scrumptious salads

Salads in Paris. Where to begin? For a vegetarian, the salad selections of Paris are almost as exciting as the pastries (I said almost). At home, I'm used to two options in a conventional restaurant - caesar and mediterranean. If it's an upscale restaurant, you might get lucky with an uninspired beet salad, or if it's a health-minded place, there might be some quinoa or cous-cous. But Parisians? They know how to turn a salad into a meal. There's goat cheeses on toasts, the salads have the perfect amount of dressing, the vegetables are fresh and perky, plates are large and overflowing, and there's not an unripe tomato in sight.

I came home from my vacation with a brick of blue cheese. Then I ate blue cheese salads for a week. I'm not complaining.

apple and blue cheese salad
This makes dressing about 3 cups of greens - a nice size for a main course salad for one. Increase if you're sharing.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp maple mustard
salt and pepper
salad greens of your choice
pickled peas
toasted walnuts
apple slices
blue cheese

In a largish bowl, combine oil, vinegar, syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk together with a fork, and add your salad greens. Toss with your hands to coat the leaves. Top salad with peas, walnuts, apple slices and crumbled blue cheese.

*A note on the pickled peas. You probably don't have any, so just leave them out. But, if you feel like making them, I would definitely suggest it next spring! I used the recipe from Canning for a New Generation, a highly recommended canning book, but here's a similar recipe on Smitten Kitchen.  Popped out of their pods, they're lovely and crunchy, a nice combination of sweet pea flavour and tangy pickle. I also threw in some of the pickled shallots from the jar.

dinner for a rainy day

I'm really getting into Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals. The book has a ton of great recipes, the layout is great, and the photos are gorgeous. He combines all the recipes, and does the planning for you, integrating the recipes. Start the fish! Make the salad! Check the dessert! I am so in love that I made my own menu, inspired by his cookbook.

The chowder is based on his Finnan Haddie Corn Chowder, the biscuits are from Super Natural Everyday, and the salad is my own invention. Here it is: watch my photoshop skills improving before your very eyes! I'm not gonna promise you can make this in 30 minutes. Maybe 45? It's not a race. Invite someone you love into the kitchen to be your sous chef, and have some cooking talk. It's almost as good as pillow talk.

blood orange and beet salad

Sometimes, the best meal is a giant plate of salad. No iceberg lettuce or wilted veggies here: tasty food starts with fresh, quality ingredients. Your cooking is only as good as your ingredients. My boyfriend might disagree about the whole salad-as-a-meal thing, but he hasn't come over to the dark side of roasted vegetables, tangy citrus, crunchy walnuts and herbed yogurt. Here's a salad that will suffice for a virtuous (and scrumptious) lunch or dinner. The dressing for this salad makes a tasty vegetable dip, so make a double batch. Or, try a vinaigrette in its place, for a vegan salad.

blood orange and beet salad
1 blood orange, peel removed, sliced
roasted beets, chopped
salad greens
toasted walnuts
dill yogurt (recipe follows)

Start with a bed of greens. Lay out orange slices, pile beets in the centre. Scatter some walnuts around, and finish with a dollop of dill yogurt

dill yogurt
2 or 3 tbsp chopped dill
salt and pepper
1/2 cup full-fat yogurt
juice of 1 lemon
splash of olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Stir to combine. Serve with fresh veggies as a dip, or as a salad dressing.

Lentil salad with sweet potatoes, almonds and currants

Here's a tasty salad, warm or cold, perfect for the lunch box. I used purple and white sweet potatoes (look at the colour!), but you can use any kind you like.

lentil salad with sweet potatoes, almonds and currants (makes four large servings)


1/2 cup almonds, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup lentils, rinsed
1 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
2 small sweet potatoes, diced
Olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup dried currants

Preheat oven to 375. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil. Add almonds, and sauté until golden, around 2 minutes. Scoop out the almonds, leaving behind the oil. Set almonds aside. Add onion to pot, and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, until softened. Add bay leaves, lentils and broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss potatoes with olive oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet, and bake for 20-30 minutes, until cooked and browned.

When lentils are done, and almost all the water is absorbed, add currants and baked sweet potatoes. Taste, and add salt and pepper, if needed. Serve warm, or cool, on its own, or over a bed of salad.

meet mr. mandoline

Mandolines are a slightly scary kitchen tool - one wrong move and you've shaved off the end of your finger. However, everything fun is a little bit dangerous, right? A mandolin is a necessary tool for creating paper-thin slices, beautiful and delicious in many recipes. Think of finely sliced potatoes in a gratin, or ribbons of beets or carrots for salads.

Here's a fast, fresh salad for winter - storage carrots and greenhouse cucumbers in delicate ribbons, with tangy, lemon dressing.


carrot and cucumber salad


1 carrot, scrubbed and sliced on a mandoline
1/2 cucumber, sliced on a mandoline
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
a handful of cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Toss to combine!

espresso chili, cheddar cornbread and kale slaw

Here's a great winter menu: hearty, rich espresso chili, with a crispy cheddar cornbread for dipping, followed by a wintery and fresh kale slaw

Who doesn't want a big bowl of chilli after a weekend of skating and sledding? Well, no sledding yet, still waiting for that snow, but I've definitely been breaking in my new hockey skates.

This chili is a nice departure from plain old tomato-chili powder-onions fare. Every time I make a staple dish (vegetable stew, quiche, squash soup), I like to try out a new flavour combination or recipe. It keeps things interesting! This one is from David Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. The cornbread is also from his cookbook, but I added cheese, corn and green onions to spice things up.


(Even my cat thinks it smells delicious.) The kale slaw is from the Moosewood Collective's Cooking for Health, except I used my own favourite salad dressing instead of their suggestion. Like other vinaigrette coleslaws, it keeps well in the fridge for a few days.


espresso chili
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup strong coffee or espresso
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 cups dried pinto or black beans, soaked overnight and cooked
(or 2 14-oz cans of cooked beans, rinsed)
salt and pepper to taste


In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder, and cook another minute. Add tomatoes, coffee, brown sugar, cinnamon, beans, salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 hour, covered, on low heat, stirring every once in a while. Serve with this delicious cornbread...

cheddar cornbread
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 green onion, minced
1 cup frozen corn kernels

If you have a cast iron skillet, use it! Preheat the oven to 350, and pop the skillet in the oven with the butter. (Preheating the skillet with help develop a crispy, buttery crust.) If you don't have a skillet, grease a 9x9 pan with the butter. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat together the egg and buttermilk. Combine the flour mixture and the egg-milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in cheese, onion and corn. Pour into skillet or pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a fork comes out clean and the edges are browned.

kale slaw
1 apple, grated
1 carrot, grated
1/4 head of cabbage (about 1 cup grated)
4 or 5 large dino (aka black) kale leaves, stems removed, sliced finely
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper

In a bowl, combine apple, carrot, cabbage and kale. You want to kale and cabbage sliced as finely as possible - use a grater attachment on a food processor, or a mandolin if you have one. In a jar, combine oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Close the jar, and shake to help emulsify the dressing. Pour over salad, mix, and let sit at room temperature for half an hour. This helps soften the kale and cabbage.

maple mustard salad dressing

Ends of jars are so exciting. And useful. Every time I hit the end of a jar, whether it's jam, peanut butter, mustard or honey, I make some sort of sauce or dressing. I get to please two parts of my personality: the thrifty, 1930's side that hates throwing out food, and the messy, lazy side that hates doing extra dishes.


A peanut butter jar becomes the basis for a spicy thai peanut sauce, honey or jam becomes a bright, delicious salad dressing. Pour everything in the jar, shake, and you're done.

Here's a mustard one.







Maple mustard salad dressing


1 almost empty mustard jar (just a few teaspoons left)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup maple syrup
salt and pepper


Add everything to the jar, shake, and pour over greens. You can also make this in any jar, with a few teaspoons of mustard.

purple coleslaw

In the Salvadorian stores in Kenzington Market, if you head to the back on the weekends, there are women, working out of tiny, tiny makeshift kitchens, making pupusas. The best pupusas in Toronto. They come in pairs, filled with beans and cheese, with a side of vinegary slaw, in a tiny plastic bag, of course.

In North America, coleslaw is often a creamy, bland mess of cabbage and mayonnaise. In South America, coleslaw usually comes in the form of Curdita, a vinaigrette based salad, with cabbage, jalepeneo and a hint of Mexican oregano.

This is not a traditional curdita recipe, but an amalgamation my favourite elements of coleslaw. It's a delicious, light side to go with tacos, quesadillas or texas pulled pork.

spicy purple coleslaw

1/4 head purple cabbage, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 celery stalk, finely minced
1 green onion, minced
handful of cilantro, minced
1 small jalepineo, minced

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp sugar

Combine all the vegetables in a bowl. You want a really fine grate, for the best texture of salad. No big pieces. Pour over the vinegar and oil, and season with salt, pepper and sugar.

Cooking from the garden

Chickpea, green bean and tomato salad with lemon-rosemary dressing

1 cup green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup diced cucumbers

1 cup cooked chickpeas

Juice and zest from 1 lemon

2 or 3 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

salt and pepper

Steam green beans for 3 to 4 minutes, until beans are bright green. Rinse beans in cold water to stop them from over cooking. Combine beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and chick peas in a bowl. To make dressing, whisk together all ingredients and pour over salad. It'll be even more delicious after it's marinated for a few hours in the fridge.

Crustless Quiche with Swiss Chard and Potato

1 large bunch of swiss chard, leaves and stems separated

1 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 large potatoes, thinly sliced

fresh herbs

salt and pepper

olive oil

4 eggs

1 cup milk, full fat yogurt or buttermilk

1 cup bread crumbs

olive oil

1/2 cup to 1 cup crumbled goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Strip leaves from stems. Chop stems, and saute in a large pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add garlic, onion and fresh herbs, and saute for 2 more minutes. Add potatoes, a few tbsps of water, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add swiss chard leaves, cover, and cook 2 more minutes, until wilted. Remove from heat.

Whisk together eggs and milk. Grease a round quiche pan or a 9x13 square pan with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the pan with bread crumbs. Cover bread crumbs with vegetable mixture. Pour egg mixture over vegetables. Crumble goat cheese on top. Bake for 40 minutes.

100-mile salad

Here's an easy salad for spring. It's all 100-mile (sans dressing and olives), and can be all year long, using Ontario greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes. I can't wait to make this with the Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes and Marketmore Cucumbers from my garden. The feta cheese I used was this delicious stuff I found at Dufferin Grove Market today. Other purchases? Gluten-free corn bread (best darn gluten free bread I've ever had), 3-bean sprout mix, and wild garlic!

Mediterranean Salad

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cucumber, diced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

big handful of kalamata olives, pitted and halved

crumbled feta (however much or little you want)

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 or 3 tbsp olive oil

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

 

Combine all the vegetables and feta. Sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Keeps well for a day or two in the fridge. I served my leftovers on top of a big handful of sprouts - there's more than enough dressing to go around, especially after the tomatoes have been marinating for a day. 

Beets beets beets

I've been eating a ton of beets recently. It's just that time of year, the lull before April asparagus. Let's see - beet and romano cheese risotto, a simple apple and beet salad, roasted beets, delicious beet and goat cheese salad, and the giant pot of borcht I made last week! It took me... a while to get through it, but I easily pawned some off on my mom. Freeze some for a suprise a month or two from now.

Borcht

The amounts in this recipe are approximate. This is a clean out your fridge kind of soup, don't use what you don't have, add things like cabbage or tomatoes if you have them!

3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 or 3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 beets, peeled and chopped
1 potato, chopped
2 apples, chopped
2 bay leaves
8 cups of vegetable stock (I used 2 boullion cubes with 8 cups of water)
sea salt and pepper to taste

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, saute onions in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots, and saute for 5 mintues more. Add beets, potato and apples, bay leaves and stock. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until beets are cooked through. Remove bay leaves, season with salt and pepper. Puree in a food processor to desired consistency - add more water if needed. I used my immersion blender for the first time! I left some chunks for texture. It was delightfully easy!

Some new food I've enjoyed recently! First a disclaimer: I have a general distaste for anything spelled with a "z." Not as in zebra or zap, but added z's, especially in food product names: such as "T-ribz," a vegetarian version of the carnivorous food. I never would have bought this product because of the aforementioned "z," if not for the friendly sample woman at the Big Carrot. However, now I know the deliciousness of t-ribz, I think I can manage to get past the name. I have no idea what actual t-ribs taste like, since the last time I ate them I was 9, but these are an amazing, generally healthy vegan fast food! They're made by Sol, whose whole line of prepared tofu and veggie burgers are vegan AND gluten free. Basically, they're strips of firm tofu covered in a tomato paste/tamari/barbecue-style sauce. I fried mine in a bit of olive oil and at them on a bed of quinoa, but the sample lady told me to try them for breakfast with potatoes! I might try recreating the sauce at home sometime, but for now, in the middle of exams, it's a great fast food.

So, my birthday party a few weeks ago! I hapily feasted on leftovers for at least a week, but no one bought me a crock pot, which I'm a little disappointed about... just kidding! My boyfriend gave me an immersion blender AND a bike! Soon, I will be carrying around tupperwares full of pureed soups and sauces on my new green Miele road bike. For party food, I tried out a bunch of new recipes - not a great idea right before you invite 20 people to eat at your house - but they all worked out great! Here's one of my favorites:

Corn and Avocado Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa, cooked
1 cup cooked corn kernels (frozen or leftover corn on the cob)
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

What is quinoa you ask? A delightful ancient seed - it's technically not a grain - that comes from South America, but is also grown in Eastern North America. 6,000 years ago, it was one of the most important food sources in South America, but was scorned by Europeans during the conquest of South America, who thought of it as 'Indian Food.' It's a complete protein (meaning it has all essential amino acids), is gluten-free, and high in iron and magnesium. Plus they have these cute little tails once they're cooked - I think it's the endosperm.

Rinse your quinoa! Most important step for tasty quinoa! I soak mine in warm water for 10 minutes, then give it a few rinses in fresh, cold water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add drained quinoa, reduce to low heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Let quinoa cool.

Meanwhile, prep veggies. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Pour over veggies in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Add cooled quinoa, stir and fluff. The end! (If you're making this ahead, leave out the avocado until right before you serve it so it doesn't get all brown and mushy).

PS. check out my new lists of cookbooks and other books, with reviews to come. also, here's two of my kitties - they're looking forward to helping out in the garden (read: lounging in the sun while I do all the hard work).