Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken... the dish that turns everyone from an Indian Food hater into a lover.

Hey, you can buy butter chicken sauce and just add chicken and cauliflower. But here's how to make it yourself:

YOU NEED:

(1/2 cup) greek yogurt [low fat]

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

chopped chicken

cashews are optional

3 tablespoons butter

1 tbs oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 inch piece of ginger, grated

1 cinnamon stick

2 tsp paprika

a small can of tomato paste

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon corn starch to thicken. cream is optional

 cilantro to top. 

Method

Combine yoghurt, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, chilli, cumin, ginger and garlic in a bowl. Add chicken and stir well. add ginger. 

Heat the butter and oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cardamom, and cinnamon and cook for 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Reduce heat to low, then add chicken, vegetables of your choice, paprika, tomato puree, cashew powder and stock.

 Simmer for 15 minutes. 

Stir in cream or corn starch and cook for a further 10 minutes.

NOTES:

cauliflower too, is yummy.

top with cilantro, and cashews.

serve over basmati rice. 

Garlic-Cheese Bread.

Yeah, it's as sinful as it sounds.

1. Get a loaf or baguette.

2. melt 3 tablespoons butter with 4 cloves minced garlic, a bit of salt, pepper, and fresh parsley.

3. chop up some green onion, and tomato.

4. preheat oven to 400 F, if you haven't already.

5. grate some cheese: cheddar, mozzarella, a mix, whatever.

6. cut, not all the way through, bread so that you have pockets.

7. spread on garlic/herb butter, add in cheese.

8. bake for 10- 15 minutes until obviously done.

9. top with tomato, green onion, and a bit of lemon juice.

SPECIAL THANKS TO SWISS CHALET FOR MAKING ME A FATASS. 

Ceviche

CEVICHE.

Peruvian, Mexican, South American wonderfulness. They came up with a way of cooking that DOESN'T INVOLVE HEAT. The method involves soaking raw seafood in citrus juice for an hour or more until it "cooks" it. Think of it as a south-american shrimp cocktail [but you can use any seafood]

* NOTE: ro be safe, you can QUICKLY boil seafood for 5 minutes. if it's your first time making this, you don't want to risk food poisoning, especially if you have less-than-super-expensive-fish.

YOU NEED:
Seafood
Citrus Juice
A Variety of fillers
A bit of oil
Garlic, Salt, Pepper, to taste
Cilantro

BASIC SHRIMP CEVICHE: Marinate for 2 hours: Chopped shrimp, red onions, tomato, jalapeno or habanero, 1/2 cup lime juice, cucumber, cilantro.

OCTOPUS CEVICHE: stick with the colour scheme, so marinate octopus with lime juice. red onions, red habanero, and radishes.

VICKY'S CEVICHE: a mix of lime and grapefruit juice, with shrimp, squid, avocado, tomato, jalapeno, garlic

CRAB CEVICHE

HALIBUT OR RED SNAPPER: add capers, yum. use lemon juice instead of lime.

CREAMY CEVICHE: add some sour cream after 2 hour curing process, and dill weed.

worthy additions?

replace red onion with green onion

poblano or banana peppers

mango! for sweetness.

lobster, scallops, clams, any seafood really

lots of bell peppers for crunchyness

garlic always goes well

avocado for creamyness.

tortilla chips. this can be made into a dip!

Salade Lyonnaise

Salade Lyonnaise! AKA The Breakfast Salad.

A Dijon-infused vinaigrette, poached egg, and bacon make up this wondrous creation. The French sure know how to live.

FOR THE SALAD:
Arugula, Leaf Lettuce, Mixed Greens, Spinach, Watercress, or whatever. Bacon or prosciutto, and a poached egg. Sometimes potatoes or tomatoes are added.

THE DRESSING: I just mash together the frenchest things I can think of. 

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon honey OR balsamic, for sweetness. 

poppy seeds are nice for crunch. 

1 clove minced garlic

salt, pepper, and tarragon to taste.

How to easily poach an egg?

1. bring a pot of water to a boil.

2. crack and drop in an egg, without breaking.

3. using a spoon, keep pushing the egg white back into the centre. do this for 10-15 minutes until egg has cooked. [you'll be able to see it]

4. gently remove the egg, put on salad. 

So yeah, lettuce, bacon, dressing, egg. and croutons, or french bread. i'm not sure if it's breakfast or not... but i'd have it any time of day. 

HUMMUS.

THIS MIGHT BE A LONG ONE. BECAUSE HUMMUS IS MY FAVOURITE THING EVER.

You can put it on everything. And i mean, EVERYTHING. Or eat it by the spoonful. Yeah I'm a little obsessed. No wonder it's been around since the dawn of time. This is what humanity was built on, people.

BASIC HUMMUS.

YOU NEED:

a food processor or blender.

1 can chickpeas, drained, with juice reserved.

2 or more cloves garlic. i go for 3 big ones or more. 

1/4 cup lemon juice or more.

1 tablespoon tahini if you can find it.

salt, pepper, cumin, and sumac to taste.

*the great thing about hummus is you can taste and adjust it. more lemon, more garlic, more salt, more spices, whatever.

1. dump it all in a food processor.

2. blend into a paste.

3. if too solid, add reserved chickpea juice [NOT WATER]

VARIETIES OF HUMMUS:

Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus. Add them to taste

Black Bean Hummus: a can, 2 cans of beans means double everything else. You can never have too much hummus anyways.

ROASTED GARLIC: yes please. Roast or fry whole cloves of garlic to bring out the flavour before blending. 

Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Cheese Hummus. REALLY good. You can omit one or the other, but why?

Olive Hummus: I don't like olives by themselves, but they're great in hummus. A handful of pitted black olives, please.

Spicy Hummus: extra cumin, lime juice instead of lemon, and some chili peppers. jalapeno for mild, habanero for more heat!

Guaccamus: just an avocado, I like to add equal parts guacamole though, so it means jalapenos, onions, lime juice instead of lemon, and salt. 

Fava Bean Hummus: Use fava beans. 

PINK HUMMUS! Yeah, beets are gross, but when added in hummus, they just add a subtle sweet flavour and a whole lot of PINK!

Marsala Hummus: Indian curry spices of your choice, topped with cilantro!

Pine nut hummus: the nuttyness goes so well. 

Sriracha Hummus: yeah, to add spice. Blend it in, or just top, I like adding a bit of soy sauce. 

MORE HUMMUS? add the following.

Edamame Hummus

Sweet Potato Hummus

Babaganouj: uses eggplant instead of chickpeas, or use both.

Zuchini Hummus

Goat Cheese Hummus

BBQ Hummus [yeah, add BBQ sauce, won't hurt. top with blue cheese!]

Tahini-less Hummus cuts the fat down

Green Olive Hummus

Caviar Hummus [oh yeah, I went there]

Basil Hummus [walnuts and fresh basil]

Pesto Hummus [like above, but easier, just mix in some pesto of your choice.

Greek Hummus: lots of oregano!

HOW TO SERVE? 

On a plate. make a well, drizzle with olive oil, add topping such as chickpeas, cucumber, olives, red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, god, even caviar.... and some herbs. pinches of cumin and sumac! 

Tabouleh

The delicious middle-eastern parsley salad. Tabouli, Tabouleh, from Lebanon to Persia to Turkey to Israel, they all have their own variations. 

BASIC TABOULEH:

a head of curly parsley, chopped fine.

1 tomato, chopped fine.

1 cucumber, chopped fine.

1 red onion, chopped fine.

1/4 cup bulgur or cracked wheat [some people like more, some people like less. i like emphasis on the salad, not the wheat.

vinaigrette: 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, pepper, i like to add garlic, with some sumac and cumin. 

I'm not a huge fan of bulgur. So, there are varieties of things you can you instead. 

Wild Rice Tabouleh

Fattoush [toasted pita or lavash]

My personal favourite is chickpeas. 

Pasta. Makes a killer pasta salad. 

Couscous. 

DRESS IT UP!

with feta cheese. 

Put it in a pita, or Doner sandwich, or shawarma. 

VICKY'S VERY RANDOM INVENTED TABOULEH: [and my favourite]

instead of bulgur, chickpeas.

crumbled feta cheese.

garlic in the vinaigrette.

some crunchy lavash

fried chorizo. yeah, don't ask. but it's amazing.

You can use Quinoa too. it seems to be call the rage these days, meh. 

Caesar Salad

The poor Caesar has a bad reputation, thanks to North America. I swear we dump mayonnaise in everything. This is what a Caesar Salad SHOULD BE.

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
• 1 tablespoon olive oil. you can add 1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream for a creamier version.

1.  wash and dry torn up romaine leaves. always romaine.
2. toss with dressing.
3. sprinkle with croutons and bacon, always worthy additions.
4. top with salt and ground black pepper to taste, and slivers of parmesan.

GARLIC CROUTONS?

toss old stale bread in a frying pan with olive oil and some garlic and herbs. store-bought croutons suck.

THE MANY USES OF THE MIGHTY CAESAR:

Make lettuce wraps! stuff with chicken and dressing and cheese. 

Yes, you can barbeque lettuce.

Make a pasta salad!

or a Panini. grilled to perfection. any sandwich really. 

Wrap it up in a tortilla, grilled chicken is a match made in Salad heaven. 

Bring to your next BBQ or Potluck event. You can serve Caesar salad with anything, and even salad-haters love caesar.

And finally, dress it up! You can add boiled eggs, prosciutto, bacon, tomatoes, different cheeses, chicken, shrimp, just about anything.