Mussels

I'm craving a quick meal after a long day so I grab a pack of frozen half-shell mussels from the freezer (yes, I keep emergency mussels on hand). White sauce--sautee onions and mushrooms with a little butter, throw in white wine, chicken broth, fresh dill and spinach. Serve with toasted garlic bread.

Quick Weeknight Meal

Got home late, so I made a quick dinner with salmon and leftover veggies I found in the fridge. Put them all together in a foil packet and stick in the toaster oven. No brainer.

Moules!

How can I say no to mussels? A few weeks back, me and my sister got together to make a meal. The mussels weren't as large as the ones I picked up at Granville Island on Canada Day, but they still hit the spot. Sauteed onions, garlic, shallots, mushrooms and leeks with butter and white wine. Sprinkle of dill. My sister made veggie sides with some produce she picked up at a farm market. The real revelation were the English peas she hand-shelled. They were amazing! I've never known what real peas tasted like, having eaten only frozen or canned peas all my life, and they're merely a bland imitator of the real thing.

Thursday Night Scallops

This was Thursday night's dinner after an exhausting day. I had frozen some fresh scallops about a week ago, so I thawed them in a bowl of warm water while I grabbed some boxed greens and made a quick vinaigrette with olive oil, white wine vinegar, a smidge of dijon mustard, salt and brown sugar. Top off the greens with seared scallops and sprinkled chopped chives and black pepper.

Ciopinno

Success! I braved the Canada Day crowds at Granville Island today and picked up a few pounds of fresh mussels for dinner. I adapted this easy Cioppino recipe, subbing in salmon, prosciutto, and used leftover cabernet. Few meals of mine are wholly without carbs, so I just had to throw in some capellini as well to soak up the thick stew. And buttered bread on the side, too.

Takoyaki Party

What do you get when you put together six people, two takoyaki machines and shochu? A room full of very happily sated friends.

Our takoyaki were made with eggs, baby octopus, cabbage, pickled red ginger, green onion, drizzled with kewpie mayo, ottogi sauce (Japanese pork cutlet sauce), and topped off with a sprinkling of bonito flakes and strips of nori.

Ideally, Osaka-style takoyaki are grilled crisp on the outside, but not overdone, with a slightly mushy center that's supposed to melt in your mouth. Takoyaki can also be consumed dipped in miso soup.

Mussels Linguine

Mussels linguine with a garlic butter sauce. Bell peppers, onion, cream, basil. I picked up the fresh mussels at T&T's seafood section, which also had some jaw-droppingly large lobsters. The size of cats, I tells ya!


We stuffed ourselves and the mussels didn't last long. Next time I'll try to make some pomme frites to go with them.

Today was a seafood chowder kind of day

Vancouver's having a dreary start to spring this year. Though the cherry blossoms are in full bloom on my street, the weather has been rainy and worst of all--cold. I left the apartment this morning wondering where I put my mitts. It's nearly April!

So I decided to get out of the pouring rain and cheer myself up with some seafood chowder. I had some leftover giant scallops sitting in my freezer as well as half a yellow onion, an opened package of cooked & smoked salmon, and a small carton of cream in the fridge. I went to the market to pick up a few more ingredients and I was set.

Seafood Chowder
(serves 2-4)

I took:

- 4 jumbo scallops
- 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 celery stalk
- 2 white button mushrooms
- 1 package of oyster mushrooms
- 1 small tin of smoked oysters (on sale for 79 cents)
- 1/2 can of baby clams
- 1/2 yellow onion
- a handful of cooked, smoked salmon
- 250 ml carton milk (I used 2%)
- 250 ml carton heavy cream
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt, pepper, pinch of thyme, 3 pinches of chopped parsley

I put the potatoes in the microwave to nuke and diced the onion. I only ended up dicing about 3/4 of the half onion (seemed like it was enough) and threw it in a medium sized pot with the butter. While the onions were saute-ing, I diced up the celery and sliced the white mushrooms as well as 2 stalks of the oyster mushrooms. When the onions turned translucent, I turned the stove down just short of simmer, and poured in the milk, cream, and threw in all the mushrooms. I opened up the can of baby clams and threw about half of it in the pot. I cut the smoked mussels and scallops into chunks, ripped up the smoked salmon, and tossed them all in. The potatoes were done by this point, so I peeled them (here's a novel way to peel them), diced them and added them to the pot. At this point, concerned with how thick it was getting, I added half a cup of water and turned up the heat a little...I wanted it bubbling, but not boiling. Last but not least, I put in the thyme and parsley. As for salt, I sprinkled some in, but not too much, as there's already quite a bit of sodium from the canned stuff and the salmon.

While it was all bubbling, I sliced up the french bread I had bought. The market had them at 99 cents, seeing as they expire tomorrow. And the best thing to do with old bread is to make croutons. I saved a few slices for toasting and a tomato & brie sandwich I plan for breakfast tomorrow, then cubed the rest of the loaf. I filled two cookie sheets with the bits and drizzled olive oil all over, then sprinkled some generic "Italian mix" herbs on them. Stuck 'em in an oven preheated to 375 for 5 minutes or so, and they're done. Now I've got a big box of croutons to use in soups and salads.

Chowder's also done now. I toast up 2 slices of french bread for dipping, sprinkle some fresh ground pepper, slice a few chive slivers for presentation...and I've got a fuckin' awesome meal for a rainy afternoon.