Sharing the love of knowledge and the love of food one bite at a time. Join me for tested recipes, important food information, tips and a bit of fun all in the appreciation of our love affair with food.
I've been wanting to make this delicious soup for a while now. The idea popped in my head after watching yet another documentary from the BBC in which was mentioned 'mushy peas', a British staple in a lot of houses. I know that a green pea soup exists but I've never come across a recipe for it, so I made my own. One thing that I am trying to stress with this blog, aside from my governing statement, is to show/educate people on how easy it actually is to cook. Once you begin to make soups from scratch, you can make any soup from scratch. All it takes to make a healthy and great tasting soup is to master three basic steps. The first and most important step is the stock. It is always, always preferable to use homemade stock and I don't believe that is an exaggeration. A hearty and flavourful stock is like the foundation of a building - very necessary to have a strong start to your construction in order to build beautiful things from it. Without it you have a shoddy construction that inevitably ends in disappointment, flames, bloodcurdling screams, explosions, ruin…okay, maybe I go too far but you get my point. Make a good stock. If needs must, a good quality, unsalted boxed broth will suffice. Please avoid using powdered or cubed bouillon as they are too high in salt and chemicals. Just keep in mind that boxed stocks/broths do not have much flavour so adding more in the way of herbs or spices may be in order, so taste often as cooking progresses. The second step is the flavour base. In most cases this will be onion, garlic and carrots or onion, celery and carrots as in this recipe. This step is crucial so the freshest and healthiest specimens are best. Large carrots tend to taste woody but once done up in a soup they impart flavour subtly but add a strong body to the soup. Ideally you want to use small carrots but really, if you're buying them at the supermarket, they're probably all going to taste the same. The third step isn't really a step but more a moment of balance. Once you begin cooking often, you begin 'thinking' cooking often as well. Ideas are always churning away whether you're at the grocery store or staring blankly into your fridge 1/2 hour before supper. You begin to develop an almost instinct on food combinations, seasoning complements, and how to balance flavours as well as nutritional benefits. Each soup you make should contain a complete balance of nutrients even if one ingredient stands out above the others, as in this soup. Vegetarians and vegans of course have a more difficult time maintaining this balance so requires a bit more thinking and planning. Some soups do just fine as a starter or an appetizer even though they have a slight imbalance of nutrients but if you are preparing one to be a meal, then make a greater effort to include all the food groups. This Green Pea soup is high in fibre and has both beta carotene and vitamin C. Using evaporated milk instead of cream is a lower fat and less expensive option. In 1 tbsp of evaporated milk there are 20 calories while cream has 30; 1 gram of fat while cream has 2.5; 1 gram of protein while cream has 0.3 and vitamin C and calcium are higher by 2% in both. Here in London a carton of 18% cream, which is the only cream I use, is about $5 while a can of evaporated milk is $1.89. I always have a carton on hand for my coffee but for cooking I use the canned milk most often.
What you need to know
If you don't have a mortar & pestle I recommend you get one. I have a small marble set that has seen great use but is still going strong. A lot of people have been talked into purchasing or even using their existing coffee grinder for their spices but I don't think it's a good way of spending your money or treating your food. In order to justify the expense and the cupboard space of purchasing one (as a uni-tasker), you'd have to grind up large quantities of spice. Many large quantities of spice. Unless you're cooking for 100 people or more, quite often, you couldn't use that much ground spice before the flavourful granules degrade into a tasteless powder. If you plan to use your grinder for coffee and spices, then either clean, clean, clean or get used to the taste of spiced coffee. That may be okay if you ground up cardamon or cinnamon but cumin or fenugreek? Umm, pass. A small mortar and pestle set is more than sufficient for the little amount of spices used in most recipes.
Here is a clip from one of my favourite British sitcoms, Lenny Henry's "Chef". The whole episode is great but the reason I uploaded it here for you to watch is the first three minutes. Using his trademark acerbic wit, Henry's character, Gareth Blackstock lances the boil of an issue--pasteurizing milk for cheese making.
Making Cheese at Home There are many reasons to begin making cheese in your home not the least of which is the high cost of cheese products in the supermarkets. Ideally you would use raw milk but good luck finding any that's legal to buy, here in Ontario. Consensus is that no matter your view on raw milk vs. pasteurization , drinking and making cheese from milk that has all the microflora and enzymes present is a healthful practice. If you have to get your milk for cheese making from the supermarket, try for milk that has been pasteurized using the low temperature method so that a few of the necessary enzymes to make tasty cheese are still present in the milk. Supermarket milk (non-UHT milk only) will do but know that you are not really going to make a better cheese than that found in the supermarket not to mention what is available from cheesemongers today. Sometimes, the cheese will be better however, for example cream cheeses. Take a look at the label next time and you will see things added to the cheese to extend the shelf life, which of course changes the texture and flavour. Making cheese at home can range from an easy task, as in the case of yoghurt cheese, to a time consuming task requiring more equipment and advanced skills as with Gouda or Cheddar. Starting out with a few fresh cheeses will let you know if that is all you can handle doing at the moment or if you love it and want to do more. Sanitation Cheese is a relatively safe product to eat but only if you follow the basic sanitary rules of preserving and canning( long term storage i.e. canning requires bacteria control like cheese making). Put a pan of water on to a rolling boil and place your equipment i.e. spoons, cheesecloth into the water and keep boiling for 5 minutes minimum before removing. Air dry completely or you can leave the items in the water until you are ready for them. Larger items such as the colander can be washed in the dishwasher or hot water and soap right before use. You can sterilize your pan for the milk by boiling water (about 2") in it for ten minutes, with the lid on, then draining. A separate room like an enclosed porch or summer kitchen equipped with electricity is ideal for cheese making but a clean and pet free kitchen will do as well. In older times, farmhouses usually had an attached summer kitchen for all baking, preserving and cheese making needs and if you went further back in time, the farm would have had a separate 'dairy' just for the cheese and butter making. Today, an adequately equipped kitchen is more than sufficient. Note: some books or other sources of information will say to use a diluted bleach solution to sterilize your equipment but I don't recommend it. Food and bleach do not mix, in my opinion, even with rinsing, Bleach is toxic to septic systems and respiratory systems and I don't use it anywhere in my house. Equipment Even though making fresh cheese is quick and easy, there is still some equipment necessary. As you advance in cheese making you will need more equipment and more time to devote to the process. I am only going to be covering the making of fresh cheese in this article but there will be future articles on intermediate and advanced cheese making. Most of the following items can be found in your kitchen so no extra purchases need to be made yet. Fresh Cheese Colander: choose one that has a high foot to the bottom to keep the curd away from the whey while draining. Slotted spoon: stainless steel is the better choice Cooking pot: stainless is best as other metals can be reactive to the acids present and will impart a metal taste to the cheese. It should be big enough to hold 8 to 12 litres of milk (2 to 3 US gallons). Cheese cloth or Butter Muslin: loose-weave cheese cloth you can get at the supermarket or bulk store is adequate for fresh cheese if you double or fold over the cloth but butter muslin, which you get online or at a cheese making supply store, is better for more advanced cheese making. Thermometer: a candy thermometer is not going to be adequate here as the measuring must be in 1℃(2℉) increments. A digital thermometer, instant-read or clip-on constant-read, is best for monitoring milk temperature. Catch bowl: any bowl for catching the draining whey. Method There are two types of fresh cheeses you can make in your home - cultured milk cheese where acid or a starter culture is used and uncultured milk cheese such as yoghurt cheese. Both of these types require curdling which separates the fluids and solids (whey and curds) so that you can drain off the whey and retain the curds. (Yoghurt cheese is already curdled in the yoghurt making process.) Cultured Milk Cheese Curdling milk for fresh cheese making can be done one of two ways: with acid in the form of lemon juice or buttermilk and using bacterial cultures. Curdling with Acid:
place cooking thermometer in cooking pot or into top of the double boiler, if using; add water to the base.
turn burner to medium-low (pot) or medium (double boiler), add milk to pot (or top of double boiler) and heat slowly about 20 to 30 minutes until it reaches 77℃ (170℉).
remove from heat as soon as it hits that temperature and place pot into sink or basin filled with ice water to cool. Don't use just ice as that will not be as cold as ice water. Keep in the ice water, adding more ice as necessary, until the milk is between 21℃- 22℃ ( 70 to 72℉).
remove from ice water and wrap with a kitchen towel to keep at that temperature.
let sit the length of time called for in your recipe.
Curdling with Bacterial Cultures:
follow above directions with the exception of the heat temperature you need to reach, which in this case is 38℃ (100℉).
when temperature is reached, add the starter culture type and amount called for in the recipe, stir and wait for the curds to form.
Draining Fresh Cheeses:
line a colander with doubled over cheese cloth, making sure that the cloth is big enough to cover the cheese in the finishing process.
spoon curds from boiler or pot into colander, fold the cloth over the curds and drain whey into catch bowl for two hours.
Finishing:
with some fresh cheeses, gather cheese cloth into a ball, tie to wooden spoon and let hang for the length of time called for in the recipe instructions.
when cheese is drained to recipe specifics, remove from cheese cloth and place in airtight container.
store for two weeks or as long as the recipe states.
Yoghurt Cheese
This cheese is the easiest to make and is fun for kids to help with--the making and the eating!
(Although yoghurt is made with a starter culture, for the purposes of cheese making, this step is not necessary so I have included it in a category all its own.)
Yoghurt cheese is simply following the last two steps in the above list substituting the curdled milk with yoghurt. You can use any flavour yoghurt as long as it is labelled as containing live culturesand it is not the Swiss-style or custard yoghurt as that will have gelatin(e) in it to stop the whey and curd from separating.
Fresh Cheese Recipes
Yoghurt Cheese
900g (2 lbs) low-fat or non-fat yoghurt --will make half as much cheese as yoghurt used
line colander with doubled over cheese cloth, place catch bowl underneath.
pour yoghurt into colander and spread cheese taking care not to compress yoghurt.
cover with plastic wrap and place whole set up into refrigerator to drain.
after two hours gather cheese cloth and tie to spoon, suspending from the rim of pot or deep bowl.
continue draining in refrigerator for another 8 to 24 hours. 8 hours will give you a soft spread; 24 hours will give you a consistency like cream cheese.
remove from cheese cloth, shape into a ball and store it in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
Lemon Cheese
1.9L (1/2 gallon) whole milk
60 ml (1/4 cup) fresh-squeezed lemon juice
heat milk to 74℃ (165℉), stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
let rest for 15 minutes. If you are using homogenized milk, the curds after 15 minutes will resemble thin threads.
pour into colander lined with doubled over cheese cloth, gather and tie the cloth.
drain into catch bowl in refrigerator and drain for one hour or until the whey stops dripping.
remove from refrigerator, discard cheese cloth and place in bowl.
add salt to taste and add herbs like chives or dill for added flavour.
store in airtight container and keep for up to one week.
Cream Cheese
1L (4 cups) non-ultra pasteurized half and half (10%)
250 ml (1 cup) non-ultra pasteurized whipping cream (35%)
28 ml (2 tbsp) buttermilk
salt
herbs (optional)
extra tools: glass or stainless steel mixing bowl
heat both creams to32℃ (90℉), stir in buttermilk
pour into glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap.
wrap a few towel around bowl and place in warm area for 24 hours.
consistency should be like yoghurt with no movement when bowl is tilted sideways.
let sit if desired consistency has not been reached, from another 6 to 12 hours.
place mixture into cloth-lined colander, fold cloth over and let drain for 15 minutes.
place colander in deep bowl and continue draining, covered with plastic, in the refrigerator for 12 to 14 hours.
remove curd and add salt to taste and optional herbs.
reshape into balls and wrap in fresh cheese cloth; put back into refrigerator in the colander/catch bowl set up.
cover with plastic wrap and let sit 36 to 48 hours, until desired consistency is reached.
store in airtight container for up to two weeks.
Cottage Cheese
3.8 L (1 gallon) skim or whole milk
calcium chloride (about 1ml (1/8 tsp) diluted in 60ml (1/4 cup) water per 1 gallon milk)
about 1 ml (1/8 tsp) mesophilic direct-set culture
cheese salt
heavy cream (optional)
will yield approximately 454g (1 lb) cheese
extra tools: bowl or cup to dilute calcium chloride
long, thin knife to cut curds
heat milk to 22℃ (72℉), add the calcium chloride and the starter culture, stirring well between additions.
let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Don't let milk fall below 20℃ (68℉)
after 24 hours, cut curds into 4mm (1/4") cubes and let sit for 15 minutes.
place pot on stove and heat curds to 38℃(100℉), stirring occasionally. It should take 25 minutes to reach that temperature.
when temperature is reached, keep there for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir.
slowly increase temperature to 44℃ (112℉)-will take 15 minutes.
keep at that temperature for 30 minutes and then check curds for firmness.
if they are still soft, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
let rest for five minutes when desired consistency is reached.
pour into cheese cloth-lined colander and tie cloth into a ball.
dunk ball into a bowl of cold water several times to get rid of any extra whey.
place colander in catch bowl and let drain for 5 minutes.
in a bowl of ice water, rinse the cheese cloth bundle of curds and let drain in colander for another 5 minutes.
untie cloth and break up any large pieces of curd.
salt to taste and 30 to 60 ml (1 or 2 tbsp) of heavy cream for creamier cheese.
store in airtight container for up to two weeks.
Note: since these recipes were originally written with Imperial measurements, I'd trust them over the metric conversions.
“We want to teach kids that fish don’t have sticks, chickens don’t have fingers, and buffaloes don’t have wings..” Jason
Those are profound words that speak so much truth and they are the words and feelings of the owners, Jason and George of the Italian House located in London, Ontario.
It is refreshing and heartening that not only do these charming gentlemen make their products using local and fresh ingredients, make most of their foods in-house such as roasted chicken, roasted mushrooms and their sauces, they also care about our children’s eating habits and education towards food.
"...you should compare between fresh and frozen...We worry the kids don't know the difference..." George
George, with two daughters of his own, worries about children not knowing the difference, and how important that difference is, between fresh and frozen food. He comes from a family in Jordan that, like many of us born and raised here in Canada, appreciated and cooked with produce fresh picked from the garden and prepared with the hands of love, his grandmother’s in particular. His father had a large farm that provided for them and he remembers his mother and grandmother preparing food fresh everyday. When he came to Canada 6 years ago he realized that most people live in cities here and no longer grow their own food. He quickly decided that the lessons he learned at the supper table as a child would help him help others learn just how important eating fresh can be.
Jason, a culinary graduate from Fanshawe College, also has a firm belief in eating local and fresh—for taste, health and economic reasons. Supporting local farmers is big with these guys and they use local meats and produce and even go so far as to use Ontario parmesan cheese. They have recently discovered a Hydroponic grower of produce they hope to use over the winter months to keep their fresh and local 'mandate' in action. Jason's work experience in fine dining establishments has served him well in the joint creation of the recipes they use as well as sourcing suppliers. He used to operate a pizza business in Grand Bend at the Pinery Antique Flea Market where he met a lot of great farmers and people who 'got it' and decided to transfer that to London.
"...got attracted by the lure of money...went with a big corporation that paid well and then hated my life for six years..." Jason
He is scathing in his opinion of the BigBusiness pizza restaurant he worked at as they mass produced their product. There, the freezer and microwave were king. I dare say only two good things came out of that experience—his desire to operate his own responsible 'empire' and his meeting George.
1440 Jalna Blvd, London, ON
They are both working long hours--at least 90 hours each--and it is paying off. The neighbourhood knows they are there and the community is coming in. It took a little while at the start, mainly due to the inferior restaurants that occupied the spot before them. They recounted a story of watching people leave the variety store next to them with those mass produced, plastic wrapped sandwiches and the "79 cent hot dogs; nice, hot and freshly frozen" as George puts it. They couldn't stand it one day and George went out and started handing out free pizza slices. One taste and now they come to them. Various businesses and employees in the area come in all the time now, with no regrets. While it is not easy beginning your own business, they have been lucky with the support of their families and friends. George's wife promotes them whenever and however she can: writing and posting ads, word-of-mouth advertising and Jason's girlfriend comes in to help out 16 hours a week--just so he can spend time with her. Quality time with families in situations like this is hard to come by and both understand the importance of quality time--especially George with his two children. What little time they have, he tries to make it a good time together. Edit: Jason would like me to add a bit more to credit his lady, Jenny lee, with inspiring him to work as hard as he does and to thank her for the long hours she works in the present (and helped in the past at Grand Bend), to make his dreams come true. She is a hard worker herself putting in 60+ hours a week between three jobs. Through various friends they have access to some Italian grandmothers for ideas that Jason tweaks to make it their own. They have plans to introduce a Bolognese sauce for their calzones and quite possibly some fresh pasta. With their homemade tomato sauce, the Alfredo,(made with real butter and cream, Jason hastens to add) and the soon-to-come Bolognese, fresh pasta is sure to be a big hit. George has a plan for Donairs and has a secret blend of spices he wants to use...as a cook myself, I knew better than to ask what that secret is! They would also like to expand into internationally influenced pizzas as London has a vast multi-cultural makeup that they would like to showcase. So stay tuned for some international fusion pizza! I know I'll be the first in line.
These are not guys to rest on their laurels. They both have goals in mind for the future and one is to open another restaurant in North London. They realize that to keep their products local and fresh they have to match their growth with the farmers' ability to supply them. They would like success but not at the cost of compromise. Sadly, we have all seen companies go out of business for numerous reasons: wrong locations, unable to compete with bigger companies for business and expanding too quickly. Jason and George both seem to understand those pitfalls and are working hard to avoid them. Now, I have personally tried a few items on the menu board like their big seller, the Chicken Alfredo pizza, which is sinfully delicious, their regular pizza with my favourite toppings: roasted cremini mushrooms, roasted red pepper and smoked bacon strips and their caesar salad. Given time I am sure I will make my way through the whole menu but the next item I will go for is their Muffaletta sandwich or maybe their second big seller, the Meatball. That particular gem is also their personal favourite with it's homemade foccacia bread and handmade meatballs, made of course with Ontario meat. In our house, we have adopted the 'Wednesday night is pizza night' theme and all because of the Italian House. Pizza is all the food groups represented in a delicious package--just have to make sure I share it with the other pizza lovers in this house. Sigh, it's a hard life.
"We make it fresh in house from local farmers and suppliers"
"Brothers" George and Jason, proprietors
Got a party coming up? Want to serve your guests GOOD food? Check out the Italian House for your catering options. Support a local business and please your taste buds at the same time. It's a win-win situation.
Present Promotion: Free soda with sandwich purchase. Feeling hungry yet?
