Split Pea Soup

Whoops! With the holiday schedule and all, I totally forgot my weekly post here. This week we did sort of a Canadian classic recipe (with recipe help from my sister, who is great in the kitchen as well!) of split pea soup. This is a very hearty and warming soup of dried split peas and vegetables. It thickens on its own as the peas cook, and the carrots help, too. Most of the other veggies just melt into the soup and you just provide flavour. The way we've done it here you could do it vegan if you use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock. Or, going the other way, you could throw in a smoked ham hock before you add the peas, and that's a more traditional Canadian split pea soup.

One of the tricks we talk about is how we use leeks. We get fresh leeks, wash them, cut them into sections, and then freeze them. This makes them a little easier to deal with on the other end. They're more tender after they've been frozen, and they're a little easier to cut when you cut them still-frozen. We freeze the whites and the green parts separately, and then we can mix and match in whatever quantities we want.

Roasted Root Veg Salad Recipe

We recently started getting delivery from a local farm collective called Fresh City Farms, and we get their produce box once a week. A couple of weeks ago they sent these amazing beets and watermelon radishes, so we decided we would roast them and make a simple and delicious salad with them. The roasted beets were so sweet after roasting, and the salad was so full of amazing colour and texture with the beets, radishes, and pumpkin seeds.

This is an easy one to customize, too. If you're using more bitter greens (like kale or arugula) you may want to boost the vinegar in the dressing a little for a bit more tartness against the bitterness. We used fresh thyme because it's what we had on hand, but you could use oregano, basil, or even dill in this.

The Big Untold Story of Impeachment? It's Incredibly Popular. - The Atlantic

From The Atlantic article here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/impeachment-incredibly-popular/603661/

Homemade Yam Rosti Recipe

After we did the potato rosti last week, a couple of people asked if you could do the same with yam or sweet potato. Yes, you can! It's basically the same process, but the end result will be significantly different. You won't get quite the cripsy outside as you do with potato, and yams or sweet potatoes are a little more fibrous, so the texture will be different. We made it much thicker, and cooked it a little longer, and it was delicious and fluffy in the middle. For a little bit of extra crisp and crunch, we coated one side in chopped pepitas!

Of course you can change the flavour profile easily with this recipe. Different herbs, some red chili flakes, walnuts or pecans instead of pepitas. Lots of easy variations you could try to personalize everything.

Burleigh County Commission vote to allow refugee resettlement in 3-2 decision

Dunno if this has quite enough national interest for Late Breaking News, but here's some information:

https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Public-hearing-held-on-Burleigh-County-refugee-resettlement-566003181.html

Tempe O'Kun
@TempoWrites

Heck yes, Bismarck! So proud of you!

300 proud Americans vs. only ~10 nervous Trumpers (who mostly huddled around me because of my giant cowboy hat—uff da!) The final vote came through to thunderous applause, howls, and chants of "USA! USA!" #ndpol

https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Public-hearing-held-on-Burleigh-County-refugee-resettlement-566003181.html

What Trump has done to the courts, explained

From Vox, here: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/9/20962980/trump-supreme-court-federal-judges

Easy Homemade Potato Rosti recipe

This is a very simply recipe for a sort of Dutch-style potato pancake. This differs a little from a traditional sort of Jewish latke, which is usually bound with the addition of flour or egg. This rosti is not held together with anything other than the cooked starch of the potatoes that make it up. You can also use a mandolin for this, but it will affect the texture, it's very much whatever you prefer.

It's very easy to change the flavour profile by switching up the herbs or adding spices. You can make it hot by adding some red chili flakes or a dash of tabasco. You can add garlic or shallot. You can stir in some fresh or frozen leek or chive. There are lots of options for flavours for this one, depending on what you want to use it for or pair it with.

Breakfast oatmeal custard recipe

Going to be a short one! I'm traveling and doing this from my phone. This is a simple and hearty breakfast with oats and chia and lots of protein from the cream and eggs! Top it with whatever fresh, dried, or frozen fruit you like! You can also easily replace the honey with maple syrup.

The Impeachable Mr. Trump - SOME MORE NEWS

Beef and Beet with Barley Stew Recipe

Temperatures are dropping, so it's time for nice warm soups and stews! This is a simple beef and beet stew that only uses two pots (or a pan and a pot). Takes a while to cook, but it definitely worth it. You can use any kind of decent stewing meat for this. We happened to have some amazing beef short ribs, but anything sold as stewing meat or anything that would take a low and slow cooking method will work just fine.

This recipe is amazing left over, but don't overdo it with the barley, or else it will be all that's left on the next day! Also, you can easily replace the chicken stock with beef stock or vegetable stock. Not much to add this week, I've got a pretty bad cold. Bleh!