Warm, Savory Kale & Chickpea Salad

Tonight was one of those rushing around nights, but one where we FINALLY got home before 7:30pm on a weeknight. Yay!!

Nothing sucks more than living in a hamlet with barely any services when the cupboards are bare!

I popped into the local market before it closed (for once) and along with a couple items I had from my CSA pick up yesterday, I managed to slap together a great cold weather salad.

Delish, warm, filling, 30 minutes start to finish.

Now to relax, snuggle and reset for tomorrow.

Ingredients:

1 bunch curly kale
1 can/cans worth cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 250

Wash & tear kale into bite sized pieces, coat with 1 tbsp grapeseed oil. Lightly salt.

Place on baking sheet & bake for 20 minutes or until a 50/50 wilted/crispy texture is achieved.

While baking combine chickpeas and all ingredients but lemon juice in bowl, fry on stovetop on medium heat until hot, mildly crunchy and brown.

Combine chickpea mixture with kale, coat with lemon juice & serve.

Serves 2

 

Click HERE for 14 awesome things you should know about Kale.

Chickpeas – From south of the border

 

Easy, quick and delish.

This recipe is a favourite of mine for several reasons:

1- you can freeze it

2 – it’s UBER versatile

3 – summer or winter – it’s good

4 – easily packed

5 – cleanse friendly

6 – it’s spicy – or not

7 – blah blah blah – it’s protein packed

I could go on and on but this really is one of my more desired ways to prepare and consume chickpeas. Especially lately because I’ve been eating a whole tonne of them for no apparent reason! You CAN get Garbanzoed out, especially if you don’t eat meat.

You will need a slow cooker or a whole day (at least) at home for this one to turn out really well. I believe firmly that robust taste needs to settle in over night. I am serving it up “mexi-style” in this recipe but once you have the method down the flavours are easily interchangeable.

Ingredients: 

2 cans or 2 cans worth of soaked garbanzo beans

1/3 cup of your fave hot sauce ( I like Franks or sriracha)

3/4 cup veggie broth – try my easy at home recipe HERE

3 med-large onions diced

2 med tomatoes chopped

5 cloves garlic

2 tsp your fave oil that can be heated healthfully (avocado/grape seed)

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 pinch garlic salt

1/4 tsp celtic/himalayan salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

*Optional 1/2 can of black beans/soaked favourite bean if you’re not super “tooty”.

Toppings: 

Lettuce, tomato, cilantro, green onion, cheese if you do cheese, nutritional yeast to sub cheese, sliced avocado.

*I opted to process some avocado with some apple cider vinegar and a hint of veganaise.*

Method:

Place all “non topping” ingredients in slow cooker on high for 4 hours, reduce to low for another 6 hours. Approximately 1.5 hours before serving, turn over to simmer setting and allow to simmer until serving. Check on your liquid levels after the first 6 hours or if you know your crockpot is temperamental.

For stovetop, use med-high and medium settings.

Serve – in taco shells, as wraps/burittos/as a chili or stew as a side. Play with different spices (curry??) to make a whole new meal of it.

Blend and freeze for a great soup base!

This served the two of us gorging until it was all gone.

 

 

 

Recipe for Disappointment – wildcrafting

This winter I was contacted by a magazine for an interview on wild foraging in the Canadian Rockies. Needless to say, I was thrilled to be able to put together my thoughts on wildcrafting and put forth some ideas on sustainable foraging for the local mountain curious & cultured to peruse through.

I completed a 1 hour interview where ideas on how to, where to and what to forage for in this micro-climate of Alberta were discussed. I shared a great recipe (which is here for you in the photo) and knew that my web info, picture and 500 word or less article would appear in the summer issue of this mountain culture magazine.

I searched and search and subscribed to the magazine to ensure that I would get a copy to keep for myself. To no avail. When I finally attended a concert in Banff this past weekend, I managed to scoop one up at a local outdoors store.

I plucked up the magazine and lined up for breakfast, frantically thumbing the pages to reach “my” article. What I saw made my heart sink. I was SO excited to see my face and words on the page. Instead, I saw what you’re looking at. A full page for my recipe and a small tag with virtually nothing about me inserted in it.

I wont go overboard and say I was devastated, but I was kind of beside myself with confusion on how the article seemed to have gotten cut…and why I wasn’t advised. Hmpf.

Most publications I have been featured in would have handled this differently, I felt……embarrassed that I had be so stoked and felt like I amounted to NOTHING. Later on in the weekend Jeff went on to say that he was proud of me that I got into a magazine at all, and that I should be happy.

I have to agree with him. I do. Sometimes the old performer in me just wants that moment in the sun. When the lights aren’t as bright as I’d hoped, they might as well be off!

Not very grateful, not very positive. Time to work on that, right?

Enjoy the recipe. Get out and be wild -even if no one is looking.

xo
S

3 ingredient granola bars

 

This recipe was whipped up when my step-daughter, Anastacia, was hungry just before we needed to leave the house for her ballet rehearsal. As most people who know me know, I do not enjoy putting my money into packaged and industrialized foods. SO, of course, we had no ready made granola bars in the house. With just a few ingredients and 10 minutes, healthy bars were in the oven and in 10 more, ready to eat.

You now have no excuses for feeding your kids crappy “over the counter” granola bars – feel the shame!! 🙂

Ingredients: 

3 cups of oats

1 cup peanut or almond butter

1/2 cup agave nectar or honey

Options: 

2 tbsp warm water for chewy-er bars

Vanilla extract

Peanut chips

Chocolate or carob chips

Coconut

Raisins

Craisins

 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat up nut butter and honey on stove top – low. Add all ingredients to bowl and mix well. Press in pan, cut into shapes…whatever you like.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Tip: add water or more honey/agave if the mixture is too dry!

Healthy Facts: 

Oats – lower cholesterol, enhances immunity, blood sugar stabilizer.

Peanut butter: protein rich, healthy unsaturated fats that lower risk of heart disease – WE NEED FATS IN OUR BODIES FOLKS, DON’T BE FOOLED BY RECKLESS DIETS!!!!!!

Almond butter: alternative to peanut butter for allergies, fiber, calcium, zinc, iron, folates – WOW almonds are amaze-balls.

Agave nectar: anti-microbial,  still high in concentrated fructose, but an option for Vegans.

Honey: 2% mineral rich, protein, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, antioxidant, B6, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin.

Pizza – in a state of emergency

 

If you ever feel like you have NO idea what to cook for dinner – always remember, if you have a freezer and a couple ingredients, you have a pizza. Last night I had NO idea what to make for dinner. I had rushed home to feed and walk the dogs, was charged by a moose, did my 30 minute HIIT workout just in time for my man to arrive home from a day on the ski hill. I had 20 minutes to get something going and my kitchen was especially empty.

Cue my pizza-itis.

Pizza is, in my humble opinion, one of the easiest, most robust culinary creations out there. You have an entire meal in one spot. How perfect is that? While our ideas of the perfect pizza may be very different, rest assured that a few great ingredients prepared well, can really tie together what would otherwise seem like a hodgepodge mess.

Ingredients: 

Gluten free rice tortillas – keep these frozen for emergency use later

Peanut satay sauce

1 sweet potato shredded

2 carrots shredded

1 bell pepper sliced

1 cup frozen pineapple diced

2 cups torn kale

2 tbsp fresh chopped chive or green onion

1/4 cup nutritional yeast – to add some cheesiness

Garlic salt

Peppercorns – fresh, crushed for taste

 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place tortillas on a baking sheet, spread peanut satay sauce on as you would with any regular pizza sauce – I suggest more saucy, but that’s my preference.

 

In a hot skillet lightly oiled, cook up your yam and pineapple fir about 5 minutes on medium heat to remove the starch from the yam.

 

Top your pizza with all ingredients with the exception of the green onion. Place in oven and cook for at least 20 minutes or until you can see the edges of your tortillas getting browned. At around 20-25 minutes add your green onion & nutritional yeast and allow to cook for a couple more minutes.

 

Voila! You can use this recipe for appies, or for your main course.

In a perfect world, while that’s in the oven you could splash some water on your face, turn on some sweet tunes and pour a glass of scotch to enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Sugar

With a moment to spare in between travels I had the strangest desire to make Vanilla Bean sugar. I think my anticipation of the SWEETNESS of summer brought this craving to me…and now to you, today.

This recipe is uber simple and requires very little time. With the finished product you can: add it to baking, coffee, as a topping for freshly cut fruit or home baked desserts. You can also use this as a rimmer for sweet cocktails or as an ingredient for rubs.

Ingredients: 

2 medium vanilla beans

1 cup raw, organic sugar

Method: 

Slice open bean pods with knife and cut in 1/2.

Add sugar and beans to food processor and pulse until mixed as well as you can. Note: the sugar will “smoke” up in your processor if you leave it on low/high…less likely when you use the pulse option.

Once mixed use a sieve or pastry sifter to sift out any large pieces of vanilla bean.

Voila! Instant vanilla bean sugar. Be sure to keep the remainder of the vanilla bean chunks to add to your very own homemade vanilla extract.  

Decorate your mason/glass jars with fancy material lid covers and bows, give these away as gifts!

Raw Vegan Noodles & Marinara

What could be more simple than a Raw Vegan meal that doesn’t require many ingredients? Pretty much nothing, right? Especially when you’re not inclined to order food out of a window in the side of a building. 

Here we have a simple dish that is great for the whole family to participate in preparing. 

Tools: 

Food processor or blender 

Spiralizing veggie cutter or knife

Ingredients: 

Noodles: 

3 med/large zuchinni

Sauce: 

5 medium tomatoes chopped

15 re hydrated sun dried tomatoes

2 large pitted dates

1/4 tsp cayenne (or less if you hate heat)

1 handful of fresh Basil

4 cloves garlic

1 small yellow onion

1 tsp grape seed or olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method: 

Spiralize or slice zucchini into noodle shapes. Place all remaining ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. 

Serve like spaghetti! Serves 4. 

Tips: 

Do not add sauce to noodles until you are ready to eat – it will make zucchini mushy. You can add other fresh herbs like oregano for increased “Italian” flavour. 

Be sure if you are spiralizing that you stop to cut the noodles every few turns to make sure they are not overwhelming to eat. 

Sun dried tomatoes come in all sizes, so if you are in Southern California (where the dates and tomatoes are HUGE) I would suggest halving the sun dried tomato count. 

This dish will keep for about 3 days in the fridge. 

Vegan/Vegetarian Gingerbread Cookies

Okay, okay. I’m busted. Making a Christmas-y recipe in December. Most of y’all know I’m not a big supporter of Christmas, the church etc…BUT I needed to find something for my step-daughter to learn in the kitchen and I thought making these for her class would be a nice thing to do as well.

Simple recipe, great flavour, and if you like your cookies a little softer, don’t roll them out too thinly.

I always recommend using the BEST ingredients that you can for cooking, though I may not make reference to exactly what types of ingredients I’ve used here…feel free to ask me!

Ingredients:

*Dry*

4 1/4 cups all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry or gluten free flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp clove

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tsp ground ginger

*Wet*

3/4 cup molasses

1.5 tbsp. egg replacer (1:3 ratio)

1/2 cup softened earth balance buttery spread

1 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place all dry ingredients in large bowl, blend together well. Add softened butter, molasses and egg replacer.

Dough will be stiff, mix well with hands.

Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll out to 1/4″ thickness on a floured surface. Cut into gingerbread man shapes, or any other festive shape….if it’s summertime, make circular cookies with a floured drinking glass!

Place on cookie sheet no closer than 3/4″ together.

Bake 10-12 minutes (I like 12 mins in my old oven). Decorate as desired.

My little gingerbread man cut out (3×2 inches) made about 35 cookies with this recipe.

Enjoy.

Vegan/Vegetarian Potato Asparagus Soup

 

I like to think of this recipe as fast food. All told, it takes only 45 minutes to make from start to finish….pretty simple for such great flavours.

 

If you’re feeling daring, try adding some cheese to the mix for extra flavour!

 

Great winter dish with very limited calorie intake.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 lbs red potatoes – washed well, sliced into cubes/1/8 inch thickness

1 bunch asparagus – washed and sliced thinly with mandolin or slicing side of manual grater

2.5 cups almond milk

3 cups veggie broth

2 medium yellow onions

1 tsp powdered thyme

1/4 cup earth balance soy free spread

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cracked pepper

 

*Vegetarians etc…you can add a cup or 2 of grated cheese to this dish – cheddar or smoked gouda would be nice – to thicken it up/add a flavour boost.

 

*Vegans – we all know vegan cheese SUCKS (be honest) so I would say add nothing.

 

Method:

 

Heat large, deep frying pan to medium-high heat. Add earth balance and melt. Add chopped onion and cook for 10-15 minutes until translucent and browning. Add all other ingredients *except asparagus* and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 20 more minutes until potatoes are tender.

 

Remove from heat and ladle into a blender to mix or use a hand blender right in the pan (my preferred method) once potatoes are mixed in well enough, return to heat, add asparagus and cook for another 5 minutes.

 

Serve topped with fresh pepper & salt.

 

Serves 6.

Vegan or Vegetarian kale & broccoli pizza

Pizza is one of my favourite pastimes….wait, is that even possible? Well, in my world it most definitely is. Altering your diet strictly or even moderately could mean that you have to kiss certain foods goodbye. Well, my beloved pizza is something I have never been willing to give up. 

Here is my recipe as an ode to pizza and all of the hangovers and late nights it has seen me through. 

** Dough will need time to set up – you need 2 hours once it’s made. 

Ingredients: 

Crust: 

1 cup warm water

1 package dry active yeast

1 tbsp granulated sugar/cane sugar – or none if you prefer

3 cups unbleached, organic, all purpose bread flour & some reserved

1 tsp himalayan sea salt

1.5 tbsp olive oil

Pizza toppings: 

1/5 cups broccoli florets

3 cups torn kale

1/2 cup re-constituted sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1 jalepeno pepper diced

1 large yellow onion

5 cloves garlic diced

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 small fresh tomato chopped

1 green onion

Optional: 

Shredded fresh parmesan

Sauce: 

1 large organic tomato

1 handful basil

1 clove garlic

3 tbsp fresh oregano

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 – 375 degrees.

Place warm (but not hot) water in measuring cup. Add yeast to activate it. Add sugar and dissolve into water. Wait approx 10-15 minutes for the mixture to begin foaming/bubbling. 

Combine 3 cups flour with salt in large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the dry mixture and add your yeast mixture with your oil. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture and blend out any lumps. Knead, turn and repeat until elastic consistency is reached. 

Do not over knead!!

Coat dough ball in oil lightly and place in bowl, cover with tea towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours. 

** This will make 1 16″ pizza or a couple of 12″ pizzas if you roll it out right. Dough will last in fridge for about 36 hours. 

Moving on…….

Once your dough is rolled out, place onto a greased pizza pan or pizza stone and pinch up the edges to create your desired crust! Toppings are coming….

Use a small hand blender or food processor to combine pizza sauce ingredients. 

Spoon over raw dough. ADd all toppings with the exception of nutritional yeast.

Bake pizza in oven for at least 30-35 minutes. Remove and coat crust area with olive oil if desired. 

Remove from oven at 35 minutes, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and cheese – bake for another 10 minutes. 

Serves 4.