No Mayo Coleslaw

There was something liberating about making a goal to publish a blog post once a month. The weeks slipped by, as we enjoyed the summer together. Each weekend, we have been having a picnic in a different park. Sometimes we go as a family, just the three of us, and other times, friends join us too. We pack a cooler filled with food along with a blanket and we’re set. Plus baby toys, of course.

Tropical Cabbage Salad with Pineapple and Cashews

Oh my, it has been a while. I left the blog to go on vacation, returned back home but never returned to the blog. I used to be thrilled if I posted once a week, now I might be thrilled if it were once a month!  I am certainly no super-mom, and definitely not a super-blogger. Mostly just trying to keep everyone fed and (mostly) rested.

This month we celebrated baby P’s first birthday. I can’t believe both how quickly the time passed, and also how much we’ve been through during the year. How much help we needed and how family helped to rally behind us when we needed them the most.

Pumpkin Caesar Salad with Sourdough Sage Croutons + Purely Pumpkin cookbook GIVEAWAY

Are you drooling from that first photo? Me, too. I didn’t take it, though. I still have plenty to learn about making drool worthy photographs, but right now my focus is on my family (hello new baby!) and work. Yes, work. I returned to work this week. I barely have time to cook, let alone blog, and as I perused my draft posts, I knew I had to share this recipe pronto.

Orange Wakame Cucumber Salad + The Organic Cook’s Bible giveaway

Is it still salad season? I am loving the lingering warm weather, especially since it is no longer sweltering. I try to make it a daily goal to go for a walk with my baby every day. At least every weekday. At first, he was content with the stroller, but it can be hit-or-miss and result in a crying fit, so we’ve gravitated to wrapping. I never thought I’d be into hardcore babywearing. I knew I’d want to do some babywearing since skin-to-skin is so important, but my guy is a snuggle monster and loves to be wrapped. Or as Rob says, he demands to be snuggled. For now, I am delighted to oblige as I can still walk around and do simple things around the house.

Grilled Peach Salad with Mizuna

I was hoping to do a mid-season garden update but it took too long for me to share my July photos. I will try to photograph my current August jungle because it is quite impressive now that it is finally time for harvest.

Three-Bean Salad with Asparagus and Coconut Dressing + Whole Bowls cookbook GIVEAWAY

Three beans, sweet peas, asparagus, butter beans and pecans with a coconut-lime dressing. YES! Don’t mind if I steal Allison Day‘s gorgeous photo as my lead photo. It is just too pretty to bury inside my post.

This is a fun summer salad that is perfect for your next gathering or more simply, your next meal.

Cold Sesame Cucumber Noodles and Love and Lemons Cookbook GIVEAWAY

Some unfortunate circumstances have forced me to take it easy. Rest, all day rest, is not something that comes naturally to me. However, yesterday the sun was bright, the air was warm, the birds were chirping and the chipmunks and squirrels ran around my backyard. The barking dog scaring the squirrel was not so peaceful, but it was an excellent environment for relaxing.

My garden has been filled with a few plants courtesy of my mom – red rhubarb, chives and garlic chives but I am still antsy to fill it up with more. I think it would be fun to work with perennials all in one garden, so asparagus will fit right in.

Greek Quinoa Salad with Tofu Feta

Rob and I went to New York City (and Brooklyn) last week. When we left Toronto, it was snowing and cold (definitely felt like winter). We were happy to drive a bit further south for even a minor relief. After a week of walking all over Manhattan, we returned to even warmer temperatures in Toronto! Our friend’s toddler was playing in a kiddie pool, it was that warm and summer-like.

Orange-Balsamic Lentils and Mixed Grains

Another cute radish rose!

This was a quick and easy main course salad that paired well with the spring kale salad which contained all the vegetables.

Spring Kale Salad with Radish and a Lemon-Caper Dressing

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. We ended up at my in-laws over the long weekend and I felt like I was on an episode of Iron Chef. I was tasked with making something to eat with the ingredients from the kitchen. My ingredients included cooked lentils, cooked mixed grains, kale, tomato, cucumber, radish, capers, oranges and lemons. I quickly thought about putting them all into the same one-dish meal, but ended up making a veg-heavy kale salad as a side and used the lentils and grains separately (to be shared later).

Beet Balls and Roasted Potato Salad with a Thousand Island Dressing

It has been a while since I flipped through Terry’s Salad Samurai. I know salads are not just for the summer, but I smiled pleasantly as I looked through the chapters aimed at the colder months. I bookmarked the Beet Balls and Fries Salad after reading Nicole’s raving review, and felt now, during the winter, was a perfect time to whip up a salad featuring root vegetables.

Japanese Edamame and Arame Salad

Rob was really nice about getting me a new laptop to replace my dying desktop computer. The only problem was the new device had less storage than my old computer.  I used to keep my all food photos on my hard drive, but now they are harder to locate on an external device. Please excuse my blog absentia as I work through this.

Warm Barley Bowl with Roasted Brussels and a Coconut Curry Dressing

Between holiday parties, preparing for your own holiday (lights, decorations, etc) and always more busy at work, December has to be one of the busiest months of the year. I was not prepared to join in Sam and Andrew‘s Vegan Mystery Box Challenge but once I heard the three ingredients were cranberries, pistachios and coconut milk, I just had join in.

Butternut Squash Farinata with Spinach Salad and Pomegranate Vinaigrette + Crossroads Cookbook Review

It took me a while, but I finally broke out the winter squash. I always feel like I need a few recipes to work through one butternut squash. This one is a winner and I encourage you to try it out.

This Butternut Squash Farinata is basically a variation on my Mediterranean Crustless Chickpea Flour Quiche with winter herbs including thyme and sage speckled with silky orange jewels of butternut squash. Here it is paired with a lovely, albeit optional, Spinach Salad with Farro and a Pomegranate Vinaigrette. Together, it makes such a lovely meal, it is worthy of a special occasion.

Beet Carpaccio Salad with Arugula and Miso Dressing + Roberto’s New Vegan Cooking GIVEAWAY

You know it has been a great vacation when you get back and kind of forgot where you left off from life.

No kitchen meals buffered in my head. I even forgot one of my passwords at work.

Rob and I returned late Saturday so that we could regroup on Sunday. I forgot what was in the kitchen but thankfully found a sweet potato and carrot to make a quick batch of Gena’s Easy Lentil, Sweet Potato & Coconut Curry (omitted the ginger and used Penzey’s new curry powder – The Now Curry – which was spicier than their Sweet Curry Powder – but lent a nice complexity to the dish).