Over at Serious Eats they decided to improve the Big Mac. If you are a fan of hamburgers, this is a post worth checking out.

Ingredients

• 2 porterhouse steaks, 1 pound each
• Kosher salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon shallot, minced
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Half a fresh lemon
• Oil

Directions

1. At least 6 hours before and up to the day before you plan to cook the steaks place them on a cooling rack set over a tray with edges. You want to catch the drips.
2. Season both sides of the steaks with salt. Put them back into the fridge uncovered until an hour before you want to cook them.
3. Allow the butter to soften at room temperature. Meanwhile place the garlic, shallot and parsley into a mortar. Using the pestle bruise, crush, and pulverize the aromatics until they are mushy.
4. Place the butter into a small mixing bowl and smear it around with a rubber spatula. Add the aromatics, a few drops of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of white pepper. Blend the butter until it is one shade of green with no streaks. You can either refrigerate the butter as is or you can roll it up in parchment pepper, then foil and twist the ends to form a round log. The foil allows the ends to stay sealed. 
5. When your are ready to cook the steaks, season both sides with fresh ground black pepper. Place a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot — you don't want it too hot but you want it to start searing right away -- add the steak.  Cook the steak on both sides until it is very brown and caramelized. Remove the steak from the pan when it has reached one temperature below where you like. If you want it cooked medium then cook the steak to medium rare and so on. Remove the steak to a sheet tray. 
6. Cook the second steak in the same fashion. Both steaks can be cooked up to an hour in advance and left to sit at room temperature. Do not refrigerate them. 
7. In your oven place the top rack so it is about 8 to 10 inches from the broiler. Heat the broiler. Using a filet knife cut the meat from each side of the bone then slice the meat into smaller bit size pieces. Re-assemble the steaks on the sheet tray. Smear each steak with some softened maitre d'butter then place a small glob on each steak. Place the steaks under the broiler just long enough to melt the butter and heat the steaks through. Serve.

From Macleans

Not only are investors speculating on land, they believe they can make a profit leasing the acreages to farmers while they wait for the right time to sell. Investors in Saskatchewan are charging rent equal to seven per cent of a property’s worth, said Johnston. That would mean a farmer pays around $70,000 upfront in rent, per year, for an average-sized 2,000-acre farm from Agcapita. The number could climb with farm prices, which are already rising. According to Statistics Canada, the price of Alberta farmland almost doubled between 2000 and 2009. According to Marvin Painter, a business professor at the University of Saskatchewan, the dividend yield from the rent and the predicted capital gain from a future land sale works out to be only slightly below what a blue-chip stock would reap.

“It’s a forever asset that produces income,” said Brad Farquhar, co-founder of Assiniboia Capital Corporation, which controls more than 110,000 acres, worth about $55 million, in Saskatchewan. They began raising money for their venture in 2007, both from big clients and smaller investors—half of their approximately 500 investors put in less than $10,000, he said. To ensure they are buying land that can generate rental income, the company assesses the productivity of a farm, and therefore the worth of the land, by examining soil quality, past yields and rainfall. “The last thing you want to do is buy land where the nutrients have been extracted by the last farmer,” he said. They only rent to farmers who “farm well,” and agrologists go out every year to inspect the land. The company hopes to assemble a large farmland portfolio that might be of interest to big-league investors. “Maybe Canada Pension Plan takes an interest in farming,” he said.

This recipe is inspired by Randall Friesen’s St. Patrick’s Day post about Leek and Potato soup.  You can see the photos here.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 (white & light green parts only) leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 large potatoes, peeled & chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 thick slices bacon
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Directions

1. In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; sauté leeks, celery, carrot, salt, thyme and pepper until softened, about 8 minutes.
2. Add potatoes, stock and 3 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, in skillet, fry bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels then crumble.
4. In batches in blender, puree soup until smooth; strain into clean pot and reheat gently. Sprinkle each serving with bacon, cheese and parsley.

Randall linked to some delicious looking potato scones that his wife Lauralea posted.  Check them out as well.

Update: Jordon wasn’t fond of the parsley.

This was a really mediocre recipe as listed.  I’ll post the original recipe and then post an improved version.

Ingredients

• 5 cups water
• 2 packages of (3 ounces each) chicken flavour or oriental flavour ramen noodle soup mix.
• 6 ounces of snow peas (about 2 cups)
• 2 green onions
• 1 large carrot
• 1 pound skinless, boneless, chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Directions

1. In a 4 quart saucepan, heat water with seasoning packets from ramen soup mix to boiling over high heat.  Meanwhile, remove strings from snow peas and cut each diagonally in half.  Slice green onions and shred carrot.  Cut chicken into 3/4 pieces.  Break ramen noodle block into 2 layers.
2. When water mixture boils, a snow peas, green onions, carrot, chicken an noodles.  Cook 3 to 5 minutes over high heat or until chicken just loses it’s pink color, throughout.  Remove saucepan from heat.  Stir in sesame oil.

Note: We all found the recipe really bland and it’s because it uses 5 cups of water instead of a combination of soup stock and water.  I would suggest going with 2 1/2 cups of beef soup stock and 2 1/2 cups of water.

Sources: Good Housekeeping: Budget Dinners

Ingredients

• 12 ounces linguine or fettuccine
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground chicken breast
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 medium stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large (10 to 12 ounce) onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed with press
• 1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat milk (1% or 2%)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Heat large covered saucepot of salted water to boiling over high heat.  Add pasta and cook as label directs.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch non stick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium 1 minute.   Add ground chicken to skillet; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Cook chicken 8 to 9 minutes, or until it is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.  Transfer chicken along with any juices in skillet to medium bowl.
3. To same skillet, add remaining 2 teaspoons of oil with carrots, celery, onion, and garlic; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in tomatoes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cooked chicken and milk, heat through.
4. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta cooking water.  Drain pasta and return to saucepot; stir in sauce from skillet, Parmesan, parsley, if using and reserved cooking water.  Toss to coat.

Source: Good Housekeeping: Budget Dinners

Ingredients

• 6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, divided
• 1 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup chopped apple
• 1/2 cup sliced carrot
• 1/3 sliced celery
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2  cans (about 14 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 4 ounces uncooked rotini pasta
• Plain yogurt

Directions

1. Coat chicken with 3 teaspoons of curry powder.  Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add chicken; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from pan; keep warm.
2. Add apple, carrot, celery, remaining 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and cloves to same saucepan; cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add broth and orange juice.  Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low.  Add pasta, cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in chicken.  Top each serving with a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

I made this a couple of weeks ago and Jordon and the boys were not that crazy with it.  I think the orange juice made it too sweet and if I make it again, I will go with more broth and no orange juice.

Source: The Soup Bible