Jamie Oliver's Real Mushroom Soup

I have a fascination with making soup and even though it is about 28 degrees I had to try this the other night. Fresh mushrooms from Ontario are all over the markets right now and I was able to get a couple of lbs for a great price.  What better time to make a "real" mushroom soup? My parents have just returned from the UK and made a point to stop in at one of JO's restaurants in London. I am now the proud owner of a Jamie Oliver's Italian jute (hemp?) tote bag, 4 white & blue cloth serviettes, 2 JO tea towels and a stolen appetizer menu (thanks to my Mum). In honour of Jamie and to make up for the stolen menu, I decided to try out his soup recipe!


Ingredients and Preparation: Serves 6
Recipe taken directly from Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie's Dinners".

• a small handful of dried porcini
• olive oil
• 600g (1.5 lbs) mixed fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles, girolles, trompettes de mort, shitake, oyster), cleaned and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• a knob of butter
• a handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, preferably organic
• a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• 1 lemon
• optional: truffle oil

Place the porcini in a small dish, add boiling water just to cover, and leave to soak. Get a large casserole-type pan nice and hot, then add a good couple of lugs of olive oil and your fresh mushrooms. Stir around very quickly for a minute, then add your garlic, onion, butter and thyme and a small amount of seasoning. After about a minute you'll probably notice moisture cooking out of the mushrooms and at this point add half of your porcini, chopped up, and the rest left whole. Strain the soaking liquid to remove any grit, and add it to the pan. Carry on cooking for about 20 minutes until most of the moisture disappears.

Season to taste, and add your stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. I usually remove half the soup from the pan and whiz it up to a purée at this point, then pour it back in, adding the parsley and mascarpone, and seasoning carefully to taste.

You can serve this soup as you like, but there are a few things to remember when finishing it off. Mix together a pinch of salt and pepper with the zest of one lemon and the juice of half of it, then spoon a little of this into the middle of the soup. When you go to eat it, stir it in and it gives a wonderful flavour. Other things you can consider are little slices of grilled crostini put into the bottom of the bowls before the soup is poured over. Or you could even quickly fry some nice-looking mushrooms – like girolles, chanterelles or oysters – and sprinkle these on top of the soup. If I was going to use truffle oil, then I would use it on its own – a few drips on the top just before serving.

What to do? I am no longer living in Suburbia.

Do I need to change the name of the blog to match my new location? I am technically no longer in the suburbs but more of a small town with one set of traffic lights.  Deep thoughts this Saturday evening.

Now that we are finally settled into the new house and almost organized in the kitchen I hope to get back to blogging some fantastic recipes this summer...made a delicious pasta tonight with asparagus, tomatoes, vidalia onion and artichokes but ate it before I had a chance to photograph it. Long day at the beach equals a hungry family.

Menu planning starts back up again tomorrow.

Fruit Smoothie with Soy Milk

It's been a couple weeks since my last post - but there have been a string of illnesses in the family and food has been the last thing on my mind! We have been living on tea and saltines trying to get over various stomach bugs.  Fingers crossed sick season is over now.

I try to drink one of these every day...I am not the best at eating a piece of fruit but if I blend it up with some vanilla soy milk it goes down so much easier.  My daughter loves these too and it is a good way to get her to eat fruit other than bananas. Frozen berries are a dream come true for me.  If I do buy fresh fruit it can generally be found weeks later looking very poorly at the back of the produce drawer.

This 3 ingredient smoothie is awesome for breakfast, as a healthy snack or dessert and takes only a couple of minutes to make with a hand mixer.


Method and Preparation: Serves 2 adults + a toddler

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)
• 1 1/4 cups Vanilla Soy Milk (I use Natura brand)
• 1 banana

Put the fruit, soy milk and banana into a tall plastic container, take out your hand blender and whizz up until smooth!  It's that easy.


*Another smoothie option I like is Litchi juice (Ceres brand), frozen blueberries and banana.

I use a Cuisinart hand blender and it is the most used tool in the kitchen. I highly suggest buying something like this if you don't have one already.

Corn & Black Bean Chili with Cornbread

I thought it was supposed to be Spring?  The snow just keeps coming here in cold Ontario and I am so over it - dreaming of days relaxing on the patio sipping a cold bevvie.  Instead of making yet another soup for dinner (to stay warm) I decided to go with a corn and black bean chili. It is so easy to make and takes very little energy to whip this up after a day at work.  The cornbread is super easy to and takes only 20 minutes in the oven.

Ingredients & Preparation: Serves 6

• 1 large can of black beans, rinsed
• 1 large can of whole tomatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 10-12 large white mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn
• Old cheddar cheese for garnish, shredded
• Cilantro for garnish, chopped
• 4-5 tbsp of chili powder or to taste
• 1 cup of tomato juice

In a large pot, add olive oil and onion. Cook until translucent and then add the mushrooms. Cook another 5 minutes and add the corn.  Cook for about 7 minutes and then add in the black beans, tomatoes, chili powder and tomato juice.  Cook on medium low heat for about 15 minutes until all the flavours are incorporated. While the chili is simmering, preheat the oven to 400F for the cornbread.

Cornbread Ingredients & Preparation: Serves 6

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl.  Then combine the remaining ingredients in another bowl. Grease a 9"x9" baking dish (I prefer glass). Mix ingredients from both bowls together for about 15 seconds until dry ingredients are moistened but don't over mix.  Pour batter into the pan and bake immediately.  Should take about 20-22 minutes in the oven until the top is golden brown. Insert a toothpick in the centre to make sure it is done (if it is, the toothpick will come out clean). Serve with the chili, cheddar cheese and cilantro.

Weekly Meal Planning

What will you be eating this week? I'd love to get some new ideas and inspiration...

Here is what we are eating this week (or close to it):

Monday -  Corn & Black Bean Chili with Cornbread

Tuesday - Pea & Mint Soup with Lemon Cream and Gouda & Prosciutto Paninis

Wednesday - Shrimp, Olive & Artichoke Salad with Chickpeas

Thursday - Toad in the Hole 

Friday - Grilled Calamari (Greek Style) with Vegetable Kebabs

Saturday -Out for dinner

Sunday - Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

Homemade Maple Baked Beans

As the daughter of British parents I have had my share of beans on toast.  I do love a can of Heinz Vegetarian Beans in Tomato Sauce but I thought I would give my own a try.  I used a recipe from Michael Smith's The Best of Chef at Home and adapted it slightly.

The beans were very good, the texture just right and the taste not too sweet.  Definitely more of a Quebec-style baked bean (Feves au Lard) with the maple syrup giving a nice sweetness to them vs the more common Boston-style baked beans made with molasses and brown sugar. Great for any meal - dinner, breakfast or brunch!


Ingredients & Preparation: Serves 4-6

• 2 cups of dried white or navy beans, soaked in cold water overnight
• 1.5 cups of water
• 1 cup of real maple syrup
• 6 slices of thick cut fried bacon, diced, fat reserved (can omit if vegetarian)
• 1 or 2 large onions, diced
• 1 tbsp powdered ginger
• 2 tbsp of any mustard (I used Dijon)
• a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp of any vinegar just before serving

Preheat your oven to 325F.  Strain the beans from their soaking water and rinse well.  Put the beans in a sauce pan and cover with cold water. bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook until beans are tender - about 45 minutes to an hour. Cook the bacon and set aside.

Drain the beans and put them in a 4 litre oven proof baking dish with a tight fitting lid.  Add the maple syrup, bacon, onions, ginger, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper. Add as much or little of the reserved bacon fat as you care to. Stir well.

Cover and place in the oven and bake until the beans have absorbed most of the liquid and are tender.  My beans took about 3.5 hours.  You can cook them longer but I would turn the heat down to 300F. Stir in the vinegar just before serving.

Chocolate-Dipped Fruit

This is a great idea if you are looking for a small treat to take to someone as a hostess gift. Just package with some parchment in a nice box with a pretty bow and you are set.  It's also a nice way to treat yourself!  Super easy to do and doesn't take much time at all.  These would also be nice on each table setting for Easter brunch or a birthday party.

Recipe adapted from the Food & Drink magazine Spring 2011.

Buy the best Belgian or Swiss chocolate you can and choose dried fruit that is soft and pliable. Don't use chocolate chips as they will not harden when cooled. Layer a baking sheet with parchment paper.  You will need about 8 oz of chocolate.  Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water (about 1-2" of water will do) stirring until smooth.


Once your chocolate is melted keep it in the glass bowl over the sauce pan to keep it from getting too gummy or hardening while you are working with it. Work fast and dip your fruit by using a toothpick in each piece. Let the excess drip off and then place on the parchment to cool. Continue until all your fruit are dipped. Cool about 2 hours or so. Remove toothpicks.  You can keep them out at room temp but i prefer to keep them in the fridge.

I used crystallized ginger and dried papaya.

Fruit ideas:

• dried cherries
• dried cranberries
• dried blueberries or raisins
• dried figs
• dried apricots
• chunks of dried pineapple
• dried papaya
• crystallized ginger

Meatloaf with Oregano & Basil

Until last year, I had never made a meatloaf and as far as I can remember never saw my Mum make one either.  It was not a staple in our family growing up but has definitely become one in the past few months.  My husband and I didn't eat meat for a few years at all and then when we started to incorporate it back into our diet I started buying grass-fed organic beef from a small local farmer. I bought a couple of pounds of the ground beef and asked around on a cooking message board for a good meatloaf recipe.  The following is a compilation of the replies I got as well as a few tweaks here and there of my own. I really prefer the taste of grass fed / organic beef and highly recommend you use it as well. I find it more moist and much more flavourful. 

Ingredients & Preparation: Yields one 9"x5" loaf

• 2 lbs grass fed / organic ground beef
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 3 slices brown or white bread made into crumbs (use a food processor)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1-2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1-2 tbsp dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup of ketchup
• 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1-2 tbsp brown sugar, if desired

Pre-heat your oven to 375F.  Put the ground beef in a large bowl. Add in milk, eggs, bread crumbs, mustard, and spices. Use your hands to blend it all together and make sure everything is incorporated evenly.  Add the ketchup and barbecue sauce to the bottom of a loaf pan (9"x5") - sprinkle the brown sugar in if using.  Next, make your ground beef mixture into a loaf shape and put into the pan.   Bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked. Beef should have a minimum internal temperature of 140F for rare and 170F for well done.

Serve with mashed potatoes and peas for a real comfort food meal.

Mashed Potatoes with Leeks & Greek Yogurt

I like to add leeks and plain Greek yogurt to my mashed taters.  It makes then slightly tangy and very flavourful.  Peel and boil your potatoes (4-6 depending on size) as you normally would, then in another pan saute about 4 leeks (only the white & light green part) in some butter until they are translucent. Add a little salt & peppeer plus 1/2 cup of stock (chicken or vegetable). Cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Once your potatoes are done, mash up with some butter, milk, Greek yogurt (about 3/4 cup) and add the leek mixture. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients. Delicious!