3 cups sliced radishes

1 cup red onion, sliced in half moons

3 cloves garlic, lightly crush with the side of a knife

1 jalapeno pepper, halved length wise

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

1 -1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cold water

In a non-reactive pot, heat the vinegar, sugar, honey and salt over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Stir in the water. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place the radishes, red onions, garlic and jalapeno in a medium sized jar. Pour the brine (vinegar mixture) over the radish mixture, making sure the radishes are totally submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate. You can eat as early as 1 hour later but I would wait a min of 4 hours but ideally I would wait and let them soak over night. These should last up to one month in the fridge ( as long as the mixture remains totally submerged in the brine )

*Note: There are a million ways to enjoy our pickled friends. Here are a few of my faves- serve in salads, on top of rice dishes, tacos or on sandwiches.

 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

3 cups self-rising flour ( or 3 cups all purpose or whole wheat + 1 tbsp baking powder + 3/4 tsp salt )

3 tbsp sugar

1 12oz bottle beer of choice, I used guinness

1 stick (8 tbsp) of butter, melted and divided – trying to be healthy?….you can use 1/2 stick of butter (4tbsp) instead.

*if you want to dress this bread up a bit, try some herbs like rosemary and thyme or some crumbled bacon and 1/2 cup or so of cheese. You could also add a little heat to it with sriracha or some jalapeno peppers…..the options are endless and it’s so easy. Have fun and enjoy!

preheat oven to 350. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the beer. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Pour in half of the melted butter. Spoon the batter into the pan. Pour the remaining butter over the batter. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

*note: This tastes amazing with a good slather of honey or served alongside your favourite soup or stew.

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!

Recipe adapted from Donna hay

Salad:

• 1 small whole grain  baguette, sliced and grilled
• 4-6 cups arugula or mixed greens of choice
• 2 baby fennel, thinly sliced
• 2 pears, thinly sliced
• blue cheese – As much or as little as you like

Honey Balsamic dressing:

• 1/4 cup of your favourite balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all of the above in a small bowl and whisk together. You should have extra dressing…I  recommend pouring it onto a few small plates, and letting your guests dunk their bread!

Slice the baguette and spread with a thin coat of olive oil. Grill until just crispy. Place a few slices of baguette on each plate and then arrange the arugula, blue cheese, fennel and pears. Drizzle with a generous amount of honey balsamic dressing. Serve and enjoy!

*Note – Try topping with some toasted walnuts!

When I became pregnant I started as most newly pregnant woman do, looking a little closer at what I was putting in my body every time I ate. I found it next to imposible to find a granola bar that wasnt filled with crap. Even the healthy ones were loaded with stuff I didn’t want and were way too high in fat. And so I began my search to create the perfect granola bar. Throughout my pregnancy I made a wide variety of bars, some good some not so good. I even made a few that were near perfect but do you think I wrote down the recipe to any of my attempts?…nope not one. So this is where my search yet again begins. Only this time I will be writing them all down, each and every one of them.

Get together and measure out your supplies.

Dump all dry ingredients together in a big bowl.

Pour all wet ingredients in a pot and mix over med-high heat until melted.

Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and mix.

Spread the mixture in a pan. Flatten with a spatula.

Bake at 325 for about 25 min. Remove from oven. Make sure you press the hot granola bars down again packing the mixture tight. This time I use a small wooden cutting board, it works great to cover a larger surface and you can realy push hard. Now let cool. Dump pan upside down over a large cutting board. Now cut the bars and eat.

• 5Tbl All natural Peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 1 1/2 Tbl vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups organic brown rice puffs
• 1/2 cup Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole grain cereal
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup dried fruit ( I used raisins )
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup unsweetened carob chips
• Cinnamon to taste

These are not the perfect granola bar. They are good but a bit crumbly for my liking. And so the search continues.