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. Read the rest of this entry »
My mom had a (self-imposed) daunting task: use up all the poppy seeds. How many poppy seeds could she possibly have? A cup or two? No, more like 10 cups of poppy seeds. As such, Rob and I were the recipients of many, many poppy seed infused desserts this summer. In particular, everyone enjoyed these vegan lemon poppy seed cupcakes. Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
One of my favourite and easiest vegetables to freeze are red bell peppers. Last year, we bought a huge bucket of red peppers at the Farmer’s Market and I diligently cut, cored and seeded them before popping them in the deep freezer. Many months later and we are still chomping through them. I purposely baked a bunch of them here.
Even though Lick Your Plate is not a vegan cookbook (you can see my review here), I was intrigued by some of the simple fish recipes. Swapping tofu would be very, very easy and would also benefit from flavourful marinades. While this was a bit more involved than most of my tofu recipes, the marinade and glaze were both excellent. Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
You have probably noticed I have been struggling with the blog lately. I am barely eking out a post per week. It is a combination of a few things: less time spent cooking and less time to blog about it. It certainly isn’t that I have stopped eating (HA!) but I found myself nodding when I read Ginny’s latest post about Vegan Food for People Who Don’t Cook. Combined with quite a few batches of my Easy Vegan Lasagna, and incessant snacking on hummus and crackers, it feels like I have been eating hummus non-stop. And no, I wasn’t even making it myself, the bulk of it came from store-bought varieties. Not sorry. Read the rest of this entry »
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).
I remember someone told me they didn’t like curry because it always tastes like curry powder. Well, if you always use the same curry powder, of course they will be similar. Most of the time, I don’t use curry powder and try to use the individual spices to create new concoctions each time.
Examples: Martinique Sweet Potato Coconut Curry, A Riff on Massaman Curry, Cauliflower and Chickpea Balti, Cauliflower Dal with Panch Poran, and our favourite Nepalese Dal Bhat. Read the rest of this entry »
If you had to imagine the healthiest poutine, this would probably come close to the top. First, it is vegan. Second, there are steamed greens include. Third, there are sweet potatoes and they are roasted, not deep-fried. Fourth, the cheese sauce is made from carrots and potatoes. Fifth, there are mushrooms in the gravy.
Why else should you make it? Well, judging by your comments (you guys will be making delicious Thanksgiving meals!) ,most of the components might be leftovers from your Thanksgiving meal. Or possibly a great option for a vegan Thanksgiving as you load up with different side dishes. Read the rest of this entry »
My lunches do not normally look like this. But it was so pretty, I had to snap a picture of my lunch to-go earlier this month.
One of the first things I moved into my office was a mini-fridge so I could easily store leftovers. I might bring a big batch of beans and a large salad and keep them in the fridge all week until nothing is left, replenishing through the week and supplementing with a fresh apple each day. By the end of the week, I might cobble together all the remnants for a take-away lunch. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember that time I had a mustard tasting party? Only 18 months ago, or so… I don’t think I have bought a new mustard since and we are down to the bare minimum, guys. Depending on what I find first (mustard or mustard seeds), I may try my hand at homemade mustard. I want to try Miyoko’s recipe for Ale and Brown Sugar Mustard but don’t want it to taste like beer. If you make it (or can recommend other homemade mustard recipes), please let me know. I will await your assessment in 4 weeks. 😉
In the meantime, onwards with the potato salads. A perfect side for your summer meals.
Another winner of potato salads, this is for serious mustard fans. Rob preferred the Creamy Lemon-Dill Roasted Potato Salad but I really can’t pick a favourite, especially considering the Smoked Paprika Roasted Potato Salad. This salad is definitely heavy on the mustard, so pick a good one. The vibrant yellow is courtesy of a dash of turmeric and the dressing is more complex with the addition of Old Bay. A fun twist for yet another non-mayo potato salad. Enjoy!
PS. I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes.
This may very well turn out to be the summer of potatoes and mushrooms. While not everyone likes the mayo-heavy potato salads, everyone seems to like the non-mayo salads from this summer so far.
Rob said this was his favourite potato salad yet.
His Polish roots may be particularly partial to fresh dill.
The dressing is a creamy, but not heavy, lemon-tahini sauce with a touch of mustard which I tossed with salt-and-pepper roasted potatoes and fresh dill. The recipe makes a lot of dressing, which was great throughout the week to dress up some of the leftover grilled vegetables. The dressing was also great when I added in some extra chickpeas.
What is your favourite recipe for potato salad?
I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes and Tea Time Treats.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Our house is still in shambles a week after our move. With 3 days off work, I thought we’d be near completely unpacked but it is anything but. The kitchen appliances are working but my pantry is still dissembled, packed in quite a few boxes. I am thinking of sharing some of my simple meals, but until then, I’d like to talk about a new cookbook, Mastering the Art of Vegan Cooking.
This cookbook is about mastering the classic meals, vegan-style, while also attempting to teach you how to save money in the kitchen. Borne of a time when Annie and Dan Shannon were dealing with infertility and mounting costs, they have put together their favourite recipes while trying to keep their budget low. [Of note, nothing like buying a house to make you feel poor!]
The recipes are both creative yet classic. Instead of plain waffles, they share a recipe for banana churro waffles. Instead of classic tabbouli, there is a lemon-tahini fattoush inspired salad which mixes Middle Eastern flavours together. The Korean Kimchi BBQ burgers (see below) are also fusion cuisine in its finest.
I made the red lentil soup, which was homage to every red lentil soup they have eaten and tinkered with their slow cooker jambalaya to make it in the pressure cooker. They were very good, if not subdued in their spices. The red lentil soup reminded me of my Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Sizzling Mint, with a swap for fresh mint which changes the flavours.
I have chosen to share their vegan blueberry blintzes with you, instead.
Classic crepes are not vegan, with reliance on eggs for their supple texture. I have shared a few non-traditional crepe-like recipes before (raw chocolate banana crepes and raw grasshopper crepes). This is my family’s traditional recipe and while that one was with Nutella and kiwis, it was not uncommon for my family to fill them with cottage cheese, cream of wheat and eggs and top it with a blueberry compote and serve them as blintzes. We would eat them for dinner as they were mostly savoury despite the fruit.
Instead of cottage cheese and eggs, this recipe is more dessert-style. Or breakfast/brunch-style. The filling is sweeter with a base of vegan cream cheese and tofu and topped with fresh blueberries and a sprinkling of sugar.
It would have been nice to see a recipe that didn’t include vegan faux cheese, especially if one of the cookbook’s aims was to offer cheaper recipes. However, I can appreciate the shortcuts to help make delicious foods faster. The cookbook has plenty of recipes with pantry staples but a sizeable minority call for specialty ingredients. As an example, the Korean Kimchi BBQ Burger recipe calls for 2 cups of Lightlife Gimme Lean Burger or Match Vegan Meats Burger and store-bought kimchi. The cost was $2.68/burger and I wonder how much cheaper it would be to use plain (and uber cheap) TVP instead. Of note, that same recipe has a recipe for homemade Asian-style BBQ sauce which looks great.
Thankfully, the publisher allowed me to giveaway the cookbook to a reader living in the US or Canada. To be entered in the random draw for the book, please leave a comment below telling me how you like to save money in the kitchen. The winner will be selected at random on July 9, 2015. Good luck!
Other recipes from Mastering the Art of Vegan Cooking spotted elsewhere:
Simple Korean Kimchi BBQ Burgers
Rosemary Chicklins and Dumplins Stew
Rustic Pesto and Heirloom Tomato Tart
Cinnamon Peach Skillet Rolls with Peach Glaze
PS. I am sharing this with Meat Free Mondays.
This is another great dish to come out of our cottage escapades.
It was a true pleasure to know that I did not have to worry about vegan options. I brought a few veggie burgers for the grill, but otherwise, the vegetables were plentiful. And avocados. All avocados at the cottage. When you get tired of guacamole (is that possible??), this is a fun dish.
I had been thinking of trying to make chimichurri for a while but hesitant with the amount of parsley in most recipes. Parsley is possibly my least favourite flavour, right up there with celery which is slightly more tolerable. This was great, though. A nice amount of spice that was not overrun by herbs. Chuimichurri is a green typically used for grilled meats but here, the chunks of avocado substituted to make a fabulous dip. The original recipe suggests using it as a bruschetta topping but everyone simply lapped it up by the spoonful. Because it is simple to prepare the chimichurri sauce in advance, this is a fancy looking dip but also very portable and simple to make. I can see this becoming a staple around the barbecue this summer. Enjoy!
What do you like to make with avocado?
Other dishes avocado fans will love:
Guaca-Chi (Guacamole with Kimchi)
Green Velvet Guacamole (aka Guacamame or Edamame Guacamole)
Pineapple and Cucumber Guacamole (Guacamole Con Piña y Pepino)
Cucumber Avocado Sandwiches With Dill and Mint
Long time no chat. A quick turn of events had me in the operating room over a week ago and recently returned home. I was incredibly grateful to be back in Canada when this happened and could only imagine what would have happened in Guatemala with my nearly non-existent Spanish.
In any case, after a surgery, it is normal to progress your diet from clear/full fluids before resuming your regular diet. My mom threw together this soup, not once, but twice, for me to nosh on while in the hospital and once I returned home.
Super creamy from the blended carrots, the ginger is a natural pairing (and possibly helps reduce nausea and vomiting). The addition of the lemon rind (without juice) kept this light and not too acidic (which has been a problem for my belly since surgery). But perhaps most of all, I hope you can see how brightly coloured this soup is. More yellow than orange, it was positively vibrant. It reminded me of Nigella’s happiness soup but this one tasted better. And had no turmeric. I wonder if the nutritional yeast helped to make it more yellow.
As well, thank you for all the positive feedback on the wedding photos. Our photographer had another teaser this week. I cannot wait to see the find photo album.
https://instagram.com/p/1k-_lvKBtp
Carrot soups shared here previously:
Carrot Soup with Ginger and Lemon
Carrot Ginger Lime Soup with Sweet Potato Hummus
Roasted Carrot and Lentil Soup with Harissa and Mint
I am sharing this with Simple and In Season and Credit Crunch Munch.
the taste space 