Where for art thou, hobbit?

Posted on April 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

I know, I know. I’ve been a bad neglectful hobbit. You know how when it rains, it pours? Yeah. It really does. So, I broke a tooth, got a root canal, had a problem with it, got a whole bunch of cavities filled, and we bought a house. Lessons here? Don’t let years go by without visiting a dentist and sometimes buying a house can be similar to getting dental work done. The folks we bought from were, well, most unhobbit like. So, now we are in the process of tearing up the place to get ready for the move in late may. Best part of all this though? The new house has a nice kitchen, especially after we reno it up a little in there. The reno’s will have to wait but no reason why we can’t start thinking about something new for hungry hobbit.

I’ve been thinking about doing the occasional cooking video for hungry hobbit. Would that be fun? Would other folks about the shire like to watch some hardcore hobbit recipes being put together? Let me know! Maybe I can start looking into cameras, suggestions are always welcome for those. I don’t know much about video blogging yet.

 

So yes, sadly, the drought continues for a bit longer until we settle into our new hobbit hole. Although, I see that we are now at 93 followers on twitter. I have a giveaway planned for when we reach 100 followers. So stay tuned, those next seven followers could come along soon and you could have your chance to win something shiny. Details when we get there!

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Posted in Babble, Obstacle

Colcannon

Posted on March 19, 2012 | 4 Comments

While not a hardcore hobbit recipe this is definitely one every hobbit should know. Oh it is so nummy! I’m a bit funny about cabbage sometimes, it’s one of those veggies that I keep forgetting I actually like. I will wrinkle my nose at it but then I remember all those dishes it plays a role in that I love…okonomiyaki, that tasty katsu dog at Japadog, cabbage rolls, moshu, the list goes on. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that colcannon would join that list of favourites once I sat down and had it. Fact is, it is just a creamy cloud of tasty on a plate. Let’s get to this healthier version of it!

  • 2 medium potatoes, I used red and did not peel, I like the colour, cubed
  • 1 cup green cabbage, chopped
  • 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
  • 2 tbl light butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 green onion, sliced thinly
  1. Place the potatoes, cabbage and some salt in a pot and cover with cold water.
  2. Bring to a boil, cook until potatoes are fork tender, usually about 15 minutes.
  3. Drain and return to the pot, add the milk, butter, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Mash until desired texture achieved.
  4. Serve with green onion sprinkled on top.

Serves 2 generous portions. Each serving contains 275 calories, 6.4 grams fat, 47.9 grams carbs, 5.7 grams fibre, 9.8 grams protein. Great special occasion dish, although I’m thinking adding a bit of sliced ham to this would make an amazing main dish. Yum!

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Dinner, Sidedish

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My Birthday Cake

Posted on February 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

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My Birthday was a couple of weekends ago and this is the cake my fabulous husband SurlyDwarf presented me with. I was just gazing at it remembering it’s tastiness and cuteness when I thought I would share. It had a local cream cheese frosting, white cake and raspberry filling inside. Each mouse was named some version of Archimedes (Archimedesone, Archimedesalpha, Archimedesprime, etc.). Hehe what a rocking cake…the best part though?

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Who doesn’t want to nibble on a mouse butt that cute?

Goodtimes.

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Posted in Babble

Nobu Halibut

Posted on February 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is usually made with cod but Halibut was what was locally in season at the time I made this. With that season about to begin again I figured now is a good time for other folks to give this a go. This is a new spin on a centuries old Japanese recipe usually done with black cod. The first time I tried this was in a usually reasonably priced restaurant, I was blown away by the flavours….and then the price…15.00 for a tiny piece of fish, this was an appetizer portion. Yeah. Well, you can probably figure out what happened next. I craved this fish, this tasty expensive fish. It had drawn me in with it’s full amazing flavour, I was a slave to my need to have another taste but my frugal side screamed at me that there must be another way! So here we have it. My solution to the nobu cod dilemma with local fish. Note: the miso here is key, no miso no nobu. Say that last bit out loud…it’s kinda funny. Come on, now give it the Miyagi voice. There you have it. See? Now, to the nobu!

  • 2 or 3 pieces fresh halibut (total about 1 lb)
  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 5 tbl white miso paste (white only,the other colours just won’t be the same)
  • 2 tbl sugar or honey
  1. Mix the last four ingredients in a container you intend to marinate the fish in. Preferably a container with a lid.
  2. Pat the fish dry and place in the container. Spoon some of the marinade on top to get full coverage. Cover and allow to sit in your fridge overnight or for 24 hours.
  3. Lightly wipe off the excess marinade. Lightly grill or pan fry the fish on both sides to sear, just until that surface turns brown you aren’t cooking it here.
  4. Transfer the fish to an oven preheated to 400F. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Enjoy!

Oh what a tasty delight you are about to have! This is my new favourite fish dish. Loved it so much I made it for my family on christmas eve and now my fellow foodie sister wants the recipe. Sorry it took me so long to type it out for ya Laura! Each serving contains: 363 calories, 6.7 grams fat, 9.1 grams carbs, 60.5 grams protein, no fiber sadly. Have a nice high fibre side dish to compensate. I made us a tasty quinoa and edamame bean pilaf on the side. Goodtimes! A fun variation is to add 1 tsp sriracha sauce to the marinade, spicy nobu! Keep in mind you can do this recipe with pretty much any white fish you like, go nuts!

 

 

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Posted in Craving Buster, Dinner

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Vote!

Posted on December 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Hurray! I’ve been nominated in the food and drink catagory of the canadian blogger awards! Want to help show your appreciation for hungry hobbit food? Vote for me like the Voty McVoterson you know you can be!

Voting for Best Food and Drink Blog Link

Don’t worry the link shouldn’t take you away from the nummy recipes, it gets it’s own window. Thanks in advance for those who took the time to indulge my moment of self promotion. Hehe.

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Posted in Babble

Almond Cupcakes with Orange Glaze

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 2 Comments

How about a tasty somewhat naughty festive treat? I was making cupcakes for a potluck that my yoga teacher training group decided to put on. I made these vegan friendly and oh my, they were tasty! The recipe below is the healthier way I would make them but I will include the recipe variation to make them vegan friendly too. They were originally going to be gluten free and vegan friendly but that challenge is going to be saved for another day. These were so tasty even my meatatarien husband has been enjoying them. For those who are curious I’m an omnomnomivore. Food is tasty.

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 12 tbl low fat cooking margarine
  • 1 1/2 cup splenda
  • 10 tbl egg substitute (like egg beaters)
  • 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened original
  • 2 tsp almond extract
  • 2 tbl orange zest, grated fine
  • Juice of 1 orange (usually about 2 ounces)
  • 2 1/2 cup icing sugar
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a bowl cream together the margarine, egg, almond extract and splenda.
  3. In another bowl combine the baking powder and flour. (yes, sometimes I’m lazy and skip this step too…it’s o.k.)
  4. Slowly alternate between adding the flour and the almond milk while beating the creamed mixture on low. Continue until all combined.
  5. Spoon batter into cup pan and bake for 20 minutes. You can tell they are done when they spring back when you touch them and are golden.
  6. While the cupcakes bake, combine the zest and icing sugar in a bowl.
  7. Slowly add the orange juice to the sugar mixture while beating on low. Once it is all combined at the desired consistency (you do not have to use all of the juice) beat for 2 minutes on high. Chill the glaze for 1 hour.
  8. Glaze the cupcakes when they have cooled.

Makes 16 cupcakes, each cupcake with glaze contains approximately 176 calories, 2.4 grams fat, 39 grams carbs, .9 gram fiber, and 2.2 grams protein.

To make this vegan friendly I used powdered egg substitute ( a local brand from the health store), vegan butter (earth balance buttery spread), and brown sugar instead of splenda. The nutritional info for this version is much higher of course. To make the cupcakes you just add the extra step before you cream of adding the required amount of water to the powdered egg substitute and stir. Other than that it is straight forward and the baking time is the same.

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Craving Buster, Dessert, Snack

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Hardcore Hobbit: Roast Beef

Posted on November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

As LOTRO says, “nothing can beat this savory pot roast”. So delicious! I don’t make roast very often because of the expense of buying one, what I keep forgetting though is each time I buy one it makes a few meals, not just one. With that consideration it’s actually a bargain when you pick one up on sale and oh so tasty. In the game roast beef is made with salt, cauliflower, and marinated beef (beef, green onion, salt). I highly recommend doing a roast in the crockpot, I find I get the most tender meat this way with very little fuss. I also always cook my roast from frozen, again omg tender! It will also make it’s own gravy this way. My mouth is watering just thinking about this roast again. Time to get to pictures and recipes before I raid the fridge.

  • 1 roast of choice, frozen
  • 2 tbl cornstarch
  • 2 pouches beef low salt oxo
  • 1 tsp herbs de provence
  • 4 tbl white wine
  • 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tsp dry mustard powder
  • pinch salt and pepper
  • 2 cup cauliflower
  • 2 tbl margarine
  • 1 tsp steak spice
  • green onion, sliced
  1. Place the roast in a crockpot, top and surrounding with the next nine ingredients on the list.
  2. Cover and cook for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low.
  3. Before serving, boil a pot of water. Add the cauliflower and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes or less. Drain. Add the margarine and steak spice. Mash. Season to taste.
  4. Serve and top with gravy from the crockpot and green onions.

There are so many variables in this recipe, cut of meat, size of cut, etc. So sadly I cannot give nutritional values for this one. The picture above is from my husband’s plate, it is a surly dwarf portion for sure. A hobbit trying to watch their figure should probably aim for a portion that looks more like this:and go easy on the gravy…I know…it’s hard. So nummy!

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Posted in Comfort Foods, Crockpot Creations, Dinner, The Hardcore Hobbit

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