This dish came about one night as I was craving risotto but didn’t want white rice or to fuss over trying to create a risotto dinner with the wild rice blend I had. It turned out exactly as I had hoped. The flavours are rich and comforting without being overly heavy. I was told it would be a great date night dish….Valentine’s Day perhaps?

Rice-

• 6 servings of rice of choice, I used lundberg wild rice blend
• 1 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp herbamare, feel free to add less or skip this if you are watching your sodium intake
• 2 cloves garlic

Mushroom sausage blend-

• 1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 package of sausage, chopped
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/2 cup good quality parmesan cheese

For topping-

• Parsley
• Fresh diced tomato
• Pine nuts
• Fresh grated parmesan

Make-

1. Cook rice according to package….with a few alterations, use broth instead of water and replace 1 1/4 cup of the broth with white wine. Toss in 2 whole crushed cloves of garlic and salt.
2. While the rice is cooking work on the mushrooms and sausage. In a large pan over medium heat cook the onions in 2 tbsp of butter for about 4 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook stirring occasionally, for 13 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
5. Add the sausage and thyme, stirring occasionally until the sausage has cooked through, about 9-11 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan loosening the brown bits.
6. Add the tomato, soy sauce and white wine, cook until the wine has been absorbed.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Stir in the 1/4 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of parmesan.
9. Once the rice has finished cooking mix with the mushrooms and sausage.
10. If you want you can season with salt and pepper.
11. Serve topped with fresh parsley, tomato and pine nuts.
12. Enjoy.

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!

Today Toronto was hit with a ton of snow. It was one of those days where you just want to curl up under a nice fuzzy blanket and read a book or watch your  favourite Christmas movie. Sadly I, like so many others, had to travel a fair bit on public transit this afternoon taking far more time than it normally would have. While I stood outside waiting for the streetcar with the snow soaking through my hat and boots simultaneously I couldn’t help but dream of getting home for supper and sitting down to eat this super comforting bowl of stew…..and that is exactly what I did.

Recipe adapted from Deborah Madison

serves 6-8

• 2 tbsp safflower oil or any other neutral tasting oil
• 2 onion, diced
• 6 medium russet potatoes, chopped into bite sized chunks, about 1 inch thick
• 1 package of sausage, about 6, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 4.5oz can chopped green chillies
• 2 cans of whole yellow tomato
• 1 L low sodium vegetable broth
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven or pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. While you do this, in a separate pan cook the sausage. I cooked them over med high heat for about 10 minutes in 1/4 cup of water. First make a few slits on each sausage and then cover. Flip half way. When finished drain and chop. Set aside. Back to the onions….now that they have softened add the spices, garlic, potato and chillies. Give them a stir and cook, stirring frequently for about 7 minutes. At this point you can add the salt, I used about half a tsp but feel free to use more or less. Add the tomato, sausage and broth. Using a wooden spoon quickly break up the tomatoes. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Season with more salt and pepper. Before serving give the stew a quick couple of pulses with an immersion blender to make sure you don’t have any super large chunks of tomato in there, this will also help thicken the broth up a bit. Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and some fresh flat leaf parsley. Enjoy!

I don’t cook with acorn squash all that often…I don’t know why, I just don’t. I guess I go through phases with my preferred squash but for the most part I am a butternut girl or Kabocha but I can never seem to get my hands on them. I had this acorn squash given to me and decided to try roasting it a little different from how I normally would (Sliced in half and seeded) I did it in thin slices because I wanted the soup to have more of that yummy roasted flavour. I was quite happy with how it turned out and so were my dinner guests.

Serves 6

• 1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeded and then cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 onion, skin removed and halved
• 2 potato, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 tsp cumin
• heavy pinch of chipotle chili powder
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup whole milk or cream (leave this out if you want to keep this dish vegan)
• pepper to taste
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• safflower oil

Preheat the oven to 400. Cut and slice the squash, potato and onion. Toss with safflower oil and lay on baking sheet. Take the garlic and remove the excess layers of skin. Chop about 1/4 inch off the top of the bulb. Drizzle the top with a little oil then wrap in foil and place on the baking sheet. Let everything bake for 30 minutes flipping half way (obviously you do not have to flip the wrapped garlic). Once cooked, remove from the oven and let cool for a minute. Peel off the skin from the squash. In a large pot over medium heat, add the spices and stir them around for about 1 minute. Add the broth, squash, potato, onion and the roasted cloves of garlic. Now using an immersion blender, pulse everything until smooth. Add the chickpeas and give a few more quick pulses with the blender, making sure to not fully blend all the chickpeas. Allow to simmer for a few minutes then stir in the cider vinegar and lemon juice. Remove from heat and add the cream. At this point do a final taste test and see if you think it needs a little more salt or pepper, if so sprinkle it in then serve topped with some fresh parsley. Enjoy!

So this sandwich is the s***. I have always been a huge fan of sandwiches but due to a sluggish metabolism I can’t eat nearly as many as I would like. I can however dream…..and that is what this beauty started as. I eat roasted veg every week. I love roasted vegetables and toss them in with most of my weekly dishes. Because I eat so many roasted vegetables I’m always thinking of new ways to incorporate them into my meals. The idea of this sandwich was just too good not to bring to life. Enjoy. serves 4

• 1 large head of cauliflower, sliced in slabs (remove the leaves, then leaving the core intact cut into 1/2 inch slices)
• 2 large red peppers, sliced
• 2 cooking onions, sliced in rounds
• 1 head of broccolini
• 2 small zucchini, sliced length ways
• 2 avocado, sliced
• 8 slices of jalapeño havarti cheese
• 8 slices of light rye bread
• safflower oil

Spice mix for veggies:

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 smoked paprika
• 1/2 – 1 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder

For the sauce:

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise or vegenaise
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 tsp sriracha, adjust to taste
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• splash of worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp honey (more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

To make -

1. preheat oven to 425.
2. brush oil on both sides of the sliced veggies (minus the onions and red peppers)
3. season both sides with spice blend.
4. lay on baking sheet. Bake for 25 -35 minutes flipping half way through (the broccolini and zucchini will cook a little faster, remove when nicely charred)
5. while the vegetables are baking drizzle some oil in the bottom of a medium sized pan and toss in the onions and peppers. Cook on med-high until caramelized, about the same amount of time as your other vegetables will be roasting for. Stir often.
6. make your sauce. Toss all of the sauce ingredients in your food processor and pulse until fully combined. set aside.
7. when your roasted veggies are done, remove from oven and set aside.
8. place your bread directly on the rack of your oven. 4 of those slices should have 2 slices of havarti each. remove from oven when toast begins to brown and cheese is beautiful and bubbly.

Assemble - first cover the bottom of the non cheesy rye with cauliflower. Now place in layers the zucchini, broccolini, peppers and onions and avocado. Slather the cheese covered rye with a generous amount of sauce and sandwich those beauties together. Devour.

Hello October! If you need me you can find me at the bottom of  the never-ending pots of delicious homemade soup that have taken over my kitchen! I know these pictures are a bit blurry but trust me this soup looks and tastes crazy good. Give it a try. You won’t be sorry. This particular soup has now been added to my list of favourites. Serves 6-8

• Safflower oil, for frying
• 5 pieces of naturally smoked bacon, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 cups green cabbage, chopped
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• pinch or two of chipotle chili powder ( more or less depending on how much heat you want in your soup )
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 red skinned potato, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 can diced tomato
• 1 can white kidney beans
• 4 cups veg broth
• 1/3 cup mixture of parmesan and asiago
• salt and pepper to taste
• additional bacon and cheese to top ( optional )

Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for a few minutes, letting it brown. Add a couple more tbsp of oil along with the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the cabbage and cook for 5 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. Add the spices, carrots, celery and potato. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tomato, beans and broth. Feel free to add a little salt and pepper if you like. Bring the soup to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan/asiago. Using an immersion blender, pulse until desired consistency. Spoon into bowls and top with a bacon bits and a sprinkle of parmesan. Enjoy!

Serves 4

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, roasted

1 large clove of garlic

2 tsp capers

1/2 cup of fresh italian parsley

1/2 cup fresh basil

3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 325. Evenly distribute the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool. Add all of the above to your food processor and mix until fully blended and smooth.

Pasta 

4 servings Pasta of choice, I used vegetable pasta

2 peaches, pitted and sliced

1 med zucchini, sliced in half moons

Feta, for topping

Cook 4 servings of desired pasta. While the pasta is cooking grill the peaches and zucchini. First take a ziplock bag and add the raw zucchini and peaches. Add 1 tbsp olive oil or safflower oil. Seal the bag and give a little shake making sure to coat everything. Place the zucchini and peaches on a grill over medium heat for about 3-5 min per side. You want them to be tender but not falling appart.

To serve: Toss the pasta with desired amount of pesto. Gently mix in the zucchini and peaches. Top with feta and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Enjoy!

*Note: Pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

recipe adapted from a house in the hills

I love meals like this. It is such a versatile dish that can be taken in so many delicious directions. I was running short on time…and groceries… so this time I didn’t add a ton to this hash. Regardless of the lack of toppings my guests devoured it.

serves 4

. 1 bunch asparagus

. 4 medium russet potatoes

. 5 green onions, chopped

. 1 large clove of garlic, minced

. salt and pepper to taste

. coconut or safflower oil for frying

. Feta for topping

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, snap off the bottoms of your asparagus spears ( discard the bottoms ) and cut the remaining asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Chop the green onions. Now that the water has come to a boil add the potatoes and cook for about 10-15  minutes or until just tender. Add the asparagus to the pot of potatoes and let boil for the last two minutes. Once the potatos and asparagus have cooked, drain them and give them a quick rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool. Chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces. In a large frying pan saute the green onions and garlic with about 1 tbsp of oil over medium-low heat. Turn heat to med and add a little more oil. Now add the potato, asparagus and a good pinch of salt and some fresh pepper. Saute, turning every 4 minutes making sure the bottoms are browning ( not burning ) If  the potatoes are sticking to the pan you can add a little more oil. Once the hash is looking good and golden remove from heat and serve! Top with a generous drizzle of chimichurri and a crumbling of Feta. Enjoy.

chimichurri

. 1/2 cup parsley

. 3/4 cup cilantro

. 1 1/2 cloves of garlic

. 2 1/2 tbsp shallots

. 2-4 slices of pickled jalapano, add more or less depending on how much heat you like or you can skip the jalapano if you aren’t wanting the extra kick.

. 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

. 3/4 cups olive oil

. 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

. 3/8 tsp salt

To make: add all of the above to your food processor and pulse. Alternately, if you do not have a food processor you can finely chop everything and then mix together in a bowl.

Want to mix it up a bit? Try adding any of the following to your hash

. top with a poached egg

. shredded chicken 

. sliced sausage

. diced tomato

. can’t forget a drizzle of sriracha!

I made this quiche for my beautiful bestfriends birthday potluck brunch. Sadly we had to leave before the party was over, to put Poppy down for her afternoon nap. Later that day I got a text saying both quiches were devoured! and as if that wasn’t enough of a compliment the birthday girl herself then told me it was the BEST quiche she had ever had!! along with a request to PLEASE post the recipe on my blog. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

Recipe makes 2, 24cm round quiche tins

2 tbsp olive oil

5 medium cooking onions, chopped into half rings

16 oz crimini mushrooms

150ml  Guinness

2 cans of seamless dough sheets ( 1 can per quiche )

1 package of bacon, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces

300 ml double cream

3 cups cheese, shredded ( I used a mixture of swiss, sharp white cheddar and parmesan )

Pre heat oven to 395. In a large pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms, cook until softened but not browned. Add the beer and cook for about 20 minutes stirring frequently ( do not let the mixture dry out ) turn heat down if needed.

Roll out the dough and line two 24 cm round quiche tins. Use your fingers to close up any holes that may have appeared when placing the dough in the quiche tins…Make sure there are no holes in the dough!

Cover the bottom of the quiche with a thick layer of bacon. Cover the bacon with the mushroom and onion mixture.

Mix together the eggs and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese.

Pour over the quiche. Make sure the cheese is evenly spread out.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. If you notice the dough or cheese is browning too fast lightly place a piece of tinfoil over the quiche to prevent burning. Remove from oven. Let sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

There is nothing like a big bowl of comfort. Quick easy and delicious. This will fill you up and make your tastebuds happy all at the same time!

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp savory

2 cups crimini mushrooms, chopped

3 cups green cabbage, chopped

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 19 ounce can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, with juice

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

fresh parmesan cheese, for serving

*additional ingredients: quinoa or brown rice, cook according to package

In a large pot heat the oil over med-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, thyme and savory. cook for about 5 minutes, stiring frequently until the onion has softened. Stir in the mushroom and cabbage and cook stirring frequently for another 5 minutes. Add the stock and simmer, covered, for 6 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, parsley and cilantro. Cover and simmer over med to med-low leat for 12 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve: Enjoy served over quinoa and topped with a generous grating of fresh parmesan. Enjoy.