Baked Kale Chips

 

In the winter months one of the things i have been getting in my local food box are bunches of kale. The other day my friend was making these kale chips, so i had to try it. They are super addictive and pretty healthy.


Start off by heating oven to 350 degree F

to prepare the kale.

• remove the leaves from the thick stems of the kale.
• tear into bit size pieces.
• wash  and dry kale in salad spinner.
• drizzle olive oil onto kale (mix thoroughly)
• season with salt/pepper/chili/garlic…or whatever you want
• bake on the pan till edges are brown, should be 10-15 min

baked sweet potato fries w. dipping sauce

One of my favourite things are baked sweet potato fries. While this has kept me interested for long enough, recently i have started to make my own dipping sauce based on the chili mayo.

start off by making the sweet potato fries. Follow the recipe on baked roots

slice up the potatoes, into wedges. (or fries or whatever shape you want)
put in bowl filled with ice cold water. (something to do with the starchs in potato.)
drain the water, pat dry.
coat potatoes in a little bit of in olive oil. (not that much is needed…so try it a few times and you can find out how much you want.)
lay potatoes on a baking tray.
put into oven at 420 F.
after 15 minutes, use spatula to make sure they are not stuck.
bake for another 20 minutes.
keep half an eye on the potatoes and make sure they don’t burn.
bake to the crispness that you want them.
season with salt and pepper.

Now for the sauce i simple mixed up

1 tbs of sour cream
1 tbs of mayonaise
1 tsp of chipotle powder
2 tsp of sweet chili sauce

try it out. im sure you will be making this all the time.

Thanksgiving with the Wasiks!

Not too long ago, I was invited to a thanksgiving dinner with Sam's cousin. I was excited to be able to feast on a massive meal of turkey, ham, potatoes and sauce.


Now this was a very interesting day as i woke up to a living room in disarray.

On this busy day, they were planning to finish the framing of the floors, and put together a bathroom. Now this would be hard enough on a normal day, but to add this to a thanksgiving dinner seemed like complete insanity to me.

However, while i was helping out in the kitchen the living room turned miraculously into this.


For dinner, we started off with some appetizers. Cheese and crackers are the must at all appetizers, but we also had some sliced cucumber topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill.


Now it isnt thanksgiving without a turkey, luckily for us we had two.

On the side of the turkey we had the danish specialty of brown potatoes. These are potatoes that have a caramel coating...absolutely delicious.

And finally it would not be Danish styled without some tasty sauces. Well i guess these sauces were not necessarily Danish, but the point is similar. We had gravy, cheese sauce, and the butter was being used to make danish Brown potatoes.

Dan's Good Grub at 220 King

Thanks 220 King

Dan's Good Grub cookbooks now for sale at #220. The cookbook features Daniel Penn's custom and unique recipes that has the ability to satisfy anyone's tummy. This book has been sold as far as Denmark's Urban Outfitters store....So you know it's worth the purchase.

Come get your copy today!

Chocolate Peanut Brittle

last week i was craving something sweet. instead of heading to the store i decided to make something. i found some raw peanuts in my cupboard, and had sugar and butter so this is what i made.

start by mixing

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup of butter
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

in a pan at med-high heat. stir constantly. once it starts to bubble turn heat down a bit, but so its still bubbling lightly. once it gets to hard ball stage it is ready.

Now that the caramel is ready you want to layer a baking sheet with parchment paper. On the parchment paper spread out evenly.

• 1/2 cup of chocolate cracker crumbs (like oreo crumbs)
• 1 cup of peanuts (chopped up)

now poor the caramel on top of the crumbs and peanuts, trying to get it everywhere on the paper.

Now pop in the freezer for 15 minutes and enjoy

Beaux Mondes talks Good Grub

Beaux Mondes has a lovely article about Dan's Good Grub. It is a great local hamiltonian blog which profiles nice local items and shops. Make sure to check it out.

http://www.beaux-mondes.com

Lavish and Squalor are selling Dan's Good Grub!

Check out the lavish & squalor that is full of some really nice clothing, accessories and books.

My Dearest Jamie.

Last night i was lucky enough to listen to Jamie Oliver. While a crowd of 3500 people watched, he created two simple dishes and answered a plethora of questions. Sadly my question was not asked or answered. It was probably too wordy, but if he ever does visit my site i would love for him to read the question i wanted to pose. Thus i will post it here.

Jamie,

As the food industry is a global industry, has the food revolution set up groundwork for local solutions throughout the world, including places where English is not their first language?

I am quite new at studying the food system, with only 2 years under my belt, but there have been some obvious trends. Firstly, the US does lead the way. However I do know that places like Germany, and suspect places like france, denmark, switzerland, that are also well engrained with the industralized food system. While there is already such a rich culture of food in so many of these areas, wouldnt it be easier to use go to these areas and make sure to promote this shift in these areas as well?

After last night i realize the burdun that has been bestowed upon you, and i am sure that others will help take the reign. But i cant help but wonder whether looking specifically at the US and UK will be able to muster the global change that is going to need to happen.

Well i hope you enjoyed my book.

Cheers
daniel

P.S. my email is penn.dan@gmail.com. Hopefully i can help out in a major way.

FUCK the double down.

For those of you who don't know, the double down has come to Canada. Its a scary time in the great white north, and in honor of this terrible event, i came up with this dish. 1 patty of organic butternut squash. 1 patty of grated organic potato. topped with organic caramelized onions and 2 types of cheese.


Start off by caramelizing onions.

• dice up 1 med sized red onion
• add 2 tsp of butter to a pan at med-high temp
  
• stir in 1/2 of the onion to pan

• top with 1 tsp of maple syrup turn down to med temp
• stir in 1 tsp of chipotle powder
  
• continue to cook for a couple min till they look like below
• set it aside
  

Now for the patties. this was a bit more work.

Potato patty:

• Grate up 3 good size potatoes (not huge not too small)
• Soak in cold water
• Drain and squeeze out water
• Add the 1/2 of onion that was not cut
• Mix in 1 tsp of salt
  
• Mix in 1 egg yolk
• Add flour till it is the consistency that you want (a thick pancake consistency)

Butternut squash patty

• Grate in 1/2 of grated butternut squash (equal amount to potato)
• follow same directions as potato patty
  

As you start to fry up the patties turn on broil at med high heat. Use a large saucepan that has

• 1 tbs of oil in it.

• Fry till golden brown on both sides. (just over 5 min each side)
• Once they are done, set it aside
  
• Slice up and fry up 1 tomato (30 seconds a side)
• Than start to layer it up.

So for layering it up.

From the bottom up

1. Potato patty
2. Fried Tomato
3. Some Grated Parmesan Cheese
   
4. Butternut Squash Patty
5. Carmalized Onion
6. Lots of Mozzarella and Parm Cheese
   

Adam's sautéed udon w. veggies

Living with with my current room mate has some sweet perks. He knows how to make some delicious asian foods. We finally got some Mirin a japenese sweet rice wine. Adam says its perfect when combining with soy sauce, so of course that is what we did.

We started off by blanching the bok choi (3 large pieces) and used the same water to blanche the udon noodles (enough for 3 people) so they could be fried. add little dash of sesame oil to noodles and bok choi.

in a seperate bowl we made a mixture of

• 1 tbs of soy sauce
• 1 tbs of mirin
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
  

In another sauce pan we

• added some vegetable oil to a saucepan at med-high temp
• once oil is hot frying up some diced onion (1/2 red onion) and eggplant (3 baby ones)
  
• after a few minutes, once the onions were soft we mixed in diced shitake mushrooms
  
• after a few more minutes of cooking we added the noodles
• frying the noodles up, we put a small pot lid to get them slightly crispy on the bottom
• finally we added the sauce and mixed it all together doing the same thing with the pot lid
  
• in the last minute add the bok choi

top it off with a bit of sesame seeds

Vanilla Date Smoothie

For class i have been working on this Newton Assignment. Its a website that has to be related to Newton is some fashion or another. Ive decided to do a Newtonian Food site, of course, and came up with this recipe.

Using Newtons first principa Mass=Density * Volume i came up with this.

Morning = Dates * Vanilla

Basically i used a hand blender to mix

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup of vanilla probiotic yoghurt
• 5 dates (diced up)

it was really good so i decided to post it.

green and golden eggs

While i try to eat less vegetables, I still try to get a healthy diet that has enough protein. Avocado is a great way to supplement it. I used to not like it, but these days I just love the texture and taste. I made an avocado goat cheese mixture and put it on top of my eggs and toast.

the mixture is made with

• 1 ripe avocado (diced and scooped out)
• 1 tbs of soft goats cheese
• 1 tsp of fresh thyme
• juice of one lime
• 1 tsp of hot sauce (if you want it a bit spicy)
  

top scoop this on top of some eggs and enjoy.

spicy tomato pasta

one of my favourite things to eat is pasta. the different sauces, the cheeses can make a simple thing so complex. this recipe, like most of my others is not complex. super simple good ingredients are needed to make this taste amazing, some make sure to get some proper tomatoes.

start off by

• heating up 2 tsp of olive oil in saucepan at med-high heat
• fry up a small onion (diced up)
• add 1 clove garlic (smashed and sliced)
• stir for a couple minutes
• add 3 tomatoes chopped up
• stir in 1-2 tsp of hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
• add 1 tsp of maple syrup
• add large pinch of salt and pepper
  
• let the sauce cook for 10ish minutes so it cooks down
• add some cooked pasta to sauce so the sauce coats the pasta properly
  

spicy shrimp and tofu

this recipe is for something that was really easy and was put on top of some delicious udon noodles. we had a bag of frozen shrimp, defrosted them in coldish water and finally cooked them up with some tofu.

Start off by

• putting 2 tbs of vegetable oil in a saucepan
  
• turning to med-high heat
• once oil is hot, adding a small handful of tofu
• frying them till slightly brown on all sides (few minutes)
  
• adding 1 stick of lemon grass, chopped up
• adding all the shrimp (large handful, drained)
• adding 1 tsp of chili garlic sauce (the asian one)
• constantly stir for a couple minutes (till all pink)
• try one to make sure it is cooked through.
• enjoy
  

serve on some udon noodles...that recipe will be posted on the futurists... so check it out.

roasted almonds

during our board game and vinyl music night we needed a tasty treat. i was brought some fresh almonds and we decided that the best hting to do would be to roast them.

i found this site which has some roasting recipes...so i tried one. this is what happened.

i started by

• turning oven to 350 F
• pouring almonds in a pan, 2 layers of almonds (not like recipe)
• drizzling 1 tbs of honey on almonds
• sprinkling about 2 tsp of salt on top
• mixing honey throughout almonds
• putting into oven for 15 minutes (once oven was hot)
  
• taking out and checking (let cool before you pop them into your mouth)
• adding a bit more salt to almonds
  
• serving them up

such a simple recipe. but delicious. so go out and make them yourself.

arugula lime parm pasta

This was an adaptation of a recipe i have made a few times. Its really tasty, simple and fresh. Perfect for summer, or in winter when you want something fresh.

• start off by cooking some pasta till al dente.
• drain pasta and put back in pot. at med temp.
  
• add some olive oil (1 tbs per person).
• add a clove of garlic (smashed and chopped)
  
• add some chopped up arugula.
• add juice of a lime. (try to keep pits out)
  
• stir in some grated parm. salt. pepper.
• enjoy with some friends.
  

Ribs...the lazy lazy way.

now seriously these ribs were the easiest thing to do...BUT its not my suggestion to do them very much. They are delicious, so beware.

• turn the oven to 260 f
  
• paint ribs with a mixture of bbq sauce and hot sauce
• wrap in tinfoil leaving top open
  
• pour beer into packet and close up
• put onto baking tray ( it might leak a bit)
  
• put into oven and let bake for 2.5 hours
• take them out and have them with salad/bok choy or something tasty and green

cheers
daniel

I'm Back??

hey guys and gals.
So i have once again nesled myself nicely into hamilton. Spending my days finding things for the apartment, seeing old friends and sorting out school i havent had much time in the kitchen. BUT...i was quick enough and managed to order a box of organic vegetables. Even if it was done via iphone. Plan b is great and will be providing a lot of the vegetables im gonna be eating... cause its easy, cheapish and the stuff is so damn good.






THis year im gonna try to eat a lot of vegetables, with much less meat. Its a hard thing. But i have started to just get really nice meat, so that it always tastes way better. Okay. gotta get back to school work reading, but ill be online soon to post about food i actually made...

portobello bagel burgers

With the amount of meat i eat, i really felt like i needed some more full vegetarian dishes. Especially as i want to make a vegetarian cookbook next year. So this is one delicious recipe for something veggie that is still grilled like a piece of meat.

I started by

• going to costco and got a lot of portobello mushrooms.
• rubbing off the dirt and taking the stems off
• seasoning with a bit of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper
• putting on grill for a couple minutes, than flipping so lack of stem hole is facing up
• putting some goats cheese in the hole
  
• serving on a toasted bagel
  
• putting a side of diced cucumber dressed with olive oil and balsamic glaze
  

Mystery Lasagna

Okay. Im sorry but it has been so long since i have last blogged that I cant even remember what was in this lasagna. From closer inspection this was a meat lasagna made with a fresh bolognese sauce. This takes the most time, but it makes it a lot better if you make it yourself. Plus you can get good nice beef from a proper butcher instead of the crap that was made on the other side of the world. So here it goes...for the sauce.

http://dansgoodgrub.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-bolognese-sauce.html
But use 5-6 fresh tomatoes because its SUMMER!!!

I used a mario betaglia bechamel sauce made from:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/bechamel-sauce-recipe/index.html
but try your own. there are a lot online.

I used some of the lasagna pasta that did not need to be precooked.

I finally had 2 large handfuls of spinach to use with the bechamel sauce.

For cheese i had 2 balls of fresh mozzarrella sliced up, a large handful of grated mozzarrella and also some grated parm.

Now start from with

• Painting the bottom and sides of pan with olive oil
  
• a bottom with a layer of the lasagna pasta.
• Use half of meat sauce for a layer.
• than another layer of lasagna pasta.
• Use all the bechamel sauce and spinach for a layer.
• than another layer of lasgana pasta.
• Top with sliced mozzarrella than use the last bit of meat sauce.
• than another layer of lasagna pasta.
• Finally top with the grated mozzarrella cheese and parm.
• Put tinfoil on.

You can eat it right away, or store it for a bit.
Put oven to 350 F. Once hot add the lasagna. After 25 minutes take out. Take off tinfoil. Scrape cheese that sticks onto top of lasgana. Put back in oven for another 20-25 minutes. Use heat from top to give it a nice brown on top. Let it cool for a few minutes and than serve.

Enjoy guys and gals. Ill be back soon!
=

New Blog!!!

hey guys and gals.

I have a started a new blog from my phone.

It is called Dan's Phone Food.

So check it out...

Ill be back posting soon, i just need to settle myself down a little.

Thanks to everyone who is still checking out the food, dont worry ill be back with some AMAZING new photos.

Dan

carrot raddish cucumber salad

This salad was made from scraps from the box of veggies. After looking at it right now, i think i might make it again very very soon. Its fresh and delicious.

Start off by slicing up

• a cucumber
• 3 carrots (peeling before)
• 5 small radishs

make a sauce out of

• 1 tbs of olive oil
• 2 tsp of white wine vinegar
• 1 green onion (chopped up)
• dash of salt/pepper

ENjoy!

baked things

These potatoes are made with a bit of onion and some delicious Spanish cured meat.

Turn oven to 400 F.

Slice the potatoes length ways. and put in a big bowl of very cold water.

Thickly Slice up an onion

Drain water from potatoes.

Add a decent amount of Olive oil, some salt and pepper.

Add some diced up Spanish cured meat.

Mix and put on baking tray.

Slide tray into oven. Bake for 40 minutes.

Make sure to flip every once in while.

Top off with some grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy with fish, or as a nice snack.

Iceland: a place which was saved by a volcano

I have never really done this before, however this trip was really amazing and i think that at some point everyone should try to make it out to Iceland. Its not super cheap, but it is pretty great while nice people and amazing music. This is the coles notes version of an amazing 48 hours.

I didnt have much cash, so i decided to pitch a tent in the city, but 3 km away from the center.



I found out that it was that national birthday, so i quickly walked into town spotting this amazing steel viking boat perched ready to go out sailing.



While walking through the city, i got lost and ended up right near this massive church.



To scared to go to the top on the first day, i decided to look inside and listen to some great organ music that was being played.



I continued back into town and grabbed some lunch while watching some kids do backflips.



and then stopped by some older guys playing some great classic rock.



Needing another break from reading my great but gruesome book, eating animals. Its really great, but i needed some loosning up, so this group which combined juggling and music did the trick.




It was all great, but not nearly as impressive as the breakdancing triplets. These kids are actually in one of the icelandic air commercials, and besides be really cute and identical...can actually dance.




I decided i needed some more music, so i walked deeper into town and found a choir of men singing in icelandic. Though i had no idea what they were singing about, these well dressed guys were great and exactly what i was in the mood for.



Finally i went back up to the hill so that i could listen to some louder music, as i had been up walking around since 5:30 am. It was pretty crowded.



It was pretty busy, but why wouldnt it be, it was seabear was on stage. I had bought there CD earlier and am so glad i did.



I couldnt last much longer so went back to the tent getting ready for the next day. When i woke up, after 12 hours of much needed sleep i walked back into town. I found this great health food store and bought myself breakfast. A chicken fajita with corn and yam. So so tasty.



I kept walking about and managed to find some great street art.



I kept walking and walking so decided to get a cup of coffee. I was lucky and found the best coffee in iceland, Kaffismiðja Íslands.



On a nice coffee rush i overtook my fear and went to the top of the top of the tour. No stairs, but the elevator took 45 seconds. I was in it alone, and it creaked a lot. But i got some nice pictures of the top.



I was feeling really good about myself, so before i went on a bike tour i decided i needed to eat something tasty. I went to icelandic fish and chips. It was really good, and they use all organic stuff. Im still on the fence, but at least i feel better about eating organic than eating non organic. It was right beside the harbour.



The bike tour was great. and though i cant tell you which one it is, but one of the houses below is bjorks. Id suggest it to anyone who visits iceland, they are super nice and i made some new friends on the trip.



Finally the night was upon us, so me and my new friends decided it was time to go to listen to some music, and drink some beer.



We started off at a show at a culture house. Three icelandic bands were playing, all of which were great. My favourite though was no lo. They are really young and the music is perfect for summer.



After those bands had finshed playing, we needed something else to do for a few hours before my friends had to catch a plane. I had heard gus gus (a band i had heard at distortion) was playing in town, so we stopped by to have a listen. I was starting to crash, but the music was good enough to get me psyched for the long walk home.



Well that was my 48 hours in iceland, and yes it was the coles notes version. Ill be back with some actual food posts very soon. I have just been so darn busy.