Tag Archive: Vegan

Asparagus with Soy caramel – from Mollie Katzen Heart of the Plate

March 31, 2015

Once in a while I like cooking with Asian flavours and asparagus lends itself beautifully to Asian flavour profile. One of my favourite recipes was from Barbara Tropp’s book, it was either China Moon or The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. I no longer have either of these books and a quick peek on Amazon shows they are selling for almost $200 each, likely because they are long out of print. Of course I had... View Article

Three lentils and quinoa soup with cashew cream

March 22, 2015

It’s officially spring here in the Okanagan but still kind of cloudy and cool. The lilacs are trying to bud and I hope their efforts are going to be rewarded with warm weather and enough sunshine. So what I am trying to say is that it is still cool enough here to enjoy a warm bowl of hearty and delicious homemade soup. I wanted to have a simple dinner of soup and salad and have... View Article

Fingerling potatoes salad with roasted mini sweet peppers

March 18, 2015

Here is a beautiful spring salad, full of vibrant colours and unexpected flavours and textures. What’s in it? Steamed creamy fingerling potatoes, thinly sliced crunchy radishes and red onion, roasted sweet mini peppers and a few briny olives. Tying them together is a creamy-tangy sherry vinaigrette and a sprinkling of parsley. This salad disappeared so quickly that I had no time to photograph it except for the little bit you see in the image. The... View Article

Rice with sprouted lentils, roasted cauliflower and pistachios

March 16, 2015

Rice is one of the pantry staples that helps you put together a good dinner without having to run to the store. I find that people divide between those who love potatoes and those who love rice. I have my foot in both camps and have developed a decent repertoire of main course rice (or other grains) dishes for vegetarian style dinners. I started pre-soaking the rice recently after reading about it in various sources.... View Article

Fennel, pear, endive, blood orange and roasted squash salad

March 9, 2015

Sometimes the best salads happen when you least expect it. I was making a fennel and blood orange salad with the usual accoutrements and decided to add the lone acorn squash that was sitting on my counter. I roasted thin wedges of it with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of brown sugar and I have to say it made this salad (you can eat it with the skin, no need to peel).... View Article

Seitan – vegan gluten patties with shitake-herb sauce

March 1, 2015

  The title image is recent – seitan and broccoli stir fry. the rest is from 2015….   Once in a while I crave these high protein gluten patties that are quite popular in vegetarian and vegan cooking. Seitan (pronounced Say-Tahn, a strange name) is made from wheat gluten and has texture and flavour reminiscent of poultry or meat. The original method for making seitan involved making a dough with regular flour and rinsing it... View Article

Pear and gorgonzola flatbread

February 22, 2015

I am on a bit of a roll here in the kitchen. I should spend as much time exercising. I had pizza dough that I purchased from a local Italian market in the freezer and took it out last night  to thaw overnight  in the fridge. This afternoon I rolled it out and made a simple pizza with tomatoes and basil and this little pear and gorgonzola flatbread just for fun, no special occasion. Pear... View Article

Olive-walnut biscuit bites – vegan

February 17, 2015

You know what it’s like coming back from an extended vacation. It’s great to be home and if you are like me, you are looking forward to your own food again. As good as food is when you travel, the familiarity of one’s own kitchen and food is always welcoming and comforting. I have been making very simple foods since we have come back. Clean and flavourful vegetable soups made only with vegetables, no grains... View Article

Merida: Oliva Kitchen and Bar and Chopped Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

January 28, 2015

I have taken a liking to salads that are composed of many vegetables, all finely chopped and tossed together in a harmonious pile. They are easier to eat than a large leafy salad and the flavours blend together so nicely with the dressing, just my kind of thing. I have had one such salad recently on a side trip to Merida last week. We went there to take a cooking class at Los Dos cookings... View Article

Mexican yellow rice with achiote

January 13, 2015

I am learning a little about Mexican cooking while we are vacationing here. The more I learn, the more there is to learn. I have been experimenting with different rice dishes lately and this red rice turned out to be one of my favourites. I used achiote paste that I heard about at a cooking class with Claudia of Can Cook in Cancun and after discussion (mostly with hand gestures) with staff at our place... View Article

Reporting from the Mayan Riviera, and fluffy Mayan jicama and cucumber curls

December 10, 2014

Hola from the Mayan Riviera. We arrived here a few days ago and I am just getting into the swing of things. The pace is different here. The trip down was a “speedy” 26 hours with an overnight stay at an airport hotel, thanks to the monopoly that Canadian airlines have over the Canadian skies. I believe it takes the same amount of time to fly around the world. Upon arrival we had to endure... View Article

Sweet potatoes with chestnuts, lime and cashew cream

December 4, 2014

This week is clean the fridge and pantry week as we are heading for the Mayan Riviera for a couple of months. My fridge is always full (overfull, perhaps?) so I had plenty to work with. I made all kinds of interesting salad combinations, a couple of rice pilaf with the vegetables that I obsessively buy (can’t resist), roasted the root vegetables and even made some cookies, just for fun. Many didn’t get photographed but... View Article