Who will win? Flavour or technique? My bet was on flavour all week. If you are a cook with a built-in radar for complimentary flavours that’s the food I want to eat. I grew up in central Alberta in a town of 250 people and my community has these amazing town hall suppers made by the board (aka volunteer farming wives who know how to cook). Thus, I don’t turn my nose up at a casserole if it tastes delicious. But, I can still appreciate an artfully-plated dish… if it tastes divine too.

Billy’s category was Sandwich. There were twelve competitors for the first round that would be whittled down to five for the finals. Everyone had an hour to put their dish together and turn it in to be judged. I circled around kitchen stadium like a sneaky cheetah, carefully checking out the competition. Don’t worry! I didn’t give him any hints. I’m just snoopy.

The City TV crew was there filming all the action but I haven’t seen any of the footage on TV yet. This would have made me nervous while I was cooking but no one seemed to be phased by it.

Billy’s initial plan was to be the first to turn in his dish but things didn’t really work out that way.  He finished plating his sandwich and turned it in with one minute left on the clock. Later, the winners were announced at the main stage of Taste of Edmonton. Billy came in fourth of the top five finalists!

Flemish Steak Tartare Sandwich
by Jonatan Billiau
Inspired by Billy’s favourite Belgian sandwich – The Martino

The top five finalists had two days to prepare a sandwich recipe with a very specific required ingredient – cream soda pop. We searched the internet to find the Grizzly Paw’s Cream Soda Pop, the specific brand being used in the competition, but had no luck. So we bought some Jones cream soda and hoped it would have a similar taste to the pop he would have to use in the finals.

Cream soda’s main flavour is vanilla and it’s very condensed and sweet. His objective was to balance this ingredient with the perfect ratio of fats (cheese) and acid (lemon juice). Billy is great at finding flavours that match in random ingredients. He’s really studied up and experimented in the past two years and it shows.

On Friday, the finalists were all set up early and it seemed like everyone was bringing their ‘A’ game. It was a much quieter kitchen stadium compared to Wednesday’s round because everyone was very focused and creating unique plates. Billy got his sandwich in earlier this round and seemed pretty organized and calm the entire time. In fact, a pair of ladies mentioned to me that watching the competition live was completely different than seeing it on TV because everyone seemed so calm and collected.

After the judges were finished scoring the plates, they decided that they wanted to give some feedback to the competitors. Two our of five judges said they liked Billy’s sandwich the best but we still had to wait for the official announcement at 6. The scores for the finals are broken down like this: 40% of the score is from the first round scores and 60% is the final round. The first round scores were all very close so it looked like it was going to be a tight race for the trip to World’s in Kissimmee, Florida in November. Our friend mentioned that he heard both first and second place are eligible to go to the World Championships.

During the Sandwich battle, I was really impressed how the competitors continued to joke with each other and afterwords offered each other tasters of their creations and shook hands. I thought that the category had a sportsmanlike competitors and it was really fun to see them go head to head. One of the participating teams owns Jack’s Burger Shack in St. Albert, which I’ve been told has the best burgers in Metro Edmonton, possibly Alberta. They were so much fun to watch in the Sandwich category that I’ve decided I’m going up to St. Albert to experience a burger myself. Their milkshakes (uh, Helloooo Italian Stallion!) sound delicious too.

Triple Cream (Soda) & Brie Sandwich
By Jonatan Billiau
Inspired by my favourite Belgian sandwich, Brie, Honey, & Walnut

The final results came in on Friday at 6 pm. Billy came in second, just behind the Executive Chef of the Radisson Hotel in Edmonton. His sandwich was so good that it bumped up his score from fourth place to second place!

Time to start planning our adventure to World’s in Florida! Who’s coming with me to cheer him on?

There are many ways to incorporate language learning into your everyday life, especially with cooking. I have a friend who once labelled most of her kitchen with the Spanish terms. She saw them while doing everyday tasks and soon memorized them.

Ingredients lists are fun to translate and I love watching video tutorials because it gives me a chance for ‘active’ language learning instead of just pen to paper. Cooking is essential in Belgian culture and I find that I learn a lot about the history and practices of the Flemish from watching cooking shows. Plus, while the chefs are often making jokes and using everyday language, I’m also listening for tone, pitch, and rhythm in the sentences.

I’ve been in the mood for pancakes. After searching for Belgian cooking shows, I found a video on how to make Pannenkoeken, which are pancakes that are thin like crepes. They are so delicious with a bit of butter and powdered sugar. I like to add a little Canadian flavour to mine and pour chokecherry or saskatoon syrup on them. The show’s host, Chef Piet, is from West Flanders so he uses a lot of slang typical to that region, like “allez!” I think it means, “Come on,” but it’s used in many situations from telling stories at the cafe or when someone is annoyed.

Pannenkoeken – SOS Piet

To give you some idea of what’s going on here, Chef Piet is teaching some university students how to make the BEST pannenkoeken. He’s in a studentenkot (student dorm) kitchen. From the four hotplates to the party decorations, it looks like a typical kot. My first 3 months living in Belgium was in a place very similar – notice the group cooking and beer atmosphere. So much fun!

Ingredients
2 el arachideolie (Vegetable Oil)
70 gr suiker (sugar)
½ litre melk (milk – I’ve used both almond or coconut milk and it worked fine)
4 eieren (eggs)
200 gr bloem (flour)
20 gr boter (butter)

Instructions
First, try to follow along in the video clip because there are some tricky Belgian cookery tips that add a bit of finesse.

1. Measure out your milk. In a medium bowl, combine flour and sugar. Whisk and make a ‘nest’ for the eggs. Crack the eggs into the flour nest and lightly whisk. Add the milk. Whisk until smooth.
2. Add a dash of vegetable oil to the batter (about 1 tsp or so) and whisk into batter. Melt butter in frying pan. Pour into batter. Whisk.
3. Ladle batter on to nonstick pan. Wait until bubbles form. Slightly lift with a silcone spatuala and flip.

Learning a language has to be fun when it involves cooking, beer, and jokes, eh?

One of Billy’s homemade cheeses.

I’m thrilled I found a savoury “dessert” he loves because this cornbread recipe was so much fun to make. It’s similar baking a special treat but it’s still savoury with complex flavours.

It’s like a spontaneous hug for your belly.

Cornbread has been made by Native Americans before the arrival of the Europeans. Originally, the ingredients were only cornmeal, water, cooking fat, and maybe some salt. It was only in the 20th century that ingredients like wheat flour and sugar were added to the recipe. It’s considered to be soul food for those who live in the southern United States.

After some quick research, I was curious if the Native American tribes of Canada had their own cornbread recipe. I found Parks Canada has done a series of Heritage Foods that included a cornbread recipe, which supposedly originated from the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site. I must be looking in the wrong places but it’s hard to find recipes from Canadian tribes. I did stumble on one from the Mohawk tribe of Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario that uses kidney beans. Cornbread is so versatile.

I’ve always been told that Alberta is like the Texas of Canada, an attitude I find slightly disturbing, funny, and fairly accurate. So I was amused to see read that the Texas version of cornbread has some Mexican influences with creamed corn or niblets, jalapeno peppers, and topped with shredded cheese. I skipped the peppers but kept the niblets and cheese. It seems this Alberta girl has a little ‘Texas’ in her. This cornbread recipe is a hearty home-run.

Iron Skillet Cornbread with Goat Feta
adapted from Dining & Wine in the New York Times

1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of ground yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 cups sour cream/greek yogurt (I used a mixture of both)
1/4 vegetable oil
1 egg
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup of corn niblets
3/4 cup of goat feta (I had some of Billy’s homemade cheese on hand)
1 tbsp of fresh, chopped thyme and rosemary
1/4 cup of unsalted butter (or baking margarine)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In another medium-sized bowl, mix together sour cream, oil, egg, sugar, and baking soda. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix. Then fold in the corn, goat feta, and fresh herbs.

2. Melt butter in a 9 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Be sure to tilt pan to completely cover the bottom and sides of the pan. After 3-4 minutes, the butter should be caramelized. You can tell by looking for ‘sandy-looking’ particles in your butter. That’s the good stuff for brown butter. Use a spatula to slowly scrape batter into skillet. Spead over the base of the pan until covered.

3. Bake until bread is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean (about 30 minutes). Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into wedges, and place on to table ready to be devoured.

I can’t follow up because I don’t do a whole lot of cooking anymore. My boyfriend is the main chef in our house. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have a sexy man that cooks for me while I pursue other artistic endeavours. I decided to take this opportunity to lay off of the food blogging and focus more on travel, adventure, and maybe a dash of literature. I think my blog visitors from Pinterest do check out these articles, but let’s be clear: my new direction is not bringing in the followers. I’m riding of the coat-tails of Lazy Man’s Cabbage Rolls.

In addition to that, I found out having a food blog contributes to hipsterdom. How have I come to this conclusion? Well, my friend recently admitted to being a closet hipster on Facebook. It went like this:”I’ve gone down a slippery slope from being a skateboarder type who liked heavy metal to a guy wearing a toque, a plaid shirt, and an ironic moustache. Cue the internet slandering.” One of his friends listed the qualities of a typical hipster.

• Skinny jeans (Check),
• low fat skim milk lattes from locally owned fair trade coffee shops (Check),
• a food blog (Check, beginning to feel uncomfortable),
• hot yoga classes (Check, sweating now and not from yoga), and
• some type of soy based diet (Oh golly, that was a close one).

After some deep soul searching, I’m going to embrace the food part of this blog and come back to the kitchen. My newest “hipster” culinary hobbies are canning, soups, and scones. Today’s recipe is homemade jam. I know, I know. You are thinking “Canning is hard and fiddly,” or “Only Grandmas have the time and skills for canning.”

BUT the rules have changed and it’s easier!

1. Sanitizing the jars now requires just washing them in warm, soapy water. This is only as long as they require processing of over 10 minutes in boiling water. Most canning must be processed longer than 10 minutes, except for some pickles, jellies, and fruit juice.

2. Warming the lids in boiling water is no longer necessary. Just wash in warm, soapy water, rinse well, and keep at room temperature.

via Water-bath canning just got easier via the Washington Post, September 25th, 2014.

Here is how to make bitchin’ jam for you and your friends. It’s a little late for the berry season, but you can use thawed frozen berries from your garden.

Raspberry-Blueberry Jam or (Merry-Double-Berry Jam)

adapted from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff

Makes about 4 quart-size jars

3-4 apples (peels and cores for natural pectin) or
1 package of Certo Light pectin crystals
3 lbs of raspberries
1-1.5 lbs of blueberries
2 cups of light brown sugar
3 tbsp of strained fresh lemon juice

Note: You’ll need cheese cloth to hold apple peels and cores. You can skip this ingredient if you use Certo, but I think it added a zest.

Instructions

1. Prep your canning station – canning pot with water on to boil and washed jars and lids are ready. Put a small plate in the freezer to test your jam before canning.

2. For apples: Quarter, peel, and core apples. Put as many of the apple trimmings in a jelly bag or a cheese cloth (4 layers) and tie bag closed.

3. Pour raspberries, blueberries, and leftover juices in a wide pot. Add sugar and lemon juice. Blend with a potato masher. Then, bring to a simmer.

4. Add the bag of apple trimmings or add the Certo pectin crystals to the berry mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring frequently to avoid stickiness. Put a dab of jam on the frozen plate to test readiness. The jam should become somewhat firm. Remove from heat and take out the bag of apple trimmings. Set aside.

5. Ladle the hot jam into your clean jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to clean the rims of the jars. Then, top with the flat lid and adjust the ring so it’s just finger tight. Repeat and continue to fill jars until you are out of jam.

6. Gently lower your jars into the canning pot, making sure that water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes

7. Remove jars carefully to a folded towel, when the jars can stay undisturbed for 12 hours. After 1 hour, check lids for a seal. If the lid has not popped down, it hasn’t sealed and should be put in the fridge immediately.

8. Label jars and feel like a badass domestic goddess with cool, homemade gifts.

Organic Jam = Happy Toast

So I found two recipes, kinda mixed them together, and came out with this. It’s a deep, vibrant orange with full spicy aromas and a multitude sweet and sour. Plus, it’s cheap to make, filling, and delicious enough to eat for every supper of the week.

Chana Masala is a versatile dish that can be altered to suit your taste, which is why I added chicken. But if you wanted to keep it vegetarian, spinach is really good as well.

Enough chit-chat, here’s the recipe so you can get cookin’!

Crockpot Chicken Chana Masala Based on Smitten Kitchen and Grow it Cook it Can it

2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium roasted sweet potato, cubed
4 chicken thighs
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground tumeric
2 tsp garam masala
3 cardamom pods
1 can tomato sauce
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained (540 mL)
1 can coconut milk (400 mL)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lemon, squeezed & juiced

Layer onion, potato, and garlic on the bottom of the crockpot. Then put in chicken and cover with spices, tomato sauce, and coconut milk. Stir occasionally, cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Afterwards, the chicken will fall off the bone, tender and juicy; remove bones and then serve.

I had mine with warm Naan bread on the side for some scrumptious dipping, but you could also use basmati rice. Enjoy!

Chef Jeroen Meus

I’ve found the Jamie Oliver of Belgium and it’s Jeroen Meus! He’s young, wears cool sneakers, has funky hair, and approaches cooking in a casual way. Oh, and he is an amazing chef! He has his own cooking show called Dagelijkse Kost( or in English “Daily Grub”) and a great website full of recipes. His descriptions of cooking are lively and sprinkled with Leuven slang that make him very fun to watch. Lately, Billy and I have been turning to Jeroen’s website and cooking tutorials when we are out of our own ideas. He has an array of recipes that range between 15th century Belgian classics to Thai Green Curries.

Celeriac… ugly but tasty.

This week, Billy and I were looking to make a dish with a Belgian winter veggie. Belgium has a WIDE array of winter vegetables. Sure, Belgium is wet and cold in the winter but it only occasionally frosts therefore the growing season is much longer here compared to that of Canada’s. Belgian endives (witloof), parsnips, and celeriac are popular vegetables for Belgian winter dishes. Yesterday, we decided to try a dish with celeriac and found Jeroen’s recipe for Knolseldersoep met witbier, cheddar, en geroosterde pancetta. It is such a great recipe that I have to share it with my English-speaking friends. This is also good opportunity for me to work on translating Dutch text to English. See, everybody is learning!

Cream of Celeriac Soup with Wheat Beer, Cheddar, and Smoked Pancetta
A warming autumn soup that tastes rich but will only cost around €2 per bowl! This recipe is huge and will easily serve 6 people. See his video tutorial here.

Ingredients
Soup:
2 1/2 litres of Chicken Broth
1 Celeriac
3 big Onions
1 small clove of Garlic
2 cans of Hoegaarden (Wheat Beer)
1 squirt of olive oil
Couple of Bay Leaves
Couple sprigs of Thyme (dried Thyme works too for those who don’t have fresh herbs growing)
Couple of Parsley Stems

Garnish:
6 slices of pancetta (spanish smoked ham) or smoked bacon
150 grams of cheddar
A bit of Thyme

Finishing Touch:
200 g Cream
Pepper
Salt
Nutmeg

How To Make It
1. Make chicken broth and pour into a large pot over medium heat.
2. In a separate deep-frying pan, heat up olive oil and toss in your chopped onion and garlic. Be sure to stir frequently here, so the onions do not brown because then you will lose the pale velvety colour of your soup.
3. Wash the celeriac and then peel the outside. Dice into pieces and toss them in with the simmering onions. The the vegetables simmer here for 5 minutes.
4. If you have fresh herbs on hand, gather the thyme and parsley into a bouquet by tying them together with some twine, and toss it in the pot. If not, add your onions and celeriac to the chicken broth in the big pot and then add your dried spices.
5. Add the beer to the big pot and bring to a boil for 10 minutes (this removes the alcohol from the beer).
6. Turn the heat down to low heat, put the lid on, and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes.
7. To make your garnish, grill the pancetta or the smoked bacon, chop up thyme, and grate the cheddar cheese. Set aside.
8. After 20 minutes are up, its time to blend the soup with a mixer. Remove from heat and slowly add cream in between mixing to get a velvety and smooth soup. Taste your soup and add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.
9. Serve in bowls garnished with grated cheddar cheese, bacon (or pancetta), and thyme. Enjoy!

My Edmonton Home

Lately, I have introduced more Canadian-influenced dinners to my second home in Belgium. I love hearty Alberta recipes that are not too fancy or fussy. A lot of our dishes have influences from our early settlers; British, French, Ukrainian, Norwegians, Chinese, Greek, Indian… and so on. Of course, different recipes change over time and many have been adapted to save time for the fast-paced lifestyle in the Prairies. Don’t be fooled by the appearance of some meals as these dishes taste damn good and will fill that big hole in your stomach after a hard days work. Best of all, for clean-up there are hardly any dishes; a big plus in my books since we don’t have a dishwasher in our 30 m2 studio apartment.

Lazy Man’s Cabbage Roll Casserole
Recipe adapted from Yummly

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (minced)
700 g tomato sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups rice (uncooked)
4 bacon strips (chopped + uncooked)
1 head shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in one can of tomato sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat: cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and bacon; heat through. Remove from the heat

2.Layer a third of the cabbage in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers; top with remaining cabbage. Pour remaining tomato sauce over top.

3.Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I really enjoy being back home with friends and family but part of my adjustment struggle is that my wanderlust is still alive and kicking. So many of my adventurous friends are currently traveling and I enviously oggle the photos they have posted online. This week I saw my friend Barry’s photos of Macaque monkeys bathing in a steamy hot spring in Japan from his recent snowboarding trip.

Photo taken (and used with permission) by Barry Truss

Warning: These are not healthy but are worth the indulgence. Just go to the gym tomorrow… no harm done.

Japanese Chicken Wings at the family table about to be devoured.

Japanese Chicken Wings adapted from my Mom’s recipe card (allrecipes.com?)

3 lbs of chicken wings
2 beaten eggs
1 cup of flour
1 cup of butter (or half butter and half vegetable oil)

Sauce:

3 tbsp soya sauce
3 tbsp water
1 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1 tsp of salt

Cut wings in half (discard wing tip). Dip in egg, then flour, fry until deep brown & crisp.
Put in shallow roasting pan and pour sauce over wings. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, baste occasionally.

The wings will come out of the oven tender, gooey, and juicy with sweet and spicy aromas rising and floating over the table. A nose-wiggling and mouth-watering chicken wing!

Useful Links:

Learn how to eat a chicken wing without wasting meat at JapanNewbie

Another take on Tebasaki (Japanese for Chicken Wing) that looks uber yummy at Shizuoka Gourmet

Eating canal side

Now, Waterzooi is often made with either fish or chicken. Both are delicious, but for this post I choose chicken because it is cozier for the “brisk” weather I have been hearing about in Alberta… a chilly -30 degrees celsius!

The recipe makes a BIG pot so invite some friends and family over for a fun, not fussy, dinner party. Maybe someone will bring over a loaf of homemade bread to soak up the last drop of stew? hint hint…

Chicken Waterzooi adapted from The Food and Cooking of Belgium

Ingredients
1 free-range (farm fresh) chicken about 1.6kgs/3.5lbs
Chicken stock, to cover the meat (see instructions)
a couple of dashes of Thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cardamom seed
a couple of dashes of ground pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
40g/3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 carrots, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 leeks, finely chopped
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
3-4 medium potatoes, sliced
2 egg yolks
200ml/scant 1 cup of heavy cream
salt and ground black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
handful of fresh parsley, chopped to garnish

Instructions

1. Rinse the chicken and trim off any excess fat. Place the whole bird in a large pot and pour over chicken stock to two-thirds cover. Add thyme, bay leaves, pepper, and crushed garlic. Bring to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1.5 hours or until the chicken is cook and the meat begins to fall from the bones.

mmm chicken!

sautéed veggies

5. Mix the egg yolks and cream in a bowl. Remove the pot from the heat and gradually stir the cream mixture into the soup/stew. Add the chicken pieces. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes until thickened. Do not let it boil!

6. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add lemon juice if you like; I prefer to cut up a fresh lemon to let the person eating decide. Ladle into bowl, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Not to brag or anything, but I think this is one of the best dishes I have ever made. I couldn’t be happier about how it turned out :D I would definitely make a batch on the weekend to have in the fridge during the week for a warm, yummy lunch or supper. It’s perfect for those on the fly or those who are just feeling lazy.

Waterzooi = Brain food for studying!

Flemish Beer Stew made with Leffe Christmas Beer

Traditional Flemish Beer Stew A rich and hearty meal for the hungry man (or woman)

Recipe from The Food and Cooking of Belgium by Suzanne Vandyck

This stew is one of the most famous traditional Flemish dishes. The taste will vary depending on what type of beer is used to flavour and tenderize the meat. The taste also changes depending on the type of bread spread with mustard that is placed on top of the stew, where it then dissolves to thicken the stew and to add flavour.

500 grams of stewing beef or chuck steak, cubed
20 grams (3 tbsp) All-purpose flour for dusting
25 grams of butter
30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
330 ml Dark Belgian beer (we used Leffe Christmas Edition)
30 ml (1 tbsp) soft light brown sugar
30 ml (1 tbsp) red wine vinegar
1 tsp of thyme and other spices you want to include
2 slices of rustic bread (white, dark brown, or spice cake)
30 ml (1 tbsp) Dijon mustard
Some chopped spring onions
Salt and ground black pepper

Serve with fries, mashed potatoes, or breads.

Instructions

Frying Stew meat to lock in the juices

2. Heat a large, heavy frying pan. Melt the butter and the oil over medium to high heat for about 4 minutes to seal in the juiciness of the beef cubes. As each batch browns, remove the cubes from the pan and chuck them in the stew pot where the onions, carrots and garlic are being cooked.

3. After all your meat has been browned, drain the excess fat in the pan.

Then pour the beer into the pan to be heated to just below boiling point.

Warming Beer for the Stew

Bread with Mustard, mustard side down, to thicken and flavour the stew

4. After 1 1/2, prepare the 2nd slice of bread with mustard and place this on top of the stew. The stew should already have thickened a bit, but this slice of bread will absorb some of the pan juices and dissolve to make the stew even thicker.

5. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve and enjoy!