Elaine's flavor adventure thru Cooklander to the stove

Cooklander interview with Elaine Owen @findjoyingiving who has tried THE MOST Cooklander to the Stove recipes so far, since purchasing her cookbook.

Elaine is a Teacher, Outlander fan, gardener, lover of life and as we’ve discovered, an adventurous cook.

Elaine has chosen to support Cooklander: To the Stove in two ways. First by purchasing the fundraising cookbook. Second, by trying to personally make as many of the recipes as she can in honor and memory of her mother, who battled breast cancer, twice. She has made it a goal to try new things; to experience some new and sometimes unfamiliar flavours, with her kids coming along for the ride. Her youngest gets the bulk of this experience, but her 21 year old also gets to participate as well, even taking to doing the shopping for ingredients when he’s home. “Shocking, I know, but wonderfully comforting at the same time” she shared.

Elaine has always shared pictures of the finished products with us on twitter. But as someone who didn’t help put the cookbook together and has now made and tasted many of the recipes, we wanted to hear from her on the recipes she’s tried. We appreciate her taking the time to share with all of us what she’s tried so far. For her this “was about eating healthy and increasing the flavour in our meals.”

Apple Crisp submitted by Alexandra Garrett page 259

When I made the German Apple Cake we had an abundance of Gala apples in the house and I did not want them to go to waste. As they are not tart like Granny Smith apples I was taking a bit of a risk. Fortunately for us we liked the results. Instead of using the Frosting listed, we filled bowl with the warm cake and added a half cup of milk to it. Ice cream would also work (we treated it like apple crisp--even re warmed a couple of days later is still tasted good). Zippy had several helpings and if the 9 yr old is asking for more, it’s a success in my book.

Butternut squash bisque submitted by Richard Kahan😀 page 54 vegan

Now I have not made very many vegan recipes but I had some pleasant twitter conversations with Richard and he is from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Which is an hour away from where I live. So to support the hometown guy I decided to try this Bisque. I read through the recipe several times and got myself ready. I am sure Richard would have laughed watching me but I persevered. Low and behold it turned out. I ate for several meals. I think I would half the recipe next time because it makes a lot. I also heated some corn flour tortillas and dipped them in the bisque instead of having bread with my meal. I plan to try Richards other recipes as well.

Cheese Blintzes (crepes) submitted by chef Lorraine Powell ⭐ page 253 with Fast and easy blueberry sauce submitted by Chef Lorraine Powell ⭐ page 309

Cheese Blintzes on page 253 intrigued me. I had heard of them but never had them. We did not eat a great variety of foods when I was a kid. Also I had seen Chef Powell's blog and knew that she was doing the same thing I was. Trying to eat healthy and help others at the same time (Me included.) So, I figured that I could attempt these. Well they turned out!!! And I was thrilled. I don't usually eat cottage cheese, but now I know where I can put it. The one thing I would probably do differently is have a different size frying pan, as my rolling skills were ify. That however, did not affect the taste. I did freeze some to use at a later date and that worked great as well. Pre reading and following the directions, carefully, did help. Chef Powell will also respond to a question, if you are unsure about something. Zippy and I also made the Fast and Easy Blueberry sauce page 309 that can be used with it. The zesting part was a great experience for Zippy. I have been trying to have him assist me with as many of the recipes as possible and there is ample opportunity for him to do so in many of them. I appreciate that because I want him to feel comfortable in the kitchen and be willing to try a variety of flavours.

Chicken Ischia submitted by Joanna Going ⭐page 96

When I was looking through the Cooklander book, I was trying to keep in mind what meat I had in the fridge, well chicken happened to be staring at me when I opened the door. This looked simple yet something I thought could be part of my lunches at school. I followed the recipe with no issues. I did leave out the mushroom because I have not convinced Zippy that they are nice to have in a variety of meals. I also cut down the red wine vinegar as this was the first time I made it. When I make it again I will add the listed amount from the recipe. I used Quinoa as my side with the chicken. It makes a reasonable amount and did make a great leftover lunch for me at school the next day.

Chili con carne submitted by James McCreadie ⭐page 100

Our household has expecting something a little different. This is very thick, it could almost be burrito filling. While others may love it, it just wasn’t our style, so we won’t be trying it again.

Chocolate chip banana cake submitted by Lynda Sherriff page 250

This is the Chocolate Chip Banana Cake. Another simple to construct recipe. We enjoy bananas at our house and this was a great way to use them up. I intend to include a piece in my lunch and Zippy's as well. As he is on a balanced school day he needs a good snack in the am because lunch comes at 1 pm. I also intend to take some to my school to share with my taste test crew (a faithful group that are willing to try every new thing I bring to school.)

Chunky yummy veggie quinoa submitted by Andrea Gabriel ⭐page 62

Chunky Yummy Veggie Quinoa page 62. I was looking for a cooked veggie dish to put on quinoa and rice. This recipe appeared and I had most of the ingredients, so I began. I used chicken stock, because that's what I had, but I think it would be good with veggie stock as well. I did not add agave or honey to taste, because I liked the taste, as it was. I also did not have tempeh. Even, when I am missing an ingredient it does not deter me (as long as it is only a small part of the recipe.) For the sections that said to taste, I wrote down what I used and if I would add more--I included that as well. I have included this on my make again tag on the page. Easy, quick and something I can take to work.

German Potato soup submitted by Heike @Safer_Place page 55

Hello! I love soup. We eat it regularly. Now the neighbor has joined us in our taste test quest. The German Potato Soup on page 55 is really easy to put together. Zippy was practicing his veggie chopping skills. It was a really a good parent and kid bonding time. All the ingredients were stuff I had at home (bonus for us.) The short prep time and cooking time is really handy for making this in the evening.

It says to take some out some of the veggies and mash them then return to the pot to give it a thicker consistency. We like chunky soup so I did not mash anything this time.

Leek and potato soup submitted by Gary Lewis 😀 page 42

This has been a huge hit with Zippy and some of my friends. I took it along to our New Year’s Eve potluck and it was gobbled up. My neighbor that cleans the snow from my yard and can only be paid in food (lol --bachelor) asked to be notified the next time I make it, because he is sure he will like it. Gary was so right when he said it was a homey flavor. I would call it a warm hug. I was astounded at how easy it was to make and what a delicate flavour it had. This is on my will make again list (I have made it 4 times since I tried it at the end of December).

Mama's stew submitted by Holly Kammier ⭐page 135

Mama's Stew page 135. Well the boys in my house need meat all the time, so I thought this would be a good way to make something where I would have left overs. I made this because it seemed to fit the bill. The only thing I did not do was include the cheese. By having everything cut up before I began, made it easier to make. I used fresh chili powder which gave it real zing (as older chili powder is not as powerful.) I took some to school for lunch and brought some for one of my taste testing friends. He enjoyed it. I think when I make it again I will try the taco seasoning option that is in the recipe.

Pancit submitted by Beverly Hall page 85 G/F

Pancit page 85. This was a huge find for me. I have eaten it several times at other people’s houses but had never gotten a recipe. The first time I made this I was extremely selfish because I only used sea food and Zippy does not like shrimp or scallops. Therefore I got to eat all of it over a few days!!!. It was grand. I will make it with chicken next time so that both my children can eat it. Easy to make just remember to read through the recipe carefully before you begin.

Shashuka (eggs in spicy tomato red pepper sauce) submitted by Chef Lorraine Powell ⭐page 143

I was curious about this because I like eggs and sometimes I would prefer to have eggs and something for my evening meal. I read the instructions and discovered I had everything at home. The recipe was straight forward and I had no problems getting it to look like the picture that Chef Powell had on her blog (this was good cause sometimes I wonder if stuff looks right. Lol.) I used 8 eggs because there were just 2 of us at home and I thought it would take us too long to eat it all. We did well at the first meal and I took some for lunch at school that worked fine as well. We did not serve it with a warm pita but the next time I make it, I will probably try that or warm corn tortillas.

We are looking forward to hearing more about Elaine's flavour experience adventure with Cooklander.

To see more pictures of completed Cooklander recipes from Elaine and others see

http://www.cooklander.com/pictures-of-finished-recipes.html

If you are trying recipes from Cooklander too, we'd love to hear from you.

Bouton 🐾