Rubbishy Cookery

  A good friend gave me the original recipe for these meatballs, apparently from her head. It was never written down. It was so simple, and I made it so regularly, the recipe lived in my head too. But then years passed, times changed, and I somehow stopped making these meatballs. Out of the blue, something made me think of them again. But the recipe was long purged from my head, likely to make room for some new drivel. But somewhere in the recesses of my aging brain, along with some muscle memory once I got started, and some creative license, I’ve brought them back, baby! Ingredients: Sorry, no photos today. I’m getting a « 403 error » from Blogger so I guess I’m banned from uploading photos from my device. Alas. For the meatballs: - 1 pound ground beef - 1 egg - quick oats, a handful or so - about a Tbsp each of garlic and onion powders  - a finely chopped shallot  - fresh or dried dill - a glug or two of canola oil  And for the saucy gravy: - tamari sauce  - 1...

  It’s all Greek to me—let’s make tzatziki! Ingredients: Note the ingredient labelled “Skyr”. This is a game changer for making homemade tzatziki. I used to use Balkan style plain yogurt, but had to first turn it into yogurt “cheese” by straining it for at least an hour, but the longer the better. My method, in case you’re interested, was to spoon a quantity of yogurt into a coffee filter lined plastic funnel positioned in a cup to collect the liquid that strains (“whey”) and let it rest in the fridge. If you use Skyr, a thick low fat, high protein Icelandic yogurt, you don’t need to do any of this rigamarole because it’s naturally so thick and unctuous. Time saver! Directions: Using a garlic press, crush a clove of garlic into a bowl and sprinkle with kosher salt to allow the garlic to mellow, soften, and, pardon the expression, sweat: Smash the salted crushed garlic after a few moments of rest into a paste: Add the Skyr (or strained yogurt cheese): Add a lot of finely chopped fre...

  This is a great way to use a $3 bag of beets from the farm market up the road, but be forewarned: beets are not just a vibrant colour! They turn everything they come in contact with a vibrant colour! That includes your hands, your clothes, your cutting board, your tablecloth, and even your insides. So DON’T PANIC when you go to the bathroom the next day! Ingredients: I forgot to photograph the raw beets pre-Instant Pot cooking, how rubbishy of me! Rubbishy bloggery! I also added on a bonus ingredient halfway through: Directions: First, cook the beets. As mentioned previously, I use an Instant Pot and have a chart for pressure cooking time by average beet circumference: I don’t remember where I found this chart, so I can’t give it credit, but it’s perfect every time. Thanks to whoever published this on the interwebs!  You can also boil or roast the beets, just get them cooked so that you can easily poke a knife into them: Peel and slice the beets, maybe wearing an apron so yo...

  Warning: this post isn’t just rubbishy, but it’s also sad and pathetic in tone and spirit.  This is a great recipe for when you have a nasty viral respiratory infection. And possibly still recovering from a lower limb injury. Should you find yourself in that most unfortunate situation, but still able to cook. Kind of. Also, if this was a major part of your childhood: If this book in particular, and Maurice Sendak in general, weren’t a major part of your childhood, run don’t walk to your nearest library and check it and him out. I’m just assuming that this recipe is going to turn out well, because of my confidence and current health pickle. I’ve never made chicken soup with rice this way before, nor have I ever made chicken soup with rice in the dead of summer, but here we are. Ingredients, part I: Ingredients, part II: Very important ingredient close up: Yes, this is a quick and easy chicken soup, and fits in well with the blog’s rubbishy cookery theme. In an ideal world, it...

  I know what you’re thinking: there’s nothing new about salmon patties. Maybe your mother, like mine in the 1970s, slapped a can of salmon together with an egg and some breadcrumbs, formed patties, fried them up, and called it a meal. And maybe your memories of them, like mine, are good.  But these, I guarantee, are better! Ingredients: Oops, I forgot to include the neutral flavoured canola oil in the picture above. But you’ll need it too. Directions: Using any canned wild salmon—pink, sockeye, is there any other?—open and drain it well. I only use canned salmon that has skin and bones included for the extra health benefits. Take a fork to your well-drained salmon and make sure you really smash up the skin and bones well. Otherwise it can be a little too real, if you know what I mean. Next, add a farm fresh egg and mash it all together: Next, add the dry ingredients: quick oats, flax meal, and black sesame seeds, in the approximate proportions shown below: If in doubt, start ...