Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 leeks (including green part), washed and roughly chopped

1 small onion, roughly chopped

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed

5-6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

Salt and pepper

Thyme, to taste

Cream

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil and butter on medium heat.  Add leeks and onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and thyme and continue to cook until slightly tender.

2. Add broth to cover vegetables; do not add all of the broth to prevent soup from becoming too liquid. 

3. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are very tender. Very seasoning and add some salt and pepper if necessary.

4. Once soup is cooked, transfer to a food processor and reduce to a puree. If the soup is too thick, add more broth. 

5. Serve hot, with a drizzle of cream and some croutons.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

 

Ingredients

4 bell peppers

1 pound ground veal

About 1 cup cooked rice (or more, depending on amount of meat)

2 eggs

4 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1 red onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

Fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper

Marinara sauce

Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place some sauce at the bottom of the baking dish, add peppers, and cook for about 10 minutes in the oven. 

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onions and garlic. Add meat and cook until no longer pink. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

3. In a large bowl, add cooked meat, rice (should be about 2:1 ratio of meat to rice), eggs, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, parmesan cheese and parsley. Mix well.

4. Add meat mixture to peppers, making sure to stuff peppers up to the top. Pour a generous amount of tomato sauce over peppers.

5. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, for about 45 minutes, or until peppers are tender. 

Note: While peppers are baking, verify is sauce is too thick. If so, then add a little bit of water. It is also important to add some sauce over peppers while baking. To do so, just use a spoon and pour some of the sauce from the bottom of the baking dish over peppers.

6. When peppers are done, top them off with cheese, return to oven, and broil until cheese is bubbly.

Spring Salad

Okay, so I just started a new part-time job in a cafe, where I basically serve muffins, croissants, jumbo cookies, and a variety of sandwiches. This means that I get to eat all of that food for free. After my first week of working there, I started to feel really unhealthy and had to have a meal loaded with anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. So I took all of the veggies I had in my fridge and improvised this really tasty salad. I ate this salad with organic bread, hummus, olives and cheese. 

Ingredients

About 2 cups of baby spinach (or more, however you like) 

1 large tomato, diced

About 1 cup sliced red cabbage

1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Slices of red onion

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Dried Oregano, to taste

Salt, to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients.

2. Mix well to coat salad with dressing

3. Let marinate in the fridge or on the counter for about 1 1/2 hour.

4. Eat

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

2 cups canned diced tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

350g fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 large red onion, chopped finely

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 cups Italian Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine (or chicken stock mixed with 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar)

1/2 cup olives, sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a saucepan, bring tomatoes and chicken broth to a boil. Turn heat off and cover.

2. In a cast iron pot, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until tender and all liquids have evaporated. Remove from pot and set aside. 

3. In the same pot, add some more olive oil and cook onion and garlic, making sure to constantly stir so they do not stick. Once the onion and garlic are slightly translucent, add rice and mix well. Reduce heat to medium low and splash rice with some wine (or stock). Cook until all liquids have been absorbed.

4. With a ladle, add about 1/2 cup of tomato-broth preparation and stir constantly until all liquids have been absorbed. Repeat this step until all of tomato-broth preparation has been used up. Do not forget to stir constantly between each liquid addition, and liquid must be absorbed before adding more*.

5. Once all liquids have been added to rice, stir in mushrooms, olives and parmesan cheese. Cook for about 5 more minutes, so all flavours have blended.

6. Serve immediately!

*it should take about 1 hour to cook the risotto. If, after adding all liquids, rice is  not tender enough, add more chicken broth or some water.

Recipe taken from Les Delices de Pastene, Edition 125 ans, p. 96

Chicken Provencal served with Asparagus Spaghettini

Ingredients

1.5 cups black olives 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

Juice from half of a lemon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

2 chicken breasts, cut in to 3 pieces each

6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Directions

1. In a food processor, add all of the ingredients except for the chicken and tomatoes. Pulse until you get a pesto-like texture. Taste and add more spices/olives/lemon juice if needed.

2. In a bowl, add olive paste to chicken, making sure to entirely cover chicken with paste (you should only be needing about half of the prepared olive paste). Marinate for about 1 hour in the fridge.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Transfer chicken to a glass dish and bake for 15 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes, and bake for another 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. 

4. Serve chicken with a salad, or like in this case, Asparagus Spaghetti

If you want to see original recipe, click here

Mix Of Everything Stir-Fry on Rice

 

Tonight I had no clue what to make and my fridge was filled with extremely ripe vegetables. So I took out all the veggies that I had left and decided to stir fry them with some soy sauce and oyster sauce. Well, it turned out to be pretty good. Since I used leftovers, I didn't measure anything, so you can do the same.

Ingredients

1.5 cups basmati rice

3 cups water cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red onion, chopped

About 1 cup red cabbage, sliced thinly

5 large coffee mushrooms, sliced

3 small zucchinis, cubed

1 can of chick-peas, rinsed and drained

350g of tofu "beef strips" (could use real beef)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

About 3 tablespoons soy sauce

About 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

Freshly chopped coriander (maybe 1/2 cup)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to low, and cover. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all water has been absorbed.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, cabbage, zucchini and mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes.

3. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, chick peas and tofu "beef" strips. Mix well and continue to stir-fry for another 5 minutes. 

4. Once vegetables are ready, add chopped coriander and mix well.

5. When you are ready to eat, place some rice at the bottom of a plate and add some of the stir-fry on top. Garnish with fresh coriander.

6. Et voila! 

Guilt-free chocolate cookies

 

I always find it impossible to eat chocolate cookies without feeling guilty, since they are usually packed with fat and are way too sweet. This recipe uses whole wheat flour, which gives the cookies an interesting texture. You shouldn't substitute the butter with margarine, since they will not taste as good (okay, you should leave some place for a little guilt...)  I took this recipe on Enlightened Cooking, which I suggest you should visit. 

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

3. In another bowl, beat together sugar and butter for about 2 minutes. Add in vanilla and egg and beat for another 2 minutes.

4. Add egg mixture and chocolate chips to flour and mix well. 

5. Drop by tablespoons on cookie sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes (center should still be soft)

6. Cool and eat with a glass of milk! 

Curry-Turmeric Broccoli Pasta

This is a really simple and quick recipe to make on a week day. It is also an easy way to use up your broccoli. For this recipe, I suggest that you add less spices than what I mention below, especially if you are not used to eating curry and turmeric. You should taste your sauce, and if it is too bland, then add more spices. 

Ingredients

1 broccoli

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 garlic cloves, quartered

6 green onions, chopped

1.5 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 large handful almonds, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup 15% cream

1/4 cup reserved cooking water from pasta

350g whole wheat spaghettini

Salt

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cut broccoli heads in to small bouquets. Peel and cube stem. In a small pot of boiling water, cook broccoli for about 1 minute. Drain water and reserve broccoli.

2. In a large skillet on medium-low heat, heat olive oil. Add garlic cloves and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic! Add green onions and cook for another 3 minutes.

3. Add turmeric, curry powder, broccoli, salt, cream and reserved water. Let simmer until broccoli is tender, about 2 minutes.

4. Add pasta to mixture and coat well. Add more water if necessary. 

5. Grate some parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Recipe taken from Pasta Et Cetera, by Josee Di Stasio, p. 116

Olympic TV Dinner

So a couple of weeks ago I was watching Best Recipes Ever, where the best Canadian Living recipes are presented by Kary Osmond. On that day, they were making the ultimate TV dinner, which looked so good. Since the only thing on TV for the last two weeks were the Olympics, I thought that I should make an ultimate olympic TV dinner. Unluckily for me, the only thing on during dinner time was women's curling, and we lost the gold medal to Sweden.  Anyhow, I carefully followed all three recipes on the website, and two of them turned out to be really good, while the corn-zucchini saute was so-so. I would suggest stir-frying or steaming your favortie veggies.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2 garlic heads, roasted

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes

Some milk

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

1 green onion, chopped

1. Roast garlic in the oven. Follow this link to learn how to do so. 

2. Meanwhile, peel and quarter potatoes. In medium pot of boiling water, cook potatoes until very tender, about 25 minutes. Drain water and leave potatoes in pot.

3. Squeeze roasted garlic over potatoes. Add milk, salt, and pepper and mash until desired texture. If too dry, add more milk. Top off with chopped green onions.

*This is what your roasted garlic should look like when done:

Chicken Fingers with Peanut-Apricot Sauce 

2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce:

1/4 cup apple juice

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons apricot jam

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon vinegar (cider, rice, or white)

1. Slice chicken breasts into small strips. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, coriander, cajun spices, salt. Dip chicken strips in egg, then in bread crumbs, and coat well. Place chicken strips on a greased baking sheet.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F, until crispy and well cooked, about 15-17 minutes.

For Sauce 

1. In a microwaveable, add all ingredients for sauce. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute.

2. Serve sauce with chicken strips...mmm...

Note: If you have left overs, simply heat chicken in oven and microwave sauce for 1 minute. 

Corn and Zucchini Saute  

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 green onion, sliced

3 small zucchinis (or 2 medium), cubed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

2 cups frozen corn

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Fry green onions for about 2 minutes. Then add zucchinis, oregano, salt and pepper and saute until zucchini is tender-crisp.

2. Add frozen corn and cook until hot.

Click here for original recipe

Whole Wheat Bread

Making bread seems like a long and difficult process, but it is not! Last week I ran out of bread and thought it would be a great occasion to bake a loaf. This is a very easy recipe, easier than making muffins or cookies. The only long part is letting the bread rise and then waiting to eat, since your kitchen will be filled with an amazing sweet bread smell. I found that this loaf stays fresh in the fridge for 4 days.  

Ingredients

3.5 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup honey

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of flour with the yeast and salt.

2. In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine milk, water, honey and oil until very warm. 

3. Add warm milk mixture to flour and beat with a fork for about 2 minutes, or until well mixed.

4. Add 1 more cup of flour, and again, beat for another 2 minutes.

5. Stir in remaining 1 cup of flour and knead until a soft dough forms. If dough is very sticky, add more flour.

5. Cover dough with a damp cloth and let rise about 20 minutes.

6. Roll dough into a rectangle and pinch seams and ends to seal. Place dough in greased 9 inch loaf pan, seams down, cover and let rise for 1 hour*. 

7. Bake at 375 degrees** F for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown. 

*: The only draft-free place in my apartment is my oven, so I let my bread rise in the oven with the light on. 

**: Since my oven is old and seems to overheat, 350 degrees F was hot enough, and it took 40 minutes to get a perfect bread.

To see original recipe, click here