Jasper’s Turkey Meatballs

A few weeks ago we celebrated my mom’s birthday and I decided to make meatballs with polenta. Half of it went according to plan.

I had never tried to cook polenta before so I didn’t know how long I was supposed to cook it for since it never seemed to thicken. This resulted in a very thick polenta cooked for over an hour with me stirring frequently. I had also never tasted polenta so I didn’t realize how tasteless it was!

The meatballs, however, where much better. My brother made them and they tasted amazing. (The sauce was able to cover the bland taste of polenta).

I also made some matcha tarts for dessert. It tasted okay, but I believe it would’ve been better if I hadn’t accidentally boiled the cashew nuts…

• Servings: 4-5
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My brother made these meatballs and they are delicious! Please look at the ingredients for the meatballs and the sauce since some come up for both of them.
Ingredients:
Meatballs
1 pound minced turkey
1/2 onion, finely diced (keep the other half for the sauce)
5 garlic cloves, minced
Handful of parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
Sauce
1 1/2 large onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cloves, smashed
2 tbsp. dried oregano
2 bay leaves, rinsed
Pepper and salt

Instructions:

1. Meatballs: Mix all the meatball ingredients together, then press them into round balls. Refrigerate.
2. Sauce: Brown the onions and garlic in a large pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cloves, oregano, bay leaves, pepper and salt. When the sauce starts to boil, add in the meatballs. Cover with a lid and then mix after a few minutes, carefully pushing the meatballs in the sauce.
3. Cook for 20 minutes on medium heat with the lid on, then simmer for an hour.
4. This is best served with pasta.

Kohlrabi and Zucchini Fritters with Wasabi Mayo

I didn’t even know kohlrabi existed until a few months ago. It was my brother’s birthday, and someone decided to give him seeds to plant in the garden. I looked at the package, frowning at the foreign name, and that was my first encounter with kohlrabi. Fast forward to the present, and the seeds have transformed into lovely green bulbs with leaves on top. These fritters are the first time I used the vegetable, so I was quite surprised by how hard of an effort it took to cut into it! I also recognized a smell but couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Of course, my mind needed to know, so one online search later and I came up with Martha Stewart’s definition of kohlrabi: it’s like a cross between a radish, jicama, broccoli, and collard greens. And that was it! My nose had detected the radish smell. But when the kohlrabi’s cooked, it doesn’t really taste like radish but more of a mixture between broccoli, zucchini and potato. Strange, huh?

These fritters are a wondrous combination of the strange veggie named kohlrabi, zucchini, egg, breadcrumbs and spices. It’s crunchy and soft (oxymoron point in English class!) plus the fritters smell so good when they’re cooking in the pan. It’s excellent with the wasabi mayo, which gives it an extra pop that I love.

Healthy Winter Buddha Bowl

I finally made something other than desserts and baked goods! Since my mom usually makes dinner every night, I never make dinner, but this time, my parents were out and I had to prepare dinner myself. I have been longing to make a Buddha bowl in, like, forever, so that’s exactly what I did.

It might not look like the best dinner ever, but it certainly tasted like it. And it took me under 30 minutes to make, so I call this a successful meal.

Who knew Buddha bowls could bring so much joy to the eater? And I think the cold winter weather (it was snowing here!) might have made me appreciate a warm bowl of yummy veggies even more.

Creamy Celery and Carrot Soup

On Saturday, my brother had a soccer game that was pretty far away from home, which meant I was home alone for the entire day. Which also meant that I had to make dinner. My mom requested soup, so I had to look in the fridge and there were not a lot of vegetables. Just a few stalks of celery, carrots, and bell peppers.

And that is how this soup came to be.

Considering that I only added water (chicken stock, to me, always seems so unhealthy for some reason) and spices, the result was so creamy, I was shocked!

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

Healthy fries just got real. Sure, they don’t actually taste like salty potato fries, but don’t compare them to that unhealthy junk. Think of it as soft baked zucchini coated with a crispy layer of cheesy goodness and breadcrumbs.

I think summer flew by way too fast. I did summer school for a month, went camping one time and now it’s already school again. I don’t know if I should be sad or happy. On one end, I know I’ll have lots of homework and projects and classwork and tests, but on the other hand, I am excited to see my friends again and see if there are any new kids coming (our school is small so a new kid is a big deal)!

I will now veer away from the topic of school since that’s making me anxious. 🙂

Easy Bibimbap

Surprise! You might have noticed that I’m posting on a Wednesday instead of the weekend like I normally do. Well it’s all due to the great outdoors. My family and I are going camping for the weekend so I won’t have access to internet, which is why I’m leaving you guys with this easy dinner idea before I go. I got this idea from a recent episode of MasterChef where I saw all these really yummy looking bowls of bibimbap being made. The contestants on that show are so talented! (I’m cheering for Dan by the way. Love him!)

Let me first explain what bibimbap is. A Korean dish, literally meaning “mixed rice”, it is usually served in a hot stone bowl with rice (the stone bowl is so hot that there is a delicious layer of crispy rice on the bottom) and topped with vegetables, meat and an egg in the middle. The most traditional dishes use raw eggs and raw meat which should get cooked as it is mixed in the hot rice before eating. I, sadly, do not have stone bowls and had to content with these colourful Moroccan bowls that my dad picked up from one of his many travels all over the world. And since I couldn’t heat my bowls over the stove top, I couldn’t get a crispy layer of rice on the bottom, but it still tasted delicious!

My version of this Korean dish leans towards the healthier side, with delicious pan-fried chickpeas, minced turkey and lots of vegetables.

Oven Baked Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

One of the most popular ways to cook fish is to pan fry it. Though that is an awesome way to do it, I tend to bake my fish if I coat it with something so there is no hassle about flipping it and making sure the coated ingredients don’t fall off. This tilapia tastes perfect with a crunchy coating of breadcrumbs (HOMEMADE!) and melted cheese.

Really nice fish does not need to be breaded, but with simpler fish, such as tilapia, I coat it with breadcrumbs and cheese to give it a crunchy, delicious, exterior. Oh, and of course, baking it in the oven is healthier than pan frying it because you use less oil!

I was inspired to make this by going to this awesome Greek restaurant in the neighborhood. When you enter, the tzatziki smell immediately hits you and and there are plants which have vines intertwined all over the ceiling, creating a very nature atmosphere.I usually order a starter for my main dish because, boy, their main dishes are enormous! The plate is literally twice as big as my head.

Smooth Red Beet Soup

Just in time for Valentine’s day! I was debating whether to make cookies, or maybe dessert, but I decided to change things up a bit since most of my posts are about baked goods anyways. This soup has such a lovely shade of red, and with feta cheese on top it tastes super good! Velvety and creamy, this soup has no milk or cream! My entire family loved it.

Did I mention that it is a one pot recipe? And it doesn’t need chicken stock for taste because water does the job quite well with the beets, sweet potatoes, and carrots.

Salmon en Croûte with Ancient Grains Granola

This is a stunning main course. I made this a long time ago, using Angela Nilsen’s method to substitute the fat pastry “croûte” with light filo pastry which tastes very good and looks absolutely amazing. And for a fully vegetarian version, replace the salmon with a mixture of mushrooms, aubergine, roasted peppers, and cooked chickpeas. Not kidding, it tastes super good!

I added Kirkland Signature by Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains Granola with Almonds in the filling so it gives a sweet taste to the salmon. Kind of like maple syrup or brown sugar on the salmon. My dad, who has a sweet tooth, really liked it, but if you’re like my mom, who loves salty food, just add a bit more salt to the filling and don’t add the Ancient Grains Granola. (You can find the Ancient Grains Granola from Nature’s Path at Costco.)

This does take some time to make, but it is worth it. the salmon is moist, and the spinach filling is super delicious and works very well with the salmon. The filo pastry that wraps it is flaky, crunchy, and all in all, will make your taste buds dance in delight.

Slow Cooker Turkey and Beans Chili

Comfort food for these cold days. But still healthier than normal, with turkey instead of beef, and kidney beans for antioxidants and protein. And it’s super good! The chili peppers give it a bit of a kick, and with the beans, it tastes wonderful.

With a slow cooker, this is so easy to make. Just dump everything in the pot and continue on with your day! And if your vegetarian, you can always replace the turkey with sweet potatoes, more beans, etc.