Jude Mackay

I created this Tumblr. account to share my favourite food photos and ideas with other food lovers.

[judemackay]

Sweet & Savoury

A wedge of salty Gorgonzola cheese, sweet honey, and spicy walnuts create this sweet and savoury dessert from one of my favourite cookbooks, Surreal Gourmet Bites, written by Canadian chef Bob Blumer.

Bob sprinkles a mixture of sugar, salt and cayenne pepper over walnut halves that have been tossed in a scant amount of canola oil.  Oven-roast the prepared walnuts at 350 ° F for 10 minutes or until brown.  Cool to room temperature.

Sandwich a piece of Gorgonzola cheese between two “cosmically perfect” walnut halves. Place the little bundle of Sweet and Savoury sassiness into a hollow walnut shell.

Drizzle each walnut sandwich with honey just before serving.

[judemackay]

Lentil & Brown Rice Salad

Meat substitution: Vegetarianism, a diet comprised primarily of plant food, is a healthy and flavourful way of eating.  However, meatless meals are not without their challenges, which sometimes fall short of daily nutritional protein requirements.  By combining lentils and brown rice, I create a complete protein.

The following recipe is from The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged! written by Tosca Reno.  I substitute Puy lentils for Canadian green lentils, and use 2 cups of vegetable broth instead of chicken stock.  I omit the 1-2 chopped tomatoes for a firmer texture.

Lentil & Brown Rice Salad

Ingredients:

½ cup dry green lentils

½ uncooked brown rice

2 cups vegetable broth

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, passed through a garlic press

Juice of 1 fresh lime

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 green onions, trimmed and chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

Method

Combine lentils, rice and broth in a covered casserole dish and bake at 350 ° for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven, transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Prepare dressing by combining olive oil, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small Mason jar, put a lid on the jar and shake well. This saves time washing a whisk and bowl!

Add green onions and  parsley to cooled lentils and rice.  If you plan to include tomatoes in this salad, add them now.

Add dressing.  Toss to combine.  Serve chilled.

[judemackay]

Modern Comfort

I nominate Blue Duby’s Lobster Mac & Cheese “Nosh” with double smoked bacon as the ultimate Canadian comfort food.  Next to caviar, what I consider the definitive luxury, lobster’s a close second.  This is comfort food with a dash of decadence.  It’s posh without the pretension.  The Cavatappi pasta, which looks like the twisted sister of penne rigate, is topped with a mix of grated white Canadian cheddar and Panko crumbs. 

 “The plate is hot,” our server cautions, and it is. It has just been removed from the salamander where the cheese and crumbs were broiled to create a crunchy finish.

Digging through the luxurious crispy exterior, my bacon-eating daughter savours the gooey, creamy lobster and double-smoked bacon interior of a meal I plan to add to my home kitchen repertoire in 2015.

[judemackay]

Fall Harvest

Baby eggplants, almost too cute to eat.

I said almost. . .

I'm celebrating the Fall Harvest with a homemade pasta sauce of roasted baby eggplants, field tomatoes and ribbons of fresh basil, served over spinach ravioli.  It's so good the meat eaters asked for seconds.

[judemackay]

What do you get when you combine Gastropost with  Old El Paso, mission partner 121?  Conjuring memories of my favourite Cabo restaurant overlooking the cobalt blue Sea of Cortez.

This,

and this,

and this!

[judemackay]

Lunch on the Go!

What’s better than brown-bagging it? In a matter of minutes I can assemble a layered “lunch on the go, go, go” noodle dish, minus the unpronounceable ingredients.  Just add boiling water, cover, let sit for 10 minutes, and then make like James Bond and Taylor Swift and “shake, shake, shake.” 

The bottom layer is brown rice vermicelli (gluten free, no preservatives, pure rice), topped with julienned carrots, shredded Shanghai Bok Choy Jr., cilantro, grated fresh ginger, snow peas, green onions, cremini mushrooms, fresh chili (chopped and seeded), and a generous squirt of fresh lime.  Add boiling water, let sit for 10 minutes, and shake, shake shake...

[judemackay]

Raise up the Maize

Locavores rejoice!  Every local Farmers' Market is bursting with fresh produce, including locally grown Ontario corn. This is a thrilling time of year if you love to cook at home.

When friends recently asked me to bring “that quinoa thingy” to their cottage potluck, they meant my Quinoa, Corn and Black Bean Salad.  When quinoa, which is a complete protein, is combined with the high fibre of black beans and locally grown produce like corn, bell peppers and cilantro, this scrumptious salad makes it easy to forget that it happens to be good for you too.

Quinoa, Corn & Black Bean Salad

2 cups black beans, cooked

2 cups steamed corn, removed from cob

2 bell peppers (red, orange, green, yellow) chopped

2 organic carrots, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1 – 2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (to taste)

3 – 4 Tbsp chopped cilantro (to taste)

1 – 2 Tbsp of honey

Juice of 2 – 3 limes (to taste)

¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar

Chili flakes (to taste)

2 cups of cooked Quinoa     NOTE:  1 cup of raw Quinoa makes 2 cups cooked Quinoa

  PREPARE:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1 cup of Quinoa, reduce heat and cook for12 minutes.  Remove from heat, fluff with fork and cover for 15 minutes. Add beans, vegetables and seasoning to cooked Quinoa.  Refrigerate overnight to let the flavours blend.

[judemackay]

Best "Burger" EVER!

This Yellow Fin Tuna Tartare “burger” is stacked between fresh avocado and a crispy won ton. It is generously garnished with wasabi caviar, a sesame emulsion, and topped with an awesome wakame salad.  Without a doubt, this is the best burger outside the bun.

[judemackay]

Decision Time

PICK ME, PICK ME!

It's decision time at Viansa Winery & Marketplace in Sonoma, California.

[judemackay]

Inglenook

  The wine Francis Ford Coppola produces at his Inglenook Estate in Napa, California is almost as wonderful as the movies he makes. This stunning stained glass window on the landing of a spectacular hand carved stair case alludes to the history of his vineyard and winery. The grounds and the view are picture perfect.

The richly appointed tasting rooms are too inviting to resist. 

[judemackay]

Team Wine

True wine tasting includes a lot of sipping and spitting, although I did more sipping than spitting with this lovely white wine from the Jacuzzi Family Vineyards in Sonoma, California 

[judemackay]

Mississauga Mud Pie

The making of Mississauga Mud Pie

Messy Mississauga Mud Pie... if I had to write a personal advertisement for this pie, the first line would read "Does not like to travel."

[judemackay]

Tequila Mockingbird

What do you get when you  mix an Academy Award winning movie (celebrating its 51th anniversary) that’s based on the classic novel written by  Pulitzer Prize  winning author Harper Lee   AND  inspiration and fun from my friend and catedratico (or is that catedrastico?) Roger M of  Rockin’ Roger & The Butter Tarts fame…..

Tequila Mockingbird

2 shots crème de menthe

1 shot tequila

Juice of one lime

Rockin’ Roger tells me it goes very well with Blake Sapote.

Cheers ;-)

[judemackay]

Asparagus Envy

Sautéed Bay of Fundy Salmon topped with grilled asparagus, served with mixed greens, crumbled goat cheese, heart of palm, radish, almonds, and a citrus vinaigrette on the side.  530 calories and NO regrets.

[judemackay]

Snack Time

[judemackay]

Snacking in Sonoma

A satisfying  snack from The Sonoma Cheese Factory... crusty baguette,  Habanero Jack cheese, red grapes, green olives stuffed with blue cheese, and a little bottle of local Pinot Grigio. 

[judemackay]

Sushi