A day of delightful foods.

Oooookkaaaaayyy.  Hold the phone!  I have found, I think what I have to call my all time favourite breakfast/post work-out protein shake.  I have shared, dozens upon dozens of incredible, savoury, protein-packed, iron-filled, healthy shakes, that I have said time and time again, you HAVE to make this one, or, this one is my favourite, but, but, but, I think I found it, and to my surprise it incorporates one of my least favourite fruits - blueberries.

Recently, as I've mentioned about two or three times now on my blog, that my go-to shake, when I don't feel like thinking, or looking up recipes is a really easy Green Strawberry Mango shake (I really should take a picture and post the recipe so when I do talk about it I can link back to it).  However, I now have this incredible Green Blueberry Mango shake, that I think tops my go-to, and that is saying something, because I absolutely loooooooooove that shake.

When I made this one this morning, I'm not sure what made me think of this concoction, or to think that mango and blueberries would even be a good match, but they are a match as peanut butter and jelly are, it is incredibly, without a doubt divine.  This shake was so creamy, sweet, filling, it was just out of this world.  I can't even describe the flavour pairing, it's just something you have to experience, and luckily for me, I will be experiencing it again after tomorrow mornings work out.

Do yourself a favour, and try this out, heck try it out and try to describe to me the flavours that the party in your mouth is celebrating because it is surely delightful.  Mmmm, I cannot wait to enjoy this again tomorrow morning!

Green Blueberry Mango Shake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 3/4 cup frozen mango chunks
• 2 heaping cups of baby spinach - fresh
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup 0% fat blueberry Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 scoop of protein powder

Also, I want to share with you not only todays post work-out smoothie, but what I ate before I headed out to the gym, because it was incredible.  Now, we all know I love pancakes, I don't make them a lot, but they are certainly tied with oatmeal, and, we will throw in crepes to this category as well, since they are basically just thin pancakes.  When I was in university, I hate to admit this, but I ate crepes a loooooooooot.  The cafeteria food drove me bonkers, and crepes were something that made me feel a bit better about myself since they weren't fried or greasy.  My favourite, and only one that I would get was banana and Nutella, oh my word these were amazing.

Now, I have not found many vegan crepe recipes, and the ones that I have come across, truthfully didn't really sound that amazing to me, so I'd never made any.  A few weeks ago, I'd stumbled across a recipe that instantly got my attention.  I saved it, I had planned on making it numerous times and never did.  Last night, as I was going over the recipe, I was planning on deleting the recipe, but then I figured, no way Jose, this caught my attention I need to go through with it, and decided that I would make it for breakfast when I wake up.  Well thank goodness I decided to keep it, because with the killer banana combo I decided to throw in, it was just, blissful.  I mean, the photograph won't do it any justice, since I'm a horrible photographer, but listen to me, today has been incredible for meals and it all started out with this wonderful breakfast.

Magical Peanut Butter Banana Crepes

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• Dash of salt
• 5 tbsp + 1 tsp almond milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients.  Mix well until you have a smooth batter with no lumps.

Meanwhile heat a medium sized frying pan with a light covering of oil.  Once the pan is hot add a large spoonful of batter to the pan and move the pan in circular motions to spread the batter into a large circle.  Cook for approximately two minutes and then carefully flip to cook the reverse side for approximately one minute until both sides are lightly browned.  Repeat.

I then topped it with this magical banana beast.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2-3 tbsp crushed peanut butter Puffins cereal
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 2 tbsp maple peanut butter
• Maple syrup
• 1 tbsp peanut butter chips

Directions:

Crush your cereal and add them to a bowl along with the flaxseed and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix until well combined.

Coat your banana with your peanut butter, and then roll it in the spice combination.

I then cut the banana in slices, topped it on the crepes and made it extra sinful by adding maple syrup and peanut butter chips!

Strawberry Orange Tofu Pecan Salad

Lastly, I want to share a quick salad that I've been throwing together the past few days, and definitely enjoyed again today.  It is so easy to make, and by far one of the best salads I have ever created, and even tried for that matter.  You should definitely give it a shot if you're in a rush, or even in a salad slump, this will get you out, and seeking more and more, trust me!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups of fresh baby spinach
• 3 small strawberries - quartered and then cut in half again
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• 1 batch of orange tofu (recipe to follow)
• 1 tbsp chopped pecans

Orange Tofu

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1 orange
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Drain the tofu and wrap in a paper towel. Squeeze the excess water out of the block of tofu and cut it into triangles or cubes.

Peel your orange and smash it in a medium-small lidded bowl, getting it nice and pulp-y.  Stir in the soy sauce, garlic and 1 tbsp of the oil. 

Place your tofu into the marinade, cover with the lid and shake gently so that every piece is covered with the sauce.  Let it marinate for at least 2 hours.

Once the tofu is done marinating, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.  Add the tofu (but save the marinade!). Cook for 45 minutes or until golden.

Toss your salad components together, and dress with remaining marinade!

How do you spruce up your salads when you're in a rut?

Second Year Blogiversary.

Today was one of those days I truly did not want to wake up.  The night before I didn't have the best of sleep, and I thought due to this my night would of been rocking (since I've actually been sleeping like a rock lately), but I was clearly mistaken.  I finished reading The Hunger Games (amazing read!), then tried getting to sleep, which did not happen until about 4:30 am, sad to say.  I tossed and turned all morning.  At ten o'clock I finally got out of bed because I needed to start my day, and make my breakfast because I had personal training at 12:00 pm.

This morning I truly wasn't feeling it.  This is the first time since I've started my training that I just did not want to go.  I could of called and re-scheduled but over the weekend I was really lazy and didn't do any exercise (not something I'm happy to admit).  I went and to my surprise it wasn't as bad as I thought.  We worked on my arms, and since then it's been a pain in the butt.  I could barely even pick up my bottle afterward.  When I went to shower (which I almost thought of doing at home, because I was moaning like a crazy person from how much my arms burned) picking up the shampoo bottle was a nightmare.  Nonetheless, I shan't complain, feeling a nice burn after a work out is always a wonderful thing, and then you get to refuel!  Secretly, refueling is one of my favourite reasons to work out, haha.  This morning I had a delicious shake made of coconut milk, frozen strawberries, frozen mango, and vanilla protein powder, I didn't have any spinach or anything on hand so it was just a quick and simple yet absolutely delightful treat after my work out.

Today marks my second year of blogging.  I remember writing up my post last year (as I'm sitting in the same chair I was), and the feeling I felt.  I wanted to make something sweet and special for this post, just like the average blogger does when they celebrate their blogs birthday, but this year I thought differently.

This year I'm in a completely different mind set.  At this point last year I was beginning to work through my eating disorder, I was wanting to put on weight (which I thought just meant eating a lot of food, which would usually end up with me turning to tubs of ice cream), I was also just beginning to work out.  This year, I'm at the point where I'm seeing a personal trainer three times a week, being aware consciously and mentally of the amount of protein I need in my body, and continuously getting it in my body, I am trying to put on mass, my being purely lean mass.  With that being said, as grand of an occasion as this is, I didn't want to make any sweets, even healthy raw sweets.  I wanted to celebrate with something that would taste fantastic, has fat, protein and would still satisfy me in a way where I feel like I'm celebrating something.  It may not look all fantastic to the regular viewer, but, it's about me when it comes down to it, and this is what I want in me to celebrate, because this is more than just celebrating my blogs birthday, it's about celebrating me as well, and how far I've come.

About a month and a half ago I had posted how I wasn't going to blog that frequently, but... that has not been the case.  I love blogging.  I love getting comments from fellow readers/bloggers.  I love the support.  I love sharing my recent snacks/meals/desserts with others.  I love being able to write about whatever I want, freely.  I love being able to share stories and take pictures and improve my skills in the artistic world via photographs and literature.  I realize that blogging is more than just writing for me, it's a great stress relief, and it helps me feel social when I sometimes don't want to leave the house.  It also helps me keep my diet in check, I need to remember to eat healthy, balanced, and moderate meals.

The meal I chose to make is one that I've been pushing farther and farther away for about three weeks now.  I planned on making it three weeks ago, but then always just make kale chips with the kale in the fridge.  This afternoon when I came home and had my shake I wasn't sure truthfully what I was going to make, since the fridge is a little empty (heading out to the grocery store in just a few minutes to stock up), that and the fact I had no motivation to cook.  However, I looked at the beautiful organic kale I had in the fridge, and I figured today is the day to make this meal that I've been post-poning.

I don't know why I waited so long to make this, but it was fantastiiiiic.  The smell once was the sauce was simmering was incredible, and truthfully anything with kale in it is usually a win in my books, especially if peanut butter is included.  Okay in all honesty, the reason why I'd been pushing this recipe back is because of one sole ingredient - tahini, I just really hate that stuff.  I buy it, and I cook with it, but it just grosses me out to no end, I'm not sure why considering I loooooove sesame seeds, but the flavour and consistency of tahini ew.  I know I could of just opted not to put it in, but tahini does give a fantastic creamy consistency.  To my delight, the other flavours melded wonderfully with the tahini and the salad was fantastic.  It took very little time to make, it was all done in one pot and took less than ten minutes to throw together.  It is healthy, has a lot of healthy fats and protein (which I also decided to bake up some crispy tofu to also add some more protein after my work out) and it was wonderful.  I made enough to have left for a few days, and cannot wait to dig in.

Yes, this may not be a dessert, nor might it be sweet, and it certainly isn't your typical blogiversary post, but it satisfied what I was craving.  Plus, there is always another day to broadcast sweets, I also figured since the last few posts of mine have either been bowls of oats or smoothies that I would show some "meal" food ;).

Spicy Peanut Ginger Kale Salad

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:


Salad - 

• 2 large bunches of kale (or 3 small)
• 1 cup red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup peanuts - fold in
• 1 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped - (unfortunately did not have for today's salad but will be adding some after I go to the store!)

Spicy Ginger Peanut Sauce - 

• 2 tbsp creamy salted peanut butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled/chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 tsp tamari
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar (yuzu flavored or add 1 tsp lemon juice)
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• 5 dashes cayenne
• Fine black pepper to taste

Tofu - 

• 1 package of extra-firm tofu
• Salt and pepper - to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425.  Drain and pat try your tofu.  Cut your tofu into triangles, season with salt and pepper.  Place on a non-stick mat or parchment paper.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until crispy.


Place a large soup pot over med-high heat on your stove top. Add all the sauce ingredients and stir briskly until they melt and blend together. Reduce heat to medium and simmer/stir for about two minutes. Turn heat to low.

Pull the leaves in bits from the thick stalks of your kale. Wash if needed. Add the kale leaves (toss thick stems) - add kale to the pot until filled to the brim. Fold the kale into the hot sauce. Fold well. The hot sauce will wilt the kale.

Turn off heat and add the remaining amount of kale. Also add in the pickled ginger, peanuts and red onion. Fold the kale salad well for about a minute - until all the kale has wilted and the leaves and onion mixed with the sauce.

Serve warm or place in fridge - covered - to chill and serve cold. Will keep well for up to a few days.

How do you spice up your kale salads?

(Need kale ideas other than chips)

Not your traditional miso soup.

Ever since I started eating sushi, about six years ago, one of my favourite soups is now miso soup.  I love the fact that it's light, but still incredibly satisfying, especially before gorging on all-you-can-eat sushi.  Lately I've been craving sushi like there is no tomorrow, however, every time I go it's not as satisfying as it used to be; this does have something to do with the fact that I only eat vegetable sushi now.  The past few times I've gone out for sushi as well I've passed on miso soup and gone for the salads, why?  I'm not quite sure.  This afternoon however, after doing my work out,  I wanted to actually cook something.

As you all have probably noticed, seeing as it's been about a month now since I've posted on here, I've gone a little awol.  When I got back from Korea I was getting into the habit of writing up my entries as I was making the food, however, somewhere along the way that stopped.  Not only was I not writing up my posts, but the foods in which I was making were stopping, no, I did not stop eating, but I just haven't been very creative as well as just haven't been feeling very inspired when it comes to the kitchen lately.  I've been dealing with some personal things, and to say the least I just haven't been motivated in certain aspects of my life due to it.

With all that being said, even the meals I plan for the week came to a halt.  My breakfasts' haven't even been the greatest, sure they've been tasty, I love me a giant bowl of Greek yoghurt with either cereal mixed in or a giant bowl of fruit to go alongside with my yoghurt, but I haven't been doing my usual smoothies or oats.  I've been lazy, and well feeling down to be quite honest, and spending some time in the kitchen when it's not 100% necessary has not been something that's been on my mind.   

Unfortunately I was just kick starting my usual work out habits too, and I've been sort of slacking here and there.  Usually I don't take rest days, but I've been taking between 1-2 a week, that's not a bad thing at all, since your body needs rest, it's just not something I typically do, but lately it has been something I do more regularly.

Anyhow, I apologize about my absence but sometimes you just need a break from certain things.  Usually I turn to my blog/recipes for inspiration in my daily life, but I tend to notice that whenever I get anxious I just don't feel motivated in the kitchen and I stick to very simple, and quick meals.  With all that being said, I'm going to make an effort to write up posts, and get back into the kitchen and my regular routines, as I very much miss sharing the delicious meals with my readers.

  

Now to finish what I was saying before I went into a tangent.  After my work out I didn't want anything heavy, and I didn't want anything that would take a long time to make, so I decided on soup, miso soup to be exact.  Before I went on my boredom streak in the kitchen I of course mapped out my meals for the week, one of the meals being miso soup.  This soup has been on my mind for quite some time and I figured what better time to make it then today, especially when I was feeling motivated to actually cook.

This soup isn't your regular Japanese miso soup that you would get when you go out for sushi.  In fact, it's very different, the only thing I think it shares in common to be completely honest is the miso paste haha.  I would call this a kitchen-sink miso soup.  Honestly though, this may be one of the best miso soups I've ever had, but it's because it was an actual meal and not just a little appetizer so it's a little hard to compare the two.

This was a cinch to throw together, and it used up a lot of the vegetables we had laying around in the fridge.  It was perfect, especially because I thought I was going to have to make a side dish but in throwing all the vegetables I had laying around it was actually a really great portion and surprisingly filling.  I would certainly make this again, especially in the winter, yum!

Chinese Five Spice Miso Soup

Recipe inspired from here

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp EVOO
• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp garlic, minsed
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 cup frozen unshelled edamame
• 1 large bunch of kale, chopped
• 1/4 cup broccolini, chopped
• 1 bunch of bok choy
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 4 tbsp white miso paste

Directions:

Heat EVOO over medium high heat, cook onion until translucent, about five minutes; add Chinese five spice, mushrooms, edamame, kale, bok choy, broccolini and garlic and cook an additional five minutes.

Pour vegetable brother and water into your pot, bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the miso paste.

 

Have you ever tried to re-make your favourite restaurant soup?

Mmm mmm good.

Sticky Banana Walnut Oatmeal

Recipe inspired from here

Remember that breakfast I ranted and raved about when I first got home from Korea?  The ever-so-amazziiiinnnngggggg Maple Rosemary Banana Split that I am fully anticipating on making again very, very soon... ahhhh, well, this morning I was craving it again so I decided I would make the base of it, and use it as an oatmeal topper!  Genius or what?  I do believe so. 

Between the two they are both so decadent and grand.  The banana split incorporated rosemary which gave it this fresh-earthy flavour to it, while the one I made this morning incorporated cinnamon so it gave it a fall flavour.  Both fantastic, and definitely my favourite breakfasts' that I've ever made.  I can't wait to try more flavour combinations with this technique. 

If there is one recipe you must try on this blog... okay fine, that was a little severe.  Let's try that again, /clears throat, if there is one recipe I highly suggest you making on this blog, it would be this.  It is so versatile, even just the topping.  How amazing would it be on pancakes, or atop some banana soft serve, oorrr... just in a large bowl eaten with a spoon and sprinkled with more maple syrup?  Oh heavens.

Please, please make this, and tell me just how amazing you think it is!?!?!?

Ingredients:

Oats:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• Dash of salt

Sticky Topping:

• 1/2 banana
• Handful of walnuts, chopped
  
• 1 heaping tsp of cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Heat a small non-stick skilled.

Chop half of your banana in slices (keeping the remaining half for your oats), and chop your walnuts,


Add your maple syrup to your hot skillet, turn temperature down to medium-low.  Toss your bananas and walnuts in with your vanilla and cinnamon.  Allow to saute for about five minutes, but make sure to stir a teensy bit so the nuts don't burn.

Set aside.


Add your oats, milk, water, and salt.  Once it starts to boil, add your remaining banana half.  Mash it all in, mix your oats until reached desired consistency.  Add to your bowl.

Top with your sticky topping, and additional spices (I used a teensy amount of cinnamon, dark chocolate, and sugar).

Chickpea Salad with Mexican Mango Dressing

Recipe inspired from here 

Now for lunch.  Lately, I have been craving salads.  Salads like there are no tomorrow.  And not green leafy salads, not that there is anything wrong with them, I just however prefer salads that the base is chickpeas, black beans, broccoli, sweet potato or other vegetables that aren't lettuce or spinach.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love them, I just... get sick of all the crunching, well doesn't that just sound a little ridiculous?

This salad was incredibly good.  I love when salads have both fruits and vegetables.  We all know how obsessed I am with fruits, so when I can sneak a bit into a salad it makes my tum very happy.  This was a really quick salad to throw together, and it had an interesting array of flavours.  This salad would have been perfect in the summer, but thankfully we can still get mangoes this time of year so we can try salads that we missed out on making in the summer, am I right?

Ingredients:

• 1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 small apple, cubed
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Handful of toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

 Dressing:

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp smoked chili powder

Directions:

To make the dressing, place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.  Season to taste.

Peel and chop all the vegetables for the salad.

Place the drained chickpeas in a large bowl and pour the dressing over top. Add in the sliced vegetables, avocado and cilantro, and stir until the dressing is completely mixed in.

Keep in refrigerator until you are ready to eat. Garnish each serving with toasted pumpkin seeds if desired.

Now tell me, what would you put that sticky topping on?!

Pasta without the dough x2 + a salad

As you all may notice, I've been posting once a day for the past week (or since I returned from Korea).  The reason for this being that I am not working.  I don't know how I feel about not working.  It's been exactly a year now since I've been working full-time in the film industry, and to be quite honest you get burnt out very quickly.  Working 60+ hours a week, it's hard not to get burnt out especially if you have trouble sleeping.  Funny thing is, it always seems I can sleep when I'm not working.  Lately I've been sleeping like a log, except I've still been getting up at about 1:00 am (2:00 pm in Korea), I'm not sure if it's because subconsciously I know I can speak to Jordan at this time, or I just, who knows.


So what have I been doing with my time since I got back?  Sleeping, a lot.  Getting back into my exercise routine, this morning I was able to do thirty minutes on the bike without having to take a single break, hopefully I can get back up to 45-60 minutes by the end of this week.  Organizing my room as well as the kitchen.  Umm... browsing Pinterest a lot, /cough.  And of course cooking and baking.  I notice that when I am off work this seems to be when I post on a regular basis, so I suppose I should take advantage of making hot meals before I go back to work, shouldn't I?


With that being said, I have three meals I would like to share with you today.  The first being a broccoli salad.  Followed by two "pasta" recipes.  Mmm, let's get to it!

Curried Broccoli, Apple and Cashew Salad

Recipe adapted from here

 

 Remember when I was in Korea and I was craving salads since I was a) sick and tired of eating rice every single day and b) the spice in their foods upset my stomach?  Do you remember that Broccoli and Trail Mix Salad I raved about?  Well, as I was perusing some blogs the other day I came across a salad that was very similar to the one I enjoyed so much.  I figured why not give it a try, and so today this was my lunch.  Between the two I couldn't tell you which I enjoyed more.  A lot of the same things are in both salads but the dressings are different so it alters the salads immensely.  I enjoyed both so, so much.

This is a perfect salad to whip up when you're in a rush, as it is uncooked.  All you need to do is chop some apple pieces, broccoli florets, toss in some dried fruits, mix some ingredients together, toss in a bowl and voila!  It is super healthy and super delissshh.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups finely chopped broccoli
• 2 small apples
• 1/4 cup cashews, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp raisins 
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp mango and lemon jam (as I didn't have mango chutney)
• 1 tbsp curry powder

Directions:

Make the dressing by whisking the yogurt, mango and lemon jam (or mango chutney), curry powder in a small bowl.

Prepare the rest of the salad ingredients and place in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over top and stir together until everything is evenly coated.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.

Makes 2-3 servings.

Tofu Noodles with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Tahini


Recipe taken from here

On Saturday I went to my dad's house to spend the day with him.  I went to my dad's place around noon, and I knew I would get hungry sooner or later so I brought some ingredients with me to make a healthy "pasta" dish.  I absolutely loved it.  It was so simple, that all I had to do was toss my noodles in some hot water, boil, and then throw the other ingredients into a bowl.  You then finish off by adding the noodles in with the remaining ingredients and stir.  It takes so little time and resulting dish is fantastic.

Since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia I had noticed certain foods that would cause flare ups, one of them being certain grains (depending on how they were made).  Pasta is something I gave up eating almost two years ago because every time I consumed noodles it always resulted in my being in some sort of pain.  While I was in Montreal this summer I however stumbled upon tofu noodles!  I had never seen these before and had to pick up a package.  Oh my goodness, they are so amazing!  They taste almost identical to noodles, they don't leave you feeling full, but not the "I ate too much full".  They take two minutes to cook.  You can use them exactly as you would regular noodles and they are incredibly cheap, with a ton of protein.  Since finding these noodles, I've had them a few times, and have made some very interesting dishes with them.  I don't crave noodles anymore, but whenever I do, I always go for these instead of trying other noodles (not knowing how they'll sit with me), and they're perfect.  If you see these at your grocer and haven't tried them I highly suggest giving them a try!

This salad was perfectly light yet filling, and it was so incredibly refreshing.  Cannot wait to make it again.


Ingredients:

• 1 package tofu noodles (or 6 oz of noodles)
• A good handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1-2 small cucumbers
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• Sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:


Start a pot of water to boil your noodles.  Boil according to the package instructions, about 2-3 minutes.


Meanwhile, chop the two cucumbers into bite-sized chunks. Drain and rinse your chickpeas.


In a large bowl, place your cherry tomatoes; mash them with a potato masher/fork until they are all smashed (leave the juice in the bowl to combine with the pasta).


When the pasta is finished, drain it and rinse with cool water. Add the pasta to the large bowl with the smashed cherry tomatoes, then add the cucumbers and chickpeas. Toss with 2 tbsp tahini, 4 bsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp sea salt, and fresh ground pepper. Taste and add more salt or tahini if desired.  Serve topped with fresh ground pepper.

Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Recipe adapted from here

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash?  I tried it about two years ago, and have only had it a small handful of times, but every time (other than the first time) I have absolutely devoured it; this time included.  What I love about it, is that duh as it's name suggests, is that it so closely resembles spaghetti.  I have made it with many sauces, spices, and add ins.

While being in Montreal some flavour pairings that I very much became, well to say the least, addicted to were Southwestern flavours; black beans, corn, cilantro, lime, and jalapeno, etc... when I found a recipe for spaghetti squash that included these flavours it was bound to be made, devoured and enjoyed.  I made this dish yesterday for my dad, his girlfriend and I.  My dad's girlfriend and I devoured this, while my dad picked at the toppings.  He very much enjoyed the add-in's, but the actual squash itself he wasn't fond of.  My pops thought that there needed to be an extra sauce or such on the squash.  Unfortunately he wasn't won over by this gorgeous vegetable, and left the squash there (however this left more for me).  I definitely ate a lot, and kept munching at his.

The aroma while this was cooking because of the chili powder, oregano and cumin was like nothing I'd ever smelt.  It was so aromatic and beautiful, not cookie dough beautiful but it's own category of beautiful.  Once I started smelling those spices I knew that I was in for a treat.  And yes, I surely was.

If you are a fan of spaghetti squash as well as those Southwestern flavours, this is surely a dish that'll please.

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 can black beans - drained and rinsed 
• 1 cup canned corn
• 4 green onion stalks, chopped
• 3 large handfuls of spinach
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly torn cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 lime

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Roast squash on a baking sheet for 50 minutes. Let cool another 30 minutes, then cut in half. Spoon out the seeds, then using a fork, scrape up the flesh, making the “spaghetti.”

Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper.  Saute 2 minutes.  Add cumin, oregano, chili powder and a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Saute another minute.  Add the beans, corn, spinach, green onion and cilantro. Stir to combine. Squeeze in the lime juice and give one last stir.

Add in the “spaghetti” to the bean mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season accordingly.  Stuff each squash half with the mixture (optional: top with grated cheese).

Garnish with a little bit of cilantro and some more lime juice.

 

Have you tried any alternative "pasta's"?

If so, which and how did you enjoy them?

Oh fall, how I love thee.

Good day my friends,

If you are just tuning into my blog here is something to know: I am on a late start to pumpkin season.  I spent a month in Korea (just getting back Tuesday evening) and was not in reach of pumpkin.  With that being said, I have a lot of catching up to do.  Here is another thing, pumpkin and the spices that are associated with this beautiful gourd are off the charts my favourite spice combination.  I eat pumpkin all year long, but definitely eat massive amounts when fall arrives because the cans/pumpkins themselves are so much cheaper!

This morning (and well, the next few weeks) you will be seeing a lot of different pumpkin breakfasts'; smoothies, oat combinations, muffins, desserts etc.  I love it, and plan on going knee deep in the recipes.

Unfortunately I am still really feeling the jet lag.  I've been sleeping more than I ever do on a regular basis, as I'm sleeping on and off through the night (Canadian time), and sleep for a couple of steady hours in the afternoon (Korean night time).  Since this is happening, I'm finding that not only is my sleep-cycle off, but my body is confused as to when it's supposed to eat.  I woke up at four o'clock this morning because I was hungry (since that would be 5:00 pm in Korean - dinner time).  I woke up and decided not to eat since I'm trying to get everything back on track and would still be eating my lunch at noon and that's a huge gap even with a snack in between.  I decided I would play around in the kitchen for a bit, and prep tonight's dinner instead.  Yes, I know it was 5:00 am when I started this madness but I figured why not.

Yesterday for breakfast I started off the day of course with pumpkin.  It had been over a month since I'd had a breakfast smoothie (okay other than protein powder and milk but that is NOT a smoothie, no, no, no).  So, I was very eager to gulp down this bad boy, especially because it also had pumpkin in it, and until then I'd only made the Pumpkin Pretzel Bites so I'd gotten a taste for my favourite flavours and just wanted more, more, more.  This smoothie was awesome, it had spice, creaminess, pumpkin, sweetness everything I could of asked for in a smoothie.  It was incredibly filling that when noon came around and it was time for me to make lunch I was still feeling a good fullness, but I ate regardless so that my bodies regular schedule was back.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (if this is too much cut down, but I like a lot)
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp raisins
• 1/2 large frozen banana
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• Pumpkin seeds - to garnish

Directions: 

Place all of your ingredients (other than your pumpkin seeds) in your blender.  Incorporate until desired consistency.  Garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Bok Choy and Chickpeas with Soy Sauce and Balsamic Dressing

Recipe slightly adapted from here

Lunch was certainly a tastebud pleaser.  While being in Korea, one thing that was really hard to come across were chickpeas.  I'd found the tiniest of cans at a health store which cost me about ₩ 4000 (so almost four dollars Canadian), and it was probably about 7.5 oz, it was not big at all.  I picked it up though because I was missing my legumes.  Unfortunately I only had my favourite source of protein once in one month (where I usually have chickpeas 3-4 times a week) so it was a big change.  


When I got home, one of the things I stocked up on when I went to the grocery store were cans of chickpeas, and the 26 oz cans were on sale for only .99, so I was very happy!  I knew that one of the first meals I was going to make when getting back into Canada was going to incorporate chickpeas.  I couldn't of picked a better recipe. 


This meal was incredibly, incredibly simple to put together.  It took just a little bit of chopping.  Can opening.  A little steaming.  A little mixing.  A lot of enjoying.  I love  balsamic vinegar.  When it comes to sauces or condiments whichever, I am not a big fan of.  When it comes to dressings on salads, the only reason I use a mix of EVOO + balsamic vinegar is because a couple of years ago when I'd seen a nutritionist I was told I wasn't getting enough fat in my diet and was advised to top my salads with EVOO (since I would eat them dressing free), that's also why I started adding avocado to my salads even though at the time I really disliked the flavour/texture (I absolutely love avocado now, but it took some time), however this was a very easy way to add fats into my diet.  Anywho, the warm chickpeas, steamed bok choy and simple dressing was perfect.

Simple meals that take very few ingredients, little time to throw together, and are actually healthy always reign high in my books.  This will certainly be made again, mmmm. 

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch of bok choy, or other greens
• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas (1  1/2 400g (14oz) tins, rinsed and drained)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp EVOO

Directions:

Prepare your vegetables and chickpeas by rinsing and drying them.  Chop the bok choy into pieces around 3cm (1 inch) long, placing the stems in a separate bowl from the more leafy parts.  Make the dressing by combining the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl.

Heat a heavy chef pan or stockpot over a high heat.  When the pan is hot, add 2-4 tsp of extra-virgin olive oil and quickly throw in the bok choy stems first, then add the chickpeas and bok choi leaves.
Don’t stir.  Put the lid on and cook for 2 minutes without stirring or lifting the lid.

Add half a cup of water to the pan and stir through.  Put the lid back on and cook for another 2 minutes.  Taste some of the bok choy to see if it’s cooked enough and cook for a little longer if needed.  Take off the heat and stir through the dressing.  Serve right away.

What are your favourite simple meals to throw together?

First pumpkin recipe of the season.

Hellooooo Fall!

My favourite season of the year.  

I love the change in the colours of the leaves.  

I love the fresh crisp air early in the morning.

I love bundling up in warmer clothes.

I love the fall harvest.

I love fall spices.

I love that cans of pumpkin are very, very cheap.

Seeing as the last month I have been in Korea, my "to-try" pumpkin recipes folder has went up and up and up.  Fortunately while all of the fall recipes were popping up in cyber space I was still able to pick up some squash and cinnamon, but I didn't have access to a blender (therefore, adios smoothies), I didn't have an oven (therefore, adios cookies, breads, and other baked goods), and well I didn't have access to pumpkin (adios oatmeal, and other non-bake pumpkin goods).

This morning I went to the grocery store to pick up some of the food items I wanted for the week that my mom hadn't thought of to pick up for me; pumpkin being the most important.  When I was in Korea, there was one recipe I saved that I couldn't wait to get my hands onto.

Pumpkin is one of my favourite flavours.  Pumpkin by itself is amazing of course, but what I love about pumpkin is it's usual accompaniment of my favourite flavours ever: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.  Now my favourite go-to snack is hands down pretzels.  When I found a recipe for pumpkin pretzels I couldn't wait until I would get to make and devour for myself.

Once I unpacked all of my groceries, the can opener quickly came out.  With that, as did my cats.  I forgot what living with cats is like, after seven months you forget their normal habits.  Hearing a can open instinctually means tuna for them.  Well not for me!  Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumkin!  I made my dough, let it sit and rise, and patiently waited in anticipation.  I let my water boil, cut my dough into chunks, then realized that while packing up my kitchen supplies in Montreal I forgot to pack up my baking soda.  Thankfully I learnt something today: if you run out of baking soda, use 2-3x the amount of baking powder as you would baking soda.  At first I was a little hesitant, I was going to get into the car and go to the grocery store (but seeing as I lost my barings this morning I forgot how to get to the grocery store... after seven months can you blame me?  Errr... and didn't feel like having that happen again).  Thankfully it worked like a charm.  I didn't use egg wash of course, and I didn't want to melt any butter on top of the pretzels since there is already more than enough in the dough, so I very generously sprinkled the pretzel bites with more cinnamon!

These are certainly wonderful pretzels.  If you are on a diet, or a huuuuge pretzel fan, or a gigantic fan of pumpkin, even better a feign for pretzels and pumpkin I highly, highly advise you to make a batch and immediately freeze some.  I left mine out for quite some time... and while making my lunch well... about 1/4 of the batch disappeared (and it's a big batch).  After doing so, I quickly got some containers and started dividing the pretzels up.  Freezing 3/4's of the remaining pretzels, and leaving a 1/4 out... probably for tomorrow, oops, I just can't help it.

Pumpkin Soft Pretzel Bites

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
  4 tbsp cane sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 5 1/2 - 6 cups all purpose flour (I only need 5 1/2)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance (or butter), melted
• 2/3 cup baking soda (since I ran out of baking soda, I doubled the amount of baking powder)
• Additional cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Combine the warm water and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.  Add the pumpkin, sugar, spices, and 5 1/2 cups flour and butter and using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. If dough is too wet add, another 1/4-1/2 cup flour.

Change to medium speed and knead about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place the dough in a glass bowl oiled with vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12 inch rope. Using a sharp knife, cut rope into 1 inch pieces.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Using a large sauce pan, fill with water. Bring the water to a boil and add the baking soda.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds each. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat mat.

Garnish with additional cinnamon (or egg wash and perhaps cinnamon sugar mixture?)  Bake until golden brown in color, approximately 6-8 minutes.

Mushrooms and Tofu en Papillote with Rosemary and Thyme

Recipe slightly dapted form here

 

/cough, so as I mentioned I ate about 1/4 of the pretzels while preparing my lunch!  Yes, I ate dessert before my meal (which happens more than it should).  Sort of a bad idea since I didn't eat my whole lunch, however, I'm still feeling the jet lag and fell asleep for a couple of hours this afternoon.  When I awoke my bowl from lunch was still there, so I gobbled up the rest of it!  It worked out great in the end ;)

The ugh... process for wrapping the tofu/mushroom mixture in parchment paper didn't work out so well.  With my lack of sleep, definite hunger I was getting a little frustrated, so I ended up taking out a huuuge other piece and just wrapping everything together.  The smell coming from the oven was fantastic, oh how I love rosemary and balsamic vinegar together.  This meal was amazing.  By the time I was separating the meal into bowls for my mom and I, I had already gobbled up a lot of it.  I just couldn't stop.  The mix of the fresh spices, delicious Shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and balsamic vinegar it was marvelous.  This was a perfect meal on a cold fall day.  It was incredibly filling, warmed me up and was just very comforting.  I loved it and will certainly be making it again.


Ingredients:

• 12 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used Shiitake)
• 1 package of extra-firm tofu, diced into small cubes 
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp EVOO 
• Sea salt and pepper 
• 5 sprigs of thyme 

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the parchment paper: Take one sheet of parchment (about the size of a full sheet tray), fold it in half and cut out the shape of half a heart so that when you unfold the paper, the cut out is heart-shaped (ooooh romantic!). Repeat with the other piece(s).

Combine the sliced mushrooms, tofu, garlic, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss until mushrooms and tofu are evenly coated in the vinegar and oil.

Place one side of the heart-shaped paper on a baking sheet. Place half of the mushroom and tofu mixture onto the paper, towards the crease and trying to keep it as compact as possible. Place a thyme sprig on top if using. Fold the edge of the paper toward you tightly, starting at the top curve of the heart. After the first fold, take the next inch or so and fold it towards you again, overlapping the previous fold a little bit. Continue this process until you’ve sealed up the whole pocket. 

Repeat the sealing process with remaining pockets/mushroom and tofu mixture. Place pockets on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 20 minutes. The packets should be quite puffed up. Snip them open with scissors carefully and serve.

What kind of pumpkin recipes have you tried this season?

Thanksgiving dinner in Korea

As you all know, as I mentioned yesterday I am still in Korea.  I also mentioned that, being in Korea meant that we were to have Thanksgiving in a little bit of a not-so traditional way. 

First off, prepping a Thanksgiving dinner without an oven makes for a bit of a challenge.  Let’s talk about what was on our menu:

·      Kabocha squash juk

·      Chicken

·      Stuffing

·      Pumpkin & sesame bread

The bread we purchased from a local bakery called Paris Baguette.  It was alright, at best.  This is the first store-bought bread I’ve eaten in almost two years.  What did it make me realize?  I’m a heck of a cook/baker.  This bread was alright, but it was nothing to ride home about, and I certainly like my bread a lot more.  But for 2000 won (a little less than two dollars Canadian), it would do, seeing as no oven, no ingredients, blah, blah, blah it makes it a little difficult, impossible to make bread.

The chicken, now that wasn’t for me of course, but as Jordan said, Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without any turkey, or meat for that matter.  I agree… regardless of my views on eating the turkey.  Nonetheless we had no oven to cook the chicken in, (we couldn’t find turkey), so he looked up a way to cook a chicken without using an oven.  To our surprise, and his delight he was still able to get his chicken!  It turns out you can make chicken in a rice cooker!  Who knew?  I’ve made oatmeal, stir-fries, other random little things in a rice cooker, but a chicken?  Wow.

We went and got his chicken.  Bought spices.  He bought sausage to stuff to stuff the chicken with.  Marinated it in soy sauce.  Can you say this was an Asian chicken or what?  How did the chicken turn out?  He ate it like a beast.  I swear if I hadn’t reminded him we were having our Thanksgiving “dinner” the next day I think he would of eaten the whole thing right then and there while cutting it.  It looked really moist, which is pretty cool.  It’s nice to know that even when you don't have your everyday kitchen appliances you can still manage to get by without them.

Now stuffing… I’m not sure why either of us couldn’t remember how to make stuffing, or even better, what goes in stuffing but we couldn't.  Yes, I’m aware of the tool called the internet, however, using unprotected internet makes loading pages a little difficult.  We tried and failed.

 

We threw together ideas of how our families make stuffing.  Truthfully I couldn’t really remember because it’s been years since I’ve eaten stuffing.  I have never been a fan of stuffing.  It’s either too dry, too bready, too soggy, too bluh, I just never liked stuffing.  When I heard about the things that his family put in their stuffing, then also learnt their stuffing wasn’t made in the turkey I was flabbergasted.  In the end, Jordan ended up tossing some oil in the pan, added cubed pumpkin & sesame bread, dried cranberries, raisins, apple cubes, and cinnamon.  It certainly was not traditional stuffing, nor was it, er stuffing at all, but he enjoyed it with his chicken and juk so it was all good.

Now the juk.  I cannot remember if I mentioned or not, my plan was to attempt to make a traditional Korean soup called juk.  From Wikipedia:

“ In Korea, the dish goes by the name juk 죽 ([tɕuk]) derived from the Chinese language in which juk [jook] means the same thing. There are more than forty varieties of juk mentioned in old documents.^[5] Depending on the ingredients and consistency, juk can be considered as a food for recuperation (much like chicken soup in modern American culture), a delicacy, or food during famine and war.^[5]

The most general form of juk is simply called heen juk (흰죽, white juk), which is made from plain white rice. Other varieties include different ingredients, such as milk, vegetables, seafood, nuts and other grains. Being largely unflavored, it is served with a number of more flavorful side dishes, such as jeotgal, various types of kimchi, pickled cuttlefish, spicy octopus, and other side dishes.

Notable varieties include jatjuk made from finely-ground pine nuts, jeonbokjuk made with abalones, yulmujuk made from Job's tears, and patjuk made from red beans.

Juk is considered the ideal choice of food for babies,^[6] the ill or elderly as it is easily eaten and digested. It is sold commercially by many chain stores in South Korea, and is a common takeout dish.^[7] ”

Since being in Korea, juk and bibimbap have been my favourite meals by far.  The first one I tried was a sweet pumpkin version, it was incredibly delicious.  Jordan was a sweetheart and ordered a veg version as well so I could try his, and he ordered red bean, which was also super delicious.  I also tried a vegetable one which was incredibly filling and super tasty.

I knew when I first tried juk that I wanted to attempt to make it myself.  After reading a few different versions, I knew that this would be a perfect thing to make for our Thanksgiving, since it could be done on the element, didn’t take too much time (… shouldn’t of taken too much time at least), was orange, and resembled Thanksgiving.

Let’s begin our story with this.  Remember how I mentioned when I first arrived and looked in Jordan’s kitchen and was greeted with four large 1 kg tubs of oats, and about 7 1l milks?  Well, I also forgot to mention that as for kitchen tools, there was a pot, small skillet, wooden spatula, two sets of chop sticks, two sets of spoons, and two bowls (think cat bowls, size and material).  The second week I was going through blogger withdrawal so I went and bought some plates, bowls and a pot.  Thank heavens, because… if I hadn’t the soup certainly wouldn’t of happened, or it would of taken forever to make.

First off the pot I bought was far too small, so I also had to use his small pot.  This was troublesome to say the least but it worked out.  We let the squash boil (since we couldn’t cook the squash in the oven).  Using a chop stick to test it’s readiness we let them sit to cool down.  Scraped out their insides and let them sit in the fridge overnight.

The next morning I started the soup.  The amount of water I put was… to the say the least far too much.  We only have the 1/4 cup measuring cup I brought, and I think I miscalculated.  After a lot of, temper tantrums from my side he suggested dumping some water.  We did so.  We let the water boil for a lot longer than suggested but we let the water reduce.

I was still freaking at this point, because silly me, I didn’t think to buy a potato masher.  We had no food processor or blender, and I was just really nervous that this soup wasn’t going to turn out.  Thankfully Jordan is a very patient, calm and rational being.  He moved me aside and said the soup would turn out.  After a bit of mashing with the aforementioned wooden spatula, and the water reduction we got our soup!

We added in the glutinous rice (we cheated and bought them).  Topped with pumpkin seeds and walnuts.  At first I was a little, ehhh, the broth was still a little thin.  But as I ate more, I really enjoyed it.  However, the second bowl I went for, about ten minutes later had really thickened up and it tasted like the original juk I had tried!

In the end it turned out great.  It was a nice lunch.  It was spent with great company.  We made our best efforts to make it as Thanksgiving-ey as possible away from home, and it worked out.  There might have been a little bit, a lot of stress from my part, but, we, okay, okay, I got over it, and it was really great!

I hope you all enjoyed your meal as well, and that it was spent with lots of food, family, friends, love, everything!

Hobakjuk - Sweet Squash Juk

Recipe taken from here

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized kombucha squash (the only ones available to us)
• Water
• Salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Sweet rice flour (unless you want to cheat like we did, and just buy the ready made glutinous rice cakes)

Directions:

Squash -

Wash the exterior of the squashes in cold water.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and stringy stuff with a spoon.

Place the butternut squash in a large pot. Pour 3 cups of water over them and bring to a boil over medium high heat for 30 minutes, until the contents become soft.

Turn off the heat and let it cool down.  When it’s cooled down, scrape the cooked insides out with a spoon.

Place 3 cups of the cooked squash insides into a large pot and add 4 or 5 cups of water and boil

Rice Cake Balls:

Boil some water.

Make rice cake dough by mixing 2 cups of sweet rice flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3/4 cup of hot water. Mix it up with a wooden spoon at first, and then knead it for a few minutes with your hand after it cools down.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set it aside for about 20-30 minutes.

Put about 3 tbsp of sweet rice flour into a large bowl (this will prevent the rice cake balls from sticking together).

Take a bit of dough and roll a rice cake ball (the size should be a little larger than soy bean). Put it into the bowl with the sweet rice flour.riceballs

*Tip: to prevent the dough from getting dried out, always wrap the dough in plastic wrap while you are making the rice cake balls

Porridge - 

When the mixture of squash and water starts boiling, add the rice cake balls to the pot. Stir it with a wooden spoon and cook it for a few more minutes.

*Tip: when it’s cooked, all the rice cake balls will be floating on the surface of the porridge.

Turn off the heat and add 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup of sugar and stir it for a few seconds before serving.

 How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

What did you eat?

What did you do?