Tag Archive: Vegetarian

Heirloom tomato salad with Mona’s (Sunshine Farm) basil vinaigrette

July 22, 2016

We are just on the verge of tomato season here in the Okanagan and where better to get your tomatoes than at Sunshine Farm in east Kelowna. Run by Jon and Sher Alcock and their family, the farm is an intimate, hands-on operation that takes pride in quality and preservation and specializes in heritage rare and organic seeds from which they grow their produce. The Alcock’s daughter Mona Johannson, one of the best chefs in the Okanagan,... View Article

Cauliflower confetti salad with barley, roasted grapes and tahini dressing

July 18, 2016

Grain salads can be quite beautiful when combined with colourful seasonal vegetables. This salad would make a good option for summer entertaining because it is all inclusive:  it has grains, vegetables and salad greens all in one dish. The barley can be cooked in advance and kept in the fridge, but the vegetables are best cooked the day you serve it. I made this salad with three colours of cauliflower: white, orange and purple, but... View Article

New potatoes and yellow beans with Spanish green sauce – Mojo Verde

July 11, 2016

I was looking back at our two months stay in Spain a couple of years ago and remembered the roasted vegetables I used to order at various restaurants. It was not easy to find vegetarian options on the jamon Iberico and seafood focused menus and I often had to create my own lunch or dinner from side dishes they offered. There is an art to travelling vegetarian and I think I have mastered it. This is... View Article

4-Cheese fritters with green and red tomato jam

July 7, 2016

I haven’t made cheese fritters in a while. After trying them at a cooking class party a few years ago I made them a few times but then moved on to other things. Last night I needed a few appies for a group of 6 who was coming over for a glass of wine before dinner at a local winery. I was browsing my blog, found these long lost fritters and felt up to the... View Article

Watermelon and raspberry salad with maple vinaigrette

July 5, 2016

I have posted a few watermelon salads before but one more wouldn’t hurt. Watermelon makes a refreshing summer salad and it combines surprisingly well with a number of surprising sweet and savoury things such as raspberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and even some salad greens. Local raspberries are available now, lush, soft and delicious, so why not use them as much as I can? This recipe though is straight forward: watermelon, raspberries, mint, chopped candied nuts and... View Article

Black beans and harissa tacos with pickled red cabbage

July 4, 2016

Lately tacos have been my go to dish for a quick lunch or dinner. If you have the basic components on hand, taco making is quick and easy. I usually have a stack of white corn tortillas in the fridge (don’t keep them in the freezer) and from there it’s easy to layer a taco from filling to garnish to sauce. Since I keep my kitchen vegetarian bean base is often what I use as... View Article

New potatoes and spring peas salad with classic vinaigrette and fresh dill

June 13, 2016

This is the salad I made to go with the vegan burgers the other day so I am sharing it with you in case you were curious. The new potatoes are beautiful now and beg to be used as often as possible. Soft and buttery they hardly need anything but a shower of fresh herbs but today I dressed them in a vinaigrette. You don’t have to peel them when the peel is fine and... View Article

Pasta with parsley pesto and roasted tomatoes on the vine

June 8, 2016

I am doubling up on recipes lately. Same as the previous zucchini “noodles” recipe but with real pasta this time. I was fascinated by the way chefs roll up the pasta into a cylinder and had to figure it out. I think it’s coming along and it was fun. I used a two pronged grill fork, wrapped the pasta around it, placed it on the plate and pulled the fork out. If you have dexterity,... View Article

Zucchini “noodles” with parsely pesto and roasted tomatoes.

June 8, 2016

I mentioned a while ago that I bought the spiralizer attachment for the KitchenAid mixer, so, I am having fun playing with it and I thought I’d share this zucchini noodles dish in case you are interested. There are different spiralizers on the market if you don’t have one and you can look at a review here. When I first made the spirals with a zucchini they started all messed up, wet and short but... View Article

Tacos: black beans, roasted corn and agave-lime slaw

June 1, 2016

We came back from a long hike on trails around a local mountain with spectacular views of the Okanagan lake. We left for the hike early morning and the parking lot at the foot of the mountain was nearly empty. It tends to fill up quickly later in the day and especially on weekends. We started with our regular route to the top of the mountain but three quarters of the way up decided to... View Article

Ricotta and spinach stuffed shells

May 28, 2016

Twice during our stay in Italy I had stuffed and baked pasta for an elegant first course, and both times it happened in spa resorts: once at Castelo di Velona in Montalcino and next at the Adler Thermae Spa in Bagno Vignoni. Those dishes stuck in my mind as memorable and today I thought I’d try and create something similar at home. Aside from the wonderful flavours, I like the minimalist approach in terms of... View Article

Aloo gobi – Indian flavoured potato and cauliflower with Indian roti bread

May 23, 2016

One of my go to dishes in Indian restaurants is Aloo Gobi, a vegetable dish made by cooking potatoes and cauliflower together with spices and a little water. Traditionally I think they add green peas at the end. I didn’t have any peas today but I added a couple of tomatoes to the dish, not necessarily authentic but it worked for me. For us a dish like that is a simple dinner but of course... View Article