grilled scallop ceviche

I don't tend to make fancy food much and because scallops are pricey, they count as fancy in my book. However, after a trip to the Maritimes last summer where I tried scallops for the very first time, I just couldn't get them out of my head. When it came to making a nice celebratory dinner, I figured scallops were worth the splurge.

I didn't want a recipe that was too heavy with butter or cream, so I decided to make a twist on ceviche. Ceviches usually rely on lemon or lime juice to cook the raw fish, but a recipe found in Gourmet for a grilled scallop ceviche sounded ideal. And it was. It's full of bright, citrus flavours and the cucumber here is very refreshing against the jalapeño heat. It's the kind of meal you'd want to eat lots of in the summer, you know, in between your yacht sailings and Prada shopping sprees. And while this meal feels fancy, it's actually not such a big spend. The recipe only uses 8 large sea scallops and when you think about the cost of eating out, a nice meal in with a bottle of wine is pretty affordable (but go on and strap on some heels for the occasion).

Are you starting from frozen scallops? Use the cold water method to defrost rather than slowly defrosting in the fridge. Put your scallops into a ziplock bag, place bag into a bowl and slowly run cold water from your tap over the scallops until they thaw. Depending on the size of your seafood, this could take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. This way results in very fresh tasting scallops and this way your seafood doesn't get swamped with water. This quick thaw method works well for shrimp as well.

grilled scallop ceviche
(recipe adapted from Gourmet)
6-8 large sea scallops
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 small orange
2 T fresh lime juice
3/4 English cucumber, seeded and diced
1/4 of a red onion, finely diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeds removed, minced

1. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper and brush lightly with a bit of olive oil before adding them to a hot grill pan. Grill until marks appear (about 1-2 minutes) and flip repeating the process. Scallops don't need to be fully cooked as they will fully cook in the lime juice later. Remove from pan immediately and set aside to cool.

2. Cut away the peel from the orange using a sharp paring knife. Cut segments free from their membranes and then dice. Add oranges, cucumber, red onion, jalapeños and any remaining orange juice into a medium sized bowl.

3. If your scallops are large & you want to be thrifty like me, slice the scallops in half on their sides so that 1 scallop is now 2 coin-shaped scallops (rather than cutting them in half width wise). Add the scallops to the bowl and squeeze lime juice over everything. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top and gently toss. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

chocolate chip oatmeal kumquat cookies

I'm a fan of kumquats. They're tiny little bursts of concentrated orange tartness that pops in your mouth like candy. And I love that you don't need to peel 'em...just pop 'em and go. However, I 've never really looked inside of one before, never having a need to before. But then a bought a large bag of kumquats in Chinatown and wondered what else I could do with these tiny citrus fruits. I found a recipe for kumquat cookies and the deal was sealed.

When I started chopping the kumquats I was surprised to find out that there's not much fruit or juice to these little orange balls....just pith, rind and seeds. Who knew? I guess it's what makes these cookies so great. The flavour of the kumquats provide a concentrated burst of orange flavour that goes so well with the chocolate. These cookies aren't overly sweet but they pack a wallop of deliciousness...and this coming from someone who claims that she's not even a fan of the orange/chocolate combo! Pass on the Terry's chocolate orange and snack on these instead. Oh, and that sweet pink knife up above? I bought it locally at a kitchen shop in Chinatown, but it's available on Amazon: Kuhn Rikon Pink Nonstick Paring Knife with Sheath 4-in.



chocolate chip oatmeal kumquat cookies
(based on this recipe)
1 c kumquat, diced small
2/3 c softened butter
2/3 c brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c oatmeal
2/3 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour little by little to the butter mixture and beat slowly together. Stir in the oatmeal and kumquats and finally the chocolate chips, stirring until everything is evenly mixed.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. Cool on rack.

crumb crazy: orange crumb cake

I know, I know, I just made a pretty fantastic crumb coffee cake, so why would I try again after being so satisfied with that recipe? Well, it all came down to a trade. After a bout of wii boxing and the fact that at that moment, unbeknownst to me, I was coming down with the flu of a lifetime, my muscles were crying foul. I wanted a massage. My partner-in-crime wanted cake so a deal was struck. Turns out I may have had the best deal of all, since I got a fantastic massage and a share of the cake. Hey, I'm a believer that there is no such thing as too much cake.


And oh boy, oh boy, what a cake! Incredibly light textured—perhaps due to the fact that olive oil replaces stodgy butter in this recipe—and to what effect! Light as a feather, indeed. Plus, the orange flavour is bright and fresh and melds beautifully with the cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon. And did I mention that it's easy to boot? Yup, just take care to read over the recipe and reserve some of the dry mixture as the topping!


I'm still ravaged by the flu and I've lost my voice. And it's tee shirt weather now that spring has finally hit Vancouver...but I'm too sick to be outside to enjoy it. But at least I still have cake! Oh and if you are in sunny warm Vancouver today, be sure to stop by the I *heart* Crafts bazaar at 805 East Pender until 6pm in beautiful Strathcona. Althought I'm sick, my friend Mel has graciously offered to man my table. So stop by, purchase some handmade goods, and say hi!

orange crumb cake
2 c flour
1 1/2 c brown sugar
zest of 1 large orange
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cardamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 c olive oil
3 T orange juice

1 c yogurt
1 egg
1 t vanilla extract
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 8 or 9 inch round or square pan. Set aside.

2. Stir flour, sugar, orange zest and spices in a medium sized bowl. Add oil and orange juice and stir lightly until mixture forms clumps. Remove 1 cup of this mixture for the topping and set aside.

3. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, egg, vanilla, baking powder and baking soda until blended. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture, stirring until batter is smooth.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan, and sprinkle with the reserved cup of topping. Bake for 40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

my prince charming: bitter orange ice cream

I'm sure I've gushed again and again how much I love Sour. Sweet is nice, but sour is where it's at in my book. Soon after I started getting interested in food as more than just "what's for dinner" kind of thinking, I had heard about Seville oranges: the sourest of all oranges. It became a bit of a quest, my holy grail, to find a Seville orange. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find a trace of that sour orange. I searched in high-end markets in February (the month when Sevilles are supposedly in store) with no luck. But then last week, after walking down Main Street in search of a pretty skirt, I lucked into a unassuming Asian market where the sign "Marmalade Oranges" caught my eye. Yes, I had finally struck Seville gold!

So I bagged up nearly a dozen oranges and made my way over to the house of a nearby friend who is also a bit of a sour fiend. We cut open the orange and checked it over. It had a very thick rind and a huge amount of seeds, but the essence of orange was strong. We cut a small segment each and sucked on it, laughing at our puckered reactions! Holy Sour Nirvana!! While we quickly decided that the Seville orange isn't meant to be eaten out of hand, I started thinking up all kinds of things I could do with them. A great orangeade and a vinaigrette, for sure, but when I got home, I hopped on my computer and Google found the perfect recipe for me. Yes, another Nigella Lawson recipe with the enchanting (at least to me) name, Bitter Orange Ice Cream.

The best thing about this ice cream is that you don't need an ice-cream maker or any special stirring techniques. Nope, just whip it and freeze it and a few hours later you have creamy frozen goodness. While this certainly isn't traditional ice cream per se, it does scoop up nice into a firm little ball which is perfect for serving in a martini glass or in a dainty vintage sundae cup. If it were the season for fresh strawberries, I'd suggest eating it over a bowlful of those, but it is almost as nice to eat plain out of a bowl or atop a chocolate wafer.

This is a very rich dessert, so I'd suggest keeping serving sizes small but I certainly wouldn't be against walking by the freezer with a spoon in hand in case of ice cream emergencies. I didn't adjust or tweak the proportions in the original recipe one bit. It's perfect as it is with the nicest balance of sweet and sour. And if you don't have a Seville at hand, use 1 orange and 2 limes to make up the difference.

bitter orange ice cream
3 Seville oranges, or 1 navel orange and 2 limes
1 c + 2 T confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 c heavy cream

Zest and juice the oranges and place in a large metal bowl. Stir in sugar, mixing to melt. Add in heavy cream and whip until soft peaks form. Pour mixture into a lidded shallow container and freeze for at least 3-4 hours until firm. Remove from freezer and let stand for 15 minutes to soften slightly. Use an ice cream scoop to make small balls and serve over fruit salad or eat with chocolate wafers. Or just stroll by the freezer with a spoon and dig in.

the contessa's voluptuous breakfast: orange yogurt

A couple of weeks ago, I had company for brunch and I wracked my brain trying to figure out what to make. After consulting recipe books and perusing my blogroll, I decided to keep things familiar. I made some almond & cherry scones, whipped out my apple butter, put out my huge glass jar of homemade granola and I fancified some yogurt. You see, last year (when I had cable tv), I saw the Barefoot Contessa make a fancy brunch for her fancy friends in her fancy kitchen. I was impressed. But I was most impressed by her tricked out orange yogurt. It seemed so easy....drain store-bought yogurt overnight and then throw in some add-ins. She transformed a runny breakfast stand-by into something voluptuous, decadent and still healthy.

So the night before my morning guest was to arrive, I set up my coffee pot and filter and drained my yogurt in that. In the morning I was rewarded with thick, really thick, yogurt. I added in some honey, coconut and of course fresh orange juice to rehydrate and zest. Because I was serving this with granola I didn't want to add in the nuts and raisins the original recipe called for. It didn't lack for a thing...it was amazing as is!

Yesterday morning, I decided to try the yogurt again, but since I was planning on eating it with some fresh fruit, I stayed on the Contessa's side and added some dried fruit and nuts for a bit more depth. Once again, I was blown away! Sure, it requires some advance planning to drain the yogurt, but the results are truly outstanding. I use my favorite 0.3% local Fraser Meadow organic yogurt and you'd never guess it was low fat by how it looked. Spoonable and swoonable, indeed.


orange yogurt
1 large container of plain yogurt
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/4 c coconut
1/4 c almonds, roughly chopped
2 T dried cherries, chopped
1-2 T honey

Line sieve with cheesecloth and suspend over a bowl — or just use a coffee pot and filter like I did. Add yogurt and let drain 3 hours or overnight. Throw out liquid and place the thickened yogurt in a bowl and add remaining ingredients, stirring well. Serve plain or top with granola and fresh fruit.

breakfast on a cloud: orange ricotta pancakes

Despite the fact that my fridge is full of apples, there isn't one apple present in today's recipe. (Don't you love how I snuck in an apple into my baked pasta recipe yesterday? Ha.) More apples recipes to come, but this simple to make breakfast is all about the ricotta. These pancakes are light and fluffy and have a nice tang from the orange zest (although lemon zest could be subbed in too). Cornelius wasn't too sure about having pancakes with cheese - he obviously never grew up with my dad's amazing cottage cheese pancakes - but after the first bite he was converted.

This recipe makes for a pretty thick but delicate batter. Be careful not to add too much batter to the pan and make sure you gently smooth over the tops. The key is to get a nice crunchy edge which adds a nice contrast to the pillowy soft interiors. We topped ours with my favorite sour cherry jam, but warmed honey or a sprinkle of icing sugar would be perfect too.


orange ricotta pancakes
1 ¾ c ricotta
2 eggs
1/4 c sugar
zest of 1 large orange
1 t vanilla
2/3 c flour
butter

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, sugar, zest and vanilla. Gently fold in the flour.

2. Melt better over medium-high heat in a cast iron frying pan or griddle. Add a large tablespoon of batter for each pancake, slightly smoothing over the tops. Cook for 4 minutes per side. Serve with fruit preserves (I love sour cherry jam).

simple can be fancy

I find that taking photos for my blog can be quite trying at times. It's either too dark or I can't be bothered to set up for a good shot or my camera batteries have died. Often times, when I don't have a great photo, I'll just scrap my post and wait for the next recipe and photograph that works. But this time, I just couldn't do that. Sure, it was too dark on Friday night when I snapped this soy/ginger/blood orange trout, but the fish was so delicious and easy that I had to write about it. The photo may be lacklustre, but this recipe isn't. It's simple enough that you can put this dish together within 5 minutes, pop it in the oven and the results will be so delicious and impressive that you can serve it to the fanciest dinner guest and get rave reviews. It's that good.

soy, ginger & blood orange baked trout fillets
2 trout (or salmon) fillets
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 T Japanese soy sauce
juice & zest of 1 blood orange
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced

Preheat oven to 375. In a small oven proof dish, lay fish fillets skin side down. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the soy sauce, orange juice & zest, garlic and ginger. Pour over fish and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until fish is just done. Remove from oven and serve.

dammit, pomegranate!

Way before everyone starting touting the pomegranate as the latest miracle wonder food, I was already an old pro at this tart and refreshing fruit. Back in grade six, my mom kept me in fine pomegranate style. I was smitten with the Go-Go's and smitten with the pom. I only ate tart fruit and my mom figured I needed variety away from the white grapefruits I would normally would eat during the winter, so she introduced pomegranates to my lunchtime routine and I was instantly hooked. I liked that I could eat them slowly, juicy kernal by juicy kernal and share them eagerly with my friends. Now that I'm all grown up, I still enjoy the pom in salads, with yogurt and granola or just plain, kernal by kernal.

Tonight, when figuring out dinner options, I knew that I had some fresh shrimp to use up along with some near-wilty romaine lettuce. Upon closer fridge inspection, I found some oranges, limes, celery, a green pepper, a quarter of a white onion and the miracle pomegranate. Well, it looked like I had the makings of a perfect salad and I wasn't wrong at all. I decided to spice up the shrimps with chipotle powder and brighten them up in some lime and orange juice, zest and all. The salad did require some time in the kitchen...no one said prepping a pomegranate was quick! But the time spent peeling and picking was well worth it. Cornelius pronounced this meal amazing and I was too busy licking my plate to pay attention. Yes, it was that good. Perfectly light, bright and colourful. It's like summer on a plate at the beginning of January!

chipotle shrimp with a citrus pomegranate salad
for the shrimp
1/2 lb shrimp, heads removed & deveined, rinsed
1 lime, juiced & zested
1/2 orange, juiced & zested
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t chipotle powder
1 T butter

for the salad
1 pomegranate, peeled & prepped
1 orange, chopped (cut off skins/pith with knife and dice)
1/2 orange, juiced & zested
1 lime, juiced & zested
1/4 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 head, romaine lettuce, rinsed & dried

for the dressing
1/4 c olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1 t dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Rinse the shrimp and place in a medium sized bowl. Pour lime and orange juice over shrimp, along with the zest and chipotle powder. Toss and set aside. I just left these on the counter to marinate for about an hour. I live to write this now.

2. Prepare the pomegranate* and put the kernals into a medium sized bowl, along with the diced orange, onion, green pepper and celery. Toss with the juice of the orange and lime and their respective zest. Set aside for 30 minutes. Knit, call your mom or read a magazine.

3. After the 30 minutes have passed, make the dressing by combining the dressing ingredients along with the juices from the bottom of the bowl in Step 2. I just used a spoon to scoop up the fruit-juicy goodness.

5. In a large cast iron pan, melt butter and add the shrimp in one by one into one layer. Don't pile them in. When you've added your last shrimp, the first shrimp you added should be ready to turn over. Use tongs and gently turn over the remaining shrimp. Remove from pan immediately as you don't want the shrimp to overcook.

6. Tear romaine into bite sized bits and place into a large salad bowl. Put the orange/pom/veg mixture from Step 2 on top of the lettuce and then pour the dressing over top. Toss and plate. Divide the shrimp and place on top of the salad. Let the ooohs & aaaahhhhs begin!

This makes 4 appetizer sized plates or 2 large meals.

* Don't know how to prepare a pomegranate? It's easy but time-consuming. Have one bowl ready for the delicious seeds and have another bowl handy for the compost. An apron to cover your clothing would also be a good idea, as pom juice stains. First cut off the top until you see seeds. Then, tear into that sucker and start de-seeding. It should break into a couple different parts. Choose only the brightest seeds. If they look cloudy or plummy, toss them into the compost heap.

curious orange.

butternut squash & apple soup

This soup is still simmering away on the stove, so I have no idea how exactly it will taste, but if I can go by smell alone, "Damn! This is fine soup!"

1 small butternut squash
1 granny smith apple
1 onion
1 T butter
3 cloves garlic
water to cover
vegetable bullion
1 t thyme
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1 t cumin
1 t corriander
1 t red pepper flakes
1 T curry paste
salt to taste

Melt butter into a heavy pot. Add the cubed onion, garlic and apple to the pot and saute until translucent and soft. Add a dash of salt. Add cubed squash to the pot and mix in all the spices. Cover the vegetables with water and let simmer until squash is soft and the mixture is fragrant, about 30 minutes. Taste and reseason if necessary. Puree and serve with a dollup of yogurt.