Wanna know where I get my "cooking without recipes" love? Look no further than my guest chef from the other night, Douglas the Omnivore! (Otherwise know as Dad!)
I had just been at St Lawrence Market when DtO stopped in for an unexpected visit. I invited him to stay for dinner, which was actually Amelia-code for "stay and help me cook dinner"! I laid out the day's ingredients on the table, and we got right to brainstorming!
The day's StLM groceries included brussel sprouts, organic apples, organic mushrooms, organic asparagus, and vine tomatoes (the smell of which I would honestly wear as perfume!). I also picked up free-range grass-fed flank steak; a favourite of mine.
After pondering these ingredients DtO and I decided on stuffed mushrooms, quinoa with blackened brussels, grilled tomatoes and grilled flank steak.
Dad was in charge of the stuffed mushrooms. He scooped out the shrooms, and then cooked that up with onions, apple, and summer sausage. The mushroom caps were browned and warmed in a frying pan, before we stuffed 'em and baked them in the oven!
Blackened brussel sprouts are a particular favourite in our family, but this time DtO cut them up into little strips so they would blend with the quinoa better. He slow fried them in olive oil and not much else! (The quinoa was pre-cooked in homemade broth the day before. Hurray for left-overs).
As per usual I whipped up a marinade of Kozlik's mustard, rib sauce, red wine, and salt and pepper for the steak. We don't have a barbecue yet, so I grilled the thin pieces of steak on my electric raclette. That was topped off with green salsa and apple slices.
There you have it! A creative, delicious meal, paired unsurprisingly with a nice Shiraz!
#food #foodethics #cleaneating #stlawrencemarket #farmersmarket #guestchef #brusselsprouts #flanksteak