This may look disgusting from my crummy iPhone 3GS photo, but it was actually delicious. View the original recipe at The Kitchn for better photos. Followed exactly, there was enough left after dinner for five lunches.

for chicken stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, in puree
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
Pepper, to taste
1 rotisserie chicken, cut into bite sized pieces, skin removed
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

for cinnamon couscous
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (10-ounce) box plain, quick-cooking couscous
1/3 cup raisins
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons orange juice

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and oregano, cook for one minute while stirring. Pour in crushed tomatoes, chickpeas, chicken broth, bay leaves, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Add chicken, lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

For couscous, heat chicken broth, oil, and salt until boiling. Add couscous and raisins, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let rest until all liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork, add cinnamon and orange juice. Use fork to mix until combined. Set aside.

Remove stew from heat. Add olives and lemon juice. Serve hot over couscous.

• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp wasabi powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds (he calls for half black and half white, but I just went for white)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp chili-garlic paste
• 1 salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed
• 1 tbsp canola oil

1. In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, wasabi powder, ginger, sesame seeds, and salt.
2. In a shallow bowl, combine the lime juice and chili-garlic paste. Dredge the salmon through the mixture and then coat with the spice and seed mixture.
3. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the salmon and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on other side for medium-rare. I went for 4 – 5 mintues on the second side as mine was quite thick.

– Guy Fieri Food, p. 270

This was really, really good. Mine didn’t blacken very evenly, but it tasted great. Really juicy and flavourful, and certainly the best salmon I’ve ever prepared. I’ll definitely be making this one again.

I usually don’t follow recipes when I cook. I like to just make something with whatever I have on hand, and I think that’s generally a good way to go, but it also means I tend to stick to what I know. I thought it would be fun to start trying other people’s recipes in an attempt to pick up new flavour combinations and techniques that I might otherwise never consider. I do enjoy cooking, but I’ve never really challenged myself enough to get very good at it.

This is a simple one from Mark Bittman’s fantastic How to Cook Everything cookbook. This would definitely be my desert island cookbook, as it’s a giant tome with a lot of information in it. He also usually gives a base recipe for something and then lists out a number of ideas for building off of that, which is quite handy.

• 1 oz of dried porcini mushrooms (recipe called for 2 oz, but I wasn’t about to spend $20 on dried mushrooms)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 lbs fresh mushrooms
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp minced shallots
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dry sherry (one you’d drink, not salty cooking sherry)
• 1 cup half-and-half
• Chives
• Red pepper flakes

Makes 4 servings.

1. Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for 15 minutes.
2. Place butter in large saucepan and turn heat to medium. Add mushrooms when the butter melts and turn heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until mushrooms begin to brown. As they cook, drain dried mushrooms (reserve the soaking liquid) and stir them into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add shallots and garlic, and stir for 1 minute. Add stock, sherry, and reserved mushroom-soaking liquid and bring the mixture to almost a boil (or accidentally boil briefly if you fail like me).
4. Add the half-and-half and some red pepper flakes and serve.
5. Garnish with chives.

– Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, p. 56

I enjoyed this, and it’s dead simple to make. I had a sudden bout of guilt when I was shopping and decided to go for the half-and-half instead of the heavy cream, which might have been a mistake. I’ll try it with the proper cream next time.

My problem is that I’m a little lazy, and it’s easier to fall back on tried and true recipes than try something new. That routine gets a little stale, though, so I’ve decided to try to branch out a little more by trying at least one new recipe each week. I’ll post the successful trials here, I think.

First on the list is a slowcooked Thai Beef and Peanut Curry from Sydney Table.

I halved the recipe and substituted the red curry paste for roasted red chili paste, not because I decided to rely on my own culinary instincts, but because I’m an idiot who can’t read labels. My version possibly doesn’t count as a curry because of this. Maybe it’s a Thai Beef and Peanut Stew now. Either way, it turned out delicious (if a little less red than it should have been). It’ll be interesting to try it with the curry paste later and taste the difference.

I love using my crockpot, but I find a lot of the recipes I try tend to taste a little bland and ordinary. This was a refreshing change from that.