baby fever!

As you've surely noticed, we've been no-shows on Miche Mâche for a while now. Seems that Dina's tiredness and lack of vigor has been due to a new (little) development. That's right! We're expecting a new addition to the family. ☺

No news yet on the gender...but we're definitely going to find out as we're big on planning.

So, life gets hectic and updating the blog unfortunately takes a back seat for a little while. We hope to come back with renewed passion as things settle down. Thanks to all of you for your continued readership and loyalty and hoping things have been as joyous for you as it has been for us.

Cheers (with a glass of milk)!

a farmer's market snack

Before:
After:
That, my friends, was a perfect little shared lunch that we had at the farmer's market. It was a smoked Italian sausage in a crusty, chewy bun. The topping was a marinated eggplant pickle. It was delicious!

There is nothing better then walking around the market, snacking on tasty little things, and picking up produce for dinner that night. If you haven't been to your local market yet this summer, please go support your local farmers and enjoy a tasty snack or two.


On an unrelated note, I wanted to take this opportunity to post a follow up to last week's mango topic. I found this post that captured the mango's (and mango merchants) of India and I wanted to share it with all of you. His photo's are beautiful and I hope you'll take a moment to check them out.

the heat is on

So I’m in a rut.
Have you ever had one of those days where you really don’t feel like cooking? Well, my day actually turned into a whole month. I don’t know if it was the extremely humid weather or just lack of ambition, but June was such a blah month for us. Our dinners have been quick burgers, simple salads, and on particularly good days maybe some homemade hummus. I’m not sure why the inspiration has gone or why food has become so unimportant but I want that to change.

Last night, on a whim, we decided to spice things up with some tandoori shrimp with a side of spicy mango salsa. All through dinner, all I heard from Mony was a muffled ‘this is so good!’.
Now normally, I am not a huge mango fan. I think this comes from growing up in an Indian household where every night with dinner we had a small plate of sliced mango as our dessert. To this day, from May-September, my parents will still buy boxes of mango. Yes, you read that right. Not one or two mangoes, but boxes of them. I guess it's a nostalgic thing for them that goes back to when they were growing up in India. I’m sure Mony's not complaining since he always gets a few to take home with us when we go see them. This salsa was actually made with one of the mango’s that they gave us last week. It was an Alfonso mango – and as they say ‘unless you’ve had an Alfonso mango you’ve never had a mango’. It was super sweet and tender, a perfect platform for the tart lime juice and earthy black beans. A tiny Thai red chili also helped harmonize the flavors. The balance of sweet, sour, and spicy was a huge hit.

Black Bean Mango Salsa

• 1 cup drained canned black beans, rinsed
• 1 ripe medium mango, diced
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 small chili pepper, finely chopped
• 1 medium green onion, chopped
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro

In a bowl, combine the black beans, mango, red bell pepper, chili pepper and green onion. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, salt and cayenne. Fold the mixture into the beans.
Stir in the cilantro and serve chilled or at room temperature.

We’re going to the farmer's market this weekend so hopefully there will be more to write about. Plus this summer CSA’s are starting next week! w00t!

What are you guys making to beat the heat?

chevre island

If there was the option to go on vacation on a pristine island made of goat cheese, surrounded by a vast sea of spicy marinara sauce, I'd be the first one there. Until that day, however, I will gladly consume this entree any day of the week. Imagine a generous slice of chevre with a slightly broiled surface and warm tangy underbelly paired with the bright flavours of homemade tomato sauce. Forget imagining. Go to your local market and buy a fresh disk of goat cheese, a can of plum tomatoes, onions, garlic and chili flakes and get to work!

chevre island (goat cheese on marinara sauce)

1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 can of plum tomatoes
3 basil leaves, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
salt, pepper & chili flakes to taste

one goat cheese round (140g)

Cook garlic and onions in olive oil in large oven-safe sautee pan until they are translucent and begin to lightly brown. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add to pan, along with their juices. Add basil, salt, pepper & chili flakes. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until thickened, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Slice goat cheese into two 1/2 inch disks and place atop marinara sauce. Place in oven under broiler for a few minutes until the cheese begins to bubble and becomes golden brown.

Remove from oven. Spoon some sauce onto individual plates and transfer goat cheese disk from pan onto middle of plate using a spatula that has been oiled with cooking spray. Serve immediately with warm baguette.

Whip this dish up to impress or to enjoy as a simple appetizer or entree on the patio. A warm piece of bread is a must to sop up the sauce. The taste and texture of the goat cheese is almost indescribable and akin to creme brulee (with a crispy top and velvety filling). This is a simple and delectable meal in minutes, with the wow factor.

a secret weapon

Ladies, here's a secret weapon to keep in your back pocket for when you really want your significant other to do something for you.
Men, here's a little recipe to save for those days when your wife is feeling a bit blue.

What is it?
It's a Chocolate Pear Tart.
Now, I am not really a chocolate fan - weird, I know - but this tart is more then just plain old chocolate. It has the texture of a dark chocolate truffle, balanced perfectly with the light sweetness of the pears. It has a bit of a Mayan chocolate feel with the addition of cinnamon for complexity. It's not your ordinary chocolate tart...and I can bet that whoever you make this for will love you forever (and help you clean out the garage!)

Pear and Chocolate Tart

• 3 x Anjou or Bartlett pears, peeled, halved and cored
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp brandy (optional)
  
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 x large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 x large egg

1. Bring pears, sugar, water and lemon juice up to a simmer. Cook pear just below a simmer (and place a plate or piece of parchment over surface of liquid to keep pears from floating) until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. After pears have cooled a bit, remove from liquid, sprinkle with brandy (optional), toss and chill until ready to serve.
2. To prepare crust, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg yolks, adding one at a time. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt and add to butter mixture. Mix until dough just comes together. Shape in to a disc and chill until ready to roll. If preparing ahead of time, pull dough from fridge an hour before rolling.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just over ¼-inch (.5 cm) thick. Line a 9-inch (23 cm) removable-bottom tart shell with dough, trim edges and chill for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Dock pastry with a fork and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F (160 C). Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Heat cream with spices to just below a simmer and pour over chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir slowly. Stir in vanilla.
6. Whisk egg in a small cup then stir into chocolate. Pour into chocolate shell and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, then chill for 2 hours before serving.
7. To garnish with pears, slice, pears thinly and arrange over tart.

mais, por favor

When people say time flies, they're not kidding.
Can you believe it's already been a year since we booked our incredible trip to Portugal? I guess it still feels like yesterday because we are constantly talking about something or another to do with the trip.
I don't know if we loved it so much because it was our 1^st trip to Europe together, or if it was because of all the friendly locals, or maybe it was the terrific coffee…All I know is that there is a special place in my heart for Portugal and its wonderful culture, that I am sure it will bring us back there over and over again. And even though I've always said that there is so much to see in this world that we couldn't possibly go back to the same place twice, I think this is an exception.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was the amazingly fresh seafood. We could go into town in the early afternoon and pick up fish that was literally fished (is that even a word??) that same morning. Simply thrown on the bbq that evening, finished off with a light drizzle of olive oil…it just doesn't get any better than that.

Now if you were to ask Mony what his favorite part was, he would say Monkfish rice. That was a local dish we had one of the nights at a small restaurant by the shore. It was creamy without being heavy, with just the right amount of seafood without it being too fishy. When he mentioned to me that he wanted to recreate this dish at home, I'll be honest, I had my doubts. Not only would my kitchen end up looking like a tornado had hit it, but the final dish would taint my memories of that beautiful dish. Now this is not a jab at Mony's cooking skills, but the truth of the matter is that we just don't have the same local ingredients, nor the freshness available here as they do there. So no matter how well Mony cooked, it still wouldn't be able to compare to the legendary dish.

Okay now listen carefully because you won't hear this very often:

I was wrong.

He recreated this dish as perfectly as the little old grandma in a Portuguese kitchen. It had the right seasoning, the right texture, the right consistency.

He was right, I was wrong.

ARROZ DE TAMBORIL (Monkfish rice)

Serves 4

600g monkfish fillets, skinned
8 raw prawns, unpeeled
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1.3 liters hot stock (vegetable or fish)
400g risotto rice
1 tsp Spanish paprika
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and pepper
2 tbsp flat parsley leaves, torn
1 lemon

Cut the fish into healthy, bite-sized pieces.
Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the fish and prawns on all sides until they change colour. Remove to a plate and season well. Add the remaining oil and cook the onion, garlic, red pepper and chorizo and fry for 10 minutes, stirring well. Add the tomatoes, stock or water and bring to the boil. Add the (unwashed) rice, paprika, bay leaves, salt and pepper, stirring well.
Reduce the heat to very low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is almost cooked but still wet and soupy (add more stock if not). Add the monkfish, prawns and parsley and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Scatter with parsley and serve in warm pasta bowls, with lemon wedges for squeezing.

To read more about our trip, click here, here, and here...oh, and here.

bring on the sunshine

Okay, so the Habs are now on some Montreal golf course taking advantage of the beautiful weather instead of playing playoff hockey. And my Flames have been perfecting their swing for weeks now. The beautiful thing about being eliminated, though, is the hope that next year will bring more success. Dina and I have much more on our minds than hockey and golf for this quickly approaching summer. The prospect of sitting on a newly constructed deck in our own backyard, sipping wine and dining outdoors is fresh in our minds. Until the deck is ready and the temperature warms up, we decided to bring a little sunshine into our home courtesy of some veal piccata.

I started getting my biceps in shape for the summer by pounding out the veal cutlets until they were 1/4 inch thick while Dina prepared the lemon-wine based sauce.

Veal Piccata

4 veal cutlets, pounded until 1/4 in. thick
2 tbsp flour, for dredging
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp butter
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp capers
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
Lemon slices and parsley sprigs, for garnish
Salt & pepper to taste

Season the veal with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Pat off excess flour. In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute veal cutlets for 2 minutes per side and remove to plate (do not overcook, as veal will become tough). Add garlic to pan and saute for 1 minute. Add wine, lemon juice, and capers and bring to boil; cook until reduced by half. Return to a simmer and stir in butter and parsley until butter has melted and is incorporated into sauce. Return veal cutlets to pan and coat with sauce. Transfer to serving plate and garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs.

The result: tender, juicy veal cutlets, swimming in a savory, lemony sauce with bites of capers throughout. Insanely delicious and better than dining out on a $20+ meal.

This will do just fine until BBQ weather decides to make an appearance.