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.

Miso Fried Rice with Baby Bok Choy and Tofu

I don’t know if other moms can relate but I am constantly running out of space on my phone and google account. I remember when I first opened my gmail account and it was meant to never run out of space. Yeah, um, not for parents.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like I am taking tons of photos of my baby. I just happen to take a quick flurry of photos at one time, because much like a cat you can’t control, I never really know what kind of expression will be captured with each photo. Come to think of it, I have plenty of photos of my baby sleeping, since I like to share them with Rob as a form of my small accomplishments for the day. Getting the baby to sleep is never an easy feat. He does not nap very well.

For a while, we had some longer sleeps at night, which I could count on one hand. Provided I get some sleep, the continual feeding every 2-3 hours doesn’t bother me as much. It just means I keep trying to get him to sleep every 2-3 hours, too.

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Plantain Chili

Who else is a fan of plantains? They might seem like an exotic ingredient, but even here in Toronto, they are usually very reasonably priced and less expensive than sweet potatoes. However, unlike sweet potatoes, their shelf life is not as stable, as they can only last a few weeks until they turn all brown. I never buy them with a plan, other than panfry in coconut oil, but this recipe was excellent, and I’ll probably buy more plantains just to make it again, it was that good.

Slow Cooker Veggie Enchilada Soup + Easy. Whole. Vegan GIVEAWAY

I forgot to mention in my last food post, but roasted tomatoes freeze incredibly well. They last a while in your fridge but if you want to savour some summer bounty during the winter, batch cook them up and stockpile them in your freezer. Last year, I bought a bushel of red bell peppers, chopped them up and froze them, and we are still eating through them!

If you need any ideas what to do with all this frozen (or fresh, if you have some made already) roasted tomatoes and bell peppers, I urge you to try this soup.

Homemade Ginger Stir Fry Sauce

I certainly do not profess to being prepared for the onslaught of emotions, fatigue and physical recovery following birth. Despite being on bedrest for nearly 2 months, I think we were even less prepared than had I been at home and able to move around. It takes a village to raise a child, right?  My parents and Rob helped out tremendously in the first few weeks, making sure the house was clean and we were fed. My small contribution was selecting a few recipes for others to make. 😉

Creamy Summer Cajun Soup

This summer we’ve been eating a lot of soups and stews. It could have been that we were immune to the hot weather, as we spent the majority of it in an air conditioned NICU. Or, more likely, that we’ve been making up for lost time and stocking our freezer with extra food.  We have fully adopted making a second batch of a recipe and freezing half. Soups and stews are great for that.

Maple-Sriracha Tofu with Roasted Red Peppers & Creamy Grits

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.

Grilled Miso Tofu & Veggie Kebabs + Lick Your Plate cookbook GIVEAWAY

Happy long weekend, folks! Unlike Rob’s annual rainy prediction, I think we might luck out with sun all weekend long. Fire up your grills, plant your gardens, and start enjoying the summer. 🙂

Zucchini and Quinoa Cajun Stew (aka Vegan Gumbo without Okra)

I thought this was going to be a monumental event: my first recipe with celery.

Turns out, I am just forgetful. The blog never forgets, though. While I remember buying some celery while in Houston, it was obviously when I made (at least) the latter recipe.

1. Green Apple Kale (and Celery) Juice
2. Black Eyed Pea and Collard Green Chili

Curried Chickpea Salad

So, I must admit I got talked out of planting anything last weekend and it was probably for the best. We had a few chilly nights which might not have been great. Otherwise, the garden is ready (we added some top soil and coconut coir to the lasagna garden) and just waiting for plants. I am waiting for my order of asparagus rootlets which I am super excited about. Mostly excited about the possibility of endless years of homegrown asparagus, even though I know I won’t be able to harvest anything at all this year.

Tempeh Enchilada Casserole

Sometimes I forget about tempeh, but it is an awesome vegan protein source with 22g of protein in 4 oz (half a package). Not everyone loves tempeh. One way to love it is to slather it with a marinade. No marinade, here. In this case, your smother it and hide it within a delicious casserole.

Vegalicious Quiche with a Millet Crust + UnDiet Cookbook GIVEAWAY

It took me three years but I finally bought millet again.

While I have shared a few recipes with it, I loved it most of all popped and found in granola. This time, I was intrigued by Meghan Telpner’s millet crust. Soak and cook millet, then press it into a pie plate. And voila, instant gluten-free, whole food, texture-a-plenty pie crust.

Corn Chowder Salad

Aren’t vegetables just the cutest?

The purple and white fingerling potatoes, red and orange bell peppers and fresh corn were all from a recent haul from the farmer’s market. I hope you aren’t enthralled by winter squash just yet because I am happily munching through the summer bounty.

Jerk Tofu and Fried Plantains with Quinoa and Avocado

A few weeks ago, Rob told me he was taking Friday off of work.

He couldn’t bear to have a full 5-day work week.

I finally was able to join the 4-day workweek for the last few weeks as Rob and I headed out for the weekend to see friends and family via a fun roadtrip. 

Roasted Ratatouille with Basil Pistou

Despite making quite a few excellent dishes with eggplant, it is not an ingredient I turn to instinctively. It is probably because I almost killed Rob with his asthma when I smoked them in our house. I still think that is the best way to make smoky soft eggplant and with our new BBQ, Rob has lifted the smoky eggplant ban.