Upside Down Cooking

  There are lots of tarts that present more beautifully but few that taste better than these absolute delights. There were always plenty of these around when I was growing up and I took for granted how amazing they actually are. There are endless variations of these and they all tend to work. Play a round a little with the nuts, raisins and enjoy the different possibilities.  I'll include my recipe for sweet tart dough as well. I hope you guys like butter because there is a lot of it used in these!  Dough   2 cups flour, sifted  1/2 cup or more iced water  1 tsp salt  220g butter - as cold as possible  Mix all the dry ingredients into the food processor and pulse several times to mix well. Turn to mix and slowly add the water until it becomes crumbly and just a little moist. It should look something like this:   Transfer the dough from the food processor onto your lightly dusted work surface and gently work the dough into a rough ball. Knead through just a little bit to get the des

  This is a dish that you can have on the table in 20 minutes or less. It has relatively simple ingredients that pack a ton of flavour. It's also open to a lot of variation. I like to serve it with shrimp as shown but really any protein will work, seafood being the fastest one to add. Also, feel free to play with the amount of garlic. The recipe that follows is on the extreme end of how much you want to put it in there. if you find garlic a little overpowering, or you have a dentist appointment the next day, maybe tone it down a bit.   Gather the Good Stuff  In regards to the sauce, you can be pretty loose with the quantities. If you like it a little saltier, use more soy sauce. If you like it a little hotter, add a little more cayenne. For the noodles, literally any noodles will do. I used the standard spaghetti but that's just because it is what I had on hand.  2 Tbsp soy sauce - a shot of a thicker darker one is probably a good idea. if you use one that is too light you'

  The wind where I live can cut you right down to the bone. Nothing will get you back up to speed like a warming bowl of homemade soup. It's also the best way to get through all the bones you've been saving from other dishes you've made by making the base from scratch in the form of your own broth. The veggies here can be changed up to taste of course or to suit whatever you've got on hand. This recipe is a in two parts, a recipe for the broth and a recipe for the soup itself. It's all pretty straight forward and I'd encourage you to mix it up with the exception of one part - do not cook your noodles directly in the soup itself. The result of that is a terrible mess if you reheat the soup. The noodles get way overcooked and they start to disintegrate. Best to cook them separately.  Gather the Good Stuff Broth  This recipe presumes that you've been saving bones etc from other meals that you cooked and that you've got roughly enough to make a decent stock.

I make this about once a month. Lamb, eggplant, red onion and cumin is a combo that I don't like to go too long without having. Don't get cheap on the chorizo here if you can avoid it. Having a really nicely done chorizo will add something beautiful to the dish. I'd recommend Spanish chorizo if you can find it. I make this dish in the slow cooker to give it the time it needs to get all the flavours working together nicely. It also comes out really well if you use a Dutch oven. If you do, reduce the cooking time down to about 2-3 hours of low simmering and increase the amount of liquid by about 50% or more.  Gather the Good Stuff 500-750g stewing lamb or lamb shoulder - cut into bite sized chunks and salted / peppered. If you are cutting it from bone in pieces, toss one of the bones in while it slow cooks 300-400g Spanish chorizo - cut into small pieces  1 x 400g can of chickpea - (or use 2) drained and rinsed  1 red onion - roughly chopped  2 eggplants - cut into small cube

Schnitzel is one of those foods that seem like a lot of work, but actually is pretty manageable. I've made it into a sandwich here because that's what we were in the mood for but obviously it's also great as a main on potatoes and smothered in gravy. I've also used pork here but you can substitute in chicken as well. Don't be shy on playing around with the spices you add to the coating either!  Gather the Good Stuff   3 or 4 small pork chops - deboned and fat removed  1/2 cup flour  2 eggs  1.5 cups panko bread crumbs   2 Tbsp butter  3/4 cup or more vegetable oil for frying  1 tsp smoked paprika  1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground black pepper  1 large onion - sliced Tomatoes & mayo for sandwich toppings  Salad greens for sandwich toppings  Bread for sandwiches - I recommend Rye but any nice bread will work  Putting it Together   Lay pork out on a flat, sturdy work surface. Using a mallet or a rolling pin, pound pork down until it is 1/2 inch thick and well tenderized Mix