Emilie-inspired salad

This is my take on the type of salad that our housemate Emilie used to whip up in about 5 minutes (a simple version with lettuce/kale, cucumber, red onion, and cashews).

I have come to almost exclusively make salad this way.. adding the salt and vinegar first then olive oil at the end instead of mixing a dressing together separately.. both because this is easier, faster, and because I find it tastier. It does work best with a balsamic you really like — I think if I only had more questionable vinegar, I would make my dressing separately, but maybe this would work well in that case too???

Ingredients 

• Lettuce, ideally romaine or medium-finely chopped kale but any lettuce or combination of lettuces will do (if you use only kale, you may want to salt and massage it lightly to soften it a little)
• A small amount of finely sliced red onion, to your liking (but at least a small amount is strongly recommended)

All remaining ingredients are optional, but avocado makes a huge difference if you have it, and a protein source like feta or roasted cashews or beans will make it a lot heartier). Include some combination of the following, depending on what you have on hand and what you like:

• Sliced cucumber (I half it lengthwise and slice so they don’t roll around)
• Diced apple or tomato or orange (probably not all together)
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Broken up or roughly chopped roasted nuts (eg cashews or pecans or…?)
• Sliced red pepper 
• Finely sliced fresh basil can be a nice addition
• Optionally some black beans or chickpeas?
• Some homemade croutons if you’re feeling really fancy 
• Etc

For the dressing you will need..

• Kosher salt
• Black pepper (optional)
• Good quality balsamic vinegar (I really like the Costco one and I like that it is a bit sweet - if yours is more sour, you may want to add a good pinch of white sugar at the same time as the salt. To me, this makes a big difference)
• Olive oil 

Method

1. Put all the main salad ingredients you are using (aside from the dressing) in a large bowl
2. Sprinkle with a couple of good pinches of kosher salt (and optionally sugar - see note in the dressing ingredients list) and toss lightly. Add some pepper at this stage too, if you like.
3. Pour over some balsamic vinegar (maybe start with around a tablespoon, possibly more? I just eyeball it)
4. Toss well, taste, and if needed, add more vinegar/salt/sugar to your taste (but err on the side of too little rather than too much)
5. Finally, add olive oil at the end (about as much as you did vinegar or a little less) and toss well to bring it all together (again, err on the side of too little not too much).

The key here is to coat everything with the salt and vinegar before you add the oil so they can penetrate really well. The oil is an important touch at the end but you don’t need much when you do it this way.

Gado-Gado, Ottolenghi-Style

Here is my variant on Gado-Gado, adapted from the version in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

To make it as written I would budget about an hour and a half, maybe more. But you can take some shortcuts if you want (it just might not be quite as yummy!)

Note: I haven't actually made the OTHER Gado-Gado on this blog since I posted it.. it was probably easier but I would say this is definitely yummier. The other one has some interesting topping ideas too though, and could be a good option if you're lacking in fancy ingredients like galangal and tamarind.

Totally worth the time to make the super satay sauce from scratch. I will write it out as I made it, which includes a small substitution as I couldn't get a hold of fresh galangal. If you can find it, the original calls for using fresh galangal in the place of the fresh ginger and dried galangal.

Ideally you will read through this whole recipe and think through your timing, as you may want to overlap preparing the salad with making the sauce in ways that make sense for the ingredients you choose.

Satay Sauce

This is the slow part and it could definitely be done ahead of time if you're organized. If you're rushed for time or want to use ingredients you're more likely to have on hand, you could always skip this part and make awesome no-cook peanut sauce instead.

Ingredients

• 4 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 roughly chopped lemongrass stalk
• 2.5 tbsp sambal oelek (makes for a sauce with some heat, but not really spicy... if I were making this for kids I would probably reduce the quantity or maybe just make them some kid-friendly peanut sauce and keep this deluxe sauce for those brave enough to eat it!)
• roughly the equivalent of a 5" long piece of fresh ginger (about 1-1.5" in diameter), peeled
• 2 slices of dried galangal, rehydrated in a small bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, cut into small bits (if you don't have dried galangal, just do a little more ginger instead)
• 4 medium shallots, peeled (this is probably the most annoying part of the recipe)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 tbsp salt
• 7 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp thick tamarind water (rehydrate about 1/4 cup tamarind in about 1/2-3/4 cup of boiling water, let sit at least 10 minutes or so, stir it together and mash the tamarind with a fork, then press out the liquid through a sieve)
• 1 1/2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk

Method

1. Use a small food processor or hand blender to crush the garlic, lemongrass, sambal oelek, ginger, galangal pieces, and shallots into a homogeneous paste.
2. Heat up the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the paste from step 1 and cook over medium-low heat for 40-50 minutes (until the oil starts to separate). Stir regularly. 
• While the paste is cooking...
• Prepare the tamarind water
• Combine the salt, sugar, and paprika in a small bowl
• Crush peanuts roughly in a food processor - leave them a bit chunky. Put the peanuts and water into a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the mixture thickens and most of the water has evaporated
3. Add the salt, sugar and paprika mixture to the pot with the paste. Also add the tamarind water. Stir and cook for 10 minutes more.
4. Add the cooked peanut mixture to the cooked spice paste then stir in the coconut milk

Spice paste is done.. keep it somewhere warm.

The Salad Part

This part is relatively quick - the time-consuming pieces are preparing tofu, roasting yams, and cooking rice... the rest is pretty speedy.

Ingredients (and some Method)

Note: you could do this part with basically whatever ingredients you want... the sauce is the key! But I will outline what I did today here. Note that in the original recipe there are potatoes instead of the rice and yams, and various other differences. 

These ingredients should be prepared first (like before or while you make the sauce) as they will take some time:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice. Cook this according to package directions or using your preferred method.
• 4 small yams, cleaned and sliced into 1/2" to 3/4" rounds (no need to peel) - toss these with some olive oil and kosher salt then roast in the oven at the same time as you roast your tofu (about 30-40 minutes, flip them over about half way through)...
• 1 block of extra firm tofu, prepared according to instructions in my post "The best way to prepare tofu" (you can roast the tofu and the yams at the same time)

These ingredients will cook quickly and the process is described below:

• 1 very small or half of a medium-large cabbage, cut into chunks (I cut a very small cabbage in half and then each half into 4 wedges, then halved the wedges to make 8 chunks per half cabbage)
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 1-2 cups green beans, washed and trimmed
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
• Something crunchy to sprinkle on top. I used these yam chips from Hardbite. The original recipe calls for crisp-fried shallots and cassava chips

Method (the rest of it)

1. If you haven't already, get the rice, tofu, and yams started cooking (see notes above). You should also hard boil your eggs if you haven't done that yet. See below for tips if you need them.
2. Once your sauce, rice, tofu, yams, and eggs are done ready... 
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil
• While the water is heating up, spread the cooked rice out in the bottom of a large casserole dish or serving platter
• When the water comes to a boil, add the cabbage and blanch it for 1 minute, then remove and drain it (I used a large slotted spoon to fish out as much as I could). Spread the cabbage out in a layer over the cooked rice
• Add the bean sprouts to the boiling water and blanch for 30 seconds, then remove and drain them. Layer these over the cabbage and rice
• Add the green beans to the boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes then drain. Layer green beans over the cabbage, rice, and bean sprouts.
• You're done the cooking part - go ahead and turn off the water pot.
3. If you need some time to finish getting other things ready, put the casserole/serving platter somewhere warm.
4. Before serving, layer the roasted tofu chunks and yam slices on top everything already added to the casserole/platter.
5. Serve the salad with the satay sauce, chopped cilantro, quartered eggs, and crispy chips on the side so everyone can add these in whatever quantity they like.

Sweet and Sticky Tofu bowls

 based on https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/asian-garlic-tofu/

Ingredients:

• 1 block of extra firm tofu
• 1-2 heads of broccoli cut into small florets
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt to taste
  
• rice
  

Sauce:

• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  

 Garnish:

• Toasted sesame seeds
• diced spring onion or cilantro or...

Method:

1. Put the rice on to cook (and set a timer to cook for an appropriate amount of time.. no hand-holding on this part!)
   
2. Prepare tofu by slicing into 3 slabs horizontally, placing them on a clean folded tea towel on a large plate, place another clean tea towel on top followed by another plate, then put something heavy on top of that to press the excess water out. Leave for 10 - 30 minutes or more.
3. Meanwhile... mix together the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
   
4. Cut the tofu into small bite-sized cubes and toss in the sauce. Leave to marinate about 30 minutes
   
5. Meanwhile, prepare the broccoli for roasting by tossing in a bowl with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt to your taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and heat the oven to about 375F. 
   
6. Put broccoli in oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes then flip and roast a further 15-20 minutes on the other side (until crispy and tasty)
7. (This would be a good time to toast your sesame seeds in a dry frying pan if they're not ready yet)
   
8. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (cast iron or otherwise). When oil is hot, add in the tofu without too much of the sauce (but don't worry if a bunch goes in). Spread it out in a single layer and fry/sear (mine didn't get crispy since I put all the sauce in but it was still delish). Ideally, cook till crispy then flip to the other side and fry till seared.
9. At this point I would add the rest of the sauce to the pan and cook it a bit longer, stirring frequently.
10. Toss the sesame oil and diced spring onion/cilantro with the cooked tofu (either in the pan or a large bowl)
    
11. Assemble in bowls with rice, roasted broccoli, tofu, and sesame seeds sprinkled over top.
    

Yummy speedy vegetarian pasta sauce

This is a shortcut pasta sauce very loosely based on a recipe I haven't tried but that sounds delish if you have time to go for it: https://www.happyveggiekitchen.com/spaghetti-sauce/

I will write down approximately what I did, though there's certainly room for some variation and these measurements are not precise.

Ingredients

• 1 can tomatoes (I used diced ones but doesn't really matter)
• roughly 1.5-2tbs tomato paste
• 1/2 can sliced mushrooms
•  a good swig of worcestershire sauce (maybe 1/2 tsp?) 
• 3 cloves minced/sliced garlic
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup red wine
• glug of olive oil
• roughly 1 tsp mixed italian herbs (oregano, basil, etc)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbs brown sugar
  

Method

Again, I will write what I did (as best I remember it), which probably sped things up a bit, but you could just doing everything in one pot and add the tomatoes and tomato paste after frying everything up, if you want to save on some dishes.

1. Empty the can of tomatoes into a medium-large pot and heat to simmering
2. Meanwhile, heat a cast iron frying pan on another burner then add olive oil. The next bunch of steps happen in the frying pan (until you combine everything again in step 10).
   
3. Fry garlic till fragrant
4. Add onions and fry a bit
5. Add mushrooms and fry some more, stirring periodically
6. Season generously with salt and pepper
   
7. Once you've cooked off some steam/liquid, add in the worcestershire sauce and stir well
   
8.  Add balsamic vinegar and fry briefly, stirring constantly
9. Add red wine and cook until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly
10. Add herbs, stir, then empty the contents of the frying pan into the simmering tomatoes
11. Stir in tomato paste and brown sugar (add extra tomato paste if it seems too runny and you don't have time to cook it down)
    
12. Continue to simmer the sauce while you prepare your pasta and the rest of your meal
13. Either leave it chunky or give it a whiz with an immersion blender

Enjoy!

 

The best way to prepare tofu

Simple, sure-fire, quick way to prepare tofu for snacking or using in any other recipe. If you do this, it will taste way better than if you just use the tofu straight from the fridge.
Recipe comes from Cookie and Kate - check out her site for way more info and fantastic recipe ideas:
https://cookieandkate.com/how-to-make-crispy-baked-tofu/#tasty-recipes-24123

Ingredients

• 1 block extra-firm tofu
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs soya sauce
• 1 tbs corn starch

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Rinse the tofu
3. Squish as much water out of the tofu as you can: 

• slice it into 3(ish) big slabs
• lay them out on a plate or board with a clean tea towel folded underneath
• cover with another folded tea towel 
• put another plat or board on top with something heavy on that (eg. a big stack of plates or a cast iron pan)
• leave as long as you can, within reason (up to 30 min or so, but even just 5-10 helps

4.  Cut the slabs of tofu into bite-sized chunks or fingers of your preferred dimensions
5. Put tofu in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil
6. Add the soya sauce and toss to coat again
7. Add the cornstarch and toss once more. Don't worry if the coverage isn't perfect.
8. Spread out in one layer over a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
9. Bake 25-30 minutes, flipping tofu about halfway through

Tofu should be crispy and tasty! Dip it in peanut sauce as a tasty snack or add to a stir fry or thai curry or whatever else you feel like making with tofu.

Awesome no-cook peanut sauce

It's from Cookie and Kate. https://cookieandkate.com/peanut-dipping-sauce/
This version is simplified a little teeny bit, so check out the original for more ideas.
It's so good. The kids love it on everything!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups peanut butter
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar (I have replaced with apple cider but it was a bit strong - I'd reduce the quantity)
• 1/3 cup soya sauce
• 3 tbs honey
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or use 1.5 tsp fresh)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2-4 tbs water

Method

1. Mix everything together except the water
2. Add water as needed to get to the desired consistency. It will be a bit runny.

That's it!

Dip stuff in or add to a bland stir fry.

Make rice bowls and pour over top.

Do as you wish. Maybe don't put it on ice cream though..

Mighty Tasty Basic Pizza

Crust

(based on https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/46595/amazing-whole-wheat-pizza-crust/)

Ingredients

• 1 tsp sugar
• 1.5 cups wrist-temperature water
• 1 tbs active dry yeast
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Rinse a large bowl with warm water (I used our stand mixer). Add the measured warm water and stir in sugar to dissolve. 
2. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface to avoid big clumps and let stand until the yeast gets foamy.
3. Meanwhile, combine whole wheat flour and salt in a separate bowl with 1 cup of the all-purpose flour.
4. Stir water/yeast mixture then add the olive oil.
5. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed mixer setting with the dough hook (or by hand). Mix (or knead) and slowly add the extra half cup of all purpose flour as needed to prevent sticking. Dough is ready when it is smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes on low speed mixer setting). You may need a little extra all purpose flour.
6. Lift the ball of dough and pour a little olive oil underneath it then roll the ball of dough around in the oil to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. (This would be a good time to prep sauce and toppings)
7. When you are ready to make the pizza, preheat oven to 425F.
8. Divide the dough as desired (1 managed 4 very thin crust round pizzas, but you could divide it less for a thicker crust) and shape into rounds. I just put some oil on the pizza pan and used my fingers as a kind of rolling pin to stretch the dough out over it, but I could have just pulled out the rolling pin. Make sure to put some oil or cornmeal or something on your pizza pan to prevent sticking.
9. PREBAKE THE CRUST! Before you add toppings, put the crust into the oven on its own and bake for 5 minutes.. this helps to ensure the crust bakes evenly and doesn't get too soggy with toppings!
10. Pull the crust out of the oven and spread pizza sauce over top then add desired toppings. Bake another 10 minutes (or more if your crust is thicker), until the cheese is browned.

Tomato Pizza Sauce

This recipe came with our Cuisinart Food Processor and it is super tasty, especially if made with fresh oregano! We had a bit of a pepper and salt incident and had to triple the batch so we froze several small containers full... it might be a good idea to make a lot of this in the summer with nice fresh ingredients and freeze it to have on hand later.

Ingredients

• 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and quartered
• 1 cup passata (crushed tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 3/4 tsp dried oregano or 1.5 tsp fresh oregano (best)
• 3/4 tsp dried basil or 1.5 tsp fresh
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt (they recommend kosher)
• freshly ground black pepper (to taste - not a teaspoon-full!)

Method

If using a food processor, proceed as follows. If not, adjust accordingly.

1. Add the fresh tomatoes to the food processor with the regular blade and pulse until coarsely chopped, about 6 times.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse 4 times to mix.

Topping Suggestions

Given that we are a pork-free household and we love pineapple, we generally stick with pineapple-mushroom-mozzarella as our favourite topping combo. The trick with mushrooms is to fry them up first with some butter, salt, pepper, and a splash of red wine so that they are extra-tasty and contain less moisture. It is great if you also fry up your pineapple to caramelize it a little bit.

Spinach-orange-almond Salad

Another Simple Salad that's mighty tasty! Quantities for the dressing ingredients are entirely made up here and may be off. Basically, it's a little more olive oil than balsamic vinegar and the rest can be adjusted to taste.

Ingredients

Salad

• spinach (1/2 - 1 bunch)
• orange (1 large navel or a few clementines)
• toasted almonds (I would use slivered if I had, but whole ones cut into chunks work too). 

Dressing

• ~ 1-2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• ~ 2-3 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 tsp of sesame oil (a few drops for flavouring)
• 1/4 tsp maple syrup or sugar (just a little sweetening is nice)
• salt
• pepper

Method

1. chop and toast the almonds in a dry frying pan - don't burn! set aside to cool.
2. wash the spinach and cut or tear into desired-size pieces - place in a large bowl
3. peel and divide the orange(s) into skafies and cut into bite-sized pieces (or if you prefer, cut off peels and slice into pieces instead). add to the spinach.
4. mix dressing ingredients together and shake well
5. toss the spinach and orange with the dressing then top with the toasted nuts

My Favourite Super-Simple Salad

I often like to put lots of things in salads, but whenever I'm low on supplies or just decide to make this, I love it!

PRO TIP: If you make it with just arugula, this is awesome served on top of a hot pizza

Ingredients:

• lettuce (green or red leaf is fine - it's great with some arugula added in too)
• parmesan or asiago cheese, grated
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and spin the lettuce
2. Sprinkle with parmesan
3. Mix equal parts olive oil and lemon juice in a small jar or mug with a little salt and pepper to make a dressing
4. Toss

Basic Belgian Waffles

Based on https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/the-best-belgian-waffles-63071

This is my go to waffle recipe these days...

Ingredients

• 1 c white/all purpose flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp (or 1 tbs and 1 tsp) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 2 c milk (or a mixture of milk and yogourt or yogourt whey)
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Method

1. Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl (if you're on the ball, do this part the night before!)
2. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks (in their own bowl)
3. Mix the wet ingredients (egg yolks, oil, milk, vanilla) in a small bowl
4. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix well.
5. Fold in egg whites.
6. Cook in waffle iron to desired crispiness - note that this recipe cooks a little faster than some denser ones, so don't let them burn!

Variations

A new variant: hazelnut waffles!

Add 1 cup ground hazelnuts and multiply the wet ingredients by 1.5. Yum yum!

Bean and Rice Bowls - Pot in Pot, Instant Pot style

If you don't have an instant pot, you could easily adapt this to make it on a normal stove top, especially if you just use canned beans. But it's a pretty fun way to use the instant pot. Before I came across this recipe, I didn't know what pot-in-pot cooking was, but this is a prime example!

Based on https://www.cookwithmanali.com/instant-pot-beans-brown-rice/#wprm-recipe-container-36574

Ingredients

Beans

• 1 cup dry beans - either soak them in warm water for a couple of hours (or cold water overnight), or if you're not so organized then you can do a quick soak in the instant pot (there are recipes for this online)
•  1 tbs olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 14.5oz can of tomatoes (or skip the tomatoes and just a little extra water instead - about 1/2 cup should do)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika (smoked if you have it)
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder, divided (optional)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1-1.5 cups water, depending on how dry you like them
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-3 tbs chopped cilantro
• lime/lemon juice

Rice

• 2 c brown rice in a heat-proof container that fits inside your instant pot such as a medium-large bowl or a small lidded casserole dish - make sure the container is big enough to fit the rice and water comfortably
• 2.5 c water

Toppings 

• sliced avocado
• grated cheddar cheese
• diced tomatoes
• chopped cilantro
• whatever else you like: sauteed mushrooms, grilled chicken, steak strips....?

Method

1. Press Sauté button on instant pot. When it says "hot", add oil then onion and garlic.
2. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes - until onions are softened
3. Stir in the can of tomatoes (if using) and the spices (oregano, cumin, paprika, 1/4 tsp of the chipotle powder, cayenne)
4. Cook for 3-4 minutes. 
5. Add the soaked beans, water, and salt and mix well.
6. This is where the pot-in-pot comes in: Place a trivet inside the instant pot (yup, just smush it right into the beany mixture so it sticks out the top), then place the container of rice on top of the trivet
7. Add the water to the rice container. Cover this inner container with tinfoil or a lid.
8. Put the lid on the instant pot
9. Press manual or pressure cook button. Cook on high pressure for 22 minutes, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
10. Open the pot carefully. Fluff the rice with a fork and carefully remove the rice container.
11. Remove the trivet then press the sauté button. Mash some of the beans (optional). Add cilantro and simmer 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp of chipotle powder (if using). 
12. Add a squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice. Adjust seasonings to taste.
13. Serve bowls of rice and beans and let diners add toppings of their choice at the table.

This is the best way to cook rice because the clean up is so easy!

Butter, a can of tomatoes, and half an onion = tomato soup

(And some water and salt)

That's all you need.

Well, and let's be honest... it's a lot easier if you also have an immersion blender. Which you probably should.

And to be fair, I also went ahead and fancied it up since I happened to have a couple sprigs of fresh basil and some white pepper. But those are really unnecessary. The bottom line is this is a super simple and delicious soup.

The basic recipe comes from Inspired Taste and they will tell you the full background story, so check it out: https://www.inspiredtaste.net/27956/easy-tomato-soup-recipe/

I will post my ever-so-slightly-more-complicated variant here:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 tbs) butter
• 1 800mL (28 oz) can of tomatoes - I'd go with low sodium and either whole or diced but it doesn't really matter
• 1/2 an onion, peeled and chopped into large chunks
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water (I added about 1/2 tsp of "better than bullion" to mine)
• entirely optional: 1/8 tsp white pepper
• entirely optional: a small handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

 

 Method

1. Decide if you're making a single or double batch (you might want more)
2. Get out a suitably-sized pot and put it on medium-high heat
3. Melt the butter in the pot
4. Add the onion. You can cook it for a couple of minutes if you want or just continue immediately to the next step.
5. Add the can of tomatoes with all juice/pulp. 
6. Add the water or broth (don't forget to swish some of it around in the tomato juice can to get out all the yummy tomatoeyness)
7. Add the salt
8. Give it all a stir and bring to a boil - reduce heat to a simmer and set a timer for 40 minutes.
9. Give it a stir once in a while as you wait for the timer.
10. Toss in the extra seasonings if you're using them
11. Blend.
12. Serve, ideally with glorious homemade toasted sourdough bread that your awesome housemate baked.

Simple Tasty Stir Fry

Ingredients

• broccoli florets
• mushrooms, quartered or sliced
• other sliced veggies of your liking or that you happen to have (carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, onion, etc)
• splash of soy sauce (say 1-2 tbs or so)
• splash of sesame oil (say 1/2 tbs or so)
• splash of water (about 1/4 cup?)
•  oil (I just use olive oil)

Method

1. Heat oil in pan on high
2. Add the veggies and stir for a few minutes until they are coated with oil and starting to look a bit cooked/browned
3. Add the water and cover with a lid to steam the veggies. Leave to cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Check for desired level of done-ness - go with a little underdone instead of a little overdone!
5. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil, stir it all up, and remove from the heat

If you want to get all fancy, here are a few ideas to jazz it up...

• toast some slivered almonds and/or sesame seeds before you put the oil in the pan then set aside to sprinkle on top at the end
• add some minced garlic and/or ginger to the pan with the oil before anything else
• fry some meat (either plain or dipped in beaten egg then a flour/salt/pepper mixture) before cooking the veggies - I'd cook the meat first, remove it from the pan to do the veggies, then add it in at the end with the sauces
• grind some pepper on at the end?

Sweet Farro Sidedish

Just made a trip to Oregon and loaded up on some 10-Minute Farro at Trader Joe's (love that stuff! Shoulda bought more)

Tonight I was making a flat-roasted chicken topped with herbs and garlic and lemon and I needed something to go alongside it. No potatoes in the house and just had rice at lunchtime so thankfully my thoughts turned to farro.

Mushrooms and onions for the farro

Some parsley for a little touch of freshness

10-min farro

This is what I mean by flat-roasted chicken. The recipe comes from a cookbook Matt gave me called "Heart of the Artichoke".

I decided to just wing it and throw some stuff in with the farro, and here's what I came up with. It was super yum. Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product but trust me when I say it was good.

You can thank Arby for the addition of the raisins.. they are his favourite treat these days (probably since they're the sweetest, treatiest thing we ever feed him) so he is constantly asking for them.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• ~1 tbs butter
• 1 onion (I happened to have a "sweet onion" - don't know if that made any difference)
• some mushrooms (I had 3 big ones - would have added some more if I had them)
• about a handful of golden raisins
• fresh parsley
• 1 package of Trader Joe's 10 minute farro
• veggie bullion/broth for cooking the farro in (optional)
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Dice onions and slice onions thinly
2.  Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat
3. Add onions to start them cooking slowly
4. Meanwhile, bring a largish quantity of water/broth to a boil in a medium-large pot for the farro
5. When onions are translucent, slide them over and add the mushrooms to one side of the frying pan
6. Back in the other pot, add the farro once the water or broth comes to a boil. Cook according to package directions (10-12 minutes) then drain off the liquid (save for soup another time if you like)
7. Give the onions and mushrooms plenty of time to cook slowly and get all caramelized and delicious 
8. While all this is going on, chop up the parsley
9. Add the raisins to the onions and mushrooms once things are starting to get browned and yummy looking. Stir and cook a few more minutes.
10. Mix the cooked and drained farro in with the onion/mushroom/raisin mixture. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Stir and continue cooking for a minute or two.
11. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley

Make it a Meal

This was a terrific side dish to our lemony-roasted chicken. The sweetness of the onions and raisins are nicely balanced by the sour lemon.

If you wanted something simpler or vegetarian, I bet this would be really tasty topped with a simple salad of greens (ideally some arugula), toasted almonds, a simple lemon-vinaigrette, and possibly some parmesan cheese.

Good Morning Blueberry Muffins

I have been making a few small adjustments to my standard muffin recipe lately and this morning's were super tasty especially when hot out of the oven!

If you want fresh hot muffins with minimal morning effort, do like I did and mix your dry ingredients the night before so they are ready and waiting for you.

Ingredients

Dry

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 7/8 cup white flour (AKA a little less than a cup)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar (or more or less, to your taste) 
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of cinnamon
• a good handful of quick-cooking oats

Wet 

• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Other

• A goodly quantity of fruit - blueberries if you want you the muffins to be blueberry, but you could also use diced apples or other berries or even raisins if you were really stuck

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Grease/prepare your muffin tins
3. Mix dry ingredients in a largish bowl
4. Prepare the fruit (in the case of frozen blueberries there's not much to this!)
5. Prepare and mix wet ingredients in a separate vessel (eg. pyrex measuring cup)
6. Particularly if you're using blueberries, toss the fruit in the dry ingredients to coat so they don't turn the batter purple
7. Add wet ingredients to dry and fold in carefully, mixing just enough that the flour is incorporated but don't over stir!
8. Bake about 15-17 minutes
9. Enjoy!

Super Simple Sauteed Zucchini

I had a bunch of cut up zucchini sitting in the fridge that needed eating.  I decided to just keep it simple and fry it up as a side dish for our picnic lunch.  Often I find myself thinking I need to make something complicated for it to be good, but I have been trying to remind myself lately that simple is good too, and often more baby-friendly.

Ready to picnic!

Ingredients

• some quantity of zucchini, cut up into whatever size and shape you like (mine were sliced and halved/quartered)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• olive oil
• splash of soya sauce
• pepper

Method

1. Heat oil in pan
2. Add garlic, fry till fragrant
3. Add zucchini - sauté just until outsides don't look raw
4. Add the splash of soya sauce (not too much) and toss to coat zucchini
5. Fry until the steam starts to die down a little and the zucchini is still firm 
6. Grind some fresh pepper over it and remove from heat

It feels so decadent and delightful to add a little cooked side dish like this to sandwiches or leftovers or whatever easy lunch you're making. And it only takes a few minutes, especially if your zucchini happens to be cut up ahead of time!

Veggie Burger Hash and Cabbage Slaw

I have happened upon an accidental creation which turned out to be quite delicious... here's what happened.

1. The night before we were talking about how yummy lettuce wraps are.
2. We had just returned from vacation and had very little food in the fridge.
3. I had a supply of frozen beet and carrot veggie burgers in the freezer.
4. I got distracted while heating the veggie burgers in a cast iron frying pan, and the next thing I knew they were rather blackened on the one side.
5. In my hurry to flip the burgers, one of them fell to pieces and became a mess of veggie burger bits.
6. We had half a cabbage and some cilantro in the fridge, and ilan LOVES cabbage.
... suddenly, it all came together and inspiration struck!

I shaved up the cabbage, tossed it with cilantro and a light dressing of rice vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.  I put this mixture in the bottom of a couple of bowls to make little nests then topped it with the fallen apart, extra-crispy veggie burger hash.  So easy to make (provided you have some of the burgers on hand) and super delish!

 

Here's a recipe:

Ingredients 

(serves 2 - scale as you'd like):

2, 3, or 4 Baked Beet-and-Carrot Burgers, depending on their size and how hungry you are (it's fine if they're frozen at this point)
1/4 head of cabbage
as much cilantro as you'd like (about a half bunch?)
2-3 tbs olive oil
2-3 tbs rice vinegar (or other light vinegar such as apple cider)
salt and pepper to taste
sugar to taste  (about 1/2 tsp)

Directions

1. Put a little oil in a frying pan and heat veggies burgers over medium heat with a lid on.  Once they are browned or lightly blackened on the one side, you will flip them over, fry them a bit more, and break them up into bits.  Fry enough that some of the bits get a little crispy-toasty.
2. Meanwhile as the burgers are cooking, finely slice the cabbage like you would for coleslaw.  Chop up the cilantro.  Combine the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar into a salad dressing.  Toss cabbage with cilantro and dressing in a large bowl.
3. Arrange the cabbage mixture in serving bowls into a nest shape.  Divide the veggie burger scramble into the nests and serve warm.

Baked Beet-and-Carrot Burgers

This recipe came to me via family in Portland.. I'm not sure exactly what the origial source is.  They are some of the best veggie burgers I've had though! Last time we made them, we did a huge batch (grating all those beets and carrots by hand was a major pain, so this time we'll be using our new food processor).  We froze a whole bunch of them and could always have a quick and easy meal by popping a couple of them into a frying pan!

Ingredients

butter for greasing baking sheet or some parchment paper
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups peeled, grated beets (about 1-2 med beets)
2 cups grated carrots (about 4 carrots)
1/2 minced onion (about 1/2 onion)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tbs flour
2 tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet (we line with parchment paper, which we then use as separators between the patties when we freeze them)

2. Place a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir them in the dry skillet until lightly browned and fragrant (about 3-5 minutes) - careful not to burn them! Remove from heat and transfer to a dish to cool.

3. Toast the sunflower seeds in the same way you did the sesame seeds.  Add them to the dish containing the cooling sesame seeds.

4. Combine the beets, carrots, and onions in a large bowl, then add all of the other ingredients.  Mix well.  You will probably need to get your hands in there!

5. Form patties, squishing out excess liquid as you do, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.  The recipe says it makes 12.

6. Bake until brown around the edges - about 20 mins.  You probably don't need to, but you could flip them partway through cooking.

Enjoy on buns with you favourite toppings or just on their own with some salad or steamed veggies on the side.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I'm going to make these again today since the ones I made the other day vanished so quickly!
Based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-oatmeal-muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Combine the egg, yogurt and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
2. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

 

Sauteed Green Beans

I had a busy weekend of cooking... I'd like to share here a couple of the delicious things that I made :)

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252123/sauteed-green-beans-cherry-tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (I just grabbed a few from the garden - not nearly this many but it was still yummy!)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender. Push the beans to the side; add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.