Tag Archives: Garlic

Hardcore French Fry Lovers, There is an Oven Fry That Will Rock Your World

Who doesn’t love French Fries? One year for Dave’s birthday I bought a ten lb bag of Russet potatoes and set upon the task of perfecting the deep-fried French Fry.  Dave,  on the other hand, in the interests of longevity,  set himself the equal task of perfecting the oven-baked French Fry. Admittedly, I was sceptical. What self-respecting French Fry lover wouldn’t be?

And yet, the other night, my sweetie came up with a break-through recipe that gives any self-respecting deep-fried potato a run for its money. “What’s your secret?” I asked? “Pre-cooking, my little love biscuit.”  he answered.  “And for how long?” I ventured, still sceptical.

“Until they’re soft on the outside but still hard on the inside, approximately 10 minutes of boiling.”

So forthwith my French Fry loving friends, is an oven-baked French Fry  recipe that will give the ordinary deep-fried street fry a run for its money.

Oven-Fries for two people with mayonnaise, lemon, garlic sauce. Continue reading

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Filed under Recipes, Salads and Main Courses

Forced Relaxation: Darn it, I love my bulbs!

Well the excitement just never seems to end over here in North Vancouver. I have thrown myself full tilt into bulbs and spring flowers. In the fall I bought tulip and garlic bulbs and planted them. Knowing nothing, I tossed them in the dirt and was quite surprised to see them peeking their heads up in December.

I didn’t think this was quite right so I kept putting more dirt over top until finally I had something of an unmanageable mountain and they still kept coming up. Anyways, the tulips are growing like crazy.

And wait, the excitement doesn’t stop here. Then I looked in my garlic container and started rooting around in there, and noticed that sure enough, they too are doing something that looks suspiciously like growing. My new relaxation ritual currently involves a daily visit with some rambunctious digging on my part just to say a quick hello and then goodbye at least until tomorrow to my little garlic bulbs. I can’t contain my joy when I’m around these things and every day I drag home another little plant.

Is this what it means to be relaxed or is this what it means to get old? I’m not sure but I’m liking it.

PS am I harming my garlic by digging around for it everyday?

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Filed under Random Musing

Easy Pasta and Scallops

You can whip this dish up in about 35 minutes total and it’s amazingly flavourful. This can be also converted very easily into a gluten-free and dairy-free entrée which is the version that I made.

The recipe comes from allrecipes.com which provides all the nutritional specs on the meal and which also has a very handy calculator that adjusts the recipe for however many people you are cooking for. Thanks allrecipes, this one is a keeper.

I based my ingredients on dinner for 2. Make sure to adapt the recipe using the ingredient calculator. The instructions are based on the original recipe which serves 8 (don’t worry, you do all the same things!).

Ingredients

1/4 (16 ounce) package farfalle (bow tie) pasta (I used Tinkyada brown rice spirals pasta)
6 scallops, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic (I used 2 cloves fresh garlic)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil (I used 2 tbsp freshly minced basil)
2 tablespoons and 3/4 teaspoon whipped butter (non-butter eaters can use Earth Balance Margarine….trust me it still tastes great!)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain, rinse, and transfer to a large serving bowl.

Place scallops in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper. Pour mixture over scallops. Arrange scallops in a single layer in a large baking dish or plate. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon basil over scallops so that only one side is sparsely coated with basil.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high, and melt one tablespoon of butter/Earth Balance in the pan. Place scallops basil-side down, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until dark golden brown. Turn scallops, and cook the other side.
In a small saucepan, melt remaining butter with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon basil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Toss pasta with butter and olive oil mixture. Divide pasta onto plates, and top with scallops.

Serve with a green salad and warm, fresh baguette! Now relax and enjoy:)

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Filed under Recipes, Salads and Main Courses