Roasted Beets, Carrots, Peppers with my Garden Herbs..so simple so delish!

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with beets. When I was a child, my parents would make beet soup with pork. It was rustic, homey and delicious.

Beets are nutritious and packed with flavour. Like carrots, beets have natural sugars that are released when roasted, which makes them so sweet. 

I was at a local market the other day and saw these beautiful deep purple beets and thought to myself, “what can I do with these?” This is a simple, quick recipe that I created consisting of roasted beets with carrots, red peppers, onions and fresh herbs are so easy to make and hard to resist!

 

Lovely locally sourced beets, carrots, red peppers - treated simply, when cooked the natural sugars caramelize and make them hard to resist!

Ingredients

3 Beets

3 Carrots

3 Red Peppers

1 Bunch of Thyme

1 Large Onion

3 Cloves of Garlic

Olive Oil

Kosher salt

Cracked Black Pepper 

Method

Preheat oven to 400° F

Prepare the baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Peel and slice the onion.

Wash, peel the Beets, Carrots and Peppers.

Cut them into wedges keeping in mind the differing time required to cook the ingredients evenly. Carrots and beets take longer than peppers to cook.

Crush the cloves of garlic.

Combine in a large mixing bowl with the thyme.

Drizzle the olive oil and mix thoroughly.

Season with salt and pepper.

Lay out the mixture on the baking sheet evenly and place in the oven to cook.

Roast in oven for approximately  35 mins or until the beets and carrots are fork tender.

Enjoy!

One Pot Wonders Equal Comfort Food for the Soul

Kale, Cabbage, Beer and Smoked Sausage One Pot Meal

Ingredients

Olive Oil

Bay Leaf

Garlic Cloves (3)

Bunch of fresh Kale (wash and de-rib)

Green Cabbage 1/2 (wash and cut into uniform chunks - about an inch wide)

Bottle of your favourite Beer, Stout, Bitter or Lager

Chicken Stock (1 cup)

Heavy Cream (1/2 cup)

Smoked Pork Sausage 

Dijon Mustard (1 tbsp)

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Heavy pot – preferably Le Creuset for even heat distribution and supreme cooking

Dijon Mustard

Instructions

Wash and de-rib the kale, drain

Wash and cut the cabbage in to uniform chunks about an inch wide, drain

Place Le Creuset on the range on high heat

Once things get going things are going to get done in pretty quick order…get ready!

Add olive oil, bay leaf and garlic cloves to the pot. Note do not burn the garlic

Add Kale – stir, let it sweat for a few minutes, kale takes quite a while to soften.  Make note to ensure that Kale does not burn!

Reduce heat to Med-High on a gas range – if you have electric…manage your heat so that the bottom does not burn!

Add Cabbage – stir, let it sweat as well for a few minutes, like Kale cabbage is a harder vegetable, takes longer to soften but is ideal for stews and casseroles

Now time for the beer – this adds flavour, steam, complexity to the end result.  The alcohol will cook out. Reduce. To reduce means that the water evaporates from the liquid  you added, intensifying the flavour. Make sure that it boils.

Add chicken stock. Reduce as well. IF you don’t have chicken stock…lord knows why not…just add a dry white wine.  Make sure that if you wouldn’t drink it…why would you cook with it?

Add heavy cream. Reduce and simmer.

Now for the Smoked Sausage. Place on top. Cover the Le Creuset.

Leave it alone now on a Med-Low Heat and let the sausage cook up and the juices flow over the vegetable mixture. Stirring occasionally.

Add Dijon Mustard at the end just before you are going to serve. Just a tablespoon or so…it is to taste.

Seasoning is important! I always season as I go and so should you.  

Enjoy!

Recipe created by baguettes and butterscotch and heavy influences from mentor and friend Master Chef Robert Orsi

A Little Bit of Paradise - My Vegetable Garden

I have only recently discovered the joys of growing my own food. Michelle and I live right in the city of Toronto. We have a small backyard with a large deck right I built last year. When I was designing the deck, I wanted to make sure I had enough space around it to grow vegetables. I started with herbs - to save money and for a better quality ingredient from what I normally would find in grocery stores. Then, I planted some tomatoes. Now, I have more than 5 varieties of tomatoes, 5 types of herbs, baby mixed greens, carrots and 2 kinds of onions. I can’t wait to harvest and taste a bit of everything!

I started to harvest young onions both yellow Spanish and red onions from the garden this weekend. They smell lovely!

I am quite proud of myself as this is the very first time that I have had the pleasure to grow my own. Ever since I had the pleasure to enjoy the fruits of my friend's efforts, I have desired to grow my own herbs and vegetables.

I just wanted to share a few shots of what is growing in my small paradise. Take care and enjoy the summer!

Keep Gardening!