Is it May already?

Winter was so long and drawn out this year that it took a couple weeks of warm weather for me to believe that spring has actually arrived. It has been quite some time since my last post, and a lot has happened in that time. The last few weeks of school were quite busy with assignments alongside my work schedule, which was followed by two weeks of exams. In between classes ending and exams, Easter celebrations with Family took place which were much needed. Easter of 2013 will always be special to me, as it was just days after my boyfriend of 6 years asked me to be his wife. The proposal came as quite a surprise and I couldn't be happier. The euphoria was my fuel for studying during exams. Along with this amazing carrot soup from smitten kitchen.

During exams the kitchen saw lots of activity, but I stuck to mostly tried and true recipes. Once exams were over however, I was trying new recipes left right and centre. It has been great! While my kitchen has had lots of activity, I just did not have the motivation to write about it. I hope to get back into the blogging groove soon, but until then I thought I'd share some snippits from my instagram feed to highlight what has been happening in the kitchen over the last couple months.

Cold busting smoothies:

Maple glazed tempeh from Megan Telpner:

Carrot soup with roasted chickpeas from smitten kitchen. I also managed to pack in some roasted peppers and beets into this nutritional powerhouse of a soup.

 

A roasted potato nacho plate inspired by Oh She Glows:

Gluten-free banana pancakes by The Wannabe Chef. My new go-to grain free pancake recipe. So delicious! 

The cucumbers I bought to pickle went bad so I used carrots instead. I hope to post this recipe after some tweaks because it turns out pickled carrots are awesome!

Nepalese Dal (Dal Bhat) from Refresh cookbook:

I hope to be back soon with a delicious recipe :)

Black Bean Soup

All winter long, dinners consisted of hearty soups and stews packed with root veggies, dark greens, and lots of legumes. As March came around, fresh salads began to frequent my lunches, but dinners have still been warm comfort food. This probably also has something to do with the fact that they are easy to make, have mostly hands off cooking time, and make great leftovers or freezer meals. Today I spent the day making two different soups/stews and a quinoa salad. One of those soups was this Black Bean Soup. It was the first time I had made it but it won't be the last. I made some adjustments to the original recipe based on what I had on hand, and I quite liked it. The roasted red peppers are a very nice touch. This soup is quick to put together and just requires a little bit of planning, to soak the beans overnight.

Black Bean Soup adapted from Whole Foods

220 grams dried black beans
2 small onions, chopped
1 cup roasted red peppers
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/3 cup water
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

for serving:
nutritional yeast
avocado

1. Soak black beans in water overnight at room temperature. If they need to be left for more than 12 hours, I would usually refrigerate them.
2. In a large saucepan, add onion, roasted red peppers, garlic and 1/3 cup water. Bring to a simmer and heat until onions are soft and fragrant.
3. Add spices and simmer for 1-3 minutes.
4. Add drained and rinsed black beans and 5 cups water.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 1.5 hours, or until the beans are cooked.
6. Allow to cool enough so that 2 cups can be portioned into a blender to be pureed. Add pureed soup back into the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve hot with desired toppings. I stirred in some nutritional yeast and avocado.

Blueberry Buckwheat Porridge

Buckwheat porridge sounds so homely and plain. Yet to me, it sounds warm, comforting, and delicious. Buckwheat porridge isn't something I would have been itching to try until I was forced to find a replacement for my beloved morning oats. I recently have had to eliminate some foods from my diet in order to determine potential food sensitivities. It has been more challenging than I thought it would be, and while I thought breakfast would be my biggest challenge, this buckwheat porridge has replaced my regular oatmeal without any hesitation. The flavour is much more earthy than oats, and has a texture that is reminiscent of cream of wheat, but heartier.

For this recipe, I use raw buckwheat groats that I grind myself in my food processor. I don't make it super fine and leave some half crushed groats. This gives a nice texture to the porridge. As a time saver, I grind a batch of buckwheat when I have some extra time and store it in the freezer.

Blueberry Buckwheat Porridge slightly adapted from Meghan Telpner
Serves 1

1/3 cup full fat coconut milk (I use the canned variety, which is very thick. If you are using a thinner milk, use more, substituting out some of the water)
1 cup water
1/4 cup ground raw buckwheat groats
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp ground flax
1 heaping tbsp almond butter

1. In a small sauce pan warm the coconut milk and water until dissolved. Do not let it get too hot at this point.
2. Whisk in the buckwheat groats, increase the heat to medium, and continue to whisk. Once the mixture is simmering, add blueberries, turn down to low and heat for 5-8 minute, stirring occasionally.
3. Transfer into a bowl, stir in ground flax, and top with almond butter.

This recipe provides a solid base from which you can add almost anything your heart desires. You could add fresh berries instead of frozen, preferably post-cooking. You could add maple syrup, shredded coconut, or dried fruit. The possibilities are endless. Since the stove top is required, this isn't the fastest breakfast out there but it is relatively quick. I have made this in the microwave to save time, but it doesn't achieve the same smooth consistency, since it is difficult to stir frequently using the microwave.

So the next time you have the 10 minutes in the morning to make a hot breakfast, I suggest you give this one a try.

Rosemary Potato Quinoa Salad

I have another potato recipe for you! This one incorporates one of my favourite flavour combinations, potato and rosemary. This salad is warm, comforting, and of course packed with healthy ingredients. With some extra-cold weather on it's way, having something warm and comforting to eat is always welcome.

Rosemary Potato Quinoa Salad
Serves 6

6 small-medium yellow fleshed potatoes (~800 g), diced small
3 tbsp olive oil
rosemary, to taste
salt
pepper
1 cup dry quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, shredded
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Toss diced potatoes in olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper to taste in a large roasting pan.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, and then stir. Increase heat to 400 degrees F and bake for another 15-20 minutes until sizzling.
4. While the potatoes are in the oven, cook the quinoa according to package directions. (Bring to a boil in 1.5 cups water, stir, cover, and reduce to low for 15 minutes)
5. In a large pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to heat until mushrooms are cooked.
6. In a large bowl combine quinoa with onion mixture and stir to coat. Add potatoes and fresh parsley and mix well. Serve warm.

The photo doesn't do the salad justice really. While making this salad, which I had a feeling I would be sharing the recipe, I tried to think about the last time I took a picture with my regular camera, or with the DSLR. I couldn't think of it! It has been quite some time and after looking at this picture, I think I need to return to using a real camera. The artificial lighting in my home at night is just not conducive to good iPhone photography.

Anyway, the salad was delicious, and was another winning rosemary and potato combination. I had it alongside some baby arugula with a little bit of balsamic drizzled overtop. I imagine spinach would be nice too if arugula isn't your thing. Be sure to be liberal with the olive oil when roasted the potatoes as this extra oil becomes the "dressing" for the salad, helping to keep it all together. 

Red Wine Vinaigrette Potato Salad

I can't believe it is already mid January! I have only been back at school a week, so the Holidays felt nice and long for me. I had a wonderful time and I hope you all did as well. As per usual, I did lots of cooking and baking. I tried some new recipes, and some have become regulars. I also received some wonderful kitchen related gifts. I received a new crock pot from my Mom, which is nice and large. I have used it twice so far and have LOVED coming home to a nice hot stew after a long day. I also received a some cookbooks to add to my growing collection.

While looking for inspiration for the recipe I am sharing today, I realized how many amazing recipes are within these books, and the many others that I have. I need to start cooking from them more. In the past I liked to cook on a whim, but now that I am cooking for two, I prefer to cook from a recipe that is less likely to fail, and is easy for him to follow if the dish is a hit.

This recipe was inspired by a number of different things. The big bag of potatoes I bought last week that were starting to sprout put me on a mission to use up a bunch of them ASAP. Then, I was given some delicious homemade red wine vinegar from my Grandfather. It has such a distinct taste that I love so much and have had imprinted in my mind since my childhood. With fond memories of a vinaigrette potato salad my Aunt once made, a vinaigrette potato salad was born. Adding the parsley, peas, and green onion adds a different texture, adds flavour, and of course some green nutrition.

Red Wine Vinaigrette Potato Salad
Serves 6-8

8-10 small to medium potatoes (should have weighed this out as actual quantity may be variable)
3/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 1/2 cup cooked peas
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, grated
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste

1. Cut potatoes into quarters and boil until cooked but not too soft. Once cooked, drain, rinse with cold water, and chop into desired bite sized pieces.
2. Combine potatoes, green onion, parsley, and peas in a bowl.
3. Whisk together oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper into a bowl and pour over potato mixture. Stir to combine.

I served the salad at room temperature but is best served cold after marinating for a few hours. This salad could have used a touch more vinegar, and I may add a little bit of white vinegar into the mix next time. Keep in mind, I love vinegar, so this recipe is probably just fine for most people. The green onion and parsley combination have been a big player in my kitchen lately, after using them in a Sweet Potato Quinoa recipe from Quinoa Revolution. I think they will continue to make an appearance.

Ethiopian Food and Holiday Baking List

As I signed into the blog to write this post I noticed my last recipe was a split pea soup. And here I come to talk about another split pea recipe. Hopefully you like split peas! This one is different though; it is Ethiopian! I have wanted to take a stab at making an Ethiopian dish ever since my first taste at Wass Ethiopian in Hamilton. Ethiopian food is very vegetarian friendly, healthy, and flavourful, and if you haven't tried it, you must! I saved this recipe from Vegan Dad over a year ago and finally got around to making it yesterday. I followed the recipe pretty closely, substituting real butter for the margarine and leaving out the berbere because I didn't have any on hand. I found a place to buy berbere in Guelph but I just haven't got around to actually purchasing it. While the recipe turned out quite fine without it, berbere really gives authentic flavour to Ethiopian dishes and I look forward to adding it next time.

I save recipes that I find online into Evernote, and I literally have over a thousand recipes saved (I know...). I made a pact to myself to actually get cooking these recipes last January and since then I have made 87 of them! I can search by ingredient so it makes it easy to pull recipes like this one out that I had completely forgotten about. Sometimes though, when it comes to Holiday and special occasion baking, I can't find a recipe that I want to use! Mostly because I am so indecisive and there are just too many options. I had a bit of a break between exams the other day and I decided to make my Holiday baking list. I did find a couple from my Evernote archives while the others were more recent findings. I narrowed it down to the following recipes:

Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Oh She Glows

As soon as I saw these posted I knew I wanted to make them. This is my kind of cookie.

Granola Nut Clusters from Oh She Glows

Oh She Glows was on a roll when she followed up the cookies with this recipe which makes a great edible gift. It is always good to have edible gifts hanging around for last minute host gifts, so I hope to make these as well.

Pumpkin Brownies from My Green Diet

These brownies look nice and dense and the ingredient list looks nice and healthy. This is also a good treat to have on hand for unexpected company over the Holidays, as they make a healthy snack if you end up having lots of leftovers.

Raw Walnut Cacao Dreamy Bars from Rawmazing

Dreamy bars are right! I have had this recipe saved since August and have been waiting for a good time to make them. The Holidays are definitely the right time. These bars look rich, filled with nutrient dense ingredients that you can feel good about eating. As the recipe describes, a little goes along way with these guys. I only hope the end result lives up to my potentially inflated expectations.

Well there you have it, this is what I will have in tow with me to Holiday parties this year! I am looking forward to my last two exams being over so I can get cracking!

Curried Potato Split Pea Soup

I have been on a major lentil kick lately. Three lentil dishes in one week! They are just so versatile, warm, and comforting. However, I think I need a change. One thing I like about lentils is that they are inexpensive and relatively quick to prepare (no soaking like other legumes). While I was at Bulk Barn, I noticed split peas are 2/3 the cost of lentils, and also do not require soaking. So I decided to give them a try. I have never cooked with them before but figured root vegetables would work well.

Curried Potato Split Pea Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
3 small onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium potatoes, diced to 1 cm cubes
3 medium carrots, shredded
4 celery sticks, chopped
2 tbsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
2 cups green split peas
5 cups water
3 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add garlic and celery and sauté for 3 minutes.
4. Add the potato and carrots and saute for 5-10 minutes. Add curry powder and stir to coat.
5. Add split peas, stir to coat, and then add the water, stock, and bay leaf.
6. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer, place lid on pot to allow steam to escape.
7. Cook until peas are tender and falling apart. At this point you can reduce to desired consistency, or puree the soup and then reduce the liquid. I partially pureed the soup.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Oh the visual appeal of a pureed soup...

This soup turned out rather good. It was my first time having split peas and I enjoyed them! They have a bit more of a "green" flavour than lentils, if that makes any sense. Originally I planned on making this soup with thyme and rosemary, but decided last minute to make it curry flavoured, which I really enjoyed. This won't be the last time I cook with split peas so there is always next time to try out some other flavours.

It is crazy to think that the Holidays are just around the corner! This school term has flown by, exams are in less than two weeks. I haven't thought too much about Holiday recipes but I have a nice three week break over Christmas to do lots of cooking and baking. Hopefully you will hear from me before then. Have a great weekend!