Team K in the Kitchen - Year in Review

I have a hard time being consistent about blogging - I can be really consistent in other areas of my life, but anything to do with journaling or writing down my thoughts is a bit of a lost cause. :)

At the beginning of the year I wanted to try a new food every month, and I'm pleased to say that Luke and I tried a total of 7 new foods this year!! We ended up taking the summer off because of my shoulder surgery and my inability to do much in the kitchen for those months. We also took December off because it was hard enough to get decent meals on the table let alone trying anything new! 

I posted about Persimmons in January, Spaghetti Squash in February, and Steel Cut Oats in March, and that's where it ended. I figured that with the looming deadline of the end of the year, and a new year fast approaching, it would feel good to finish what I started. Get ready for picture overload!! 

Here we go.

April was Asparagus month. Now this was a bit of a cheat, because Luke and I have both eaten asparagus before, so it wasn't a new food per se, but I had never cooked it before and that was what was "new" for me. 

We started nice and simple by steaming the spears in my rice cooker. We added that steamed asparagus to chicken alfredo and also to a nice spring salad. Very simple, very fresh.

I then tried to be a little fancier by making ham, asparagus, and brie crepes. These were delicious - they didn't brown as much as I had hoped in the oven, and I wish I had made the sauce to go along with them, but I was pleased with the outcome nonetheless. 

My final, and probably my favourite asparagus recipe was turning it into a pesto. You steam the asparagus, and then drop it into a food processor with a bunch of other pesto-y ingredients - spinach, parmesan, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon zest. Whirl it up and you're good to go. We spread this on some bread and swiss cheese for a grown-up version of my childhood favourite. It was heavenly.

I wanted something light and easy for May, so I chose an Italian favourite - mascarpone cheese. 

We whipped the cheese with some sugar to make a nice springy creamy dessert topped with fresh berries.

We melted it into some garlic and white wine to make a rich, velvety sauce for chicken and mushrooms over pasta.

And I mixed it into pancake batter to make lemon poppyseed pancakes. Sorry, no pic of that one!

The summer was hard after my shoulder surgery on June 1. At the end of last summer we bought a bbq, but we barely used it. This summer was the perfect opportunity for Luke to perfect his grill skills, because I was really not up for any form of cooking. From June til September Luke grilled up some beautiful dinners for us!

 Mexican chicken, roasted okra and tomatoes, kale salad, and roll

 Zucchini boats stuffed with fresh tomatoes, cheese, and spicy ground turkey

 Grilled lamb meatballs with homemade tzatziki, cucumber and avocado salad, 

and kale salad

 Greek grilled chicken skewers, buttered egg noodles, and tomato and mozzarella salad

Balsamic rosemary pork tenderloin, baked sweet potatoes, and kale salad 

(Can you tell we love kale salad??? We make our own vinaigrette to go over top!)

For October I chose another squash - butternut. With my arm muscles still not back to their full potential, Luke was a champion squash chopper this month!! Our meals this month were cozy and full of rich fall flavours!

We started with a maple cinnamon roasted butternut squash and carrot side dish for some mustard grilled chicken. Also served with a side of homemade applesauce!

Carrots pair with this squash so nicely! They were also featured in the butternut squash soup we made alongside some granny smith apples, and big sweet onions. All boiled down in the crockpot and whipped to perfection with an immersion blender. Lots of spices were added including cayenne for a little kick.

Mashed butternut squash was easy to make in the crockpot as well. We used it as a simple side dish, but our favourite was smearing it on a quesadilla with some shredded chicken, kale, and cheese! (ps. that's a bowl of Trader Joe's roasted red pepper soup beside it. It has very little flavour right out of the box, but it's like a blank canvas!)

For November we decided to try turmeric. I've never used turmeric to cook with, but apparently it's very healthy - a natural anti-inflammatory and immune system booster. Sounded perfect for flu season! One thing I didn't realize was the turmeric STAINS! We were able to wash it out of just about everything, but the corners of my cookie sheets still bear the mark of my potato endeavour. It was worth it - it's not cooking without a little mess!

We took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather by grilling this turmeric chicken instead of using the oven. It was a quick, simple recipe with lots of flavour.

We then tried these fun roasted potatoes! Oil, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, coriander, and lots of turmeric. This was fun because it had to be hand mixed…. by Luke! :)

We love food so much, we've decided to continue to try new things in 2016. We will likely try some brand new foods, but what I really want to focus on is new techniques. I want to learn how to properly roll sushi, and how to make my own yogurt. How to perfectly pipe and fill French macarons and I even want to attempt a risotto. We probably won't get in a new technique every month, but if I can match the 7 new foods we tried this year with 7 new techniques, I'll feel pretty great! As always I will try and keep the blog updated, but don't be surprised if you have to wait until next December 30! :)

Thanks for joining us on our journey!


Love always, Team K