Marvellous Meatballs

What is not to love about meatballs? Don't answer, that is a rhetorical question. Everybody loves meatballs, except maybe vegetarians, I guess. But don't assume that we are heading for Italy on today's culinary adventure, because no, these balls of meaty succulency (yes, of course, that's a word) are from another locale entirely: namely Morocco. No basil and parmesan here - instead they are laced with, and surrounded by, a delicious combo of apricots, pomegranate and cilantro, with, as a timely reminder of the season, a dash of pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this, then use a mixture of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom, with cinnamon as the most dominant element).

This dish was an undisputed home run. Not only did the crockpot get virtually licked clean with no leftovers in sight, but my house smelled divine as it bubbled away all afternoon. In fact, hypnotized by the delicious aroma, I was so eager in my excitement to taste this, that I forgot to sprinkle over pomegranate seeds and green onions, as indicated in the recipe. This may have detracted from its cheffy presentation value, but it certainly didn't detract from the taste.

The original recipe comes from the great 'Fun Cooking' section of Food Network magazine, which always makes me smile, and wonder what the cooking from the other sections is like, if it isn't fun. To call the preparation involved here fun, you have to have my kind of addiction to time in the kitchen, and not mind getting your hands dirty. It isn't labor intensive, but it also is not a total 'throw it in and switch it on' crockpot recipe.

To go with this dish, I roasted some vegetables with similar spices (recipe also below), and served the meatballs over some quinoa, although, if you wanted to be more authentic you could opt for cous cous (assuming your youngest son doesn't profess a hatred for cous cous...sigh).

Slow Cooker Moroccan Turkey Meatballs
Serves 6 (just)

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1 onion, finely chopped
2 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP plus 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
1 TBSP paprika
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
juice of 1 small lemon, or 1/2 large lemon
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
salt and pepper
1 3/4 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup panko
2 TBSP light sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
pomegranate seeds and sliced green onions to garnish

1. In the slow cooker stoneware, combine tomatoes, broth, apricots, onion, butter, 2 of the garlic cloves, 1 tsp pomegranate molasses, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, lemon juice, 3/4 cup cilantro, 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
2. Place the following in a large bowl: the turkey, panko, sour cream, parsley, remaining 1 minced garlic clove, remaining 2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and remaining 1/4 cup cilantro. Add 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of black pepper and then use your hands to mix it all together. Form the mixture into meatballs about 1.5" in diameter and nestle them into the liquid in the slow cooker. (They will kind of sit mostly on top).
3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
4. Before serving drizzle meatballs with remaining 1 TBSP pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and green onions.


Spicy Roasted Vegetables

2 heads Romesco cauliflower (or any other kind of cauliflower), cut into florets
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
canola oil
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper

1. In a large roasting pan, toss the vegetables with enough canola oil to coat them lightly. Sprinkle with the spices, salt and pepper and toss again to make sure they coat the vegetables.
2. Roast at 425 degrees F (200 C) for 25 minutes, or until tinged brown on the edges and as tender as you like them.

I love lasagna!

Yes, this is me - well maybe not the diving-in part, but definitely the aversion to sharing part! In fact, one of my favorite childhood toys was a plush Garfield in a chef's hat, with an apron that read "I LOVE LASAGNA". However, as a child, my hopes for a diet consisting at least 80% of lasagna were dashed by my father, who claimed to hate lasagna. It was therefore a rare treat. I say he 'claimed' to dislike lasagna, because, no sooner did I leave home, he actually TRIED lasagna and declared it to be rather nice, thank you very much. Oh, the torture wrought by parents on their children...

Anyway, now that I control the kitchen (buahahahahaha!), I eagerly seek out new lasagna recipes whenever I can find them, with one caveat - since eldest son hates ricotta cheese (a texture thing, I believe), they need to be recipes that don't use that. He also hates melted cheese on top of things (honestly, at this point, his parentage should really be in question - how can a child of mine resist melted cheese?), but that is less of an issue, since I merely scrape the offending melty goodness off the top, and give it to someone else more deserving as a bonus (with any luck, me!).

This recipe fit the bill perfectly, and was eagerly enjoyed by all five members of the family, and then served up in the form of leftovers the following lunchtime - lasagna twice in two days: this was a week to remember! And the fact that it uses easy ingredients like pre-marinated artichokes and a jar of marinara sauce is something I refuse to apologize for on a busy weekday!

Artichoke Spinach Lasagne
Serves 8
adapted from Taste of Home

10 oz no-boil lasagne sheets
olive oil spray
2 TBSP olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary
1 12-14 oz jar marinated artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 24-28 oz jar marinara sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with oil spray.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions and garlic until tender (8 minutes or so). Stir in broth and rosemary and bring to a boil. Stir in artichokes and spinach, then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 5 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce.
3. Spread a 1/4 of the marinara mixture in the bottom of the baking dish, and top with a layer of lasagna sheets. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of mozzarella.
4. Repeat the layers 2 more times, followed by the last remaining 1/4 of the marinara mixture. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the top, followed by the feta cheese.
5. Cover with foil, and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and then bake for 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbling.
6. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting, then serve sprinkled with fresh basil.

Are you kidding, California?

102 degrees is the forecast for today. It was a touch below that yesterday, which I believe the local weather forecaster would have called 'mild'. Let me let you into a secret - while it is certainly true that men sweat, and horses perspire, women do not glow. Nope. We sweat. And it ain't pretty. In fact, let me make that two secrets revealed: British people were not made to withstand these temperatures.

Anyway, suffice to say that switching the oven on has not been something tempting these last couple of days. Trying out new salad recipes? Now that is more like it. However, given that my children claim to be 'starving' when they return home from school, I also need to ensure that no one fades away of an evening, so any salad I put on the table needs to be satisfying and not completely devoid of carbohydrate. This one fits the bill perfectly. And, I increased the quantities listed below, so the kids got some leftovers in their lunch boxes the following day. And, last by not least, as you can see from the photo below, it was eagerly anticipated by all around the table :-)

Again, I am afraid that I oversnipped when cutting out the recipe, and sadly lost the original source. I blame the heat.

Pesto Chicken and Couscous Salad
Serves 4

1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed from bone and shredded
1 3/4 cups pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous)
2 cups packed basil leaves
2 TBSP toasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 TBSP grated parmesan
3/4 tsp salt
10 oz cherry/grape tomatoes, halved
5 oz smoked mozzarella, cubed

1. Cook the couscous according to directions, then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool.
2. Put the basil, pine nuts, garlic and lemon juice into a food processor and switch on. As it blends, add the oil in a steady stream to create the pesto dressing. Finally add the parmesan and 1/4 tsp of salt and briefly process to combine.
3. Mix together the cooled couscous, chicken, tomatoes and mozzarella, and toss with the pesto and another 1/2 tsp salt to taste.

Where did she go?

"This is great Mum! Thanks!"

Yep. It's worrying when your teenager daughter utters this at the dinner table. You want to be flattered and accept the compliment as genuine, but you are naturally somewhat floored, since, as I mentioned, this compliment comes from your teenage daughter - the one whose major achievement in life may well be to bring home the gold, should eye-rolling ever become an olympic sport. And its purpose clearly wasn't to serve as transparent lure into a false sense of maternal security, only to be followed by "Mum.... Can I have....?" Therefore I am forced to conclude that the only possible explanation is that my daughter has been kidnapped by aliens and replaced with a (possibly) human copy - physically alike in every way, and yet emotionally much more mature, less moody, and...well... nice at the dinner table.

The meal that caused this puzzling outburst was the slow-cooker gem below - clipped from Family Circle, a magazine I am still somewhat in denial about subscribing to (I feel I must be at least 20 years younger than their target demographic...surely?!), but which does contain some great recipes, and which, to be fair, they did offer me for $5 per year, so it seemed rude not to subscribe. Plus the ads for hormone replacement and adult diapers will surely come in handy one day... just a very distant  day, if I have anything to do with it!

I tweaked the recipe somewhat, to ensure that there were enough veggies in there that I didn't need to worry about providing sides, beyond a heaping mound of quinoa (or rice, if you prefer).

Green Curry Chicken and Potatoes
Serves 6
Adapted from Family Circle

2.5 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs, each cut in half
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 lbs small potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1 can (13.5oz) light coconut milk
5 TBSP green curry paste
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP sugar
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups green beans, chopped into 1" lengths
1/2 cup cilantro (coriander leaves), coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Thai basil (regular basil will do), coarsely chopped
1 TBSP lime juice
lime wedges and quinoa/rice to serve

1. Coat slow cooker stoneware with oil spray.
2. Place chicken, onion and potatoes in slow cooker. Mix together the coconut milk, 3 TBSP curry paste, soy sauce and sugar and pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours. Then taste for spiciness and add up to 2TBSP more of the curry paste. Stir in the red pepper and green beans, and then cook for a further half hour, until the pepper and beans are tender.
4. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.
5. Serve in bowls over rice/quinoa, sprinkled with basil, and with lime wedges to squeeze over the top.