Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Collab- Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs...

I am so thrilled to collaborate with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) in delivering one of my ultimate family favourites- Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs on their recipe web-site. Juicy Ontario greenhouse tomatoes mingle with softly scrambled eggs in this comfort saucy dish that's scrumptious over rice- a classic in Chinese home-style cooking. Plump red vine-ripened tomatoes in the store always seem to beckon me to make this lovely dish 🍅. 

Did you know 63% of the Canadian greenhouses are in Ontario? Of the approximate 220 greenhouses, many are situated around the Leamington, London and Niagara area with bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, the three produce most popularly grown. Being a big advocate and educator on food waste reduction primarily at the consumer level, I am ecstatic to see that greenhouse growers do their part to eliminate waste in the food supply system from the get-grow. See, the controlled greenhouse environment enables them to grow a uniform product that minimizes waste with pest control and natural pollination, and maximizes yield and quality by growing in a nutrient-rich drip irrigation system. Also, majority of the markets are within a one-day drive so produce arrives to customers freshly picked- at their optimum best!  #GreenhouseGrown  #FromOurHousetoYours  #Ontario

They've done their part, so how do we as consumers do ours? #LoveFoodHateWaste

We often waste good food unnecessarily because we buy too much and don't store it correctly.

Classic Chinese Tomato and Eggs on OGVG

BUYING: Select tomatoes that are round, full, feel heavy for their size, and that are free from bruises and blemishes. The skin should be taut and not shrivelled.

Voluptuous round tomatoes means juicy!

KEEP IT FRESH: Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Storing tomatoes in the refrigerator can ruin their texture and flavour. Leave tomatoes on-the-vine intact until just before use. This helps maintain their freshness and allows them to fully ripen.

Wash produce right before eating. All produce should always be washed, but it is important to not wash produce too early as moisture sits on it, and can cause decay. Cut it just before cooking or eating.

Tomatoes and eggs- two ingredients on hand that marry harmoniously in this satisfying dish. Ontario greenhouse on-the-vine tomatoes grown February to December means fresh and local at its best almost year round!

Classic Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs over steamed rice, a meal to enjoy any season, any time!

Classic Chinese Tomato and Eggs on OGVG

NOTE: I am honoured to collaborate with Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers @ongreenhouseveg to develop recipes using their products. I love supporting Ontario farmers and growers, and often use local produce in recipe experimentation and home-cooking. The information I share is completely my opinion, as are all my posts.

Further Food For thought: Staggering. Shocking. How does a nation obsessed with eating, eating out, food shows, cookbooks and food sites/blogs waste billions of dollars of good food every year (31 million pounds in Canada which is mainly 50% household waste-- what we buy, not eat, and throw out)?

Waste occurs at various points of the food supply system. There are lots of gaps, according to experts, but the biggest source of waste are households. Consumers can actually make a significant difference just by changing some of the things we do on a daily basis:

* Make a list before you go shopping and sticking to it. Waste comes from overbuying.
* Do not go shopping if you’re hungry or you'll impulse buy.
* Check your cupboards and refrigerator – what do you have and what do you really need? 

* Store your food properly to extend their shelf life. Look up storage tips for specific produce.
* Eat up what you have first rather than what you're in the mood for.
* Be creative and re-purpose leftovers.
* Donate too much food, or if you know you won’t use it.

Imperfect perfectly edible foods-- just eat it already! Check out this thought-provoking film on Food Waste.

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Classic Chinese Tomatoes and Eggs
Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 eggs
sea salt and ground white pepper to taste
2 Tbsp (30 ml) - oil, divided
2 - green onions, cut into 2” pieces
4 - medium Ontario greenhouse on-the-vine tomatoes, large diced
1 tsp (15 ml) - sugar
1 Tbsp (30 ml) – Chinese cooking wine
¾ cup (175 ml) - chicken or vegetable broth, hot
2 tsp (5 g) - cornstarch dissolved in 1-1/2 Tbsp (22 ml) - water
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) sesame oil (optional)
sliced green onions for garnish

Note: Use dry sherry to substitute for Chinese cooking wine.

Beat eggs; season with a little salt and pepper. Cook in skillet or wok with 1 Tbsp. oil on medium-high heat until cooked. Break the eggs up into pieces. Remove onto serving plate and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet or wok on medium-high heat and add the green onions. Cook for a minute; add tomatoes and sugar. Continue to cook for two minutes until soft and juice is released.

Add cooking wine. Stir tomatoes and cook for one minute. Pour in broth. Cook until sauce is simmering, then add cornstarch mixture; stir to thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Place the eggs back into the skillet. Toss and remove onto serving plate. Drizzle with a little sesame oil and garnish with sliced green onions.

Serve over steamed rice.

Bringing The Sunshine Indoors With A Rainbow of Colours...

I thought I could bring with me the Mayan sun back from vacay, but two weeks has gone by and all we've experienced in Toronto is cold, wind, heavy rain, flurries (yup, the white stuff) and grey skies....  Oh Whyyyyy... It's mid-April ??? If you can't beat 'em, you can at least escape it by creating your little sunny oasis indoors, but Do IT frequently. And what better way than a rainbow of fresh produce to get everyone in the mood for lighter and brighter things to come. ☀️🌈 It'll eventually come... right? 

I have been bringing the sunshine indoors to all my cooking classes literally since I stepped back on home soil (I taught an after school cooking club class the very next day). Here was my one week of back-to-back food idea inspirations to make your kitchen a sunny vibrant one too! #cookingwithtdsb

Fruits brightens, yes?

The last cooking club class for these newcomer students over at Silver Springs Public School. They had requested pizza, so we did pita pizzas on a lovely thick wheat pita with an assortment of colourful vegetables which they cut and prepared. And we served it with a mixed garden salad with my own lemon vinaigrette salad dressing.

The kids each happily made their own pizza.

Baked and oozing with yummy goodness.

From the mouth of Jamie Oliver (my previous affiliation with his foundation Food Revolution) and my sentiments exactly: "I never understand why anyone would want to buy store-bought salad dressings when they’re so easy to make, taste far nicer and aren’t pumped full of preservatives if you make them yourself!" Jamie makes his in a jam jar so that leftovers can be stored easily in the fridge – it will sit quite happily for up to a week so he often makes up double batches to save himself time after a busy day at work.

I made this quick lemon vinaigrette with 1 part lemon juice, 2 part olive oil, a bit of mustard and honey, salt and black pepper. You can add chopped garlic and/or shallots to really flavour it. Give it a shake in a jar and you have your own salad dressing concoction! I compared the real ingredients in this vinaigrette to some really hard to pronounce non real ingredients in a market prepared salad dressing and the kids understood why real and fresh was better. #foodeducation

Monday at Marc Garneau High School, the morning period students cooked up crepes, and we served it with strawberries, blueberries and bananas. Cinnamon, chocolate chips, Nutella and pure maple syrup were fabulous additional toppings and condiments for jazzing up the crepes.

See my post on How To Create Basic Crepes

The middle schoolers at Beverley Heights enjoyed the bountiful vibrance in their Tuesday's lunch class. An hour is not a lot of time, so fresh and simple ideas work best. Here, we made fruit kebabs. Kids got to cut and dice, and make up skewers real nice!

There was so much creativity and fun! Skewers were served with a dollop of vanilla yogurt, torn fresh mint and a sprinkle of cinnamon as they wish.

A rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple) on a stick!

Over on Wednesday, my Chinese cooking class with seniors was turning up the taste buds with spicy profile of tongue-numbing lemon-hinted Szechuan peppercorns and the heat of spicy chili peppers in this delicious spicy pork and pepper stir-fry. And toned down with an accompany cold refreshing and colourful bean curd salad with or without spiciness.

Spicy Pork and Peppers Stir-Fry

The salty, tangy, spicy flavours all combine wonderfully in this simply refreshing cold textural dish. Serve it as an appetizer or an accompaniment to your Asian meal, it graces the meal perfectly during the summer months.

Bean Curd and Vegetable Salad

And hands-down a favourite in the schools this past while, has certainly been this Caribbean Black Bean Salad with Mangoes and Papaya. It is a vibrant tropical medley of fresh sweet and fruity flavours, with crunchy textures and piquant bite! In here, we've got mangoes, papaya, bell peppers, raisins, lime juice and spicy jalapeno. I also add toasted slivered almonds to give extra dimension and crunch.

Cooking with parents at Fraser Mustard as part of the Parent Engagement Culinary Program funded by Michael Garron Hospital and supported by TDSB Newcomer Services.

Everyone loved the presentation with the contrasting cascade of colours before it was all tossed together. I made it again the following week with Beverley Heights students and we served it with tortilla chips. YUM!

So refreshingly good, this fruity bean salad compliments along a meal of my Slow-Cooked Jamaican Oxtails.

Hopefully the next time I post, we are submerged in better, warmer weather :D

Pan-fried Salmon Tofu Cakes...

Make your Salmon Cakes go a longer way with Tofu!! You can make ten patties with a small amount of cooked salmon. Here's two ways with salmon trimmings in this post...mainly bones, skin and belly (leftovers in itself), but sometimes a lucky chunk of salmon meat, to make a crispy flavourful batch of salmon patties, doubled up on protein with the addition of tofu. Asian-inspired flavoured with fish sauce, some Dijon mustard, garlic and green onions, firmed and breaded with Japanese panko breadcrumbs, they're a delicious healthy portable snack!!

Medium tofu, crumbled is perfect in extending the meaty texture and flavour of the small amount of flaked salmon. Crispy, succulent and delectable, these pan-fried breaded patties are always an instant hit with the family, and with the parents over at Fraser Mustard when I taught it this week in our cooking class. Flaked tuna or salmon from a can will work fab too!! Serve with Japanese kewpie mayo, which has a satisfyingly rich umami sweetness to it. So 😋😋.

Side Bar: Want to get a quick and easy dish on the table in a flash, that's cheap, delicious and healthy too?

Pick up a package of salmon trimmings at your local Asian supermarket. Trimmings are cheap and the meaty parts next to the bone and skin tend to be more tender. Browse the seafood and fish area, and you will find them stored alongside containers of fresh oysters and other prepared fish cuts. If you're lucky, you can sometimes find generous hunks of meat, luscious salmon belly still attached to the bones and lots of skin that pan-fries up crispy and delectable! OMG, fish skin!!! Always look for the packed on date and make sure you have the freshest package of the displayed bunch. Salmon should be bright and even in colour; avoid if the skin also looks grey and discoloured.

Aside from the host of health goods of salmon, the layer of fat just underneath the skin has the nutritional benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, and the skin provides collagen, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. And did I mention salmon is just straight up delicious!?

Lay the pieces of salmon on a plate; lightly season both sides with a little kosher/sea salt and ground white pepper. Heat pan on medium high and place salmon in a large non-stick pan or skillet. Pan fry both sides for four minutes each or until crispy golden. For odd shaped pieces, make sure the skin side gets fried until it crisps-up. Sprinkle two coarsely chopped garlic on top; turn over and cook for two minutes more until garlic-fragrant. sprinkle one chopped green onion over top, let sizzle for one more minute, then remove onto paper towel-lined plate to remove the excess oil. 

Make sure the salmon gets picked through for its bones before serving to the children. I usually give them the meatier parts after thorough inspection and my husband and I savour on the bony and fatty pieces. And of course we all share what crispy skin is offered- the kids love their crispy slightly salty garlicky crunch!

And any leftover hunky pieces can be turned into salmon cakes the next day :D

So now for my Asian-Inspired Salmon Cakes with Tofu...

Salmon Tofu Cakes
Makes 10 salmon tofu patties

1 small piece of boneless salmon (can use salmon steak or fillet)
1/2- 420g or 454g package of medium firm tofu
Salt
Ground white pepper
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. of fish sauce
1 egg, divided
1 green onion, sliced
1-3/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Oil for pan-frying

Pick through the salmon piece to make sure there are no bones. Mash the salmon with a fork in a bowl until flaky (about 1/3 cup).

Crumble medium firm tofu into bowl. Season with salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and fish sauce. Beat in half one egg and add the green onions. Mix well with a fork. 

Add 3/4 cup of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes to firm.

Set up a breading station with three plates in the order of cornstarch, egg wash (use remainder of egg from filling mixed with 1 Tbsp. water) and 1 cup panko. Form 2-inch diameter patties with your palms. Note: While you bread in the order of above, to keep your hands from getting messy from touching wet and the dry ingredients, use one hand only for dredging patties in the egg and the other for dipping into cornstarch and panko. Place the breaded patties onto a plate. 

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil on medium heat in a fry pan or skillet and cook patties until golden brown and crispy on both sides for five minutes each. Drain oil on paper-towel lined plate. Serve with Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise for dipping. 

Cooking with parents at TDSB Fraser Mustard. They loved it!

Pan-fried golden crispy deliciousness... Panko is the best for crunchy breading!

This is a great way to get your kids to Eat more Fish!

Look at that meaty centre-- what a fab way to make your bit of salmon go a longer way!

Full Recipe:

Salmon Tofu Cakes
Makes 10 salmon tofu patties

1 small piece of boneless salmon (can use salmon steak or fillet)
1/2- 420g or 454g package of medium firm tofu
Salt
Ground white pepper
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. of fish sauce
1 egg, divided
1 green onion, sliced
1-3/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Oil for pan-frying

Pick through the salmon piece to make sure there are no bones. Mash the salmon with a fork in a bowl until flaky (about 1/3 cup).

Crumble medium firm tofu into bowl. Season with salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and fish sauce. Beat in half one egg and add the green onions. Mix well with a fork.

Add 3/4 cup of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes to firm.

Set up a breading station with three plates in the order of cornstarch, egg wash (use remainder of egg from filling mixed with 1 Tbsp. water) and 1 cup panko. Form 2-inch diameter patties with your palms. Note: While you bread in the order of above, to keep your hands from getting messy from touching wet and the dry ingredients, use one hand only for dredging patties in the egg and the other for dipping into cornstarch and panko. Place the breaded patties onto a plate.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil on medium heat in a fry pan or skillet and cook patties until golden brown and crispy on both sides for five minutes each. Drain oil on paper-towel lined plate. Serve with Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise for dipping.