Cabbage Rolls with Ground Beef & Rice

You can buy excellent frozen cabbage rolls at The Cottage Butcher in Bala, Ontario (from Natalie's Kitchen) in Toronto. After going through a few recipes I had, I came up with this compilation of homemade cabbage rolls.  You can prepare them ahead, and put them in their roasting pan in the fridge. And then bake them 2 1/2 hours before you're ready to serve.

Makes 8 large cabbage rolls 

1 Large head fresh cabbage, cored
1 cup of sauerkraut, drained (for the roast pan)

Filling Ingredients: 

1 cup of brown rice, (parboiled)
1/4 - 1/3 cup chopped onion, fried
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup of sauerkraut (drained)
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1 TBS fresh dill, finely chopped (optional)

Sauce Ingredients: 

4 - 14 oz cans Hunts Tomato sauce
1 cup of water
Pinch of brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions: 

Core the cabbage by using a knife and cutting out the core as deep as you can.  Fill a large pot with water, and add the cabbage whole. Bring it to a boil and boil for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cabbage and put it in a bowl of cold water.  Gently remove 8-10 of the outer leaves and put them on a t-towel. Dry. Remove a few more leaves to be used to line the roasting pan, whole and some chopped.

Boil the rice for about 6 minutes, and then drain it. Cool it by running cold water over it.
Fry the onions in a bit of oil. Cool. You can also use shallots for a milder taste.
Mix with all the remaining filling ingredients in a medium size bowl.

Rolling the Cabbage Rolls:
To help the cabbage leaves roll easily, trim the thick part of the stem of each leaf with a paring knife.
Put 1/3 cup of filling on the core part of the leaf and start rolling from the bottom, tucking in the sides.

Preparing the Roast Pan.

Use the leftover leaves to line the bottom of the roast pan, protecting the cabbage rolls from sticking or burning. Then evenly spread the 1 cup of sauerkraut and more chopped cabbage along the bottom. Add a cup of water. Add a layer of cabbage rolls. Add about 1/2 tomato sauce, and then another layer of the cabbage rolls. Top with more sauce and then a final layer of cabbage leaves.  Cover with tin foil, then put the lid on the roasting pan.

Bake in a 350F oven covered for 2 1/2 hours till rice is cooked inside. Remove the cabbage rolls using a wooden spoon so they don't break. Serve with more sauce from the pot and a side of sour cream.

Pan Roasted Chicken Supremes

This recipe is from John Tassoulis when he was the Chef at the Port Carling Golf Club in Muskoka.

John is now the owner of the Lord Nelson Steak House in Burlington, Ontario.

In this recipe, I've used ENVY EVOO, Organic, Extra Virgin olive oil imported from Greece.
www.envyevoo.com - list of suppliers and available on line.
If you're in Muskoka, Stephen's Butcher Shop in Port Carling carries this chicken.
The supreme cuts have the wing still attached and they are boneless, with the skin on.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts - Supreme cuts
1 TBS chicken seasoning of your choice (Hy's or The Keg is good)
4-5 TBS Olive oil
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.
Wash and dry the chicken pieces.  Season them with the spices.
Heat a non-stick pan, on medium-high that can go into the oven. (The handle will be all metal, no plastic - such as All-Clad or Kitchen Aid).
Add the olive oil to the pan after it is hot.
Add the chicken breasts - skin side down.  Cook until browned (about 3-5 minutes).
Turn the breasts over in the pan and then put the pan in the oven - middle rack (uncovered).
Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Check for doneness.
With 2 oven mitts on, remove the pan from the oven. Put the chicken on a plate and let it rest for about 5-7 minutes.

Be very careful not to grab the hot pan by the handle after you take it out of the oven. I usually slide one of the oven mitts over the handle of the pan to remind me it's hot!

Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with side dishes like zucchini, carrots, garlic roasted potatoes, red or orange peppers, or green beans, tomato salad.  Everything colorful.

Baby Bok Choy and Oyster Mushrooms

This recipe is from my friend Annie or as we sometimes call her, the fourth Chinese sister! 
She has made delicious Chinese dishes for our family over the years.  When we met at IBM in Toronto in 1979, her cooking classes were popular with our work mates. 
This mushroom dish is great with chicken, beef or pork.  If you can't find King Oyster or Enoki you could substitute Cremini or 'baby Bella' mushrooms. 


Ingredients: 

3 bunches of baby bok choy
   (Cut in half for the big ones)
1 container of Enoki mushrooms 
1 container of King Oyster mushrooms
2 TBS cooking oil (not olive oil)
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 TBS light soy sauce
Pinch of salt

Directions: 

Trim off the very bottom of each baby bok choy.  Put in a large bowl and fill with water.  Swish with your hands and drain.  Repeat till the water is clear and no sand is remaining from the leaves.  Drain well.

Using a damp paper towel, gently rub the mushrooms to remove any soil. 
Slice the king oyster mushrooms to about 1/4" thick.  
Remove the woody end of the enoki.

Heat 1 tbsp of the cooking oil in a large frying pan.  Add the box choy and cook approximately 3-4 minutes, don't over stir.  Add soy sauce, chopped garlic and a bit of water.  Cook for another minute and remove from the pan.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan.  Lower the heat.  Lay the king mushroom, without overlapping if possible, and cook without stirring them.  When the bottom side turns brownish, flip to the other side.  Spread the enoki mushrooms on top.  Continue cooking till soft, with charred edges. When the second side is almost done, add 1 TBS of water, sprinkle with salt and cook about two more minutes.

Arrange the vegetables around the plate, and pile the mushrooms on top.  Pour any liquid from the greens onto the plate.

Serves 4.

Banana Mango Smoothie

This is a simple smoothie with lemon & parsley to give it a little zing!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 Banana
1 TBS protein powder
1 cup of fresh parsley
1 cup of frozen mango
1/2 inch turmeric root (fresh), peeled and chopped
  or a pinch of dried turmeric
1 squeeze of lemon juice  (1/4 slice)
1 TBS hemp seeds

Directions:

Add the ingredients in the order listed. By putting the frozen fruit on top of your green ingredients, they don't tend to get stuck around the blades and freeze up the blender.  Blend in a vitamix or blender till done.

Fresh turmeric can stain your hands, cutting board, knives (particularly ceramic knives).  To clean, use a cleaner like VIM, or Barkeepers Friend to get the color out.  The fresh turmeric adds a nice taste to the smoothie!

Chocolate Cashew Shake

Ingredients: 

1 Cup of Cashew Milk
  (or 1 cup of water and 1 TBS cashews, blended for 2 minutes)

3 pitted dates

2 TBS Cacao powder

1 tsp hemp seeds

2 TBS Chia Seeds

1/2 frozen banana

2-3 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a Vitamix or blender and blend till smooth.
Blend the water and cashews first for 2 minutes if you are not using cashew milk.
You can substitute almond milk if you prefer it.

Serves 1-2

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2-3 TBS Olive Oil

Enough small potatoes for your guests (4-5 per person)

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Add the olive oil to a 9x9 baking pan. Toss the potatoes, rosemary, garlic, onion and pepper.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes till a fork will pierce the potato.

Salt just before serving.

Serve with sour cream on the side, and some chopped green onion or chives.

Note:
If your potatoes are done before the rest of the dinner is ready, turn the oven off, and cover the potatoes loosely with foil. If they are over-done, they will start to dry out.
You can also cook them ahead. Then just reheat them for about 10 minutes.

Green Machine Smoothie

This is a healthy, energy-boosting smoothie you can make for breakfast or lunch. 
It's best to use yellow fruits like peaches, mangos or pineapples when you are adding greens like spinach, kale or arugula. If you add strawberries, raspberries or blueberries, the color will be less appealing. It tends to be brown - so remember your color-wheel when combining. 

Ingredients: 

Add the ingredients in this order. Adding the frozen ingredients last, on top of the greens, will avoid the blades getting stuck. You can vary the amounts of fruit and greens to your liking. 

1 cup of coconut water 

1 scoop of protein powder (Organic vegetable based is good)

1 banana 

squeeze of lemon juice

1 Tbs coconut oil 

slice of fresh ginger or slice of fresh peeled turmeric

1/2 cucumber chopped

handful of parsley 

1 stick of celery, chopped into 2" pieces 

handful of fresh spinach or kale

1 cup frozen mango or pineapple

1 Tbs hemp seeds, or a tsp flax oil 

5-6 ice cubes 


Directions: 

Using a vitamix blend on the smoothie setting till done. Or if you're using a blender, blend till it looks smooth. If you like your smoothies colder, add some ice cubes, mix, then remove the cubes. 


Serves 2