When Bad Wine Goes Good

For me, one of life's great pleasures is to relax with a glass of red wine and  not just drink it, but thoroughly experience the flavours and aromas. Unfortunately, utter disappointment was to be my fate that night when I took that eagerly-anticipated sip only to discover that this wine is actually kind of  disgusting.

I often hear chefs say or write that if the wine is not good enough to drink, than you shouldn't be cooking with it. I dare to disagree. My beginnings of enhancing the flavour of stews and chilis with wine started with a particularily offensive (and, of course, large)  batch of red wine that I inherited from my father's make your own wine days.

This sauce has become one of my favourite recipes that I use for rejected red wine.  It is ideal for gnocchi and pasta but I have also used it with rice dishes.

Herbed Tomato Sauce

1 can tomatoes with juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1.5 tsp dired marjoram
1 bay leaf
1.5 tsp pepper
1.2 cup red wine
1/8 cup dried basil
1 tbsp dried parsley

Combine tomatoes, garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, marjoram, bayleaf and pepper in a large pot and bring  to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, stirring opccasionally and cook 30 minutes.  Add wine, basil and parsley and cook 30 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf.

Group Effort

A friend and I recently got together for an indian food night where we both contributed towards the meal.  I can accurately describe my friend as Martha Stewart in disguise (if you add a sweet personality and subtract the criminal record). With full awareness of the contrast in cooking abilities and feeling woefully inadequate, I really wanted my potatoes to turn out well.

I started by following the recipe to a tee but found myself obsessively tasting and adjusting the spices to bring it to the level of heat that we both appreciate. It is a quirk of mine that I am not able to leave things alone; a quirk that has led to the creation of both masterpieces and messes.

Later, as we were chatting while she finished working on the last of her dishes, I realized we shared the same habit. We ended up tasting, discussing and creating a new flavour together and having a load of fun doing it.

While there are certain recipes that call for exactness, cooking is an art, not a science, and we should all free ourselves to create something new.

Coconut Cauliflower Curry
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced ginger root or powder
3 cloves garlic minced or crushed
1/2 tsp ground/crushed peppercorns
6-8 whole peppercorns
1-2 cinnamon sticks
6-8 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp curry powder or garam masala
1/4 cup water
2 onions chopped
1 can tomatoes with juice
1/4-1/2 can of light coconut milk
2 carrots, chopped
1 head cauliflower cut up into florets
1 cup chopped green beans


 In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions with
ginger, ground pepper, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves & bay
leaves, and cook until onion is tender. Add carrots, cauliflower, and
greens beans and toss until all vegetables are coated with oil and
spices.

Transfer vegetable mixture to crock pot. Add water to skillet to
dislodge spices and add to crock pot mixture.

Add canned tomatoes with juice. Add preferred amount of coconut
milk along with preferred amount of curry.

Toss to combine ingredients. Cover and cook on High for 4-6 hours.

Indian Potatos

3 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds ( I used dijon mustard)
1 pinch gournd cumin
1 Tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 knob ginger, peeled and finely chopped
6 potatoes, peeled, partboiled and cut in cubes
A touch of margarine
4 tbsp tomato sauce or to taste
ground coriander, to taste

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the spices for a few minutes.  Add the margarine then the potatoes, making sure they are completely coated in the spicy mixture.

Cook for about 10-15 minutes, then stir in the tomato sauce and the coriander

Drinking.. er.. Ringing in the New Year

I place a high importance on healthy eating and an active lifesyle but I also find it essential to indulge occasionally.  Over the Christmas season,  it is downright impossible to behave with that never-ending supply of chocolate that appears at the office, parties and basically every where you go in the month of December! I knew my defeat was inevitable when the chocolate aggressively hunted me down and taunted me. (Don't judge, you weren't there)

One holiday favourite that I was especially craving was Baileys irish cream. You can't buy a vegan version, but you can make it yourself.

I was fairly skeptical that Baileys could be replaced, but it really was delicious; creamy and very much like Baileys.  I combined two different recipes to get the taste I liked. It doesn't last permanently like the commercial kind, so I suggest making it for your next get together. Cheers!

Vegan Baileys

1 can coconut milk                                2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp raw or brown sugar                    3/4 cup whiskey
2 tbsp chocolate syrup                          1/3 cup strong coffee

Combine all ingredients thouroughly using a whisk. Do not froth. Keep refrigerated, prefereably in a dark bottle.