Roasted Tomato Bruchetta Toasts

This weekend, greenhouses in the Fraser Valley are giving you a peek into how they produce the very vegetables we love at BC Veggie Day! Last year I visited some greenhouses in Abbotsford and it was fascinating to see just how all those sweet peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and tomatoes are grown right here in the Lower Mainland. Head out to a farm on Saturday between 10 am and 2pm to meet your local farmer, see their operation, and ask questions! (list of the farms that are open is right here). We'll be out at Bakerview Greenhouses and Randhawa Farms.

Grown locally without herbicides or pesticides, these GMO free veggies and easy to turn into something really tasty for your family, just like these roasted tomato and pepper bruschetta toasts I came up with. I love roasting tomatoes to intensify the flavours, and then mound them up on some good crusty bread. You can actually roast the tomatoes the day before and put them in a sealed container in the fridge if you like, then the next day just toss them with the other ingredients and proceed. A light dinner will be on the table in no time!  You can change these up and add cooked and crumbled bacon or feta cheese, if you like. I like them just as is. This recipe makes enough for 2 people as a meal with a side salad or something.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups halved grape or mixed color cherry tomatoes, roasted.
1/2 cup sweet red pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
1 finely chopped green onion
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Demi sized loaf of Cobs Turkish bread (split in half), or 2 good sized ciabatta buns

Directions:

1. Butter and toast the bread under the broiler. Set aside and turn off the oven.


2. In a medium sized bowl, toss the roasted tomatoes, sweet peppers, garlic, Parmesan, green onion, salt, pepper, and olive oil all together. Mound on the toasted bread. Place the pan back into the hot oven for a few minutes to warm through.


3. Serve immediately!

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Roasted Cherry Tomato and Spinach Pasta Toss

Of all the fruit and vegetables that we eat, I'd say that we go through tomatoes the most. John eats grape tomatoes like they are candy, popping a few in his mouth every time he passes a container. They go into salads, pasta sauces, thin slices go on pizzas, in sandwiches, you name it; we've put tomatoes on it.

The market often has grape tomatoes on sale, and this week I was fortunate to find that I could get 3 pints for only $5. I had plans for these tomatoes, you see. Roasty, sweet, delicious plans.

This tomato sauce is about as easy as you can get. Toss those sweet babies with a bit of oil and other things, them let your oven do all the work while you boil some pasta.Once your tomatoes have roasted and split open, toss them with the finished pasta and some big handfuls of greens and parmesan. What's easier than that? You'll notice that I mention spinach and arugula-awhile ago I discovered that Dole makes a spinach and arugula mix, which has become my new favorite. Don't have it available? That's okay, just use spinach.

I used Catelli Ancient Grains pasta for this dish, and it was amazing. The pasta held the sauce really well, and added a lot of flavour. I highly recommend you try it!


Ingredients:

Roasted Tomatoes:

2 pints grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, slivered into chips
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
coarse salt and cracked black pepper
1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
200 grams of Catelli Ancient Grains spaghettini

2 large handfuls of spinach or a mix of spinach/arugula, torn roughly
3/4  cup fresh Parmesan cheese
fresh cracked pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 F.

2. In a large bowl, toss the grape tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper together. Spread them into a 9x13 inch non reactive baking dish and place it in the oven.

3. Bake the tomatoes for about an hour, stirring occasionally while they break down and release their juices. Near the end, start cooking the pasta.


4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook about 7-9 minutes, whichever is your preference. Drain the pasta and toss in a large bowl with the cherry tomatoes, big handfuls of torn spinach and arugula, and cheese. Add cracked pepper and salt to taste. Mound on plates and add more cheese at the table.

Makes 4 servings. 

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Jamie Oliver's Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese

One of the first episodes of Save With Jamie I watched had him making a broccoli and cauliflower casserole with a cheese sauce. I've had this before as a side dish, but not that often and certainly nothing like this one. Apparently in the UK, this type of dish is fairly popular. Who knew? Jamie's recipe has a sauce that has cheese flavour, but isn't drowning in the stuff. There's also some broccoli blended right in and a nice nutty crouton topping. The first time I made it, I wasn't sure how my family would react. It bubbled in the oven while I took off to a Christmas party, but when I came home later that evening my family practically met me at the door to say how utterly delicious dinner was.

They were right, too. We ate the leftovers right up-as a side dish, a main dish, a snack, you name it.

One thing Jamie talks a lot about in the episode that features this dish is the advantages of using frozen vs fresh vegetables. This time of year I've found it easy to find cauliflower on sale, but broccoli tends to be a little more pricey. The advantage of buying frozen veg is that it simply waits in the freezer until you need it, which is great because you don't forget about things hanging around in the fridge and just rotting. I also added a little more garlic, which you can increase or decrease as you wish. Either way, I'm pretty sure your family will love this as much as we do.



Servings: Eight as a side, 6 as a main

Time to prepare: 15-20 minutes

Time to cook: 1 hour 15 minutes

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into chips
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups 1-2% milk
1 lb fresh (chopped) or frozen broccoli
2 1/2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated
2 lbs fresh (chopped into florets) or frozen cauliflower
2 slices of stale bread
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 oz sliced almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat and add the garlic. Let it sizzle a little until fragrant. Add the flour and give it a good stir, letting it cook and stirring for 1-2 minutes. Gently add the milk, bit by bit, whisking as you go so that you have a smooth sauce.

Add the broccoli to the sauce and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until it's softened and cooked. If you use fresh broccoli, the sauce will seem too thick-I added about 1/2 cup more milk to the sauce to thin it out. When the broccoli begins to fall apart in the sauce, you can use  a hand blender to whiz up the sauce until smooth with a bit of chunky bits throughout. If you don't have a hand blender, a potato masher will do.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and tumble in the chopped cauliflower. Evenly pour over your sauce and top with the rest of the cheese. In a food processor, whiz up the bread to make crumbs, then add the almonds and leaves from the thyme. The stems on thyme can be a little woody, so pulling off the leaves is a good idea. Add about 2 tsp of olive oil, a little salt and pepper to the mixture and give it a good mix. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the cauliflower and sauce.

Pop the dish into the oven, uncovered, and bake for an hour until softened and cooked through.

Adapted from Save With Jamie

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BBQ Baked Beans with Smashed Sweet Potatoes

I've been watching a lot of Jamie Oliver these days. Besides doing social media really well, Jamie's new book Save With Jamie is my new favorite. In fact, this week I'm bringing you a few of his recipes that I'm trying out. Honestly, it's really hard not to just cook the entire book, which by the end of 2014 I just might. There's so much good stuff in there!


I love baked beans, but my other recipes involve the slow cooker, and one needed maple syrup (which I'm out of), so I thought I'd try this one. I wasn't sure about the sweet potatoes in it. Would that work? Would they taste weird? The answers are yes, they work-and they are delicious. Are they weird? Not at all. In fact the slight sweetness of the sweet potatoes against the sort of spicy beans is a really wonderful combination. We had it with some Buckeye Beans Cornbread from The Missing Ingredient, and it was perfect for soaking up any extra sauce. If you can find this cornbread, it's really tasty!


Serves: 6

Time to prepare: 15 minutes

Time to cook: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 red onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chile ( I used a birds eye chile without the seeds)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
1 level tsp cumin seeds
4 small sweet potatoes
3 1/4 cups of passata or one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
two 14 oz cans beans (I used kidney and black beans)
1/3 cup BBQ sauce
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated
crusty bread or cornbread
sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:

In a large, deep frypan, saute the onions, garlic, chile, and carrots with the paprika and cumin seeds in a bit of olive oil until softened and they get a bit of color, about 10-15 minutes or so. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 F.

Pour in the passata, BBQ sauce and beans. Some passata will stay in the jar so add a little water, give it a swish and add to the pan.  Give it all a good stir. Transfer the lot to a 9x13 baking dish.

Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs, toss them with a little oil, and sprinkle on top. Put the entire thing in the oven. It is going to look soupy, but I promise you that the extra liquid will evaporate and it will be nice and thick. You may even want to add a little more water if if looks a bit dry.

Prick the sweet potatoes, rub them with olive oil, and set them on a small pan to roast beside the beans in the oven. Let it all cook for an hour, stirring the beans occasionally.

When it's finished, sprinkle the cheese over top, slice down the middle of the sweet potatoes and give them a squish, then set them right in the beans. Pop the whole thing back in the oven for the cheese to melt. Serve with crusty bread or corn bread, and even a bit of sour cream for people to dollop on their portion if they wish.


Adapted from Save with Jamie

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Easiest Leek and Potato Soup

Sometimes, you just need something fast and easy for dinner. This week is fairly busy, and now that I'm back into the swing of things after being sick, I really didn't want to be loaded down with lots of dinner prep.

This soup is really very easy and doesn't use a lot of ingredients; in fact, I'll bet you have most of them floating around your pantry somewhere. I paired it with mushrooms on toast, which I'll be writing about next week. You definitely want THAT recipe; super easy, cheap, and oh my goodness so delicious.

The soup has a decidedly onion-y flavour to it, so if you are opposed to that, maybe use 1 less leek and an extra potato. The measurements are kind of approximate, because you can't really go wrong here. Add a little hot sauce, if you wish. More stock, if it's too thick. You'll figure it out.

Ingredients:

1 large russet or Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
2 leeks, washed and sliced
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 1/2-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
a few sprigs of thyme (or about 1/2 tsp dried)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large, deep, frypan, saute the leek and onion together in a bit of olive oil until softened and translucent.  Add the thyme, and the peeled and chopped potato. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup about 10-15 minutes, until the potato pieces are softened.

Take the pan off the heat and let the soup cool. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Whiz up the soup in a blender (be careful if it's hot!) and pour back into the pan, re-heating before tucking in. We had ours sprinkled with a little fresh parsley, alongside mushrooms on toast. Kevin suggested that it would be very good with a grilled cheese sandwich, or you could try it with toasted crusty bread and a poached egg. However you choose to enjoy it, the soup is a nice quick dinner on a cold, blustery day.

Serves 2-3
Adapted from Save with Jamie

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Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

The holidays are over and now you have had your fill of all things rich and/or sweet. It's crazy cold out there, you are back into the swing of things with kids at school, and need something that can be rustled up in a hurry. This soup is just the thing.

Just toss everything in the slow cooker, go do your thing, and come home to delicious soup simmering away, all ready to go! I make a pot, then take it to work with some crackers and cheese. I'm not even a veggie soup fan but the pesto added at the end makes this extra delicious. You could even add a bit of crumbled bacon if you wanted, which might add some great flavor!

If you prefer the veggies in your soup to be tender crisp, don't cook it as long. These ones cook up really soft and tender. Cooking the pasta separately and adding it when you want to eat will keep it from going mushy.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
bay leaf
4 oz green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch long pieces
1 can of chic peas (I used a 19 oz can), drained and rinsed
one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (I used an Italian spiced version)
1 medium zucchini, chopped
6 cups of veggie or chicken stock, or a mixture
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of pesto
1/2 cup uncooked macaroni

Directions:

Turn the slowcooker to high and add about 2 tsp of oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot, cover and allow to cook while you assemble the other ingredients.

Stir in the green beans, bay leaf, chic peas, tomatoes, zucchini, and chicken stock. Cover and allow to simmer on low for 6-7 hours.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions, on your stove top. Drain. Add the macaroni and pesto to the soup just before serving.

Makes 6 servings

 Adapted from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson

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Home Made Macaroni and Cheese

When I was a kid, I had a friend whose mom always made home made macaroni and cheese. She'd serve it on these chunky pottery plates, and I thought it was the best thing ever.

At my house we had Kraft Dinner. Oh don't get me wrong; my Mom is an excellent cook. I just don't even remember her making home made macaroni and cheese.

So once I was an adult, one of the first things I wanted to do was learn how to make my very own mac and cheese!

8 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
2 1/2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 onion, chopped very finely (if you or the kids cringe at the thought of onion, leave it out-but it adds a lot of flavor and is really good)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups milk (for really creamy, try evaporated milk)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Cook your macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions until it's el dente. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

In a medium sized pot, melt your butter over medium low heat and add the onion. Cook the onion in the butter until it's translucent and soft. Then stir in the flour. Cook it for a little bit, stirring until it's a nice paste. Then gently stir in your milk, a bit at a time, whisking and pouring, whisking and pouring...you don't want lumps so just keep pouring in a little and whisking until it's smooth, then pouring some more.

When you finally get to the point where you can just dump in the rest of the milk, go ahead. Turn the heat to medium and stand there, occasionally stirring the sauce while it heats, so it doesn't burn. Keep stirring while it heats up and thickens somewhat.

Once it's thick-ish, add the salt, pepper, and shredded cheese. Continue to stir while the cheese melts into the sauce.

In a large bowl, combine the cheese sauce with the cooked macaroni before pouring into a casserole dish to put into the oven. Cover with foil and back at 350 F for about 20 minutes or so.

Serves 4-6.

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Avocado and Sweet Pea Guacamole

I love guacamole and have a recipe for some that is super addictive, but the other day I wanted to try something a little different for school lunch. Something maybe a little less fatty, but still tasty with crackers. At work I'm often eating on the go so dip and crackers are a perfect snack to carry.

Awhile ago I picked up some Lesley Stowe Rainforest Crisps and found this recipe on the bottom of the package. Intrigued, I decided to use up a stray avocado on the counter. I wasn't really sure about it until the other day when in the staff room at work, I downed the entire thing with crackers in only a few minutes and sat there, contemplating whether I should lick the container. Even my co-workers noticed and giggled.

This may be a really great way to get your kids to eat a healthy dip if they aren't sure of avocados. The pea flavour is tempered a little, and there's some lime in there just to make it interesting. I love the Lesley Stowe crackers, but try it with whatever you like.

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and chunked
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 clove garlic, minced
8 oz sweet green peas, thawed
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash of hot sauce

Blend up the avocado, garlic, and lime juice in a food processor. Add in the peas, salt, some fresh cracked pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Blend some more until smooth. Taste and correct the salt, pepper, and hot sauce to your liking. Now just gobble up with crackers!

Store in a covered, air tight container in the fridge. The top will go a darker green and trust me, it will look funky in the morning but if you give it a good stir, it will all look gorgeous green again. Try putting some cling film directly on the surface of the dip-maybe that will help.

Makes about 2 cups

Looking for more snack ideas? You may like these dips and dippers!

Apple, Ham and Cheese Dippers

Quick Veggie Dip 

Garlic Tahini Dip

Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus

Carrot Hummus

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Beet, Carrot, and Spinach Salad with Couscous and Feta

I was tempted to call this 'Science Salad', because it was inspired by one of the science teachers bringing something similar for their lunch last week.  I admit that I'm somewhat of a lunch stalker, always noticing what the people around me are eating and occasional gleaning inspiration from them or out right asking for a recipe.

This salad also reminds me of Anne, a friend of mine (and Science teacher!) who once had a huge garden in her backyard, full of beets and carrots.  I never really liked beets that much until I met Anne, and her enthusiasm made me wonder if they really were better than I thought.  Anne moved away recently and is now without her beloved garden, but I think she would like this recipe.  Look Anne, you have me eating beets too!

A word about the recipe:  beets are nasty suckers to shred and this is best done if you have a food processor with a shredding attachment. In fact, my little food processor made this recipe really quick to make.  You can use a box grater, but it might be a little messy and you'll come out looking like you murdered the beets rather than just shredded some tasty vegetable.  Don't be put off by the ingredients in this-by themselves, they aren't anything special. Pair up sweet beets with salty feta, the tender couscous and tart dressing, and it's really, really, tasty.  If you can't find Israeli couscous, substitute quinoa or regular couscous.  You don't need a lot per person, but enough to pile the veggies on.  I think you could just eyeball it.

Makes 4 servings

2 medium beets, peeled and shredded
3 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
2 cups washed and trimmed fresh spinach leaves, torn into bite sized pieces
1/4 red onion, minced
Feta cheese
pistachios, chopped
1 1/2 cups uncooked Israeli couscous (allergy allert: Substitute pearl barley!)

Tahini dressing (recipe below)

In the bottom of a medium sized pot, toast the couscous over medium heat in a bit of oil until golden, which should take about 3-5 minutes.  Make sure to stir so no bits get burned. Pour in 2 cups boiling water, bring the couscous to a boil, then put a lid on, turn the heat down to low, and cook for about 10-12 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.

Let the couscous cool to room temperature.

To assemble:

Divide the couscous between 4 plates.  Top with spinach, then a handful of each of the shredded carrot and beets.  Sprinkle a bit of red onion, then feta and pistachios over top.  Serve with tahini dressing, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Balsamic Tahini dressing (from Choosing Raw)

1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup water

Blend everything together in a food processor!  You can adjust the amount of water depending on if you want it thinner or thicker, in which case it makes a great dip.  I seasoned it up with a little more salt and pepper as well.

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Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chick Peas and Feta

Last week the groceries were getting low and looking for something new and different to try, I pulled this dish together from the latest issue of Bon Appetit.  Eggs are often comfort food in our house, and poached on top of a delicious chunky tomato sauce with pita bread to dip alongside, it makes a wonderful dinner.  If you need a smaller serving, do what we did-make the sauce and divide in half to freeze for another day, then continue the recipe with the reserved half.  What a way to make dinner for two even easier!


Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
one 15 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
one 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta
8 large eggs
1 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
warm pita bread or naan

Pre-heat the oven to 425 F

In a large oven proof skillet, heat a little oil and saute the onion, garlic, and jalapeno over medium high heat until softened.  Stir in the cumin, paprika, and chick peas, cooking for about 2 minutes more.  Add the tomatoes and their juices, correct for seasonings, adding salt and pepper if you feel the sauce needs it.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

Sprinkle feta evenly over the sauce, then crack the eggs one at a time over top, making sure to space them apart.  Put the skillet in the oven and bake until the whites are just set but the yolks are kind of runny (about 5-8 minutes) .  Sprinkle with the parsley and coriander just before serving, and have pita on the side to dip into the sauce.

** As an alternative, just add the feta and coriander to the sauce.   Fry up the eggs in a separate pan.  When you serve the dish, divide the sauce among 4 bowls, and top with an egg.

Makes 4-6 servings

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Spinach Pie

The first time I ever made spanakopita, it was in a foods class with a group of grade 11 girls.  We were making the appetizer version, which had a lot of folding phyllo into tiny little triangles, this way and that.  I learned something valuable that day, and it wasn't that spanakopita is delicious.

I can't fold the $^%@ phyllo triangles, people.  No matter how I tried, it just wouldn't work-so spinach PIE is for me.  No folding phyllo!  Plus this pie is SO delicious, you can make it for your family and serve with a salad for a light lunch or dinner.  We loved it!  The leftovers re-heat nicely in the oven, too.  Don't let phyllo scare you off, this is really easy!  You can do it!

The bonus is that your kids will discover that spinach is DELICIOUS.

Adapted from Whining and Dining

3 packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and all the water squeezed out
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onion
185 g feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
4 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and fresh cracked pepper
3 large eggs
olive oil
8 sheets of phyllo pastry, thawed

Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

In a large pan, fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the green onions and fry about another 3 minutes.  Crumble in the drained and squeezed dry spinach into the pan and continue to fry a bit to get ride of any excess moisture.

Dump the spinach/onion mixture into a large bowl and set aside to cool.  When cool to touch, crumble in the feta, and add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, dill, salt and pepper.  Beat the eggs in a small bowl and stir them in as well.  Set aside.

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Lay one sheet of phyllo on the parchment, then brush it lightly with olive oil.  Lay another sheet of phyllo on top.  Continue, until you have used 4 sheets of phyllo.  Spread the spinach mixture on the phyllo stack, leaving about a 1 1/2 inch border around the edge.   Fold the phyllo edges up and over the sides of the filling, brushing them with olive oil.   On the counter, start another stack of phyllo-1 sheet, brush with oil, another sheet, brush again, etc until you have used four sheets.  When you are finished, pick up the stack and center it over the filling. Tuck the edges under the bottom of the pie, and brush the top with olive oil.  Bake in the very bottom rack of the oven for about 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Makes six servings

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Fall Veggie Tarts with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Full of late summer vegetables, these tarts are crazy delicious-but also pretty work intensive. I don't think I would have made them for dinner one night weeks ago had I really known how much work they were, from the sauce to the pastry and filling.  On the other hand, they were so tasty I would make them again for a special occasion, such as Thanksgiving.  You do need mini tart pans to make these, which I don't have-and upon realizing it, I improved with a large muffin tin.

Adapted from Fresh

Roasted Tomato Sauce: 

4 large ripe tomatoes, cut in half
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 coarsely chopped onions
2 cloves garlic (not chopped)
1 cup water
1 tsp sugar

Pre heat your oven to 450 F. Toss the tomatoes, garlic, and onions with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then put in an ovenproof dish. Roast for about 1/2 hour. Transfer to a small saucepan, and add water and sugar.

Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes before transferring to a food processor or blender and pureeing. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. At this point, I found the mixture to be kind of watery, so I continued to simmer for about an hour until the mixture became thick. I also added some tomato paste (about 2 tbsp) to get it to the consistency I wanted.

Meanwhile, make your tarts.

Pastry:

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbsp cold water

Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs. Stir in the water with a fork until just combined, then turn mixture out onto a lightly floured counter and bring together with your hands, trying not to handle it too much. Let the dough sit and rest for about 20 minutes on the counter, covered. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out to about 1/8 inch thick, then cut into a 6 inch circle. Set aside.




Filling: 

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onions
1 cup diced green zucchini
1 cup diced yellow zucchini
1/2 cup thinly sliced leeks
1/2 cup diced red peppers
1 cup green or yellow beans, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4 oz fresh goat cheese (I used one rolled in herbs)

In a pan over medium heat, heat up your olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until translucent and soft.  Stir in zucchinis, leeks, peppers, and beans, continuing to cook and stir until they are just crisp tender.  Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, parsley, and thyme.

Assembly:

The original recipe called for tart shells, but I didn't have the right sized tart pans.  What's a girl to do? I had already mounded the filling on the uncooked pastry!  Here's what you do:  If you have 4 inch tart shells, line them with the pastry, allowing the dough to extend past the edges of the shell.  Mound 1/2 cup filling into the tart shells, dotting with goat cheese.  Fold the pastry up and around the filling, tucking it in.

Now, what to do if you don't have tart pans?  I mounded the filling on the pastry, dug out my large muffin tin (not a regular sized one-too small!), and gently set the filled pastry into a muffin cup.  It didn't quite fit all the way in, which was fine-I tucked it on the top as best I could, pushing it down slightly-not all the way, which was fine-as the tarts cooked, they sunk farther into the muffin tin anyhow.

Bake tarts until golden and cooked through-about 20 minutes.

To serve the tarts, spread 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce on a plate, and set a tart in it.

Serves 4.

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Roasted Corn and Black Beans on Baby Greens with Feta

Do you ever go out to eat and love something you had so much you try to re-create it at home? This is where this salad came from. While John and I were out one weekend riding around on our motorbike, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant and I ordered a delicious salad. Later in the week I was home, realized that I had all the ingredients in our fridge and re-created it, with delicious results.

There are few, if any, real measurements here except for the dressing. Just go ahead and arrange the following on your dinner plates! (or side plates, if it's a side salad) Just wing it, you can do it! The roasted corn, salty feta, beans, lemon thyme dressing, it's all just delicious. Make a bigger salad for dinner and serve it with crusty bread, if you wish.

baby greens, torn into bite sized pieces
grape tomatoes, halved
sweet red/orange peppers, sliced into thin strips
roasted fresh corn (scroll below for the directions)
black beans, drained and rinsed
avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
crumbled feta

To roast the corn:
Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

Cut the kernels from about 3 ears of corn. Toss with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, then spread them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in the oven for about 10 minutes. When finished, remove from oven and let cool before adding to salad.

Dressing:

Adapted from Rebar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp minced lemon peel
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, peel, shallot, thyme, honey, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the oil a bit at a time, still whisking constantly. You can store this is a jam jar with a lid and give it a good shake before using.

Makes 1/2 cup

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Shaved Asparagus Pizza

This is a different take on the usual tomato sauced, cheesy pizza that you are probably used to. Mozzarella and shaved asparagus dotted with creamy boursin cheese sound different and interesting in theory, but to be honest I was wary of them in reality. That is, until I took a bite. This pizza is so good that you will have the most staunch veggie refusing child nibbling their way through it without complaint. I'm not ashamed to say we pounced on the leftovers, greedily shoving each other out of the way. (well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Maybe.)

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Pizza dough for 1 12-16 inch pizza (I like this recipe)
Olive oil
About 8 oz mozzarella (fresh is good, but I used regular shredded)
1 pound of asparagus
½ of a 5 ¼ oz package of Boursin garlic and herb cheese (or the same amount of a similar spreadable her and garlic cheese)

Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

Over a large bowl, shave your asparagus the best you can. Mine kept breaking, it was hard to actually shave it much. I took the leftover bits and sliced them as think as I possibly could. Set aside.

Roll and stretch out the pizza dough to fit the stone/pan you are baking it in. Drizzle with a little olive oil and slather the surface of the dough with it. If you are using fresh mozzarella, cut the ball into slices and lay them on top of the dough. Otherwise, just sprinkle your grated mozzarella cheese on the dough.

Top with the asparagus. I know this will look like a lot of asparagus, but it will cook down. Don’t worry!

Crumble/dot with the garlic and herb cheese, trying to get some all over the top.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the bottom of the pizza is golden brown and the cheese is turning a little brown and melty. Let sit for five minutes before slicing and serving.

Makes 8 pieces.

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Pasta Primavera

I'm usually a fan of the creamy, cheesy pasta dishes, so I've never been much of a fan of pasta primavera, and even the ones I've tried usually have contained cream or some type of sauce in with all the veggies. This one, with a bit of cooking water to keep it moist and a bit of cheese, is different. The veggies, blanched lightly in the pasta cooking water, are fresh and bright, leaving you feeling that you are eating something healthy and not a heavy pasta dish. With all the fresh veggies coming out at the farmer's markets in the coming months, you'll have no problem swapping around veggies to what you really enjoy. I didn't have any goat cheese, and truth be told, nobody in my family really likes it all that much so I subbed what I had on hand-a good sprinkle of mozzarella.

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

12 oz fusilli or other corkscrew pasta
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, or broccoli florets
2 carrots, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 oz goat cheese (or Boursin), crumbled

Add the pasta to a large pot of salted boiling water and cook according to package directions. About two minutes before the pasta is finished, add the peas, carrots, and peppers.

Ladle out about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and set aside before you drain the pasta and veggies, then return them to the empty pot and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the garlic in a medium saucepan with some oil, stirring, until lightly browned. Stir in the hot pepper flakes and tomatoes, continuing to cook and stir until the tomatoes just begin to wilt. Pour in 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water, then pour the garlic mixture over the veggies and pasta that you cooked previously. Toss well. Gently toss in the chopped mint and Parmesan, then half of the goat cheese until it's all combined.

Serve in bowls and top with remaining goat cheese.

Makes 4 servings

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Roasted Tomato and Avocado Sandwiches

Last weekend when I was at Windermere Secondary, Chef John Bishop talked about slow roasting tomatoes, and how wonderful they are on toast or in sandwiches. Over the course of the week I kept finding articles about this very thing-in a Jamie Oliver magazine, on various food blogs, and that was it-I just HAD to make my own. These open faced sandwiches are really delicious, and as spring turns into summer and you get the chance to pick up some produce at the farmer's market, I highly recommend that you try them.

My teenager loved the roasted tomatoes-the flavor becomes very concentrated, but is also balanced out nicely with the creamy avocado and salty cheese. We splurged and went with a high quality goat's feta, which made things extra delicious.

Adapted from Jamie's Recipe Yearbook 2010

4 plum or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
bunch of basil leaves
1 lemon, halved
3 ripe avocados
4 slices of sourdough bread
150 grams of feta cheese
4 handfuls of arugula (rocket)

To roast the tomatoes (which can be done earlier in the day or the night before)

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper to make your clean up easier. Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a bowl, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place in your prepared pan, cut side up, and roast in the oven for about an hour and a half for the cherry tomatoes, more for the plum. I used plum tomatoes and roasted them closer to two hours, until they were almost browned a bit on top, sticky, and dried out.

Allow to cool to room temperature and put in the fridge if you are using them later.

When you want to make your sandwiches, pound up the basil and a pinch of salt with a morter and pestle until it forms a paste, then add some olive oil and squeeze 1/2 a lemon over top to loosen the mixture up a bit. I don't have a morter and pestle, so I gave it all a whiz in my food processor. The result was a little more chunky than I'm sure the original recipe intends, but it worked okay. Set aside.

Halve, peel, and scoop out the avocados into a bowl, then mash them gently. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper, then squeeze the juice from the other half of the lemon over top and mix together.

Toast the bread until it's just golden. Mine went a bit too hard-but you want it toasted enough so it can stand up to the toppings and not go completely soggy.

Spread the avocado paste over the toasted bread. Top with the roasted tomatoes-because I used plum tomatoes, I cut them in half and fit 4 pieces on each slice of bread. Then I put a small handful of arugula on top of the tomatoes, drizzled it all with a bit of the basil pesto, and topped with some feta.

This is a knife and fork sandwich, because as you eat it can become a little messy! Kevin and John both continually exclaimed as they ate how much they LOVED them. Now-my husband rarely ever raves about food, but he loved these, so that tells you how yummy and fresh they are.

Makes 4 sandwiches

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Veggie Enchiladas

These babies are absolutely delicious. Stuffed with black beans, pepper jack cheese, spinach, and corn, then topped with a cheesy tomato sauce, they are little bites of heaven. Being Canadian, I accept that I know nothing about a good enchilada. But Sydney, having lived in Arizona, knows. According to her they are some of the best enchiladas she's ever had. The original recipe is from Martha Stewart.

As for me? These are going to be a regular dish in our house for sure. And let me tell you that they make really GREAT lunches. Plus they are super easy to make. The only issue that I had was finding good corn tortillas. Where I am, corn tortillas are rubbery and awful, so I had to use flour. You use whatever works for you. I also might add fresh cilantro, just because I really love it.



Adapted from Crepes of Wrath and Martha Stewart

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (14 oz) can sodium reduced vegetable broth
3 cups grated pepper jack cheese
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz chopped spinach; thawed and squeezed dry
1 box (10 oz) frozen corn kernels, thawed
6 green onions, sliced (white and green parts separated)
about 16 six inch flour tortillas

Pre-heat oven to 400 F

In a saucepan, heat your oil, 1 tsp of the cumin, flour, and tomato paste. Whisk together to form a paste. Cook for about a minute, whisking so it doesn't burn.

Slowly add the veggie broth and 3/4 cup water, whisking as you go to keep from getting lumps. Bring to a boil, still stirring, and then reduce the heat and simmer while it thickens up, about 5-8 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

Lightly grease a 9X13 inch baking dish with oil. (I forgot to do this and mine stuck.)

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the corn, remaining 1 tsp of cumin, 2 cups of the cheese, the beans, white parts of the green onion, and the spinach. Lay the tortillas out flat and using a heaping 1/3 cup, fill each tortilla. Fold in the sides and roll them up tightly, laying the seam side down in the dish.

When you are finished, sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese and then pour over the enchilada sauce. Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes while they bubble and meld into deliciousness. Having never made REAL enchiladas before, I was concerned about the amount of sauce in the dish, but it's okay. Trust me. You need the sauce. Sauce is good.

Enjoy. These are amazing. YUM!

Serves 8

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Stuffed Squash for Two

I've had this recipe kicking around forever, with the plans to make it, but I could never convince Jake and Hubs to try it. Both of them aren't fans of squash and so, for the longest time, I shelved it. Last week I finally just bought the acorn squash and without even asking anyone's opinion, I made these and announced that they were dinner.

Except for Hubs. I made him a chopped salad with chicken.

Jake wandered into the kitchen at different intervals, sniffing here, tasting there, and soon he was so intrigued that it didn't matter I was making squash, because it all just seemed so delicious. This is one of the many things I love so much about my teenager-he may be reluctant at first, but more often than not he becomes intrigued and then just has to try it.

The squash itself becomes creamy and melds right in with the stuffing, which has some great texture from the sunflower seeds. I would serve them as a wonderful vegetarian option to a Thanksgiving turkey because they are so filling and tasty.

adapted from Canadian Living

2 smallish sized acorn squash
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup celery, chopped finely
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
(the original recipe called for 2 tbsp tomato paste, but I forgot it and now, I'm not sure I'd add it. Without was delicious!)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I took a hunk of freshly baked French bread and whirred it up in my food processor)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp of salt (I used about 1/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Carefully cut out a wedge in each squash, about 1/3 of it's size. This is a bit tricky because squash are hard and it's easy to cut yourself. Scoop out the seeds and cut a thin slice off each squash to level them out a bit, with the cut side up.

Put the squash in a microwave save dish and microwave on high for 12-15 minutes, until they are tender.

Peel and dice up the bits of squash that you had cut off, and set aside.

In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter and then fry up the diced squash, onion, and celery until they are soft and slightly browned. Add in the minced garlic and mushrooms, continuing to cook for about another 3 minutes. If you choose to add tomato paste, add it now and combine well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.

In a bowl combine the bread crumbs, sunflower seeds, cheese, onion mixture, salt and pepper. Give it all a good stir and then stuff it all into the cooked squash wedges, mounding it up. I never thought I'd fit all that stuffing into the squash, but I did. Transfer the wedges to a baking sheet and sprinkle them with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 450 F oven for about 7-10 minutes, until they are heated through and golden.

Serves 2

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Veggie Lovers Sandwich

We are very big on veggie sandwiches in this house. I know I've blogged about these a few times before, but this time we used Big 16 Bread by Silver Hills Bakery. I've had Squirrelly bread before, but to be honest it was pretty expensive and so I stopped buying it in favor of our local bakery bread.

Now, I'm a bit torn. We like our local bakery bread, even though it's often too soft to make thick sandwiches like this with. When Hubs saw the bag of Big 16 bread, he grabbed it and read everything printed on the bag; from the ingredients (I can pronounce EVERYTHING) to the nutritional info (almost no sugar!).

In a nutshell, this bread is damn healthy. It's thick and sturdy, and holds up well to all the stuff we shoved in this sandwich. I was thrilled that Silver Hills had sent me a coupon for a free loaf, because it showed me that this bread is really good, and perhaps the best thing for Hubs. We'll be buying some every week.

Onto the sandwiches! The measurements are not exact, but I'll tell you what we did in general.

1 avocado
cream cheese
2 slices of bread per person
2 carrots, peeled and grated
thinly sliced red onion
thinly sliced sweet bell pepper
pea shoots
thinly sliced mushrooms
thinly sliced cucumber

In a bowl, mash the avocado. Squirt a little lime juice over top and mix in salt and pepper to taste. Spread on ONE side of the sandwiches. Spread cream cheese on the other slices of bread. Layer, on the cream cheese side, cucumbers, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, and red onion. On the avocado side, top with pea shoots. Put the sandwiches together. Cut in 1/2 and eat!

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Jamie Oliver's Evolution Carrot Salad

One change I've made when I'm cooking dinner is to make more salads. Not just one salad per meal, but instead of a starchy potato, rice, or pasta dish, I'm making TWO salads. Jake and Hubs are loving it, too and we are really getting a lot of great veggies!

This salad is simple, but good. The only thing that I changed is I reduced the amount of olive oil. Love ya Jamie, but your salads are a bit oily for me.

4-5 large carrots, peeled and grated
3 Tbsp olive oil (original recipe called for 6 Tbsp)
salt and pepper to taste
sprigs of fresh mint and coriander, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice (I zested a lemon and then squeezed the juice from 1/2 the lemon into the salad)
handful of sunflower seeds, toasted
2 or 3 small clementines, peeled and cut into thick slices (didn't use them as I couldn't find any at the store, but I think they'd be delicious!)
crumbled feta

Just toss everything together in a bowl. Yum!

Serves 4

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