Smart Techniques and Simple Recipes for Stunning Food
Christine Flynn got my attention—it really suits my frame of mind these days. I suppose that’s true for a lot of us — smart and simple is a definite trend in recent cookbook releases —, but I was confident that Flynn was the real deal when I saw her publisher’s blurb extolling the “98 simple recipes with big personality that save time and money without sacrificing flavour or style.” 98, not 100?! I love that she didn’t feel compelled to round out the total and knew when Easy Does It was complete. That’s the level of confidence we want from an author, and Flynn has the credentials to get her way. This is her third cookbook.
Flynn graduated at the top of her class from the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, and her decades of international restaurant experience demonstrate that she knows what’s good. I’m happy to report that she is also down-to-earth and can relate to those of us who are living busy and budget-conscious lives. She lives on the southern shore of Nova Scotia with her husband and two little girls (who appear in several of the charming photos in the book), and Easy Does It is full of practical advice for how to save time and stretch a dollar. While advising on “which corners are worth cutting,” she’s also clear that being practical doesn’t mean sacrificing the joy of cooking beautiful meals that taste delicious.
I enjoy picking three dishes to share, and the following are great examples of Flynn’s cooking philosophy. The Herby Feta Orzo starts with a Honey Harissa sauce, an approach Flynn encourages. She advocates keeping a few “versatile” sauces on hand as quick meal starters, so that you can cobble together a meal in minutes.” And she includes inspiring examples in the opening chapter. That said, these aren’t three-ingredients-in-one-pot recipes, but they provide a strong payoff for some minimal effort.
Flynn’s “Spread and Slather” chapter surprised me with ten different dips that I wasn’t familiar with, and as with her technique with sauces, most of these can be key to a complete meal or smeared on a crusty loaf as an appetizer. If you’re like me and sometimes resort to “breakfast for dinner” after an exhausting day, you’ll love her chapter of that name with far more exciting options than scrambled eggs and toast that won’t take much longer to pull together. Easy Does It is organized into nine similarly brilliant chapters. The recipe for Braised Beef with Vinegar and Peppers is in the “Bake, Bubble, and Braised” chapter, but Flynn also encourages making enough to have the key ingredient for the Braised Beef Nachos in the “Use It Twice to Use It All” chapter devoted to making the most of leftovers. That’s speaking my language.
“Don’t Stress Over Dessert” includes over a dozen ideas, including the Jammy Blueberries with Lemon Dumplings recipe. I appreciate Flynn’s tip that this colourful dessert “also makes a very good breakfast, especially when whipped up during peak blueberry season over a campfire.” That’s a very Nova Scotian observation, but it sums up another theme running through this book: above all else, both the making and eating of good food can be an uninhibited and creative celebration of life. Flynn makes that lofty goal achievable with Easy Does It.
SUE GORDON has taught baking to high school students, including running an alternative school’s commercial bakery in Carcross, Yukon. Now a retired nurse and educator, she is enjoying trying new things in her kitchen and garden.
HERBY FETA ORZO
SERVES 4 TO 6
This is an easy pasta you can make to round out a meal, or as a side to some leftovers you’re trying to stretch. This recipe will take you about as long to make as the pasta takes to cook and can be eaten warm, at ambient temperature, or cold. Use whatever combination of herbs you have. There is no need to spend time mincing them — they are best when they are just roughly torn, adding colour, texture and freshness effortlessly.
1 pound (450 g) orzo pasta Olive oil, for drizzling
1 cup (250 ml) crumbled feta, more to garnish
½ cup (125 ml) Honey Harissa (see below)
1 cup (250 ml) torn fresh herbs and greens, such as mint, basil, flat-leaf parsley, dill, or arugula
Cook the orzo according to the package instructions. Drain thoroughly and place the pasta in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat evenly. Add the feta and honey harissa. Toss to combine. The pasta can be refrigerated until ready to serve.
Before serving, stir the orzo to break up any clumps. Gently fold in the herbs. Sprinkle a bit of feta on top and drizzle with olive oil.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
HONEY HARISSA
MAKES ABOUT 2 ¼ CUPS (550 ML)
This condiment is so simple to make. It consists of toasted spices and some chillies pureed in oil, vinegar, and honey, and it packs a huge flavour punch. Pair it with eggs, fish, meat, vegetables, plain yogurt, rice, cheese, whatever! The possibilities are endless.
15 guajillo chilies
1 tablespoon (15 ml) cumin seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon (15 ml) coriander seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Aleppo pepper
2 tablespoons (30 ml) sweet paprika
2 tablespoons (30 ml) pure liquid honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) kosher salt
¼ cup (60 ml) white vinegar
2 cups (500 ml) olive oil
Soak the chillies in a small bowl of room-temperature water for 20 minutes so that they soften, then drain them. Remove the stems and do your best to remove seeds, but don’t stress over it.
Place the chillies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, Aleppo pepper, paprika, honey, kosher salt, and vinegar in a high-speed blender and puree. Add the olive oil and pulse to combine.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Easy Does It is a book for anyone who wants to cook faster, better, and smarter, and with more tenacity.”
CHRISTINE FLYNN
BRAISED BEEF WITH VINEGAR AND PEPPERS
SERVES 4 TO 6
Like all busy people, I find it useful to have recipes that only require you to do a simple task or two in a big pot, add some ingredients, and then put the pot somewhere it can simmer away gently for a few hours until someone needs to eat. This is a very good version of this type of recipe, in which beef stews softly and vegetables sweeten and become tender in a vinegary broth.
2 pounds (900 g) chuck roast
1 tablespoon (15 ml) salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon (15 ml) sweet paprika
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
4 cups (1 L) beef broth or water
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
2 red bell peppers, cut into quarters
2 green bell peppers, cut into quarters
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¾ cup (175 ml) white vinegar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) sugar or pure liquid honey
Rub the beef all over with the salt, lots of cracked black pepper, and the paprika. Place the beef on a plate and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, but no more than 2.
Line a plate with paper towels.
Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, gently place the beef in the Dutch oven to brown. Reduce the heat as necessary if the oil starts to smoke, and continue browning the meat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning every so often to ensure each side gets browned. Use tongs to lift the roast out of the Dutch oven and transfer it to the prepared plate. Discard any oil in the Dutch oven and wipe out the rest with a paper towel.
Return the beef to the Dutch oven. Add the beef broth, onion, red and green bell peppers, garlic, vinegar, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer, covered, for 2½ to 3 hours, or until the beef is fork-tender. Serve hot.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
JAMMY BLUEBERRIES WITH LEMON DUMPLINGS
SERVES 6 TO 8
Growing up in Nova Scotia and the United Kingdom, I noticed that some of the most delicious foods have the strangest names, ones that aren’t particularly appetite-inducing: toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, scrapple, fool, flummery — even flapjacks (something about the word “flap” is a real turnoff for me). While many of these recipes make their way into modern cookbooks with their names intact, not all of them sound tempting to the modern reader.
This recipe would be called blueberry grunt by anyone on the East Coast, but I wouldn’t want you to be deterred from making this simple but stunning combo of jammy blueberries and soft lemony dumplings simply because “grunt” fails to be a compelling dessert word. Make this in the summer when blueberries are in season for a big al fresco dinner, or use frozen blueberries in the winter for a really cozy family meal that deserves a warm dumpling finish.
BLUEBERRY FILLING
5 cups (1.25 L) fresh or frozen blueberries, divided (see Swap It)
¼ cup (60 ml) sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
1 tablespoon (15 ml) water
Pinch of salt
Juice of 1 lemon
DUMPLINGS
2 cups (500 ml) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 tablespoon (15 ml) sugar
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup (250 ml) whole (3.25%) milk
3 tablespoons (45 ml) melted butter
Make the Blueberry Filling: In a large Dutch oven over high heat, place about half of the blueberries, the sugar, cinnamon, water, salt, and lemon juice. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the berries burst. Add the remaining blueberries. Reduce the heat to a simmer while you make the dumplings.
Make the Dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to stir until just combined. Use a large tablespoon to drop the dough into the saucepan of blueberries. You’ll get about 6 large spoonfuls: be sure to space them out when adding to the blueberries so they have room to expand.
Once all the dough has been added, cover and let steam over low heat for 20 minutes, resisting the urge to remove the lid and peek, until the dumplings are puffed and a paring knife inserted into the centre of the dumplings comes out hot to the touch. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Leftovers will inevitably turn quite blue, but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
TIP: While this is technically a dessert, it also makes a very good breakfast, especially when whipped up during peak blueberry season over a campfire.
