[Super important caveat: Don’t go picking mushrooms in the wild unless you are 100% sure you know what they are. Some of the deadly poison mushrooms look similar to their edible cousins so if there’s any doubt leave them alone.]

I know there are folks out there who won’t eat mushrooms other than those bland white buttons at the grocery store. If you haven’t eaten wild mushrooms like cepes or chanterelles, trust me, you owe it to yourself to taste them! I just can’t get enough of those delicious little fungi.

Last night I had my first wild mushrooms of the season. so I decided to try out a new recipe. My Wild Mushrooms in Cream recipe is adapted from one in my favourite Jamie Oliver cookbook, Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes. It was so easy and delicious I wanted to share it with you.

Do you love wild mushrooms too? What’s your favourite way to eat them?

Tracy

www.happywifey.net

The post Wild Mushrooms in Cream Recipe appeared first on Happy Wifey.

I’m not entirely sure why I was afraid to try roasting a duck. I roast chickens and turkeys with great success, and I love cooking duck breast. For some reason though, the prospect of cooking the whole duck was a bit scary.

I think part of the problem was I had never even eaten duck before our trip to France. Duck isn’t a common sight on menus around these parts unless you’re at a Chinese restaurant. When we visited the farmer’s market last week though, I spotted fresh, local duck and had to buy one on the spot.

I searched the internet high and low for a good roast duck recipe. As is common for me, I ended up combining a few different recipes and coming up with my own version. (Mostly because I never have all the ingredients on hand I need to follow someone else’s recipe faithfully!)

I’ve added Amazon links to a few of the harder to find ingredients below, in case you can’t buy them at your local store:

• pomegranate molasses
• Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce
• Soy Sauce This is the best one I’ve ever tasted!
• Balsamic Vinegar Don’t use your expensive Balsamic for this recipe (but don’t use a super cheap one either!) This is a good, everyday balsamic.
• Tabasco If you can’t find this locally, I’m sorry.

If you’ve never tried roasting a whole duck before, I hope you give it a try.

Tracy

www.happywifey.net

The post How to Roast a Crispy Duck Recipe appeared first on Happy Wifey.

Puy lentils, lentille du Puy, (or French green lentils) come from the Le Puy region of south-central France. These small, green, peppery lentils are often called ‘poor man’s caviar’ in France. I hadn’t really eaten lentils, outside of the occasional curry, before our trip to France a few years ago. But Puy lentils have since become of favourite. They do taste better than regular green lentils and the texture is much better for salads like this one. If you can’t find them at your local grocery, these ones from Amazon are good.

If, like me, you’ve never cooked puy lentils before, don’t be intimidated. Rinse the lentils in a colander until the water runs clear.  You can cook them in stock or water with a bit of salt. Boil them for about 25-30 minutes. They should be slightly al dente. Drain off any excess water and you’re done!

Halloumi (or haloumi) was something completely new for me and I am now in love. This salty cheese is a mixture of sheep and goat milk and comes originally from Cyprus. It can be found in Greece and Middle Eastern cooking as well. The interesting thing about this cheese is that you can fry or grill it and it doesn’t lose its shape.

I have been wanting to experiment with this cheese for some time now, so when I found this recipe for puy lentils with grilled halloumi I had to give it a go.

Here’s the recipe as I cooked it (because you know I had to tweak a bit):

It’s easy and delicious and I will definitely be making this again soon! Have you cooked Puy lentils or Halloumi? Share your comments or recipes below.

Tracy

www.happywifey.net

The post Puy Lentil, Cherry Tomato, and Halloumi Salad appeared first on Happy Wifey.

In some places, pearl couscous is a bit hard to find but check your international and pasta sections. Of course, you can always find it on Amazon. Here are a few options:

• I’m a big fan of Red Mill’s products and they have a variety of pearl couscous options in natural, whole wheat, and tri-color.
• Another good choice is WildRoots Organic Pearl Couscous
• Or if you want to buy in bulk, try Roland Israeli Couscous

You can do so many things with pearl couscous. It’s great in soups. You can cook it a bit like risotto. It also works either hot or cold meaning it’s a great alternative to pasta salad.

I’ve made a couple of variations of this summer salad and I’m in love.  It’s so versatile you can use whatever you have on hand. You can add or switch ingredients as you see fit but here is my starting recipe.

Have fun! If you make it let me know what you put in it.

Tracy

www.happywifey.net

The post Pearl Couscous Salad Recipe appeared first on Happy Wifey.