texture of the broth. My mom added a small piece of smoked fish, which took the flavour to an even deeper dimension. I recently made this again with onion and cheddar scones from Joy of Cooking.

Fish chowder

olive oil for frying
two medium onions, finely chopped
three celery stalks, finely chopped
torn celery leaves
two medium carrots, finely chopped
small new potatoes, I used one bag of "little gems", quartered
assorted fishes — haddock, turbot, B.C. perch, small piece of smoked haddock, cut into chunks
evaporated milk, one can
milk (same amount as evaporated milk)
herbs — two bay leaves, basil, herbes de Provence, oregano
one carton fish or chicken stock
one Tbsp flour, or enough to thicken the broth
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot on medium heat, fry the onion, carrot and celery stalks in oil until soft. Add the potatoes, pepper and herbs (save the salt for the end as you might not need it).

Add the fish or chicken stock and enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes and veggies are soft.

Add the evaporated milk and milk, bring up to a simmer, then add the fish. Stir often to prevent burning in the bottom.

Pour a little bit of extra milk in a lidded container and add the flour. Fasten the lid tightly and shake to dissolve the flour. (If lumpy, pour into pot through a sieve.) Simmer until thickened. Add celery leaves and salt to taste. Stir continuously to prevent burning and serve when thickened.

High tea at the Mackenzie King Tearoom

S and I visited the Mackenzie King Tearoom for high tea this summer. S had a delicious gazpacho and salad, but the purpose of the trip was to satisfy my pregnancy-induced craving for high tea. Decadent me!

I ordered their Afternoon Tea, which is tea, sandwiches, a scone and sweets for $21. All I really wanted was the scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam, but I found I also really loved the fudges and the sandwiches, mmm. There were five different sandwiches with the crusts off in true high-tea tradition. Some of them had watercress inside them, which tasted lovely and peppery. I must look for that in the stores — I think it came in the tuna sandwich and it was a great combination.

It was an extremely hot day and we were on the patio, which is delightful and overlooks the gardens on the estate. We had to switch tables mid-meal to get some shade. Normally I love the heat, but not while pregnant!

The tearoom is in Gatineau Park in one of the former prime minister's cottages. It's open May to October, and is a scenic and peaceful spot. I'm already looking forward to another visit next summer!

Indian curries and a stocked freezer

I have to give a big shout-out to my Mom and L for stocking our freezer while I was pregnant with twins! My babies were born this summer – and have big appetites thanks to all the good food they ate while still inside me.

What a treat it was to eat my mom's cooking every day once again. I haven't had this privilege since high school when I was still living at home and didn't appreciate her cooking as much as I should have. Even the best restaurants have nothing on her.   

I love you, Mom. And I hope one day that my kids will love my cooking as much as I do yours.