Hot and Sweet Roasted Mediterranean Veg ... IHCC

For the next six months, the I Heart Cooking Club will be concentrating efforts and investigations on Diana Henry, an Irish food writer and cook with a wonderfully eclectic body of work. For this first week of celebration, we were to choose any old recipe that struck the fancy.

Well, the options were wide open, as Diana Henry has put out cook books on preserved goods, simple home cooking, healthy foods that seem far more decadent than they are, gastropub fare that makes it to the finest of pub menus, deadly baked goods, etc, etc, but ...

Classic Lamb Tagine

After all the rich meals and constant onslaught of sweets, it seemed fitting to simplify our first post-Christmas dinner by doing an easy tagine simmer of  lean lamb, ginger, garlic, saffron, cinnamon and fruits with chopped onions. The new tagine got put to good use and two hours later, a drizzle of honey gave the juices a soft sweetness.

Over plain couscous, this was a nice change from all the traditional Christmas knosh ... we added a salad on the side for a cool crisp break from the warm saucy tagine. 

Moroccan Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes and Honey-Saffron Jam

The other evening, I walked into the kitchen with no idea of what I might make for dinner. There was a package of thawed skinless/boneless chicken thighs and a can of tomatoes on the counter. And there was a copy of Diana Henry's cook book called Crazy Water/Pickled Lemons on the cook island. What transpired over a glass of wine and some poking through the book turned to magic when I finally stirred myself to rattle the pots and pans.

Venison Kefta with Harissa and Yogurt

They look like little cigars on a skewer. They're full of coriander, cumin, caraway, cilantro, parsley, onion, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper, and very lean venison. Incredibly spicy, grilled medium, piping hot! Wrap them in a whole wheat pita, layer on some yogurt and hot spicy Harissa and you have a Moroccan hotdog!

Moroccan Crab Cakes ???? Yup, Apparently!

Matthew Kenney has sucked me in  ... again! Perhaps it's the gorgeously photographed food in his cookbook or maybe it's just the interesting combinations of ingredients. Whatever, I saw this recipe for Moroccan Spiced Crab Cakes and knew that I had to make them. I have found myself daydreaming about placing them on a nice bed of greens and serving them with a super chilled crisp white wine ... it's supposed to be a warm sunny day here. The back porch will warm right up with the sun hitting it ... it may even feel like a warm summer afternoon out there ... these crab cakes should be a great way to celebrate the return of the sunshine and warmth!

The Summer Kitchen ... in Winter

I went for a ride yesterday and then parked and walked in the woods for a bit ... before the roar of snowmobiles let me know that I was about to be engulfed by engines and exhaust and the spinning of metal belts and flinging of mud and snow. Then, I retreated back down the path and on further down the road.


There was a yeasted whole wheat crust rising at the house, so I was on a bit of a time table for walking, but it sure was a pretty day for a quick jaunt.


I found this summer kitchen sitting next to an old house down the road ... what colors next to the whites and greys of winter woods!  The light in the woods was really wonderful because of the cloud cover ...