Gazpacho

Fall means harvest time and we were passed a ton of heirloom tomatoes from my Uncle. One giant yellow one was too old and ripe to eat by itself so I thought a gazpacho would be nice to cap off the last of the summer harvest. I looked up recipes for inspiration and then made my own. Sorry, the picture should really feature the gazpacho in the top right corner and not the rest. =) But what a colorful meal no?

Tomatoes

Cucumber

Purple Onion

Garlic

Balsamic Vinegar

Lemon Juice

Cayenne Pepper

Cumin

Tomato Juice

Olive Oil

Basil for garnish

Just puree everything raw, add S&P to taste and enjoy! 

Salmon was seared with rosemary, garlic, S&P. Salad is bagged kale salad mix from Costco. And basmati rice...leftover from Indian take out. 

Baked Potato Hash

We needed a carb item to round out our dinner. Actually I'm perfectly ok not eating carbs at dinner, but my husband doesn't feel a meal is complete without carbs. So, I rummage through the kitchen and come up with this:

Potatoes
Basil
S&p
Mozzarella
Plain greek yogurt

Basically toss the potato chunks in everything and then top with mozzarella. It was pretty good...you know what would've made it better? Sour cream instead of the Greek yogurt. But yes, yogurt is healthier. =)

 

Zucchini Pasta with Kale & Tomato

I've been seeing posts about a gluten free zucchini pasta...and what makes it gluten free is because you're actually using whole fresh zucchini pieces cut into pasta shaped noodles as opposed to processing zucchini with other ingredients to make noodles. It's a bit labour intensive...I used a mandolin then stacked and sliced the zucchini down to fettuccine sizes. And then I made "pasta sauce" by just sauteeing and simmering the rest of the incredients together. Season to taste.

It's REALLY good. =) Hope you'll enjoy it too!

Zucchini

Pasta sauce:
Garlic
Onion
Basil
Savory
Salt
Soup stock
Kale
Tomatoes
 

Baked Miso Tofu on Salad and Burnt Tomato Soup

I can't remember where I saw a recipe for baked miso tofu, but it sounded interesting. I had both medium firm regular and soft egg tofu. I've been buying organic since I hear soy is a major GMO product now.

Miso sauce:
Miso paste
Soy sauce
Sugar
Grapeseed Oil

Mix this all together and then spoon over the cut tofu in a baking sheet. Bake at 350-385 F until the liquids dry and it starts to brown. Serve over salad with a garlic balsamic vinegar dressing that you can also easily throw together.

Tomato Soup....sadly was a bit of a fail. I was browning the onions and had added cut tomatos to simmer with it, except I didn't include enough liquids in the pot...or maybe the stove was on too high. Anyways....the bottom burnt. I picked out what I could, added veggie stock and then put the immersion blender in until I got the desired consistency. My husband said it tasted good...so I'll go with that. But I'm not aiming for a repeat performance for sure. =)

Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Vegetable Stock

Caprese Salad

I wasn't sure whether to post this since the idea is not original or inspired at all. ha ha. But here it is...one of the easiest and yummy salads to make.

Sliced tomatoes
Sliced fresh mozzarella
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Basil (fresh basil would've been WAY better)

Saucy Veggie Omlette...not really

I don't know what this is called....when you crack eggs into sautéed veggies. It's not a fritata, it's not a Spanish omlette, it's not really an omlette either....meh. It was tasty! And an easy way to use up various veggies in the fridge. I served it with some garlic naan to soak up some of the sauce.



I sautéed everything until it was nearly done, made four "wells" that I cracked the eggs into. Covered it for a few minutes then served it.

Button mushrooms
Yellow Pepper
Broccoli
Onion
Eggs
Cumin
Paprika
Sugar
Basil flakes
Garlic
S&P
 

Pesto Chicken Pizza

The pizza dough recipe I used can either make one thick crust pizza or two thin crusts...so here's what I did with the second crust:



Pesto paste
Sauteed chicken slices
Sliced mushrooms
Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Basil after baking



To no surprise the crust was still harder than I'd like...but this was a yummy pizza! Loved the fresh basil on it!

I also didn't have very good pizza baking trays. I'd love a pizza stone one day. In this case, I used the BACK of a rectangle baking sheet. The crust actually turned out better than the one baked on the round pizza sheet. A rolling pizza slicer would also be really handy...but I'm trying to avoid adding anymore utensils or apparatuses into our packed condo kitchen. One day...when we have a house and more cupboards.

Meatless Rotini Casserole

It was another Meatless Monday and this time I was going to experiment with tofu. I had grown up eating it Asian style...but was told that it really takes on whatever flavors you cook it in...so I was going to use it in a "meat" sauce for a pasta casserole....that didn't have meat in it.

Tofu
Tomatoes
Onion
Tomatoe paste
BBQ Sauce (for smoke)
Basil
Oregano
Parmesan
Goat's milk gouda
Tri-colored rotini

End result....it was really really good! I could still tell tofu was tofu...but it wasn't as if I was trying to hide the tofu in the first place. Now I know that I can experiment more with cooking tofu like meat. However, as most of the soy products in North America are GMO....I also have to be wary about where the tofu comes from. It's unfortunate because tofu can be so good for you otherwise.

Tri-Colour Linguine

It was Vegetarian Vednesday and I just had scrapings in the fridge....but I managed to pull this colourful number together and you know, it was actually pretty tasty! The "tri-color" refers to the squash, corn and peas....not the linguine itself.

Onion
Leftover squash pieces
Frozen Corn niblets
Frozen Peas
Basil
Oregano
Cumin

I just used pasta water to make the "sauce"...it's really just seasoned with the herbs and some S&P. Glad to find out that a vegetarian meal can be pretty easy to put together. =)

Skillet bread

I don't bake...unless it's meat or a casserole. Not sure what it is, but something about breads, cakes and etc scare me. I think it's because the correct amounts of ingredients added is actually kind of important and I can't "wing" it. Then I came across this easy skillet bread recipe...and it's not baked!

I added Basil and Oregano....as well as some parmesan cheese.

It's quite a hearty bread to go with a soup. I imagine I can also slice it in half through the middle and make a grilled cheese or something. Enjoy!

Mushroom Swiss Chard penne

And then it was Vegetarian Vednesday and I thought I'd try a pasta. I still had mushrooms and some extra swiss chard in the fridge so I decided that was going to be the "sauce" for the pasta. The result was actually quite delicious and this will definitely make it into the vegetarian rotation.

Onion
Mushrooms
Swiss Chard
Paprika
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Butter
Penne pasta



My husband recently commented that though he hasn't gotten back into working out, he's noticing more muscle definition and finding himself using a tighter belt notch. I'd like to suggest it's because we've cut our fatty meat intake. =) Hurray!

Mushroom Onion Quiche

Meatless Monday was upon me and I decided a quiche was in order...it's been a while. Well there wasn't a whole lot in the fridge to work with so a simple quiche it is.

Mushrooms
Onion
Paprika
Basil
Oregano
Eggs
Almond milk

Remember, it's three eggs to one cup of milk for the filling. And the easiest pie crust recipe is this: 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup ice cold water, 1/4 cup olive oil. The trick is to beat the cold water and olive oil together until it thickens, then mix it into the flour/salt.

My only regret, I didn't have any cheese in the house. But the quiche was delicious anyways. =)

9 Bean Squash & Spinach Soup

 

We're trying to reduce the amount of meat we consume...because it really is way too much for our physical systems that really are built more for herbaboires than carnivores. This is coming from someone who LOVES her meat. Especially red meat, medium rare. Sigh.

So...taking Meatless Mondays more seriously...I'm venturing into vegetarian cooking territory and making a hearty, high protein, high fibre soup.

9 bean mix (from Costco)

Butternut squash

Spinach

Oregano

Basil

Celery seed

Paprika

Garlic

Turkey bones (for the broth, I know, it's not vegetarian but I didn't have vegetable stock handy. Baby steps)

And you know, it's pretty tasty! And filling! I do burn it off faster than a heavy meat dinner, but then I reach for some almonds or fruit to take the edge off and just go to sleep. And my GI is happier for it.

Lamb Shank

I've always wanted to try cooking lamb shank...so when I saw it go on sale at T&T I picked up a package of three shanks. When I opened the package, I found the shanks were covered in silverskin. From watching cooking shows, I remember chefs always had to cut this chewy stuff off before cooking it...so I proceeded to wrestle with cutting/shaving/ripping/tearing the skins off. I got the shanks about 85% clean before giving up....I needed to get these cooking else we wouldn't have dinner on time.

Lamb shanks
Onion, Shallots
Garlic
Carrots
Tomatoes
Potato
Cumin
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Chicken Stock
Rice Wine

I rubbed cornstarch on the shanks and then started to sear them in a big pot with onions. Once browned, I deglazed with rice wine, threw everything else in, added chicken stock and covered the pot for a good simmer. Once the carrots were soft, I moved the shanks to one side, stuck in my immersion blender and pureed some of the veggies to make a thicker sauce.

 

 

It was only cooking for about 50 min before we had to eat....so though it was cooked...and tasty...it was not fall-off-the-bone soft. Resimmering the leftover shank for an hour the next day did the trick however. Will definitely be making something like this again!

Hearty Turkey soup

It's getting colder and colder out there. Time for all the soup and stew recipes to come out! Here's an experiment that turned out pretty yummy: Turkey soup

Turkey carcas from whatever festive dinner you had
Turkey meat (I prefer the leftover dark meat)
Butternut squash (leftovers as well)
Tomatoes
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Quinoa
Garlic
Dried herbs (Thyme, Basil, Oregano in my case)

Threw everything into a big pot in the afternoon....3 hrs of simmering later....yummy goodness that feels like a warm blankie. Enjoy!

Tomato Soup

 

I've been making a lot of tomato soup of late. It's actually pretty easy...and you can adjust the flavors however you like. The first time I made it, it was too "carroty" said my husband. I was lacking chicken or vegetable broth and used some carrot juice instead. I thought the soup tasted fine. But whatever....

 

Tomatoes

Peppers (red, orange or yellow)

Onion

Broth (I made turkey broth from leftover bones...yum!)

White wine

Baby carrots

S&P

Thyme

Basil

Marble Cheese (I remember recipes asking for heavy cream which I didn't have, so thought cheese will do.)

 

What's also really nice is a pinch of chili powder for some kick.

I also have to say, immersion blenders are the bomb.

Salmon Onion Quiche & Spaghetti Squash Salad

Meatless Monday! Well, we do have salmon in it, but that still counts as vegetarian right? Kind of? I was trying to use up leftovers and quiches are great to put them in.

Quiche:
Salmon
Onion
Leftover yellow zucchini
Eggs
Almond Milk

Crust:
Flour
Water
Olive Oil

Salad:
Spaghetti Squash
Tomatoes
Leftover yellow zucchini
Basil
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Sautéed Yellow Zucchini

(Apologies for the bad picture lighting on this one...I forgot to turn off my cell phone flash.)

This is an easy vegetable side to any dinner...hard to mess up.

Zucchini
Dried Basil and Oregano flakes
Salt and Pepper
Dash of Cumin

When you see the zucchini slices starting to turn transparent, then it's time to flip. Enjoy!

Zucchini Tomato Soup

It was Meatless Monday...and it was cold. I had a flat of tomatoes where some were starting to show spots, as well as two green zucchini's at the bottom of the veggie drawer that needed eating. So I decided to do a zucchini tomato soup.

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Onion

Garlic

Couscous

Tomato paste

Cumin

Basil flakes

Chili flakes

Oregano flakes

Carrot juice

Sugar

Water

Dash of white wine

While grating the zucchinis, I found I had way too much, so as a last minute idea, I made some zucchini patties to eat with the soup:

Zucchini

Spelt flour

Frulani cheese

Egg

S&P

It was perfect for a cold day. The chili flakes added extra heat and kick to the soup. The zucchini patties were flavorful with the cheese and absorbed some of the heat from the soup when eaten together. The couscous in the soup added heartiness without it getting too heavy. Will be made again I'm sure.

Barley & Lentil Salad

It was Meatless Monday in the house and I realized I forgot to buy some heartier vegetarian produce. So what could I make? Rummaging through my cupboard I came across some pot barley and lentils. It was a bit hot outside to be eating stew, but I could turn it into a salad! So here it is:

Pot barley
Lentils
Tomato
Egg (this is allowed for vegetarian meals right?)
Shallot
Dried figs
Dried Basil and Oregano
Cumin
S&P to taste

It was scopped onto a bed of baby romaine and dressed with the lime vinegrette I've been making a lot of. Turned out....not bad. The figs added bursts of sweetness that went with the citrusy dressing really well. The barley really soaked up the dressing so I'll need to add more to get some taste into it. But it was filling...with lots of good fibre. Until next Monday!