Rhubarb Pie

I don't bake, so the pie crusts came out of the freezer.

Gazpacho Soup

I make this once a year, usually around this time when tomatoes are super ripe and cheap, and the weather is nice & warm.  Cold soup is always so good when its hot outside.  A co-worker says this dish is his favourite of all the things I make, so I make it for him - this will be the third or fourth year now.  I started, the first time I made it by following Ina Garten's recipe exactly.  Each year, I change the recipe a little and experiment. Last year was awful - for some reason it came out really BITTER.  This year I used:

Shrimp Stuffed Sole

They had fresh sole on sale at IGA and it looked fabulous.  I decided to recreate a dish I made years ago.  No recipe, couldn't even find anything online that was close.  Basically, it's stuffed sole with a shrimp mixture made in a muffin tin.  For my filling, I used:

Smoked Turkey Split Pea Soup

This has always been my favourite soup and I've made it since I started cooking.  My dad would always laugh at me because I hated peas (still do), but loved pea soup when he made it.  Of course, it doesn't taste anything like canned green peas does...I can eat fresh peas out of a pod, but I can't even eat frozen ones out of a bag...BLECH.

Toad in the Hole

I was thinking of what to make for Cinco de Mayo and I ended up with British "Toad in the Hole".   :) I've made this before and it didn't turn out so well, so I decided it was time to re-visit it.  I used packaged Yorkshire Pudding mix last time.  This time I decided to make it from scratch.  I've been craving sausages lately, so figured this would take care of that itch.  I bought Freden Fine Foods all natural casings and ingredients ( no additives) mild Italian sausage and decided to wrap each one in a thick slice of bacon.  (I read somewhere that bacon fat helps Yorkshires rise to the occasion).  On another day I might have searched for real British banger sausages, but I simply didn't have the time today...

Creamy Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup

I made my chicken broth in the crockpot which I learned from Clinton Kelly on "The Chew".  I used two rotisserie chicken carcasses from Costco.  It was ready when I got home from work.  It is really easy and I highly recommend trying it sometime.  I strained it into a pot and started the wild rice in the broth immediately as it takes an hour to cook.  I drained it when done.

Creole Jambalaya

New Orleans is my favourite food town, ever.  If you like good eats, it's Paradise!  My best friend asked me if I'd make jambalaya for her and of course I obliged. Her family is unadventurous when it comes to food, so this isn't a dish she would ever make at home.  I have made this dish a few times before, sometimes with a pre-packaged mix, sometimes not.  Tonight I decided to use this recipe from "The Chew".  I've said it before, but I can't find the right andouille sausage here, so I used chorizo instead.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale so I used those instead of thighs,  though I would have preferred the thighs.

Ziti with Asparagus & Prosciutto

I'm not sure where I got this recipe.  I've had it over 20 years now - handwritten.  I make this rarely as pasta doesn't make it into my rotation very often, but when I do, I always enjoy it.  It is fresh and is well suited for Spring.  I don't think I've ever seen ziti in regular big chain grocery stores, but I get it at Famous Foods.  Here are the ingredients from my notes:

Grilled Top Sirloin Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Since I got my BBQ ready for the season, I have been craving "chimichurri" sauce.  I have never made it and decided it was time for Sunday dinner!  I went with this recipe, which seemed pretty basic and had cilantro.  I knew I wanted cilantro in it, but of course if you don't like it, leave it out.  I bought Top Sirloin steak as it was on sale at IGA.

Ahi Tuna Poké

I learned of this treasure called "Poké" in Hawaii.  I tried several different types while visiting over many trips, but liked the Ahi Tuna one the best.  I have been craving this like crazy lately and decided I wanted to make this at home.  At IGA, I see some pretty good looking Ahi at times, though, "previously frozen".  I was looking at it earlier this week and the Meat/Seafood dept. manager was beside me laying out the seafood.  I asked him if I could eat the Ahi raw?  He told me that "NO", not from the case (all of the seafood laying on ice) as there may be cross contamination, but if I wanted, he would thaw some for me and slice it for me so I could have sashimi, or tartar - a.k.a. POKE!  He told me to give him a days notice.  I told him I would request for Friday then and come back.  He told me no problem.  I went back on Friday and sure enough, he had put a piece aside for me and told his staff to expect me.  I think "he who serverd me" overcharged me?  It was $3.99 per 100 grams.  What I bought was 1.23 lbs.  I don't know how to figure it out....grrrr....  Everything in my mind is half pounds and ounces and kilograms and milligrams on the other side since we switched in Canada to metric - somewhere around ending elementary school and starting high school for me.  I never adapted to the metric system.  I have to google translate it all the time.  I still do the temperature in Fahrenheit.  I have no idea what it is in Celsius. I have no idea what kilograms are - I use pounds still.  Anyway, I think it should have cost about $22 with my google calculations.  :P