Tag Archive: salads

Turnip “ravioli” with figs and gorgonzola, no, really, it’s turnip, not pasta

October 22, 2018

It’s always fun to experiment and change things around a bit. For inspiration I look to cookbooks, restaurant foods, TV food shows and online sources. Recently Masterchef Australia has been a steady source of inspiration. I have been indulging in binge watching of this show for quite sometime and it forms part of my research for our upcoming four months stay in Australia and New Zealand this winter (their summer). In one of the old... View Article

Fennel salad with parmesan croutons

May 18, 2018

  A good lunch salad is an art and takes a little imagination but it doesn’t have to be complicated. I was leafing through a Donna Hay cookbook last night when saw a fennel and chicken salad and decided to translate it to a vegetarian version and change the dressing. I liked the croutons idea so went with that. The fennel has to be sliced thinly, like they do in Italy, and then marinated for... View Article

Roasted cauliflower and chickpea salad with tahini sauce

April 17, 2018

So, we just returned from 4 months of travel, two of which were in South America. I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun, interesting and educational this experience was. I wrote about the trip as we went along but there is so much more to share and since I compile these posts and images into travel book for our family, I will continue to write and document our experience. It took me... View Article

Beets three ways: beetroot, beet leaves and stems

August 19, 2017

In keeping with the nose to tail concept that doesn’t apply in my vegetarian kitchen, I am trying to use the whole plant, end to end and not waste any edible parts. You’d be surprised how much we waste in the foods we eat, throwing away good leaves, stems and even roots of some good vegetables. My company last weekend came bearing gifts from the garden, bringing beautiful beets with their greens still attached from... View Article

Avocado salad with dukkah vinaigrette and goat cheese

August 11, 2017

A beautiful ripe avocado is a special treat and once in a while I indulge. You have to buy it just right, either to serve immediately or to ripen on your counter for a day or two before serving. I have thrown away many avocados that I bought with good intentions and never got around to using. Once they go soft there is nothing to do but discard them. The softness of the avocado is... View Article

Beets sous vide

August 2, 2017

On my last trip to the local farm stands a few blocks behind where we live I picked a whole bunch of beautiful new and local produce. Small new potatoes, plump green onions, field cucumbers and these small sweet bunches of red and yellow beets. Normally I would roast them but I recently bought a new gadget for the kitchen, a sous vide immersion circulator, and decided to cook the beets sous vide. If the... View Article

Tomato salad with basil and homemade ricotta

July 31, 2017

We are lucky in the Okanagan to have winery restaurant chefs that pride themselves on creating dishes using local produce that are beautiful to look at and packed with flavour. One of my favourite is the Terrace Restaurant at Mission Hill winery. Not only the Tuscan architecture, the bell tower, the view and the beautiful wines, but the food at their Terrace restaurant is always outstanding. My gal friends were visiting from Calgary last week... View Article

French beans and asparagus salad with burrata

July 14, 2017

One of the culinary treasures of southern Italy (Puglia) is the burrata: a creamy, perishable cheese that is shipped daily to vendors and restaurants in other parts of the country to be consumed the same day. Burrata means “buttered” and in the categories of cheeses it is not a mozzarella, nor a mozzarella di bufala, although it is made with buffalo milk. To make burrata cheesemakers fill a thin skin  of mozzarella with a mixture... View Article

Saffron roasted cauliflower and potato salad

June 30, 2017

Roasting cauliflower completely changes its flavour profile, bringing out caramelized, sweet and deep flavour. For this roast I drizzled the florets with a little saffron dissolved in water to get the golden colour that you see in the image. If you don’t like the flavour of saffron this dish will not cut it for you. You can try and substitute with turmeric, curry or even a little paprika instead, or leave the cauli plain. To... View Article

Roasted asparagus and green onion with quinoa, pickled beets carpaccio and preserved lemon vinaigrette

June 26, 2017

So I had the pickled beets from another recipe and wanted to use them with the rest of the Quinoa that I had cooked the day before. Since I sliced the beets very thin I thought they would be good as carpaccio layer under the quinoa, and then topped it with roasted asparagus and beautiful green Onion I got at the market the other day. I wasn’t quite sure how to plate it so tried... View Article

Roasted cauliflower and quinoa salad

June 22, 2017

Just to vary the theme a bit from pasta and potato salads I thought I’d pull out the quinoa from the pantry and see what I can do with it. I had the Bob’s red Mill tri-coloured quinoa variety, meaning red, white and black little grains (seeds, actually) and I thought they’d make a nice background for roasted cauliflower. Since the weather improved here (not by much), lighter dishes are appropriate and this salad-like plate... View Article

Beetroot salad with gorgonzola and walnuts

June 19, 2017

Beets and gorgonzola is one flavour pairing that was meant to be. The smooth, creamy, slightly pungent gorgonzola set against the sweetness of the roasted beets, nutty oil and sweet and tangy balsamic crema, you have to try it to understand. The added layer of walnut oil and crunch of walnuts make this a completely irresistible salad. I cut the beetroot into equal size cubes, toss them with the dressing and then distribute the cheese... View Article