Saturday, May 30, 2009

Saturday, May 30 - Babaganoush and Wasabi Tuna

We finally had a chance to go hit a farmer's market this weekend. As well, we were able to do a proper shop along Commercial. There are so many things that are part of our regular eating habits that we had been lax on due to typical two working people's schedules. But I'm so excited, sobre todo, that we found artichokes on sale. Normally in late spring, the season, artichokes are everwhere for like a dollar a piece. Normally a nice softball sized artichoke will run you about 5 bucks. In season, they are plentiful and so much more flavourful and sustainable. So I was quite dismayed that for most of April and May we didn't find the abundance that we'd seen the past.

We woke up early to go to a charity event I had volunteered us for so breakfast was meagre. It was a pot of coffee and a scone that I bought yesterday at Starbucks. It was okay. It was a pumkin scone and I lurve pumpkin anything. But the icing was a bit surgary the texture of the scone was a bit cakey. I like my scones to be tender and dry, as they should be.

I did manage to scarf down a Spanakopita at my favorite place on Commercial 1824, near 3rd ave. As well, I bought a market loaf at the Trout Lake Farmer's market. The break was just gorgeous. Fresh and you could just smell the difference from the supermarket. I'm pretty sure I took a picture of the stall. I noshed a bit on that until D snagged the bag from me before I ate the whole loaf, thank goodness.

After our big shop we came up for a bit of a repose and a nosh on some of the middle eastern flatbread we bought for later. I had a bit with a piece of feta and some oil cured anchovies. I love love love anchovies. It started in Spain. Before that I was your typical North American, programmed by TV to hate anchovies... oh no anchovies on your pizza. Whatever. They're wonderful in their salty richness. Yuuuummmmm and D made his coleslaw. We found some nice fennel today so it was the full recipe.

CABBAGE and FENNEL SLAW


VEG
1/2 a small red cabbage finely shredded
1/2 a small white cabbage finely shredded (slightly larger than a softball)
1 large carrot grated or julienned
1 large fennel bulb finely sliced
1/2 small onion finely diced
TOSS

DRESSING
1/4 c + 1/8 c mayo (don't use miracle whip)
1/4 c sour cream (use low fat if you must)
1/4 t sugar
1/2 lemon juiced
1t hotsauce, I used the Matouks that I bought on Commercial that they serve in the Reef jamaican restaurant. mmmmm
WHISK SMOOTH

TOSS to coat thoroughly. SALT and PEPPER to taste. It's best when you let it sit. We had this last week but we didn't have the slaw and did a different amount.

I had a small bowl right away and I could taste the difference sitting makes.

Now we bought the big middle eastern flatbread in the same place we always do, the Mediterranean Specialty Foods store 1824 Commercial where I buy my Spanakopita. It's the size of a hand towel and is VERY chewy. It's perfect for hummous, babaganouzsh and dips.

BBQ'd Arabian Roasted Baba Ganoush

Ingredients
1 large eggplant,
fresh parsley, chopped as much as you like
3 garlic cloves, chopped (D would do 2)
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons lemon or one whole lemon but it could be a lemon and a half
4 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
Cut the eggplant in half and oil.
Place on the BBQ for about 5-10 minutes until tender.
Add lemon juice, tahina / sesame paste, olive oil & mix. By hand or food processor.
When the Eggplant is soft and mooshy, (you can let it cool but we're hungry), scrape the flesh from the peel and add to the mixture. Pulse to mix but don't blend until smooth.

Done!

Serve with a garnish of parsely with flat bread. YUUUUUUMMM with the chary goodness.

photos and dinner to come.

Wasabi and Sesame Encrusted Tuna Loin

2 lbs of tuna loin. We kept the whole loin together, rough the length of a good salmon you can cut in 4 portions if you like. Make sure it's nice and fresh or fresh frozen and thawed.
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c honey
1/4 c wasabi powder
1/4 c black and white raw sesame seeds

Whisk to combine. Place the tuna loin in a large zippable, leakproof, baggie and pour in the mixture (set aside 1/4 c for dipping while eating) and massage into the loin. Close up the bag and marinate in fridge in the bag for at least an hour or over nite.

When you're preparing for BBQ, take the tuna out of the bag and place on a cutting board. Pour over the sesame seeds. Roll around until evenly coated. Press in as you roll. You may need to add more seeds. You'll be surprised the the seeds totally stayed on.

BBQ on high direct heat for 2-3 minutes a side. Turn to cook on 4 sides. The sesame seeds will pop. That's normal. You'll want to see about 1/2 cm cooked edges and nice soft pink sashimi like doneness in the Add Imagemiddle.
Serve sliced. We didn't because our knives are at the sharpener. Yes. All of them. It wasn't my idea. So we have little paring knives. So we just cut a few nice cunks and served with slaw. I roasted some banana peppers on the side too. D wanted nothing to do with them. He's not a crazy heat fan ;-). Lovely. We had a Pares Balta Blanc 2008. A quite a bit peachier than 2007 which I normally wouldn't go for but it suited the dish and the summery day quite well.

Dessert was a cheese board with Qualicum cheeses: Herbie (soft herbed fresh cheese), Blue and Salte aged Cheddar, with Fresh Market Loaf.

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