Cheesy Quinoa Bowls

On days when I don't have a dinner planned, I like to take some time to look at what's in the pantry and fridge. Oftentimes some of the best meals come out of these nights, and tonight's dinner is no exception.

Cheesy Quinoa Bowls
- 1 cup quinoa, prepared as per instructions
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 head of broccoli, chopped
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup almond milk

Rinse and prepare quinoa, using vegetable stock if you have it for extra flavour.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Add onion, celery and carrot, sauteeing until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in broccoli and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and kale and cook until kale is starting to wilt. Slowly stir in quinoa. Once fully incorporated, start to add cheddar cheese and almond milk, stirring until cheese is melted.

Quick Weekday Lunch - Noodle Jars

So I was feeling pretty beat tonight - two accounting exams in one day, and just not in the mood for prepping lunches for tomorrow. However, I know once I'm at work I'll be wishing I had packed something. So I sent Brent off to the grocery store to grab a few things, and put together these really quick, great noodle jars. This is a recipe of Michael Smith's, from his new cookbook Family Meals. So far I've loved all the recipes from this book and would definitely recommend it. All you need to do is put these jars together, bring to work / school, and when it's time to eat, add 2 cups boiling water, screw the lids back on tightly and gently mix. Let stand for about 10 minutes for the flavours to really mix, and enjoy!

Sunday Night Dinner - Creamy Vegetable Curry

I recently purchased the Oh She Glows cookbook on a recommendation of a friend. It's a vegan cookbook, and I've tried a few recipes and so far they have all been great. I'll admit I'm a little intimidated by some of the recipes, especially with any new ingredients or elements I haven't done before. One of the things many recipes call for is this 'cashew cream', and I finally decided to try it out. When using raw cashews in this way, you need to make sure to soak them overnight or at least 3-4 hours, so you do have to plan ahead a little. This recipe also had quite a bit of chopping so it was a great Sunday night meal. I used hot curry powder, but mild would work if you didn't want it as hot. I will definitely make this again.

Greek Quinoa Salad

This is another recipe from the new Michael Smith cookbook I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I originally made it to go with a roast chicken, but it was robust enough that you could have it on it's own for lunch or a light dinner. It was also super easy to put together, which is always a bonus in my eyes. If you wanted to make this vegan, just omit the feta cheese and replace the honey in the dressing with brown rice syrup or maple syrup. I made a few minor modifications based on my preferences as well.

Mediterranean Pasta for a Hot Summer Night

We are in the middle of a pretty intense heat wave in Vancouver right now. Normally in this type of weather I won't cook, and will choose to eat salads and sandwiches for a week if need be. However, I had all the fixings for a great pasta dish so decided to brave the heat and turn on the stove. I'm glad I did - this dish was quick and easy to put together.

Mediterranean Pasta Toss
- 1 package dried pasta
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 12 asparagus spears, cut in 1-2 inch pieces
- 6-8 small/medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- juice of half a lemon

In pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile in large saucepan heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Sautée onion for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and heat through.

Drain pasta and toss with tomato asparagus mixture. Mix in feta cheese and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Quinoa and Veggie Toss

I adapted this from a recipe for a 'Superfood Platter'. I'm not a huge fan of the whole 'superfood' movement. I think if you can figure out a way to eat a variety of different foods that you like, and keep an open mind to try new things, you'll end up eating some 'superfoods' along the way.

This dish would be great stuffed in a pepper or portobello mushroom, and next time I think I would definitely sprinkle with some feta cheese. Without the cheese it is vegan, if that floats your boat.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Coconut Crisp Bars

Two things happened this week that lined up well. One, a friend posted a recipe to what looked to be awesome no bake peanut butter chocolate bars, that happened to be vegan. Two, we were headed over to a friends place for dinner, and I never like showing up empty handed, plus she is vegan. So lo and behold I had an immediate excuse to try out this new recipe. Now I was a little distracted while prepping these. I had measured out all my ingredients before hand (first time making a new recipe didn't want to miss the timing for adding ingredients). As I was stirring the peanut butter, brown rice syrup, and then adding the cocoa I was really confused as to why it was so thick. But it was the first time making this so I kept going. Adding the crisp cereal and I could barely stir everything. I kept thinking, this needs more liquid, which is when I noticed the pre-measured almond milk sitting on the counter. So I quickly added it and kept stirring, and they still turned out. Imagine how much better they would be if I had done everything properly! These aren't too sweet, which is sometimes a nice thing.

Black Bean Chili with Avocado Salsa

This chili turned out really great, and the avocado salsa added a lot of nice flavours. It would also probably be great served over rice. I will be keeping this one in the roster for when I'm back at work, as it could also easily be prepared in the slow cooker.

Sunday Night Dinner - Mushroom and Feta Fusilli

I had class all weekend so Brent was in charge of dinner. Saturday night we ordered in, and tonight he put together a pasta dish I had suggested. It was simple but nice, and I didn't have to cook or clean anything up! We used almond milk so it had a bit of a nuttier flavour.

Sunday Night Dinner - Asparagus Ricotta Frittata

To continue on the new recipe trend, here is one from - surprise, surprise - Canadian Living. This recipe is from the Make It Tonight book - full of lots of great recipes that are quick and easy to prepare. The frittata is very flavourful, and with a simple spinach salad makes a great dinner. The only issue I had is that my pan was too large, so the frittata was a little thin. However, it still tasted great, we just had to have seconds! Next time I will probably just add some more eggs and ricotta, and perhaps a little more asparagus to fit in my cast-iron pan.

New Year - New Recipes

It's January 1st, which means it's that time of year that people make New Year's Resolutions, and oftentimes they are similar - eat better, be more active, spend more time with family etc. etc. All of these are great resolutions, but in fact should be something we strive for every day, not just around the New Year. I do have a few friends who make some great resolutions. One year a couple of friends resolved to see more live music, and boy did they do a good job with that one. I have another friend who just recently finished his 2013 resolution of reading 26 non-fiction books (one every 2 weeks). So this year, I am going to join the bandwagon, and my New Year's Resolution is to cook new recipes. I'm not going to be specific and make a goal of one every week, or even every month. However, I am going to strive to cook new recipes as often as possible, whether from trusted sources, or making up new recipes myself.

To start off the year I picked up the January issue of Canadian Living and decided to try out their Ricotta Gnocchi. Brent and I made a similar version at a cooking class years ago, and I honestly don't know why I never revisited it. This recipe is a little simpler, because you don't need to drain the ricotta for 30 minutes. I couldn't find golden beets, so used regular ones, and thus the entire dish was a little pink, however it tasted fabulous! Brent said it was one of my top 10 recipes, which is great considering how easy it was to prepare.

Vegetable Quinoa Soup

This soup is packed with healthy food - quinoa, sweet potatoes, kale. And it was really quick to prepare and tasty to boot. Next time I might use yams, just to add a pop of colour.

Squash Risotto

I love risotto, and am always looking to try new risotto recipes. This one called for butternut squash, but I had an acorn squash sitting on my counter for a week and thought this was the perfect way to use it. Brent might disagree, as his preferred acorn squash is cut in half and roasted with butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon...which is also super good. But I digress. The recipe calls for 4 cups of cubed squash, which was about half the acorn squash. Next time I'll try it with the butternut squash, and maybe increase the sage a bit.

Sunday Night Dinner - Black Bean Rice Bowl

In an attempt to get back into cooking every day I spent half an hour yesterday going through recipes I'd cut from magazines but have never tried, and made a meal plan for the week (taking into account our schedule for the week). I wrote about how planning can be so helpful when dealing with hectic schedules in this post here about 2 years ago. It always comes down to planning, and in the fall when things are getting busier it becomes so much more important. I also get really excited about trying new recipes and eating good home cooked meals every night. Tonight's dinner was not a disappointment, it was easy and quick, with just enough leftover for lunch tomorrow. A couple of modifications could be made if you wanted - tossing some cubed chicken with the spice mix and cooking that together would add a bit more protein, or adding some shredded cheddar cheese on top would also be good. However, the way the recipe is below does make it vegan, if that's your thing. Either way, we will definitely make this one again.

Thai-Style Lentil and Coconut Soup

Brent got me this great cookbook a few years ago: The Complete Book of 400 Soups . Now, it would be great if June meant that soup season was over, however for those of us on the Wet Coast, summer seems a far off dream right now. So yesterday I opened up this book to try and find a soup that was a little different from anything I've made before. This soup is from the Hot and Spicy section, and I made a few modifications. Overall, a great lunch time soup for this dreary Juneuary.

Thai-Style Lentil and Coconut Soup
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 red onions, finely chopped
- 1 chilli, seeded and finely sliced (the recipe called for a 'bird's eye' chilli, I just grabbed a random one, may have been a jalapeno?)
- 1 inch piece fresh lemon grass, outer layers removed and inside finely sliced
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 1 tsp freshly ground coriander
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 3 3/4 cups liquid (I used half vegetable broth, half water, recipe just called for water)
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in dutch oven and add onions, chilli, garlic, lemon grass and ginger. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions have softened but not browned, stirring occasionally.

Add lentils and spices. Pour in coconut milk and liquid, and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 40-45 minutes, until lentils are soft.

Pour in lime juice and add scallions and coriander, reserving a little of each for the garnish. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

The original recipe did not call for ginger, but it just seemed like a natural addition to the flavours. I was also out of paprika, but don't think it missed the 1 tsp, although feel free to add it.

The soup is great, now if I could just find something to do with that second stalk of lemongrass I have!

Mushroom Barley Risotto

I've tried cooking with barley a couple of different times, and while I'm still not 100% convinced I like it, there are a couple of things to note.

First, pot barley and pearl barley are two very different grains, even though they look almost identical. Pot barley takes longer to cook as it is the whole grain with only the outer inedible hull removed. Pearl barley has been polished, and is quicker cooking, but not as nutritious. I'm pretty sure one of the times I didn't like the recipe I was using pearl barley instead of pot barley, and just overcooked the whole thing.

Secondly, my favourite recipes with barley so far have included other grains that provide a texture contrast. One example is a barley and rice salad. While the barley is a little chewy, the crunchier rice evens out the texture experience.

I'm going to continue to experiment with barley, as with lots of other grains. This recipe below was pretty good, although the texture still isn't my favourite.

Mushroom Barley Risotto

- 1 pkg (14g) mixed dried mushrooms

- 3 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 small onion, diced

- 3 green onions, sliced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 cup sliced fresh cremini mushrooms

- 1 1/4 cup pot barley

- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

- 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

In heatproof bowl, pour 1 cup boiling water over dried mushrooms; let stand for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid, coarsely chop and set aside.

In saucepan, bring soaking liquid, chicken broth and 2 1/2 cups water to simmer; reduce heat and keep warm.

In separate saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook onion, green onions and garlic until fragrant and softened, about 3 minutes. Add soaked mushrooms and cremini mushrooms; saute until almost no liquid remains, about 5 minutes.

Add barley; cook, stirring to coat for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium. Add hot broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring after each addition until liquid is absorbed before adding more. This process will take about 45 minutes, until creamy and barley is tender but still slightly firm.

Stir in parsley and season with salt. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Veggie Potstickers

I love potstickers! I don't eat a lot of fried food, but the way these are prepared with a little pan-frying and finishing off being steamed, I could probably eat the whole batch myself!

A note regarding Napa cabbage. Did you know that oftentimes it is labeled as Bok Choy at the grocery store? I'm sure there are slight variations between the two, I just pull up a photo of what I'm looking for on my iphone and grab the cabbage that most closely resembles it!

Veggie Potstickers

- 3 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 head Napa cabbage, finely shredded

- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

- 2 tsp soy sauce or tamari

- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

- 1 medium carrot, grated on finest holes of grater

- 24+ wonton wrappers

Asian Dipping Sauce

- 1/4 cup tamari

- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

- 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil

- 1/2 lemon, zested

Stir all ingredients together in small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Filling - Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks and garlic and cook until leeks begin to soften, 3 - 4 minutes. Add cabbage, vinegar, tamari and ginger, and cook, stirring until cabbage is soft, another 3 - 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the carrot. Allow filling to cool.

Transfer to mixing bowl and work together until fully incorporated. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Assembly - Lay a wonton wrapper on the work surface and put about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Using your finger, wet edges of the wrapper. Bring outside edges together over the filling and press together to form a little pouch. Continue with remaining wrappers and filling.

Cooking - Heat remaining oil in a very large skillet over high heat. Place all of the potstickers upright in the pan and cook, without disturbing them, until browned on the bottom, about 1 - 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and immediately cover. Allow potstickers to steam for about 3 minutes, then remove lid. Continue cooking until all the water is evaporated.

Now remember, they are called potstickers for a reason and it's okay if you lose a couple in the process of transferring to the serving platter.

Serve with the Dipping sauce and enjoy!

Vegetable Curry with Cashews

Here is another great vegetarian dish. When I was shopping for this meal, I had real trouble locating Madras curry powder. Low and behold, it's labeled as Hot Curry Powder, and on the back of the label it says Hot (or Madras) Curry Powder. Wish I had known that before I searched for 20 minutes! We served this dinner with vegetable samosa's and a cucumber salad after an afternoon of snowshoeing. I chopped and prepped everything in advance, and the actual cooking took no time at all.

Vegetable Curry with Cashews

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 2 tsp cumin seeds

- 2 cups unpeeled eggplant, diced in 1/2 inch cubes

- 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

- 2 cups 1/2 inch cauliflower florets

- 1 cup diced onion

- 1 cup diced carrot

- 1 cup green beans, cut in 1/2 inch lengths (I used frozen beans)

- 2-3 tsp minced, seeded jalapeno pepper

- 1 tbsp minced, peeled, fresh ginger

- 1 tbsp Madras (or hot) curry powder

- 1 clove garlic, grated

- 1 tsp coarse salt

- 1/2 tsp turmeric

- 13.5 ounce can regular or light coconut milk

- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped unsalted cashews

- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until they are a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and chickpeas and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat, 5 minutes.

Add cauliflower, onion, carrot, green beans, jalapeno, ginger, curry powder, garlic, salt and turmeric. Cook, stirring for five minutes.

Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened and the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with cashews and cilantro and serve with rice and naan bread.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

This soup is a little different than your regular vegetable soup. The addition of a cinnamon stick during the simmering really adds a nice flavour that you don't usually find in this type of soup. This is another great one to make on Sunday for the week ahead, as it does not take very long.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

- 1 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 cup each chopped carrot and sliced celery

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 tsp dried oregano

- 1/4 tsp ground cumin and hot pepper flakes

- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped

- 1 sweet green pepper, chopped

- 1/2 cup passata (strained tomatoes)

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 1 each bay leaf and cinnamon stick

- salt and pepper to taste

In Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, oregano, salt, cumin and hot pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes.

Add sweet potato and green pepper; cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Stir in passata, 4 cups water, chickpeas, bay leaf and cinnamon stick and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, around 20 - 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

This is another great slow cooker meal for those days we get out to enjoy some winter activities. There's nothing like coming inside after a long day on the ski hill and being assaulted with the aroma of chili that's been cooking all day. I took a cue from my Mom when I was home at Christmas and tried browning some vegetables first. I think she roasts them, which is something I should try next time. The measurements below are my best estimates. One of the great things about chili is that you can really just use what you have, and add or subtract as you'd like.

Vegetarian Chili

- 1 onion, chopped

- 2 - 3 stalks celery, chopped

- 2 carrots, chopped

- 2 - 3 cups cauliflower florets

- 2 - 3 cups broccoli florets

- 28 oz can diced tomatoes

- 2 - 3 cans (19oz) of beans (chickpeas, red or white kidney beans, black beans)

- 1/4 cup tomato paste

- 1 or 2 tbsp chili powder

- oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and other spices

In saucepan, heat 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil. Saute onion, celery, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli with some sea salt.

Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Add tomatoes, beans, tomato paste and spices. Stir to combine.

Cook on low heat for 6 - 8 hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkled with cheese and some toast.