mexican black bean & roasted pineapple bowl

My vacation should be wrapping up pretty soon. I could be sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Quebec City and sipping on some red wine or trying some french fries cooked in duck fat in Montreal. This meal isn't as exciting as whatever it is I could be doing, but then again, I could be stuck in traffic, which would make this meal glamorous and exciting in comparison. That's not saying that this meal was a let-down. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I like to think of this as a deconstructed burrito inspired by my favorite burrito at a local vegan Mexican restaurant. With roasted pineapple, fresh salsa and black beans, you can't go wrong. It's delicious, filling and I can see this meal becoming a habit. It may look like there are a lot of steps involved here, but it's quite simple to put together. Then again, I love chopping and general prep work, so turn on your favorite summer jams and get this meal started.

mexican black bean & roasted pineapple bowl
1 c rice (white or brown - above I used both)

1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 t red chili flakes
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1 can of black beans, rinsed & drained

1/2 fresh pineapple, sliced in rounds

3 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 lime zested & juiced
2 T fresh cilantro
1/4 t cayenne pepper or hot sauce
salt & pepper

1/4 c grated cheese
sour cream
additional hot sauce

1. Prepare rice as usual. Everyone has their tricks for making great rice, so make it your way.

2. Create a quick salsa, by combining the tomatoes, onion, lime juice & zest, cilantro and spices. Set aside.

3. Roast pineapple over a grill or under the broiler in your oven until in gets charred in places. Flip, roast and dice. Set aside.

4. In a large pan, heat oil and add in garlic, onion, and red pepper. Saute until it gets soft, add in spices and black beans. Heat through.

5. Layer all ingredients into a bowl. Rice on the bottom, then black beans, pineapple, salsa and then top with a sprinkle of cheese, a spoonful of sour cream and a sprinkle or more of your favorite hot sauce.

mexican nacho pizza

My pizza dough recipe was wack. You made it and you liked it. Phew! I've made some pretty interesting pizzas in my past. Remember when I made a pizza with goat cheese, spinach and figs? Or that time when I threw apples on there and called it awesome? Right now I could be in Halifax dipping my pizza crusts into donair sauce. I'm not sure what donair sauce is, but I'm sure I'll find out. Maybe I'm eating potato pizzas in PEI while laying on a red sand beach. But for the sake of this post, I'm going to take a trip down Mexico way or at least dip into Tex-Mex territory and talk about a pizza topped with refried beans, sour cream and cilantro. Don't be afraid, it's a good combo. I made this vegetarian, but feel free to add some sauteed ground beef or some chorizo sausage to top up this baby. This is a weighty pizza...those refried beans aren't lightweight, so it's filling and there will be extras for the following day. And that's okay, because this pizza tastes great the second day.

mexican nacho pizza
1 pizza dough, half baked
1 can of refried beans
1 T cumin
1 T chili powder
1 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t salt
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1 c fresh salsa
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 425. Half-bake your pizza dough for 10 minutes, remove from oven and set aside. In a bowl, mash together the refried beans and spices. Spread bean mixture over pizza dough. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Spread cheese layer with fresh salsa and bake until the pizza is heated through and cheese starts to bubble, about 10 - 15 minutes. Spread sour cream over pizza and sprinkle with cilantro. Cut and serve.

couscous vegetable soup

Want a hearty and healthy lunch? This soup makes the grade and it's flexible enough so that you can add in whatever vegetables you've got lingering about in your fridge. I wanted to use up the bits and bobs of vegetables, so for me it was broccoli, carrots and onion. For you, it might be zucchini, red pepper, cauliflower and spinach. Whatever, mix it up. Live a little.

When I was making this soup, I was also in the middle of work. So I let this soup sit a bit longer on the stove than I wanted and thus, the couscous soaked up more of the broth than I would have normally liked. But rather than go mushy and bland like regular pasta, the couscous still had bite and chew. Israeli couscous is a very forgiving grain and my lunch was delicious.

couscous vegetable soup
1/2 c israeli couscous
2 c vegetable broth
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 - 1 c broccoli, chopped
1/4 small onion, diced
salt & pepper
a few healthy dashes of your favorite hot sauce

Heat up couscous in broth. When it starts to boil, add in vegetables. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes and serve with your favorite hot sauce, a few grinds of pepper and a sprinkle of salt, if needed.

thrifty and quick: bowtie pasta with prosciutto & peas

First off, I want to thank everyone who came out to the craft fair on Sunday. Sure, I'm aware of how many people read my blog thanks to stats counters, but seeing so many of you come out for a visit was amazing. Thank you! But now, onto the food! I made this as a super quick lunch idea. I had half a package of pasta, some frozen peas, a tiny chunk of prosciutto and some parmesan and before I knew it, I had 2 large heaping bowls of food ready for my husband and I. It was delicious and deceptively simple to prepare. It also cost next to nothing.

I never really breakdown food costs, but I can imagine this meal costing about $1.50 in total for both bowls. I'm the first to admit that math isn't my strong suit, but here's how I came to that figure. Ages ago, I bought a wedge of organic parmesan for $8 and I used my fingers to specify how much I wanted to the old Italian guy at the counter and still am grating away at it. Really, I have no idea if I grated 25 cents worth of parmesan onto my pasta, but it seems about right! I bought the prosciutto as a "meat end" at the deli counter and it was a small hunk priced at $1. I was able to use that peice of meat for 4 meals, so that's another quarter right there. Organic pasta is $1.50 a bag at my local grocer, so half that is easy to figure out. As for the peas and half n' half, it's a wild guess. The 750 g bag cost $3 so my handful of peas probably works out to mere nickles and I can't even remember how much my 1L container of half and half cost me. I know this $1.50 cost breakdown is pretty crunky! I'm no math wiz so you'll just have to get by with my less than shoddy accounting.

But really, who wants numbers anyway, this is lunch! And it's a delicious one at that. Cornelius was bummed that he couldn't have seconds (and truth be told, so was I). It was quick, it was tasty and it was budget concious. Yum.

bowtie pasta with prosciutto & peas
250 g bowtie pasta
3 T prosciutto
1/3 c frozen peas
2 T half & half
2 T grated parmesan cheese
pepper to taste

Cook up pasta the usual way. When the pasta is about 2 minutes close to being done, add in the peas. Cook for the remaining 2 minutes. Drain most of the pasta water out of the pot. Add in the prosciutto, half & half and the parmesan. Add pepper to taste. Serve in 2 large bowls. Lick bowls if necessary.

curried apple & lentil dal

Yesterday the weather took a little turn towards autumn. Figures, since I'm just about over my cold. At least the foggy mornings and cooler temperatures make it so much easier to think about stews and soups and warm bowls of curry. Looking through my cupboard the other day, I had a mason jar filled with red lentils. Their colour is so warm and inviting and it seemed like the perfect thing to make for a quick dinner. I also had that bag of organic MacIntosh apples, so I decided to use a couple of those as well. Curry was on my mind and it's nice to have a bit of sweet along with the heat.

I made a dal, which in India refers to any lentil or legume, but it can also mean any soup or stew using a legume. Since red lentils are really quick to prepare, I knew that this dinner would be ready in under 30 minutes. I like my curry spicy, so I used a spicy garam masala paste (my favorite is made by Patak), but any curry paste or powder will do. Just remember to taste as you go along and use a little at a time because you don't want your dal to be too hot! We served this with brown rice, steamed broccoli and a spoonful of mango chutney. A spoonful of yogurt would be lovely on this too, especially if you find your curry a little too spicy.

curried apple & lentil dal
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 green pepper, diced
2 small MacIntosh apples, diced
2 T garam masala curry paste
1 1/2 c red lentils
2 c vegetable broth

Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large pot and saute garlic, onion and ginger until fragrant. Toss in green pepper and apples and the curry paste, and stir everything until well combined. Add in lentils and broth, cover, and turn down heat to a simmer and cook until the lentils and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Add a little water, if necessary, to prevent the dal from becoming to dry. Serve on top of brown rice and top with some plain yogurt or mango chutney.

eat hungrily: chickpea & romaine salad with lemon-parmesan vinaigrette

It's hot. Finally. And I'm sucking back a homemade popsicle just so that I can cope with the heat a little better. You see, there are very few places in Vancouver that have air conditioning (the joys of a temperate climate), so we just make do. Homemade popsicles, ice tea in tall glasses beaded with sweat, finding a shady spot for a barbecue. Anything to avoid that large, glaring appliance, the stove.

This meal was made after a rousing game of tennis. Cornelius and I were hot, tired and sweaty. We were also famished and turning on the stove wasn't an option. Not at all. So I dug around the cupboard and fridge and made this salad. It was perfect. Bright with lemon juice but with a creamy balance from the parmesan. Quick to prepare and easy to love. I declare this the salad of my summer. Let the hot, hot days of summer continue.

More salads for when turning on your oven isn't an option:
canelli bean and tuna salad
colourful chopped vegetable salad
incredibly lemony potato salad
mixed bean salad
refrigerator pickles

chickpea & romaine salad with lemon-parmesan vinaigrette
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 lemon, zested & juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
a good pinch of kosher salt
1/4 t red chili flakes
good olive oil
2-3 T parmesan cheese
1 head of romaine, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces

Add the chickpeas to a large bowl. In a small jar, mix together the lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt and chili flakes and pour in enough olive oil so that it doubles the amount of lemon juice. Pour over the chickpeas. Add in lettuce and parmesan cheese and toss until well combined. Eat up, hungrily.