Baked Pasta with Ricotta and Ham

Yes, my little Sous-chefs, I won't be posting the recipe this evening. No sense when I took it from here.

The Chef's inspiration for the dish comes from a foodie within the Capital City.I've never met her, but here's her blog. Thank you, Ms. Yeo!

I have to admit, that for the recipe I did use dried thyme, and that after reading "Only here for the Food" I doubled the amount of sauce (a wise girlfriend once told me that it's all in the sauce. I don't think she reads this blog...). No italian ham was used either - I don't think I can find any in Camrose. The recipe really should have been halved, unless I was going to feed this damned city of Vikings I live in.

The sauce portion took the majority of my Sunday morning. What else can I do? And when the ham was browning with the vegetables and the Chianti was added, I really should have recorded that smell. It was de-LISH!

In the end, it was a fancy Mac & Cheese with ham and bits o' onion in it, that's how I would describe it. It was pretty cheesy, and with every bite, you could catch a hint of Chianti in it. Beats Kraft Dinner, that's for sure.

I'm not sure your kids would like it. But it's worth a shot. Final Outcome: 7.1 out of 10.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

250 mL milk
125 mL frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
50 mL plain yoghurt
15 mL liquid honey

***

This is a pretty easy, quick and refreshing drink. I don't know why I added "breakfast" to the labels, but I think it would make a suitable "drink-on-the-go" that you could take with you on your way (walking, driving, riding?) to work. Just slide that into your travel mug and away you go! Enjoy it's cool freshness. Your tongue will soon smack those lips of yours after that first quaff. Soon, you will be a greedy little piggy and slurp down the rest of your drink. Without ever thinking of sharing, of course.

If you like your beverages not too sweet, then this is for you. While it certainly has the look of a milkshake, the taste is much more tame.

The whole "blueberry versus strawberry debate" won't be discussed here, but Chef Jeremiah highly recommends you try this recipe substituting some blueberries in for your strawberries at least once. Then tell me which you prefer.

I might also suggest some low/zero lactose milk. I was told this was a milk option at Starbucks a few weeks ago, but I keep forgetting to look for it at Safeway.

Prognosis: delicious! A commendable 7.9 out of 10 for a 2-minute effort. Kudos!

Breakfast Enchiladas

2 cups finely chopped cooked ham (black forest ham)
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 tbsp. oil
8 flour tortillas (7 inch)
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
4 eggs
2 cups light cream
1 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2-3 drops hot pepper sauce (I used tobasco sauce)

salsa
sour cream

Chef's note: I halved he recipe above.

***

I've had this recipe for about four years now. It's been in my binder ever since it was given to me and on Sunday night I finally dusted it off.

It's only been in the last nine or ten years that the Chef has ordered and even eaten egg dishes. Indeed, my tastes have changed.

Hmmm. I would say I was a little low on the green onion mix - the dish was a little low on the vegetable quotient. Otherwise it was pretty tasty. A savoury dish. The ham took care of that.

Certain things I'd change next time would change the green onions to spanish onions. Maybe even substituting the ham with chorizo sausage? All this in addition to including some guacamole, of course. :)

The dish plated just hours ago...

The grade: a respectable 7.2 out of 10.

น้ำปลา - Num pla

Anchovy fish extract
Water
Salt
Sugar

***

You get 57% of your Daily Value of sodium in a single tbsp serving.

Question: What is indispensable to Thai cooking, yet has such a pungent smell? Fish Sauce

Here's a piece of advice from the Chef: ensure your fish sauce does NOT spill during your move. Don't let it spill on your clothes, in your car or on any of your stuff. You will regret it.

Chef's Note: Check out that Sapporo beer can in the background! Good stuff!!