So it’s cold outside. Like freezing cold. Too cold to go out and play cold. Pipes freezing kinda cold….(if you live in a rental with really crap pipes). It’s the kind of day, where all day long I think about what warm comforting meal I want to sit down and eat tonight with the ones I love. Well this is it. This is the meal I wish I still had. Sadly we ate it all two nights ago and all I have left are these pictures. Oh and did I mention we have almost no groceries in the fridge! ya…it was too cold to do that too. Guess it’s pea soup and toast for my family tonight. That being said, if you happen to have these ingredients in your home, I highly suggest this is what you warm your tummy with tonight. Recipe adapted from MadelineLu.

Serves 4

Squash bake:

• 3 medium potato, cut into approx 1/2 inch cubes
• 2-3 cups butternut squash, or squash of choice, cut into approx 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large cooking onion
• 3 cloves of garlic,minced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 generous handful fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for cooking; safflower, olive or coconut

Dill yogurt sauce:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 tbsp fresh dill
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Mix all of the above together and you’re done.

To make:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil squash and potato for about 10 minutes or until just about cooked ( you don’t want them mushy)
3. Heat a couple tbsp of oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven (as I used)….or any oven-proof frying pan for that matter.
4. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft.
5. Once the potatoes and squash have finished cooking, drain them then toss them in over med-high heat.
6. Add the spices and cook until slightly browned. Stir every so often so they don’t burn to the bottom of the pan. Add a little more oil or broth if needed. This should take about 5 minutes.
7. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes or until everything is cooked through (keeping in mind you don’t want a pot of mush). Continue to stir every so often.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Stir in the parsley.
10. Break the eggs over the mixture and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. A few minutes more if you like your eggs really cooked and a little less if you want super runny.
11. Remove from oven and sprinkle with a little more paprika and pepper.
12. Serve topped with the dill yogurt sauce and a side of wild rice and lentils or a nice crispy baguette.
13. Enjoy!

This beautiful cherry clafoutis has been on my “to make” list longer than cherries have been in season. Lucky for me I procrastinated long enough that I was able to snatch up a beautiful basket of Cherries at the local farmers market to use in this simple and delicious dessert.

Serves 8

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup of sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp, almond extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups of cherries, pitted – you can leave them whole or halve them
• powdered sugar, for topping
• lemon, juice for topping

In your blender add the milk, 1/3 cup of sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Blend. Pour 1/4 inch of the batter into a buttered medium-sized cast iron skillet ( or any oven safe skillet ). Bake until a thin layer begins to set, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from the oven cover with a layer of cherries. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar over the cherries. Evenly pour on the remaining batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until nicely browned and puffed.

To serve: Let cool slightly. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!

*Adapted barely  from Julia Childs  Cherry Clafoutis

 Recipe makes about 12 small/medium pancakes

5 cups of shredded vegetable, I used a mixture of red and green cabbage, carrot and brussel sprouts

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded 

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp worcester sauce

1/2 cup cold water

safflower oil or canola, for frying

In a small bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a large bowl add the shredded vegetable, scallions and chicken. Now add the flour mixture and toss with your fingers until evenly distributed. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, water and worcester. Pour the wet ingredients into the cabbage mixture. Gently mix together ( do not over mix ). Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with oil and warm over medium heat. Make about 3-4 pancakes evenly spread apart, each one should be about 2 tbsp of batter. Slightly flatten with a spatula. Cook for 5-7 minutes per side or until they are cooked through and have a nice crispy brown outer layer.

Okonomiyaki Sauce:

1/4 ketchup

1 1/2 tbsp worcester sauce

1/4 tsp dijon mustard

1 bsp rice wine ( for cooking )

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 3-5 minutes until smooth and thick. Sauce recipe courtesy from Smitten Kitchen

Sriracha mayo:

1/4 cup mayo

1 1/2 tsp sriracha

Other toppings:

toasted sesame seeds

scallions, thinly sliced 

To serve:

Spread a bit of the okonomiyaki sauce on the pancakes and top with mayo and some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions.

*Want to mix it up a bit? try adding any of the following to your pancakes

Kale, shredded

zucchini, shredded

baby prawns

bacon

fish

I went up to my Dad’s for the week. While I was there he asked if I could try and make him a healthier version of one of his favourite snacks. Brownies. This is what I came up with.

1/3 cup of cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dates + 3tbsp water

1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp vanilla

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl sift together the cocoa and baking powder. In a food processor add the dates + water, blackbeans, vanilla and coconut oil. Mix until smooth ( if the mixture is too thick add a bit more water ). Add the eggs and pulse until combined. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Stir in the chocolate chips, feel free to save a few to sprinkle on top. Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch squair baking pan. Bake for 50 to 55 min. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Refrigorate for a few hours and serve.

*note: These brownies are best served cold. The texture is smooth almost like a truffle when served this way.

This was my first year decorating eggs with Poppy. I decided to try my hand at making our own natural dyes from vegetables and spices etc. Other than it taking a bit of time it was super fun and easy. I can’t wait for next year to see what new colours I can come up with.

I used:

purple cabbage

beets

blueberries

turmeric

hibiscus tea ( this didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped )

TO DYE:

Use 1 cup of vegetable or fruit per cup of water or 2 tbsp of spices/herbs per cup of water. Pour water into pots and add whatever you are using for colouring. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Once cooled pour through a strainer into jars. Add 1 tbsp of vinegar per cup of strained liquid. Transfer your room temp hard boiled eggs into the dye. Refrigerate until you are happy with the shade.

Tip*

If you want to add some patterns to your eggs try wrapping them with rubber bands or tape cutouts before emerging into the dye. Remove the rubber bands and tape after the eggs have been dyed and dryed.

1/2 cup gluten free flour

3/4 cups parmesan cheese, grated

2 tsp fresh rosemerry, finely chopped ( or 1 tbsp dried )

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup of chickpeas, mashed

2 eggs, slightly beaten

oil for frying ( I used olive ) but feel free to use whatever oil you like. 

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, parmesan, rosemary, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin, chickpeas and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

In a deep frying pan heat a generous amount of oil over medium heat. Once the oil is heated drop 3 or 4 large tbsp of batter into the oil. Gently flatten each tbsp. Cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until nice and crispy golden. Remove from pan and lay on some paper towel to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy.

*note: If the fritters are browning too fast, turn the heat down to med-low

makes about 30 macaroons

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey

1/2 tsp organic vanilla

1/8 tsp organic almond extract

2 cups organic unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract. Add the coconut and stir until combined.

Using a tablespoon as a scooper, spoon out the mixture onto a parchment lined tray ( or 2 ) leaving about an inch of space between the macaroons. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms and sides are golden brown and the tops are begining to brown. Once you have removed the macaroons from the oven let rest for a min of 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy

*note: these would be amazing with a little chocolate drizzled on top!

1 –  My busy little sous-chef

2 – One of Poppys favourite shoes

3 – Poppy loves her eggs!

4 – Poppy gazing outside longingly and a not so gentle reminder that I need to clean my windows ( as soon as it warms up a bit outside)

Adapted from PLENTY

I recieved Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty for Christmas this year. When flipping through its beautiful pages this recipe immediately caught my eye and for good reason….it’s absolutely delicious!

I finally got around to making it last week. It was the perfect week for a comfort meal like this. Outside  was cold, fall on your bum more than once icy, and rainy! I spent the afternoon preparing it with my unbelievably patient Poppy entertaining herself with all the pots, pans and bowls she could reach.

When serving this to Poppy I spooned a bit of the mixture onto some rice and she devoured it. Kegan and I enjoyed ours with some hot crunchy white bread…after putting Poppy to bed.

Serves 4

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

3/4 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil – *note: because this was my first time making Shakshuka I followed this recipe to a T, however the next time I make this I will use far less oil.

2 large onions, sliced

2 red bell peppers, cut into strips

2 yellow bell peppers, cut into strips

4 tsp muscovado sugar

2 bay leaves

6 thyme sprigs, leaves only, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped, plus extra to garnish

6 ripe tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp saffron threads

pinch of cayenne pepper, or more depending on how much you enjoy the heat

salt and black pepper to taste

up to 1 1/8 cups of water -*note: I did not need the water when I made this. I also had to cook it longer to achieve the desired consistency before putting in the oven.

8 eggs or less if you only use one per cocotte

Over high heat; In a extra large pan, dry roast the cumin seeds for 2 minutes. Add the oil and onions and saute for 5 minutes. Now add the peppers, sugar, bay leaves, parsley, cilantro and thyme. Continue cooking over high heat for 5-10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne and a bit of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes or until the mixture becomes a thick pasta sauce consistency. If needed you can add bits of water during this period to make sure it does not dry out ( I did not need any water….maybe my tomatoes were super juicy? ) Taste and adjust the seasoning. You want a nice strong flavour.

Remove the bay leaves and devide the mixture amongst 4 mini round cocottes ( I had enough left overs for 2 more servings ) make sure the mixture is still hot. Now make a little hole in the middle of each serving of pepper mixture and carefully break an egg into each hole. Sprinkle with a little salt and cover with lids. Cook in the oven at 325 for about 12-14 minutes. Check after 10 min, you want the whites of the eggs to be completely set and the yolks beginning to thicken but not harden. Once the eggs have cooked, remove from the oven; sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve with a nice crunchy white loaf. Enjoy!

* You could also try topping with a little feta! so good.

Recipe adapted from Beard+Bonnet

• 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
• 1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed
• 4 large eggs
• 3 tbsp butter melted + a little more for greasing the muffin pan

Preheat the oven to 400. Using butter or cooking spray of choice grease the muffin pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and butter. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt and psyllium. Now pour the flour mixture in with the egg mixture and stir to combine. Once the batter is nice and smooth add the parmesan.

Divide the batter evenly amongst the greased muffin tin. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the popovers are golden brown.

To serve:

I like to make a batch of these and  eat them throughout the week with some soup and a salad. They taste great as is or you can slice them and toss the slices in the oven at 400 for a few minutes until they are nice and toasty, yum!