Haggis Meatloaf in honour of Robbie Burns Day

We attended a wonderful Burns Supper on Saturday night, where we enjoyed our once yearly meal of haggis, tatties and neeps. While we quite enjoy haggis, one doesn't plan to make it on a regular basis. Then along came Lucy Waverman in last week's Globe and Mail with a recipe for haggis meatloaf. Made it tonight and it is great. Now we can have that taste more than once a year! For those who like haggis, have a go at this recipe:

HAGGIS MEATLOAF

1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ cups finely chopped onions
1 cup chicken stock or water
1 cup whole rolled oats
1½ pounds ground lamb or beef
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chopped dried rosemary
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
Pinch cayenne
Salt to taste
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350F.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes or until softened. Set aside to cool.
Combine stock and oatmeal and set aside to allow oatmeal to absorb some of the liquid.
Combine ground meat, cooked onions, garlic, thyme, rosemary, pepper and cayenne. Season well with salt. Add oatmeal mixture and egg and mix gently until it comes together.
Place mixture on an oiled baking sheet and use your hands to shape it into a fat sausage-shaped mound, about 2 inches tall and 4½ inches across. Bake for 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes or until slightly browned.
Serves 6.

WW Senegalese Peanut Soup

Enjoying food as I do, I haven't found many WeightWatchers recipes that I am actually excited about. If you have any, please do send them my way. This recipe, however, is interesting enough for foodies and also low in points.* Peanuts are very high in calories and fat, but in this recipe chickpeas stand in for some of the peanuts without sacrificing texture or taste.

Senegalese Peanut Soup

15oz tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 c chicken stock
3 tbsp all natural creamy peanut butter
1 tsp oil
2 onions, chopped
1" piece gingerroot, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsps curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
14 1/2 oz tin diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
chopped cilantro

Combine chickpeas, 1/2 c chicken stock and peanut butter in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Heat oil in a large nonstick pan or dutch oven. Saute onions and gingerroot until soft, about 7-8 minutes. Stir in curry powder and cumin; saute 1 minute longer. Add remaining stock, tomatoes and chickpea mixture, and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavours.

Season with cayenne and garnish with cilantro.

* 5 points per 1 1/2 cup serving using the new WW calculator

Thai Fish Curry

Oh the comfort of a spicy coconut curry broth! This recipe came from a Food & Drink magazine - Summer 2003. They call it a pick-me-up for a hot summer day, but I think it's a pick-me-up for any day. I like to bring it to the table in a tureen or large pottery bowl, and ladle it over sticky or plain rice into individual soup bowls. We put the garnishes out on the table so everyone can serve themselves. We also put out some extra hot sauces for those who enjoy big heat, but be sure to reduce the amount of curry paste in this recipe to 1 tsp if you do not like things too spicy.

Poached Cod in Spicy Coconut Sauce

1 tbsp oil
2 tsp green curry paste
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 - 398 mL tin coconut milk - light works fine
1 c fish or chicken stock
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 lb cod, cut into 2 inch chunks
1/2 c shredded snow peas
1/2 c shredded carrots
1/4 c shredded basil
salt and pepper

1 c bean sprouts
2 tbsp chopped coriander

Heat oil on medium high heat. Stir in curry paste and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, stir and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced by half - about 5 minutes. Add stock, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Reduce heat to simmer and add cod. Poach for 3-4 minutes, until just cooked. Remove cod from broth and keep warm in a soup tureen or pottery bowl. Boil broth for 2 minutes. Add snow peas, carrots and basil. Cook for one more minute. Adjust seasonings and pour broth over cod. Garnish with bean sprouts and coriander.