Red Pepper Soup with Toasted Cumin

2 tablespoons grape seed oil (CJ used vegetable oil)
1 small red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (CJ used a little more than 1 tablespoon. maybe 1.5 or 2)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon Spanish paprika (CJ only had regular paprika at hand).
3 red peppers seeds removed and sliced
1/2 cup organic vegetable broth
1/2 cup white wine ( I used a 2008 Chardonnay - Le Fat Bastard) Où sont tous les hippopotames?
pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons cumin seeds (for garnish)

Chef's Note: I would suggest doubling the recipe if you want to feed more than three people.

***

Well, I've been meaning to make this soup for a few weeks now. That Spice Goddess has some good stuff going down. The reason for the delay was the unavailability of asafoetida around these parts. I had to ask a kind female, east Indian shopper at the Superstore in Edmonton for some help in finding it. Let us all thank the "Big J" (that's what we/my family referred to him as for my cousin's wedding in Rio) for her help... Honestly I think the Thais and the Cariocas are the friendliest people on this planet - no question.

CJ has also received a lot of positive feedback about his ability to sexify the AIMCo black jacket in the IKEA cafeteria entry down below... but you will all just have to wait just a little bit longer for the Maître to make his appearance. Yes doesn't the beard look good? I'm sure the beard's appearance makes ALL females weak(er) in the knees. As the Count Halabuza (YESSS that's his beautiful main droit that holds the maple leaf) would say, it's very Bautista-esque...

This soup was probably the best tasting new/freshly cooked soup CJ has yet to blog about. No word of a lie.

Appearance-wise: it looked like that sauce covering buttermilk chicken, bright-red and full of promise.

Scent-wise: it was fantastic. I can't ever recall cooking with a Chardonnay before. As soon as it hit the saucepan, it tickled my olfactory glands like nothing else. It's a tempting mistress this scent!

Taste-wise: very heavy on the red pepper flavour. Not overly sweet at all. AND I was even more than generous with the salt and pepper during the seasoning as well.

What do the Sous-Chefs want? They have a photograph don't they? CJ is more than happy to oblige:

Those toasted cumin seeds are darn well near a genius idea. It adds to the viewing, tasting and smelling pleasure. CJ was REALLY  surprised how something so simple could add so much.

Grade: 8.9 out of 10 on a first night tasting!! The Chef will have a re-taste mañana...

Breakfast Combo with Bacon & Swedish Coffee - Ikea

Breakfast Combo -$1.00 (all prices are in CAD) - this dish was 2 mini-sausage, scrambled eggs, and hashbrowns
Bacon - $0.99 for 3 small pieces of bacon
Swedish Coffee - $1.00

***

Well, this was my first foray into the cafeteria over at Ikea. Not only was the meal inexpensive, but we also had our dishes served up by both Linus and Magnus, as they had their job-training that day, as their final shift for their current jobs end on Sunday. Yes, it was quite the celebrity event: all we were missing was Mats Sundin and Beaker helping out the Swedish Chef in the kitchen...

There really isn't much to say about this breakfast. It was cold, miniscule, and uninspiring. Not unlike the Edmonton Oilers of 2010-2011. Or the Edmonton Oilers of 2009-10. Or the Edmonton Oilers of... well, never mind. But, it was pretty cheap.

The cafeteria was busy, but we were able to get some seats with a beautiful stunning view of the South Edmonton Common parking lot. We really lucked out.

Here is the photographic evidence:

You can see Chef Jeremiah above, pointing  to the "deluxe" breakfast. No breaking the bank or pancakes for him! Notice the left hand trembling before his first morning coffee? Those were difficult times...

And here is the dish:

Grade: 5.8 out of 10. But can you really go wrong for $3.14?

Jalapeño, Chicken and White Bean Chili

1 1/4 cups dried navy (pea) beans
1 tablespoon each cumin and coriander seeds
2 onions, quartered
4 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

12 jalapeño peppers

2 teaspoon each dried oregano and salt

3 pounds chicken thighs, skinless

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

2 tablespoon lime juice

Chef's note: recipe was halved.

***

Chef Jeremiah made this a few nights ago. CJ's momma actually found the recipe when we were in line at the grocery store a few months ago. Then when I had my interview at "The Firm", I noticed that they had it along with the rest of the reading material they leave out for their clients. It just took me several months to remember (and then find) the recipe.

Hmm. The hardest part of the recipe was finding the dried navy beans. No kidding. I searched Superstore high and low, and no dice. I even asked the manager and she had one of the cashier ladies try to help me find it. Nope. It wasn't until my quick trip to WalMart did I find those elusive beans.

The other disappointing part of the dish involved the beans too. Not only did I soak the beans for an additional 8 hours that the recipe recommendation, but they were still a little too hard. Was my water not powerful enough to penetrate this ivory-skinned legume? Or does WalMart grow a particular hardy bean? Chances are we'll never know... But we do know this: soak those beans for at least 24 hours.

This is a refreshing dish. It can certainly be muy caliente if you don't seed the jalapeños too much or go easy on the cumin.

Actually, this dish reminded me of one of my favourite Cuban dishes..some chicken with saffron dish...geez.... I need to find it.

Anyway, a tasty chicken dish.

Here's the photo:

The grade: 7.5 out of 10.

Strawberry Smoothie v 2.0

Vanilla Ice Cream
Strawberries
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

***

Well, I've kept this recipe for about 9 or 10 years now. I think I saw when I was living out in TO.

Chef Jeremiah has never made it, until last night. You see, CJ isn't a big fan of spiced rum at all, ever since that fateful day back when I was *18: we had been drinking at my friend's house, and I proceeded to take a shot of spiced rum. It didn't agree with me at all, and I then puked all inside my friend's Philadelphia Eagles cap. I felt pretty bad about that...

And I now know I've been so hesitant to make this frosty beverage. It's a little on the tart side, but what really sets me off is that spiced rum. We have NO chemistry together.

Here's the photo:

The grade: 5.6 out of 10. Although I figure if you have a love-on for the spiced rum, you'd probably like it. What IS the rum spiced with anyways? All my bottle said was a "blend of Caribbean and Canadian rum"...

Big Ass Cab - 2008

"Just what it says. This is a big, intense, lush Cabernet Sauvignon. It may not be for everyone, but if you are serious about Cabernet, you should be extremely happy.  Very enjoyable right now, with potential for aging well into the next decade."

Price: Approximately $21.99 CAD. Add your tax and deposit on to that, too.

***

The Chef bumped into this wine just over a week, ago, when he was out looking for a dry red wine for the "Italian Baked Pasta" dish. I chuckled a little at it's name and label (the bottle comes in two distinct labels...).

Then it dawned upon Chef Jeremiah that perhaps it was a sign of things to come. "Monster-in-Law" with Jennifer Lopez was on the television later that day. Not that the Chef is a big fan of movies like that, but it was the scene where J-Lo had her short dress on, when she met the in-laws. She had to bend over a chair or something, and the Chef just about spit out his blueberry cocktail. Damn! She has some fine assets.

Then, later in the week, I flipped through Canada's Crappy Music Video channel, and it was one of those "a panel of underemployed (and unattractive) individuals critique various videos" shows. I don't much like those. But they had Nicki Minaj's "Right Thru Me" on. Go to about the 4:48 mark of the video. Yes, the video is the "clean" version. The Chef runs a respectable kitchen, after all... Well, the gentleman in the mock-video commented that in that shower scene, Nicki's ass looked like "two buttered pumpkins". Oh, the Chef laughed a long time at that one. He then proceeded to eat one very healthy serving of fresh pumpkin pie...

Hmmm, hm hmm hmm hmmm.

Well, here's the fuckin' bottle:

Don't waste your hard earned cash-money on that bottle. Better bottles for less $ to be had. Easily.

The grade: The wine? Darn well near a "fail". I'd give it a 6.0 out of 10. Nicki's pumpkins? About a 9.6...

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!