Tag: recipes

Celebrate with Mother’s Day Brunch and Dinner Recipes

May 14, 2025

It has never failed. Each year, on Mother’s Day, the same question arises: “What will you do for me?” My response consistently points out I am not your mother; you are my wife. However, as usual, this was not the correct reply, so I offered to prepare breakfast, not just the usual fried egg and toast, but something better.

The children always call on Mother’s Day, but they can’t fix meals at our house since they live thousands of miles away. The first call came at eight; I initially thought it was a prank call. Luckily, I decided to pick up the phone.

After reviewing various recipes, I chose to make Shakshuka by Ottolenghi (and I’m sure I don’t need to describe Ottolenghi to cooking aficionados). This light and refreshing Middle Eastern dish features diced tomatoes, red peppers, and spices like harissa and ground cumin. My son, Tony, mentioned that they served it every morning at the breakfast counter in his hotel when he was in Israel.

Some recipes I read for shakshuka also called for onions, which I like, and I decided to modify Ottolenghi’s recipe and diced up a large onion. After boiling and simmering these ingredients, I cracked the eggs into the dish and cooked for an additional 10 minutes to set them. I served it with pita bread and caffeinated coffee; we drank decaf in the morning. This meal served more as brunch than breakfast, which was good since it took me a while to get everything organized, and it was getting late in the morning. Since the recipe yielded four portions, and we ate them all, we were set for the day.

I must admit, though, that I had help from Kathy. My cooking is slow and tedious, as I prefer to gather all the ingredients on the kitchen table and prepare the food before I start cooking. I diced the peppers and onions (and used a can of diced tomatoes) and mixed the spices and garlic in a small dish before beginning to cook. Kathy became hungry and started cooking with the prepared ingredients.

After indulging in a rather large brunch, we took a long walk to burn some calories. We enjoyed a peaceful stroll along a rail-to-trail path in Stittsville. As is typical for rail-to-trail routes, the walk was straight and flat. On our return, we stopped at my favorite coffee shop, the perfect way to end any walk. Naturally, the next topic of discussion was what to have for dinner.

Feeling inspired, I offered to prepare dinner and suggested fresh salmon steaks. Kathy agreed it was a great idea, so I bought two slabs of Atlantic salmon with the skin on one side at the local fish market. I like to marinate the salmon using a mix of soy sauce, maple syrup, and grainy Dijon mustard, based on a recipe I found on Allrecipes.

I enjoy this recipe – maple glazed salmon – because I can roast vegetables on the same sheet pan as the salmon. This time, I had some cauliflower in the fridge, so I cubed it, tossed it with oil and salt, and baked it for 15 minutes before adding the salmon to the pan. I also bought some Tater Tots and put them on the sheet pan, which drew some criticism from Kathy; she believed frozen French fries were healthier than Tater Tots. They were similar in nutritional value, so I chose the Tater Tots for their appealing cubic shape. To cover all bases, I also cooked a potato in the microwave in case the Tater Tots didn’t meet with acceptance. The dessert consisted of low-fat lemon yogurt topped with blueberries. The dinner was enjoyable, despite the lack of family, a common situation today as families are frequently scattered across North America and globally for many.

Cooking the Turkey for Thanksgiving

October 17, 2024             

It was the Friday before Thanksgiving weekend, and we had no plans or turkey to look forward to. We used to close the cottage this weekend, including a turkey dinner, but the weather forecast was unfavorable this year, so we decided to close the cottage a week earlier. So we were at home with no plans or turkey.

I love turkey and the atmosphere that comes with celebrating Thanksgiving. Preparing meals from leftovers is also a pleasure. To cook a turkey is not new to me; I had cooked a couple of turkeys over the past years, so I told Kathy I’d roast one. Since she has done it many times before with the family and knows the amount of work that comes with it, she said, “Go ahead and do the entire dinner.” I understood her feelings, especially doing it for only two people. My thoughts focused on roasting the turkey, ignoring side dishes then. And that is how the weekend started.

The first challenge was looking for turkey sales. I found the stores sold it not by exact weight as they used to but for a fixed price in a weight range. For example, turkeys were between three to five kilograms, five to seven kilograms, and so on. I did not think much of it, but Kathy thought it was a trick; if you bought one at the upper weight limit, you paid less per kilogram than if you bought it at the lower weight limit. I said no problem and found one at the upper weight limit. I purchased 6.3 kilograms, or close to fourteen pounds, for CAN$ 22 or US$16.

It was a frozen one, cheaper than fresh turkey, that was twice as expensive, and we never buy butterball turkeys. The frozen turkey led me to the next challenge: thaw it in less than two days. According to the cookbooks I read, the rule of thumb was that one needs one day, or twenty-four hours, to thaw four pounds of turkey in the fridge. I did not have three days, so I went to the cold-water method of thawing the frozen turkey, which would take seven hours, according to the cookbooks. I put the turkey in the sink for four hours and then in the fridge for two nights, which did the thawing trick.

On Sunday, I pulled out the neck from inside the bird and looked at cookbooks for the next steps. It was not rocket science; I had to quarter an apple, a lemon, and an onion and put them into the belly of the bird. Then, I brushed the outside with melted butter before placing the dish into the oven.

I felt happy with my progress until I realized some side dishes would also be desirable. Kathy came with me to the store, and we picked up some potatoes, green beans, carrots, and parsnips. She decided she was going to fix the vegetables. But we needed dressing and gravy; both were available at the store in ready-made form. I believe in easy cooking and was going to buy them until Kathy put them back and strongly expressed that those items were way too expensive and she could fix both for a fraction of their cost. And that was that.

With both of us working in the kitchen, we took a moment to reflect that our family lives in the States and cannot join us for dinner when we have six kilograms of meat. But, of course, US Thanksgiving will come soon, at the end of November, and we usually join one of them for the celebration.

Then we considered who of our friends would be in a similar situation and dropped them a short note asking if they were alone for Thanksgiving and that they should consider joining us for dinner. It turned out that they were either traveling or were out of town visiting family; at any rate, it was short notice, and we did not expect positive responses.

In three hours, I took the golden-brown bird out of the oven and opened a bottle of bubbly.

It was a great, chaotic weekend deciding to cook a turkey on the fly. But it felt good to end the summer and start the fall, symbolically, with this dinner; the weather turned cool and windy. With the cottage closed, we will now concentrate on the garden at home: covering the outdoor furniture, clipping back the bushes, raking up the leaves, and cutting the grass again. The fulcrum for this change-over was the Thanksgiving dinner.

The Power of a Throwaway Comment

October 7,2024

It is always a treat to visit with an old friend, especially one from my university days, which, in my case, goes back decades. And especially those friends I have not seen in years who live far away from me. But that happened in June of this year when we visited my friend in Portland, OR. I last saw Levente over twenty years ago. And it is always amazing that when we see each other, we talk with each other as if time has not passed between our visits, as if we continue with our conversation from yesteryear.

When I phoned him about our upcoming visit, he surprised me with his solicitous comments about the foods we like, the wines we prefer, and what we would like to see in Portland. I assured him we are very flexible and enjoy all kinds of food. Depending on his available time, we would enjoy quiet conversations about our shared experiences at the University of British Columbia.

Levente welcomed us warmly in the same house we visited over twenty years ago. He bought this house when his job took him to Portland from Vancouver, British Columbia, and kept it when he moved to Huntsville, AL, with his job for many years. When he retired, he moved back to his house in Portland, and now, he enjoys the West Coast lifestyle and mild weather.  

We accepted his offer for lunch, and he began preparing for it as a management consultant, that he was for his career. “I am going to organize lunch,” he said, explaining that he’d open the fridge and see what cheeses and cold cuts he would find for us. Then, he offered a variety of breads and asked if anyone was vegan. And, of course, there was a choice of coffees that he said we could fix on his machine after describing how it worked.

I was surprised at his deliberate lunch organization, especially when he followed up by setting the table formally. At home, we usually consume an informal lunch with leftovers or whatever is quickly available.

After a day of visiting the famous Japanese gardens in Portland, we returned home to a surprise. Levente, it turned out, was going to cook dinner. Seeing him with ingredients, a cookbook, and pots on the stove was a revelation. Given his previous career, I couldn’t help but ask when he had started this hobby.

His wife answered my question with a few words. Having cooked for the family for decades, she was bored and tired of deciding on a menu every day and suggested to Levente that they share cooking: she cooks a week, and Levente cooks the following week. So, how did this idea go down? Levente considered the proposition as a retired management consultant, thought it was fair, and started cooking every second week. He said it was tough slogging for a few months, but following cookbooks with help from his wife, my old friend’s skill level improved to preparing entirely satisfactory meals.

Our conversation about Levente’s cooking arrangement was brief, but it left a lasting impression. I knew our kitchen dynamics were about to change, and I was ready to embrace it. My wife didn’t take long to broach the subject, and I was more than willing to go along with the idea.

I sometimes prepare breakfast, lunch, and an occasional dinner in our household, following recipes. My meals are simple compared to my wife’s excellent meals; she is a superb cook and enjoys cooking when she has the time. In addition to meal preparation, I also share doing the dishes. The idea of sharing dinner cooking was infectious, and if that idea worked for my friend, it should also work for us.

The idea materialized upon our return to Ottawa. At first, my wife continued to prepare the main meal, and I did some breakfasts and lunches, but one night, Kathy was tired and said it was time for me to take over for a week. I said, “Alright, but my meals may be simple.” She said she did not care; I could even bring home take-out foods. I said, “Alright, I’ll do the next five days’ dinners.”

I agreed to this arrangement because many ready-made foods are available now, so I thought providing five-day meals would not be difficult. Much of the grocery shopping is my territory, and I know my way around most grocery stores in our area, including Costco, where shopping is almost fun with all the samples offered.

My limited cooking skills have produced soups (I have made vegetables, cabbage, and lentil soups), green salads, sheet-pan chicken, and baked fish (I like Atlantic salmon and tilapia from Costco).

The first few days went well with me preparing the meals. Then Kathy joined her cooking club the next night, and the following days, we closed the cottage for the season. But we’ll likely proceed as agreed to, in spurts.

Preparing a dinner was new to me; I have done it. What was new was that my friend from college described how he and his wife share cooking, and a brief conversation on this subject suddenly made a massive difference for my wife and me. It gave a legitimizing impetus to pursue the sharing of the meal’s preparation more formally – all because of a throwaway comment by my old friend’s wife.