Obsessing Over the Missing Meatloaf

Recently someone, in search of substitutes for  parchment paper on AskRuth, sent me this email...

"Happened to read your blog about parchment paper substitute.  I like your writing style - very thorough.  You mentioned David’s favorite meat loaf (when discussing plastic wrap), but I can't find the recipe on your site.  Help! The spinach sandwich between the meatloaf layers peeked my interest." 

I vaguely remember making the meatloaf she mentioned.  I think it was one of those I made over and over until I found a new "best ever in the world" recipe to make over and over and... repeat the cycle a bunch of times.  The parchment paper post was written back in 2006!.  Naturally, I had to check for the missing meatloaf for myself.  Not among the list of other meatloaves I've written up.  Not in my cookbook - Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories.  I even obsessively went through my posts for six months leading up to that article!  Nothing!  


So what's a girl to do?  Try to recreate it of course.  I took some elements of several recipes and came up with this 

Mushroom Spinach Surprise Meatloaf

And if I do say so myself... pretty darn tasty!   The chipotle honey glaze was from Mushroom Surprise Meatloaf  - seriously one of my best meatloaves ever!. It's from one of my favorite sections of fineCooking magazine - the "create your own". And I bet, you vegetarians and vegans out there can find your own magic loaf, replacing meat - meat for some vegetarian version, but I digress.   I sort of followed this recipe idea for the rest, adding spinach to the mushroom filling.   I do hope you enjoy the results.... we did!


But the main reason for this post... aside from sharing a wonderful dish... is because it made me think about why I started the blog, and why I continue to keep it up.   This article in Saltscapes Magazine that a fellow food writer wrote about me, sums it up best. At first, it was to connect to my daughters who lived in other cities and share their favorite recipes as soon as they wanted them.  


But then it became more about me... and the things I was interested in and passionate about.... farm to table.... farm markets....eating local...cooking with kids....chats with cool chefs and farmers who love what they do even though it's incredibly, physically hard to do so. And now I have to add that it's also about remembering, and  easily recreating or adapting an old favorite recipe.  Since some of my best dishes are created on the fly and if you asked me the next day what I put into it, I'd probably not remember, this is the perfect place to share... with family... friends... and ... myself! 


If you're a blogger, why do you write?   If you're not a blogger, do you keep a recipe journal?

Pasta Perfect - This Time with Shrimp

I've been on an austerity plan lately ... trying hard to use up the food I have on hand in the pantry and freezer...and not splurging on Italian pastas...but I had to ... really ... I HAD to stop by the Gourmet Italian market for their awesome Sweet Fennel Sausages.  My freezer supply is depleted.  And I couldn't help myself ... I had to check out the pasta aisle.  Divella Pasta has such a fantastic assortment of unique pastas. it was truly hard to resist.  I forced myself to only by ONE bag... you have no idea how hard that was.  But Passover is coming very soon and I already have pasta in the pantry for me to use up.

The rest of the dinner was a waffling back and forth between some recipes in great cookbooks..Esquire's. Eat Like a Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need - seriously good even though I resent the title - women can love this book too! and Michael Smith's latest - Chef Michael Smith's Kitchen -  I'm a huge fan .  So I took some ideas and made them my own with this one that I really don't know what to call it...other than delicious!

Caserecce with Spicy Sweet Shrimp and Arugula

The real star of the dish was the Divella Pasta... in fact, my Honey, who like me, would normally focus on the shrimp, said this pasta would be great without it.  The noodles themselves were wonderful - the flavour, the texture, the way the sides curl together and trap the sauce.  I'm drooling even now.

It was so delicious, I have to share with Presto Pasta Night this week.  For the last few weeks, it's not that we haven't eaten pasta, just that I've use the last of my favorite Grandma Hazel's Meat Sauce this time with sauteed mushrooms, and other standard "throw together"  dishes I've made a million times before. This time around the dish is worthy of a spot in the roundup.   Juli of Pictures of all my Princesses is hosting.  Send your entries to jules (dot) i (dot) m (at) gmail (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday March 22 to be included in this week's roundup.

My Brilliant Little Author

Even though I'm occasionally asked by someone wanting to guest write here, I keep it as my own... with the one exception so far... my gardening daughter who will review an appropriate book or two.   But the very proud Gramma in me had to share this story written by Boaz, my five year old grandson... but first a little background.

Last Monday we visited Zillig Farm and I wrote about it HERE.  A few days later, Boaz and his little brother Dov, came for a visit and I told him about the article.  He's always asking me what I write about and how come it's mostly about food.... but that's another story.  

He loved the title of my blog "Once Upon a Feast" and then we had this conversation....

B:  Hey, Gramma.... I have a great idea!   We should write our own story book and instead of starting it with "Once upon a time"... we should start with "once upon a feast" and it could be about a little boy who is very hungry but his parents were busy so he had to make his own food.  He already knows how to do it by himself.  

G: (that would be me)  sounds terrific  

B:  Okay... I'll tell the story, but you write the words and illustrate it.  Then Dov and I can colour it in.  It should be four pages long. 

And so it began, but please excuse the illustrations... I am no where near as talented an artist as his mummy or Auntie Sharron.   

I was the scribe, so all is written as Boaz directed.  He did much more than just tell the story... it was his concept, his layout and design of the book from the title FEAST to the Darker, larger capital letters of each sentence.   As for the Colouring... his assistant, Dov was too busy doing his own project to cooperate ... er... participate.  .  

I shared this story because I am truly proud of him, but it's also my way of showing how fun and easy it is to educate our children about the food they eat.  Kind of like hiding the vegetables in a dish so they'll eat them even if they say they hate them.   

Boaz and his brother have been playing in the kitchen since they could crawl 

and being a baker from a very young age.  I love this shot of him making Chanukah cookies with his mom when he was two.  Well, someone has to taste the sprinkles and make sure they'll do.

 More recently, they've both graduated to making these beautiful challahs.  They make them most Fridays, with a little help from mom.

And, of course when the boys come over, Boaz and I cook up a storm ...everything from cookies to pizza.  

Not every adventure turns out the way we plan it... like making these awesome fish cakes....the making was fun, the eating.... totally not!   No matter,  the idea is to introduce them to food in ways that are fun. 

Other musings of mine about cooking with kids.  I'd love to hear about your time getting your kids (nieces, nephews, neighbors...) getting to learn about and appreciate food.  

A Visit to The Zillig Family Farm

I just finished sitting here munching on perfect "farm fresh" eggs... literally... more in a minute... and just wondering how to write about our glorious adventure to a sheep farm yesterday.  

It was the perfect Spring day in the country - 12°C/54°F and brilliant sunshine overhead!  We even saw some crocuses starting to bud and trying to get a jump on the season.  It's only mid March and normally bitterly cold, grey and very wintry.  My daughter Joanna was on a hunt for organic sheep fertilizer for her garden and found some about an hour or so from Halifax.  So we turned the day into a wonderful adventure that surpassed any expectations we had.   But where to begin in the telling....

First to say that Marg Zillig is awesome, a gracious host and an inspiration. As usual my post will jump all over the place... this time starting at the end of the visit.  Marg (on the right) invited us in to her home and served us plum juice made from plums from her own plum trees! Not to mention the gorgeous and delicious cookies we all munched on or the dozen eggs she gave us to remind the kids where they come from...or the braid of garlic, Joanna bought.  Marg plants 1500-2000 cloves in her garden.   Joanna...75!

I need no reminders and I must say, to all my city friends... there is truly nothing like fresh from the farm eggs from free run chickens.

Perhaps I'll start with some history...the farm house (behind Joanna & Marg) was built in the 1700's just after the expulsion of the Acadians from the region.   Marg's dad, emigrated from Germany in 1953, and met her mom, Edith, also a German emigre, in Nova Scotia.  They both brought their farming backgrounds with them and bought the farm (at one time 250 acres, now at 175 acres and beautifully pastoral!) in 1958, had two children (Marg and her older brother) and farmed it ever since.   Marg has been running the farm on her own since her mom passed away in 2009 at the age of 94.

 Zillig Family Farm in Hants County, Nova Scotia is an Artisan farm, which means it's not certified organic, but pretty darn close.  Marg studied animal husbandry and agriculture at McGill University in Montreal, as well as in Europe.  She is more than knowledgeable, she is passionate.  We all fell in love instantly.

We were joined by some friends of Boaz & Dov and their mom, Zoey, and like all little boys... and girls, for that matter... there is nothing as much fun as running around, stomping in mud and playing with the animals.  So perhaps the best way to go is to follow the boys and hear what they had to say....

The geese, two ganders and four geese are in mating season, so the ganders (and their partners) had to be separated... the men are very territorial during mating season.  Can you imagine... these geese, especially the ganders are even louder than squealing little boys!  Boaz even covered his ears and told us just how loud they were.

On to the chickens...the excited boys, drove the chickens indoors... unintentionally, of course... and when Boaz pushed aside the netting to check out the coop and see the eggs, his first response was to hold his nose and inform us that the chickens smelled! ...a personal aside, having visited an industrial chicken farm, which really smelled so bad, I gagged...I can tell you all that this one hardly smelled at all.  We, of course had to have the discussion about the fact that all animals poop, just like us.  We're into toilet training, can you tell?

Boaz did ask Marg where the rooster was, but since these hens are layers, rather than breeders, there's no need for a rooster.  All we want are the delicious eggs!    We also saw a few ducks, that Marg keeps for eggs for those of us who can't tolerate hens eggs.

We passed the water fowl pond that Marg's dad dug years and years ago where Dov (our little one) found his favorite animal on the farm... a barn cat... a stray left by the side of the road a year ago and now lives happily on the farm.

On to the sheep...lots of ewes

and lambs that are just one month old.

and this was the best shot I could get of Marg holding a skittish lamb so the still squealing boys could pet him.

While Marg was telling us about the sheep.. their heritage, their wool, etc... the boys found a new place to play... the mountain of sheep ... fertilizer!

What a wonderful visit!  Joanna wants to become Marg, I just admire her and all the hard work that goes into tending the animals, the produce garden, I didn't even mention because it's all under a protective layer of hay, waiting for Spring to really arrive.

Thank you, Marg and to those of you who don't live on a farm... make a visit.  It's a fantastic opportunity  to learn about and appreciate where our food comes from.  Oh.... and Boaz' favorite animal... the puppy!

Sweet & Spicy Means a Great Combination for Presto Pasta

I've been dreaming about making this pasta dish for weeks.  The butternut squash has been giving me that look from the counter for what seems like forever.  You know the look..."Well...are you actually going to use me or am I just going to turn to stone on this counter?!" look.  Somehow, though, life got in the way until yesterday.


Usually when roasting squash, I just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, season with a little salt and pepper and roast cut side down at 400°F/200°C, but this time I made it more like this recipe...  ... without the brown sugar or butter...just tossed with a little fresh thyme leaves, olive oil and a few grindings of freshly ground black peppercorns and at 375°F/180°C for about 20-30 minutes...until the little cubes were tender and caramelized .   I actually roasted them as a side dish to go with the brisket I found in the bottom of my freezer, but naturally there was plenty left over.  


Much as I love squash, I usually find it too sweet too eat too much at one time.. a little goes a long way and I want something spicy or at least savoury to go with it.    But what combination?.... I kept thinking about the cured churiso sausages in my fridge and the woody cremini mushrooms, more thyme to continue the earthiness.   And the dish was born.   While the fusilli (they were too cute to ignore at the grocery store) was boiling away, I sauteed a chopped onion, sliced mushrooms and chorizo slices for about five minutes, added the squash and a splash of apple cider vinegar from my favorite Boates Farm in the Annapolis Valley, where much of my Saturday farmers market finds come from, tied it all together.   


Probably the craziest thing about making this dish... beyond the dreaming about it for days before I actually put it together... was that while I was tossing it all up... before the actual eating even... I was already planning the leftover dish.... frittata?  add some homemade chicken broth and make a fantastic soup?  is there enough for both?

Sweet & Spicy Butternut Squash & Chorizo Pasta

Your thoughts?  And don't forget to share your pasta dish with Presto Pasta Night.  This week, Simona of Briciole is hosting for the fourth time!  Please Send your entries to simosite (at) mac (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com

Presto Pasta Party - We're Five Years Old!

It's really hard to believe that we're celebrating five years of weekly Presto Pasta Night Roundups.  I started it on a lark in March, 2007.  I thought it might be fun then and here's my first entry (actually two) Crab, Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni

and a simple Fettuccine with Olive Oil, Basil & Garlic.

I never imagined it would survive ... and thrive... for five years!  I want to thank everyone for sharing in the pleasure of pasta - the feasting and the hosting parts.  Lots of the guests below have been loyal PPNers for ages and others are new to the family.  All of them add their own spin on traditional pastas and creativity in inventing new choices from around the world.   But enough talk.... let's dig in to this week's awesome entries.

Joanne who always Eats Well With Others and is a frequent PPNer, shared a truly gorgeous and inspired Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs & Blue Cheese for our party (which sort of coincides with her own birthday - so Happy Birthday Joanne).

Katie has a new look to her blog - Feeding Boys & a Fire Fighter and a great vegetarian dish of Creme Fraiche, Lemon, Peas & Soya Meatball Pasta that looks great even for a carnivore like me.

Tigerfish of Teczcape is another awesome PPN regular.  She shares this Gourmet Singapore Laksa that takes quick to spectacular in minutes.

Katie over at Thyme for Cooking hasn't been around for a while.  Her hubby has T1 Diabetes and can't tolerate pasta very well.  She still made a wonderful dish of Teryaki Meatballs which she'll have over pasta and perhaps he could have over rice.

Jamie of Cookin' With Moxie made a very special Fettuccine Marinara with Two Ricottas.   I've been meaning to try ricotta salata and this recipe will definitely have me hunting for some.

Alisha of Cook.Craft.Enjoy remembers her first PPN entry - Pad Thai and this time around returns to Thailand for Thai Pork & Noodles that looks equally delicious.

Mary of One Perfect Bite (although, really... how could one stop at just ONE  perfect bite?) made this wonderful dish of Pasta with Cabbage, Pancetta & Cheese and I will need more than just one bite for sure!

Tandy of Lavender and Lime is a frequent PPN contributor and host and this week she brings a lovely Baked Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo.  What a delightful way to celebrate.

Kirsten, of From Kirsten's Kitchen to Yours decided to remind me of all the events that have taken place over the last five years.  Good thing she also shared a mouth-watering plate of Fusilli Putanesca.  It's been quite the ride!

Abby of Eat the Right Stuff made me blush with her kind words.... and totally drool with this awesome Orecchiette with Aubergine & Caramelized Onions.  My favorite ingredients all in one dish!

Juli of Pictures of All My Princesses made a very unique and delicious Artichoke & Bruschetta Pasta that is perfect for a party.

Gilllian of So So Simple Food lives totally on the other side of the planet from me... New Zealand is definitely south and definitely in summer rather than winter.   So I love the Orzo Summer Salad.  It's the antidote for blustery, stormy, grey winter weather we're experiencing here at the moment.

Simona of Briciole gives a great pesto lesson - and pesto being one of my favorite things (always some in my freezer) I love a new tip.  I'd never heard of Pesto Secco and now we are all the wiser.  And next week, Simona will be hosting PPN for the fourth time, no less!

Nic of Lemon & Cheese sneaked in under the wire with this Smoked Mackerel Spaghetti Frittata... my kind of dish especially for the morning after lots of revelry.

Oops I almost missed HoneyB of Life & Loves of Grumpy's HoneyBunch.  She's guest hosting for a friend (you have got to read the post!) but did find the time to share this Peppery Cod with Lemon Garlic Linguine.  Glad I caught it in time to share.

Of course I've been so busy all week drooling over these pastas as they came in, that I didn't come up with anything interesting of my own.  No time to make anything more complicated than using the last container of my Lazy Bones Marinara hiding in my freezer.  It was one of the first pasta sauces I wrote about on my blog back in 2005 and always a staple in my fridge or freezer ever since.

Next week, the lovely Simona of Briciole will be hosting Presto Pasta Nights as we head into year number six.   It's Simona's fourth time and you can send your entries to simosite (at) mac (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday March 8

If you'd like to host a PPN Roundup. Just drop me a line to pick a date. March 23rd and beyond are available.  It's never to early to sign up!