grilled scallop ceviche

I don't tend to make fancy food much and because scallops are pricey, they count as fancy in my book. However, after a trip to the Maritimes last summer where I tried scallops for the very first time, I just couldn't get them out of my head. When it came to making a nice celebratory dinner, I figured scallops were worth the splurge.

I didn't want a recipe that was too heavy with butter or cream, so I decided to make a twist on ceviche. Ceviches usually rely on lemon or lime juice to cook the raw fish, but a recipe found in Gourmet for a grilled scallop ceviche sounded ideal. And it was. It's full of bright, citrus flavours and the cucumber here is very refreshing against the jalapeño heat. It's the kind of meal you'd want to eat lots of in the summer, you know, in between your yacht sailings and Prada shopping sprees. And while this meal feels fancy, it's actually not such a big spend. The recipe only uses 8 large sea scallops and when you think about the cost of eating out, a nice meal in with a bottle of wine is pretty affordable (but go on and strap on some heels for the occasion).

Are you starting from frozen scallops? Use the cold water method to defrost rather than slowly defrosting in the fridge. Put your scallops into a ziplock bag, place bag into a bowl and slowly run cold water from your tap over the scallops until they thaw. Depending on the size of your seafood, this could take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. This way results in very fresh tasting scallops and this way your seafood doesn't get swamped with water. This quick thaw method works well for shrimp as well.

grilled scallop ceviche
(recipe adapted from Gourmet)
6-8 large sea scallops
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 small orange
2 T fresh lime juice
3/4 English cucumber, seeded and diced
1/4 of a red onion, finely diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeds removed, minced

1. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper and brush lightly with a bit of olive oil before adding them to a hot grill pan. Grill until marks appear (about 1-2 minutes) and flip repeating the process. Scallops don't need to be fully cooked as they will fully cook in the lime juice later. Remove from pan immediately and set aside to cool.

2. Cut away the peel from the orange using a sharp paring knife. Cut segments free from their membranes and then dice. Add oranges, cucumber, red onion, jalapeños and any remaining orange juice into a medium sized bowl.

3. If your scallops are large & you want to be thrifty like me, slice the scallops in half on their sides so that 1 scallop is now 2 coin-shaped scallops (rather than cutting them in half width wise). Add the scallops to the bowl and squeeze lime juice over everything. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top and gently toss. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

beets in vinaigrette

It's just a couple of days until the end of summer. As much as I'd love to cozy up in a cardigan or bundle up under the covers with a cup of tea, I must say that I am loving the summer weather we are having. I guess because I was away most of August that having an extended bit of Vancouver summer seems to fit just right with me. Sunshine, bare legs and those lazy, hazy days. Summer please hang around just a while longer, okay?

While beets are not the most summery of vegetables, we did receive quite a bit in our CSA share, which is never a bad thing, cuz I love the beets and the beets love me. For this recipe I used some golden beets along with the plain jane regular ol' variety (which I actually like better because they seem to be much sweeter). The dressing has a nice sweet and sour balance that plays up the natural sweetness in the beets. The feta cheese is totally optional, but is oh-so-great crumbled over top.

While the salad is great on its own, it's also wonderful served on top of some bitter greens (our CSA is currently overflowing in bitter greens!). The beets and dressing help to cut all of that bitterness in the lettuce.

Browse my archives for more beet recipes:
beet & arugula salad with goat cheese & pecans
raw beet & carrot salad
beet greens & fried potatoes topped with poached eggs
beets, feta & pecan green salad with balsamic dressing

beets in vinaigrette
5 beets
3 T olive oil
2 T cider vinegar
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 small shallot, minced
1 t honey
salt & pepper
1/4 c feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Boil the beets in their skins until tender (about 45 minutes or so depending on the size of the beets). Let cool and then slip off their skins which will remove quite easily. Cut beets into round slices or dice them. Your call.

In medium sized bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegars, shallot, honey, salt and pepper. Toss in the beets and coat well with the vinaigrette. Sprinkle the feta, if using, over top and serve.

split pea & millet salad with lemon vinaigrette

I don't post every meal I make on this blog. Let's face it, sometimes what I make turns out like crap. Usually, I'm pretty good with the cooking and the baking, but sometimes things go wrong and the end is badness. Or sometimes the meal I make is totally kick ass fantastic but my photos come out lousy. That's when I get my pen out and draw the meal I've just eaten or it just gets forgotten about. But sometimes, things get lost in the shuffle. The food was amazing, the photos turned out pretty good and they get posted on my flickr account and I mean to write something....but I get distracted by the next pretty thing and out of my head it goes.

I'm a flighty blogger but I'm making up for it. Over the next few weeks, I'll be playing catch up and posting some of those forgotten (but oh-so-yummy) recipes. It's also a bit of summer break for me so my posting will be done automatically while I'm away...like right now, in fact, where I'm probably eating a bagel in Montreal. Don't fear, I'm not posting the dregs of my kitchen but hidden wonderful gems! So please comment as per usual and I might even chime in from the road.

split pea & millet salad with lemon vinaigrette
1 c yellow split peas
1 c millet
1/2 head romaine, torn
A few florets of broccoli, lightly steamed
1/2 c fresh or frozen green peas
1-2 spring onions, diced
lemon vinaigrette
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 c olive oil
1 t agave nectar or honey
1 t dijon mustard
salt & pepper

1. Cook yellow split peas in about 3-4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain & set aside to cool.

2. In another pot, boil 2 cups of water or vegetable broth and add in the millet. Turn down heat to low and cover pot. When the millet has absorbed the liquid, about 15 minutes, it's done. Set aside and cool.

3. Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar, shake and taste. Adjust seasonings if needed. Add torn romaine lettuce leaves, broccoli, peas and spring onions in a bowl and stir in the millet and split peas. Toss with vinaigrette and serve.

chopped vegetable salad with zesty ranch dressing

Just as I had hoped, summer is back. Two days of grey skies and rain is okay by me and it's more than good for all the gardens and farms out there too. But I'm so happy to have back the sunshine and warm summer evenings. Ahhh, now it feels like July! And the perfect meal for those hot summer nights is a crunchy refreshing vegetable salad. I love chopped salads because they're just so easy: chop the vegetables into bite-sized chunks, pour over some homemade dressing, et voilà, a fresh and tasty meal.

This time, I tried something different: ranch dressing. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of ranch...it's too creamy and bland and I miss the tart pucker that only a vinaigrette provides. But then I saw a photo on Gluten-Free Girl's blog and it made me want ranch dressing. Like really, really want ranch dressing. So I bought some buttermilk and got to work. I modified her version based on the ingredients that I already had and the results were deliciously wonderful. Yes, the ranch dressing was creamy but it had a good balance of flavour between the tang of the buttermilk, the bite of the lemon and all the earthy spices. This recipe makes a lot which is so perfect to have in the fridge when CSAs & farmer's markets stuff your crisper with more vegetables than you know what to do with. When you've got a mason jar full of homemade dressing, it's easy to whip up a quick salad to make use of your greens or snack on a platter of raw vegetables. And – if this is something you might be into – this ranch dressing doctored with a habanero hot sauce is just perfect for dipping your take-out pizza crusts into. You know, if you do that kind of thing.

Want more summer salad ideas? Let me dig deep into my archives...
Colourful chopped vegetable salad
Green bean quinoa salad
Marinated vegetable salad
Mixed bean salad
Raw vegetable salad with yogurt-feta dressing
Vegetable slaw with jalapeno-lime dressing

chopped vegetable salad with zesty ranch dressing
(adapted from Gluten-Free Girl)
2 c snowpeas, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into coins
3/4 c corn
1/2 green cabbage, shredded & chopped
1/4 red onion, finely diced
dressing:
1 c buttermilk
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c mayonnaise
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
1 t honey
1 fat clove garlic, minced
2 T freshly grated onion
1 large pinch each of dried dill & oregano
1/4 t sweet Spanish paprika
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
a shake or two of hot sauce

Chop all the vegetables and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.

To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients until combined. Taste & adjust seasoning if necessary. This makes a lot of dressing, so just use enough dressing for the salad. Pour dressing liberally (or not, depending on taste) and toss salad to combine.

Place remaining dressing into a tightly lidded container and keep in the fridge for about a week or so.

lemon, parmesan & chickpea cabbage salad

After pickling prunes and boiling cookies, sometimes you just want something normal. A meal that feels like home. Cabbage is one of my favorite kitchen workhorses and it shouldn't be relegated to dreary winter days or forgotten about until the fridge is running on empty. Cabbage can be a hit of sunshine and a welcoming crunch. Let it be your summertime companion!

Cabbage is great because it only needs a little bit of something to turn it into wow. When I read Molly's book, I did a double take when it came to Brandon's cabbage salad. One evening when the golden hour sunshine flooded into our apartment, I knew this would make the ideal dinner salad. It was simple, nothing more than lemon juice, garlic, Parmesan and good olive oil and a little seasoning. But when I started adding the shredded cabbage leaves to the bowl, I figured why not add in a bit of protein? So I threw in a can of drained chickpeas and our dinner salad was born. With a buttered Portuguese roll from our local market, this salad was perfect. I think I will make this meal my new best friend.

I'm not one to showcase my kitchen. It's a tiny galley kitchen from 1982 with a ridiculously small amount of usable counter space (see above? That's it!), and it's darker than your most private thoughts. However, in the summer, around 7pm when the light is just right, the magic hour reaches all the way back into our little kitchen. I'm not going to go all Pioneer Woman on you, but figured you might want to see where all the magic happens.

lemon, parmesan & chickpea cabbage salad
(adapted from Molly Wizenberg)
1 head of cabbage, shredded
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
salt & pepper

Make the dressing by adding the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper to a jar and giving it a good shake.

In a large bowl, add the shredded cabbage and the chickpeas and toss to combine. Pour over the dressing and the cheese and toss again. Season again if needed.

crunchy broccoli, carrot & red onion salad

I took a photo of this salad and only just before serving did I realize that I had forgotten to top it with toasted pecans and sprouted beans. Ooops! At least I realized this before I served it as part of our dinner. The pecans and the sprouts added bonus flavour and crunch. It was summer salad perfection in the middle of spring!

For this salad, I didn't go the raw broccoli route, but just steamed them ever-so slightly so that the crunch remained and colour popped. But the real inspiration for this was half an orange I had in the fridge. It wasn't just any orange, it was a Minneola which is slightly tarter than a regular navel and a bit more lumpy. I love them and figured that it would really help to perk up the pedestrian vegetables in my crisper. I was so right. The orange went so well with all the vegetables. A bit of a warning though, the dressing is thin and runny and doesn't have that thickness that it would if I would have added mustard or honey. But I'm okay with that and so are the vegetables since it really lets the orangeness of the dish shine. And I'm certainly okay with a bit of orange sunshine right about now.

Want more broccoli salads? Try these from my archives:
Raw vegetable salad with yogurt-feta dressing
Marinated vegetable salad

crunchy broccoli, carrot & red onion salad
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 large carrot, sliced into coins
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
2 T toasted pecans
1/4 c sprouted beans

dressing:
1/2 of an orange, juice + zest
1/4 c olive oil
splash of rice vinegar
salt & pepper

Steam broccoli for 3 minutes until it turns bright green. Rinse under cold water until cool. Toss in bowl with carrots and onion. Shake dressing ingredients in a jar and taste. Taste & re-season, if necessary. Throw it over the salad and toss well to blend. Top with sprouts and toasted pecans.

tahini ginger slaw

Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the slaw pre-demolition. All I have left is a dirty bowl. Proof that the slaw was indeed delicious. I had been seeing a few coleslaw recipes popping up lately and I decided that I would use up whatever was in my crisper and make one big bowl of salad.

Throwing in the vegetables was easy. If I had it laying about, in in went. But for the dressing I was stumped. I didn't want to make a vinegar based dressing and a mayo-based one just didn't excite me. So after a bit of digging around, I found a small nub of fresh ginger and a half empty jar of tahini. I could definitely work with this! And oh boy, this dressing has some kick. The ginger adds a nice bite, the tahini makes it all creamy while the lemon juice adds some much needed sunshine. It was a slaw to be proud of!

I didn't use up all the dressing...just a tablespoon or so. The remainder of the dressing I covered with plastic wrap and into the fridge it went. But don't worry, I got some great use out of the remaining dressing. For what? Well, you'll just have to wait until my next post. So if you make this coleslaw, make sure to save your dressing. I promise another great dinner!

tahini ginger slaw
1/2 small head of red cabbage, shredded
1 jumbo sized carrot (like a really, really, really huge carrot - or several normal sized ones)
1/2 small, red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 red pepper, diced

dressing
1 T tahini
juice of half a lemon
1 t minced fresh ginger
1 t agave syrup
1/4 c olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Mix together all the vegetables into a large bowl. In a mixing cup or small bowl combine all the dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over salad (not all of it!) and let sit for a few minutes or just dig in!

Interested in more cabbage salads & slaws? Check out my archives:
Creamy Asian Slaw
Kitchen Sink Salad
Lemon Coleslaw
My Waldorf Salad
North Carolina Coleslaw
Peanutty Coleslaw

root down: raw beet & carrot salad

There's a raw vegan cafe in town called Gorilla Foods. I like 'em and I love their Root Down juice which basically contains whatever you want to juice up. My standard juice order contains beets, carrots, lemon, orange, and ginger and it's so so so very tasty. So when I had some big ol' beets and some lovely multi-coloured organic carrots on hand, I decided to do a root down version in salad form. This isn't all raw since I'm using mustard and I think mustard is cooked...but I'm not a raw food fantatic so that doesn't matter to me anyway.

This salad turned out lovely. And I'm not talking about how pretty it looks in the bowl. I mean, look at it! Stunning! Ruby, purple, orange and pink...it's a visual masterpiece! For this recipe, I pulled out my Benriner Japanese Mandolin Slicerso everything is perfectly julienned, but you can use a food processor or just grate everything up by hand. Despite the time spent grating/julienning, it's a very simple salad to put together and there's a sweetness alongside a nice spicy bite. Oh yeah, and it's very healthy. Perfect for this time of year.

One more thing...I've been nominated for best food blog in Vancouver by the Best of 604 blog, so if you'd vote for me (before this coming Wednesday at midnight PST), that would be swell. Thanks!

raw beet & carrot salad
1 large beet, julienned
3 large carrots or 5 med-smallish carrots, julienned
tangerine or orange zest
juice of 1/2 tangerine or orange
lemon zest
juice of 1/2 lemon
2-4 T olive oil
1 T dijon mustard
1 T maple syrup or honey
1/2 t fresh grated ginger
salt & pepper

Combine the beets and carrots in a bowl. Mix the zest, juice, olive oil, mustard, syrup, ginger and spices in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Taste adding in more olive oil if you find it too sharp or add in more lemon juice to make it more tart. Toss with salad and let marinate for a few minutes before serving.

the magical mysterious chimichurri sauce and 2 easy recipes

I've been wanting to try a chimichurri sauce for a while now. From what I had read, it's a traditional Argentinian sauce and marinade for grilled meats, but is used in many Latin American countries. It's traditionally made with parsley or cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, onion and paprika with a huge glug of olive oil thrown in for good measure. I decided to try my luck with this sauce since I had a very nice looking grass-fed and organic slab o' rib eye in the fridge. But I didn't want to only try it out with meat. Surely, this chimichurri would be great as a salad dressing too! So I improvised with what I had and made a very delicious and maybe not so traditional take on this Argentinian classic.

The sauce itself was really easy to prepare. I just gathered the ingredients together and whizzed them up with my immesion blender. In less than a minute, I had a heavenly scented sauce that tasted like the heat of summer. It's a really fresh-tasting condiment that tastes as green as it looks (in a very, very good way!)

chimichurri sauce
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch cilantro
4 cloves garlic
1 hot pepper, de-seeded
lemon zest & juice of 1/2 lemon
large pinch of salt
1 - 3 large glugs of olive oil
1 shallot, roughly chopped
water, if needed to thin things out

Whizzz up all ingredients in a blender. Taste and adjust seasonings & measurements if necessary. Done. Makes almost a cup of sauce.

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So while the main reason for the making of the chimichurri was as a marinade and sauce for the steak, I had sauce left over and decided that it would make perfect salad dressing. I was right. Once, the dressing is prepared, the rest of the salad is a breeze. I decided to peel the carrot into ribbons and it was a nice touch, though you could easily dice them for a different texture.

chimichurri chickpea salad
1 can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 carrot, peeled into ribbons
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 spicy red pepper, minced & deseeded
1/4 c chimichurri sauce (recipe above)

Mix up all the ingredients and serve in a pretty dish. Serves 4. Easy.

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Okay, now for the main event! If you are a meat-lover, bask in this meaty love, please. If you are not, there's a reason I stuck this at the end of the post! Avert your eyeballs! The secret to a good steak? Start with a good steak! Really, don't buy some cheap-ass cut from your supermarket. Splurge and get one really nice steak, grass-fed organic if you can afford it. You really don't need a steak each...just share one steak. Trust me, with some wine, a nice loaf of bread and a salad, you've got a perfect meal and no one will want for more. But back to the chimichurri sauce for one last time...the quick marinade packs a punch. Reserve some of it to serve as a sauce to drizzle over top. You won't regret it.

chimichurri rib-eye steak
1 T butter
1 rib eye organic grass-fed steak (or other fine cut)
1/4 c chimichurri sauce (recipe above) + extra for serving

Slather sauce over rib eye and let sit for a few minutes. Heat up butter in a cast iron pan. When it's good and bubbly, add steak. Cook on 1 side for 6 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let rest for 8 minutes (I just made up that amount but it sounds about right). Dig in and serve with remaining chimichurri sauce. Serves 2.

warm lentil & butternut squash salad with tahini dressing

Normally when autumn arrives, it arrives with a shove. There's rain every day and grey skies day in and day out. However, this fall, we Vancouverites seem blessed. It's sunny, there's a nip to the air that I find refreshing, and the leaves have just been so incredible lately. Oh, the colours! I'm finding beauty in almost everything. Even the humble butternut squash.

I saw this recipe for a warm chickpea and butternut salad with tahini dressing on Molly's blog and it sounded too perfect. So I cut the squash, put it in to roast and noticed that I didn't have a can of chickpeas after all. Instead, I took out a can of lentils and hoped all would be well. After I had mixed all the ingredients and poured myself a glass of wine, the mess in the bowl did not look very pretty and it certainly it didn't look as composed as Molly's photo. I had my fingers crossed as my husband took his first bite. But I had no need to worry, he loved it (and he normally doesn't even like squash!) and so did I. It was tangy and had a lovely lemony bite that worked so well with the nuttiness of the tahini. This recipe is a keeper and even if it's not a beauty on a plate, it definitely will make this fall seem sweeter.

warm lentil & butternut squash salad with tahini dressing
(adapted from Orangette)
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 ½ lb.), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 t ground cumin
½ t red chili flakes
½ t ground allspice
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper
One 15-ounce can lentils (or chickpeas), drained and rinsed
¼ of a medium red onion, finely chopped
¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley (or cilantro) leaves
½ t sumac

For tahini sauce:
2 garlic cloves, finely minced with a pinch of salt
juice of 1 lemon
3 T. tahini
2 T water
2 T olive oil, plus more to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425F. In a large bowl, toss butternut squash with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, allspice, cumin, garlic and red chili flakes. Once it's all well coated, dump onto a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes until soft and golden.

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and whisking until smooth. Taste and add more water or olive oil if needed.

3. To assemble the salad, gently toss the lentils, the warm roasted squash, red onion, and parsley in a serving bowl along with most of the dressing. Reserve the remaining of the dressing to serve at the table.

green and crunky: raw vegetable salad with yogurt-feta dressing

I recently posted that I wasn't a fan of raw broccoli. A few days later after making that statement, I made a raw broccoli salad. Crunky or not, I went with it and I liked it. I guess that means that I'm fickle and to take what I say with a grain of salt. Whatever, a girl has the right to change her mind!

This salad is crunchy from all the raw vegetables and toasted pecans and sweet-tart from the Granny Smith and the dried cranberries. The feta adds the salt and the lemon and yogurt add tang. It's kind of like a Waldorf Salad, but much more colourful. Plus, it's easy to whip up and downright healthy to boot. What's not to love?

Want more raw? Then check out my latest post for Food Network Canada where I review Gorilla Food, a raw, vegan, organic cafe in downtown Vancouver. The owner/chef used to be the personal chef for Beastie Boy, Mike D and the food is totally delicious and uber-healthy in a very tasty way.

raw vegetable salad with yogurt-feta dressing
1 head of broccoli, torn into florets and then chopped relatively small + stalks peeled and sliced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 orange pepper (red, yellow or green would be fine too)
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
3 T plain yogurt
3 T crumbled feta cheese
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
freshly ground pepper
2 T dried cranberries
3 T toasted chopped pecans

In a serving bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients, broccoli through apple. In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, feta, lemon juice & zest, garlic and pepper to create a dressing. Taste and adjust ingredients, if needed. Toss dressing with vegetables and sprinkle with cranberries and pecans.

garden inspiration: marinated vegetable salad

I spent my morning visiting my neighbourhood community garden. It was the annual plant sale, and while I only picked up a few free pots for my balcony, I found the whole visit very inspiring. The gardens were in full bloom and everything looked and smelled amazing. Although I've been there many times, it seemed to be extra beautiful this morning.


When I got home I decided that while I can't replicate the colourful gardens on my own small apartment balcony, I could at least carry through the bright colours onto my dinner plate. I found an assortment of vegetables that would do the trick. I chopped up thinly the purple onion, the bright red carrots and the remainder of the jumbo carrot that I had found in Chinatown last week. I also had 2 crowns of broccoli. I have to admit that I'm not a fan of raw broccoli. It tastes too green, too crunky. So I did what I always do to broccoli, I blanched it quickly and then cooled it quickly under cold running water. It's like raw, only awesome! I mixed up a quick balsamic marinade and then tossed everything together. I kept it in the fridge for only 2 hours or so, tossing it when I remembered to. The results of the marinating? Yum! It made for a very tangy and flavourful salad filled with all the bright colours of the gardens that inspired it. Don't have the vegetables that I used? Don't worry. This salad can take a bit of play....use what you've got!

Everything in this salad tastes bright and crisp and fresh and the slightly sweet and tangy dressing helped to keep everything in check. We ate this salad as a side to some barbecued hot dogs for our lazy Sunday night dinner. Want to make a meal out of it? Throw in some chickpeas or top with feta cheese and serve with french bread and you've got something truly spectacular.


marinated vegetable salad
2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly into rings
5 large radishes, sliced thin
1 large carrot, sliced thin
1 stalk celery, sliced thin
finely chopped fresh herbs (use whatever you have around)

1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 T grainy mustard
1 T honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t kosher salt
ground pepper

Blanch the broccoli (which means bring salted water to a boil, dump in the broccoli and cook for 1 minute until bright green - drain and rinse under cold water until cold). Add all the vegetables and herbs into a large serving bowl. Mix together the dressing and pour over vegetables, tossing well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

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.

don't knock the small fry: falafel plate

The luck I've been having in the kitchen lately, has not carried over into amazing photos, sadly. It's difficult to take decent photos at 9:30pm (when we ate dinner the other night) with only low wattage bulbs for illumination. At least the food was amazing....Cornelius told me that we should eat this more often. I obliged since we had leftovers and we ate this meal twice in a row. I heard no complaints.

I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. This city has a couple really great restaurants, but when I can make my favorite dish at home, it's even better. Now, I would love to tell you how I made my own falafels from scratch...not so. But I'm okay with that because I'm pretty satisfied with the ones I get from a mix. I'm not going to mess with a good–and totally easy thing.

The instructions below are less of a recipe and more of a general how-to. It's a falafel plate, not an opera cake. And yes, I tackle "deep frying" for the first time. Actually, this isn't really a deep fry, per se, but more of a shallow frying method. The falafels aren't submerged into the oil, nor do they even float about, but I used more oil cooking these babies than I've ever used to cook anything. And trust me, it's a good thing. I've baked falafels and cooked them using only a spoonful of oil but have never been truly satisfied with the results. Frying in oil is really the only way to make them jaw-droppingly good. Crispy, crunchy and light in texture, they aren't greasy either–just make sure your oil is hot and you won't go wrong.

falafel plate how-to
salad greens
grated carrot
diced purple onions
diced tomato, seeded
crumbled feta
a dill pickled, sliced thinly
sprinkle of sumac
hot sauce (optional or necessary, depending)

falafels
1/2 box falafel mix
canola oil (lots but not too much)

tahini-lemon-garlic sauce
2 heaping spoonfuls of tahini
3/4 c plain yogurt
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 small lemon
water

1. Start by preparing falafel mix according to package directions. Let it sit for at least 1 hour. Shape into small patties. Set aside.

2. Make the sauce by combining tahini, yogurt, garlic and lemon juice together. Too thick? Add water to thin down sauce. Set aside.

3. Prepare vegetables. Wash, dry and tear lettuce if need be. Grate carrots. Chop tomatoes. Dice onion. Slice pickles. Have your feta crumbled and ready. Place ingredients in individual bowls.

4. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a heavy cast iron skillet or whatever pan you've got, heat up enough oil so that it freaks you out by just how much oil you used....I'd say about 1/2 inch deep. Let it get hot. Start by adding in the falafel patties and flip them when they get all crispy and brown. Place fried patties on baking sheet and put into oven so that the falafels stay hot while you prepare the rest of the batch.

5. Place lettuce on your plate. Sprinkle with grated carrot, tomatoes and onion. Place a few falafels on top and drizzle with tahini sauce. Add some more tomatoes, pickles and feta cheese and top the whole thing off with a sprinkle of sumac. Squirt on some hot sauce, if using. Dig in.

salad days: creamy cabbage slaw & a tuna sandwich

Okay, Another salad recipe since summer is creeping up quick. Last weekend was hot...this past week, not so much, but I have hope. This weekend promises sunshine and warmth and I'm eager for endless months of good weather. Of course, I live in the Pacific Northwest where hold-steady weather is just a pipe dream. Oh well. At least I have a cool summery slaw by my side.

This is pretty simple to whip up. Just chop up the vegetables thinly and you've got a nice treat. If my garden would start production, I would have thrown in some fresh dill but I made do without and this slaw still kicked butt.

creamy cabbage slaw
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
3 radishes, sliced paper thin
1/4 red onion, sliced paper thin
1 green onion, sliced thin
3 T cottage cheese
2 T sour cream
juice & zest of 1 lemon
salt & pepper

Mix everything in one large bowl. Toss well. Easy!

The photo above was Sunday's outdoor dinner. See my beet salad makes an appearance, so does the creamy slaw...but I also made another salad of sorts, a tuna fish salad sandwich. 3 salads for dinner! I had some cottage cheese to use up so instead of sticking with my standard tuna recipe, I played with this version from Simply Recipes and came up with an extra creamy sandwich. I used a green tarragon mustard so that added another dimension of flavour. It was pretty delish. Recipe below.

Notice the beer? This was just a local bottled pale ale but it does make a nice little segway into my latest post for the Food Network blog on cask ales. What's a cask ale? Why is it flat and warm? Is it delicious? Why not learn all about it over on the Food Network Canada site.

creamy tuna salad sandwich
1 can of tuna packed in water, drained
2 small green onions, chopped
1 T mayo
2 T cottage cheese
1 t tarragon dijon mustard
1 t lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 t capers
salt & pepper to taste
your favorite toasted bread

Combine all ingredients and spread over your favorite toasted bread.

it's a critical beetdown: my hedge house salad

The last few times I've been to Portland, OR I always make sure to visit the Hedge House and eat their house salad. It's amazing and I just can't seem to shut up about it. I tried in the past to recreate it and wasn't wildly successful. I mean it should be easy enough: beets, hazelnuts, blue cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. But when I returned last week after another taste of the infamous Hedge House Salad, I decided that this baby would be mine to recreate in my Vancouver kitchen whenever the hell I wanted. And as you can tell by my smile, I reached salad nirvana.

I didn't have blue cheese or hazelnuts so I figured right there that my attempts at remaking would be thwarted. I used toasted pecans and feta instead and, oh my, the salad gods did not let me down. I like my dressing to be the perfect mix of sweet and sour so I've added an extra blob of honey in the directions, but you can choose to use either jam or honey or be brave and use both like I did. I also used a balsamic vinegar Dijon mustard, but you could sub in any old Dijon and I'm sure it would be great. Just taste before you pour so you don't get any surprises.


beets, feta & pecan green salad with balsamic dressing
salad greens, torn, rinsed & dried
2 young cooked beets, roasted or boiled, sliced
1/3 c feta, crumbled
2 T chopped toasted pecans
1/3 c good olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t cherry jam
1 t honey (optional)
1 t balsamic Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

In a small jar combine dressing ingredients (olive oil through salt & pepper) and shake well to combine. Taste and add more sweet or more tang, if needed. Add the sliced beets to a small bowl and cover with some of the dressing to marinate for a little bit. Add the prepared greens to a serving bowl and toss with remaining dressing. Scatter marinated beets over top and then top with feta and pecans. Serve with a smile.

friday supper: salmon patties with dandelion greens

When we were growing up, Fridays meant fish to my Catholic parents. And usually, that meant croquettes which my mom used to eat growing up in Quebec. It involved a can of salmon, mashed potatoes and some salt and pepper that was shaped into patties, covered in breadcrumbs and then fried in butter. We would eat it with a blob of mayo and some salad. I was never crazy about the croquettes but always made sure that I had the correct ratio of mayo to each patty...enough mayo to cover the croquette but not too much to make it look like frosting.

I haven't eaten canned salmon since those days, but when I spotted some "ecologically sound" wild canned salmon on sale, I decided to throw a can into my shopping basket. Originally, I was thinking croquettes but didn't have any mashed potatoes, so I made due with what I had in the cupboard and the results turned into a pretty delicious dinner. The patties were flavourful and tangy due to the capers. These would have made pretty great salmon burgers too topped with mayo or tartar sauce and a bun, but we just ate them with some boiled red potatoes and dandelion greens.


I had never cooked with dandelion greens before but when I saw some at the store I picked some up. They are definitely bitter greens and next time I think I'll try them sauteed instead, but I also quite enjoyed this salad. The heat of the dressing didn't wilt the leaves like I had expected them too, but the crunch of the walnuts, the sweetness of the raisins and the tang of the vinegar worked wonders with the bitter greens.


salmon patties
1 can of salmon, undrained
3 T panko crumbs
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T capers
1 t dried dill
1 t sweet paprika
salt & pepper
1 egg
1 T flour

Combine all ingredients, mashing everything together with a fork until well blended. Form into balls and flatten into patties. Fry in a bit of oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve with boiled potatoes and dandelion salad or eat like burgers on a bun served with tarter sauce.

dandelion greens with hot balsamic dressing
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 c raisins
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t sugar
salt & pepper
1 pound dandelion greens

1. Remove tough stems from dandelion greens, wash, dry and tear greens. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil, walnuts and garlic until hot, but do not let the garlic get brown. Add in raisins and stir until they are plump. Remove from heat, adding in balsamic vinegar and sugar. Whisk in salt and pepper and pour over greens, tossing until everything is well coated.

Be a better human: miso-braised cod with soba salad

I love miso for it's patience. It's one of those ingredients that can sit in the back of the fridge and just wait until you remember it's there. It is quiet and strong all at once and I always feel that when I add it to a dish, I'm becoming a much better person because all of those qualities will be transfered onto me inside of a delicious little bundle of pure wholesome goodness.

Last night I had some cod that needed cookin' and some soba noodles that needed some spark. I whipped up my go-to stand by for fish but then changed my mind, added in some sugar and dumped the whole mess over the soba noodles instead. By George, this was delicious! Now that I had an instant salad (after adding in some carrots, peas and cilantro), I turned to the fish and figured that it was high time to pull out that ever-patient miso. Using very similar ingredients to a salad dressing I've made in the past, I just tightened things up and created a saucy paste to smear on the cod. I broiled it then baked it and placed it on top of the soba noodles for presentation points. The results were incredible. Not only did the fish and noodles look amazing and uber-gourmet, but it was super simple to make (no patience required) and healthy to boot.

Miso turning your crank? Check out some tasty miso recipes from my archives:
vegetable stir fry with lemon-miso sauce
curry & miso udon soup
miso gravy
udon soup with grilled salmon
miso soup with ramen noodles

soba salad
3 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 T minced ginger
1 t toasted sesame oil
juice of 1 large lime
1 T sugar
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 T soy sauce
4 T olive oil
1 pkg of soba noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed under cold water until cool
1 carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
a large handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Add noodles, carrots, peas and cilantro and toss. Serve cool or at room temperature.

miso-glazed cod
3 heaping spoonfuls of white or shiro miso (or any light tasting miso)
2 T cider vinegar
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T honey
1/2 t cayenne pepper
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 T soy sauce
3 cod fillets

In a shallow bowl, stir together the miso, vinegars, honey, ginger and soy sauce until you have a thick sauce. Schmear sauce over cod fillets with a back of a spoon and broil at high heat (500 degrees) until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 450 degree oven and put fish on a lower rack, baking until fish is flaky and cooked through, another 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove from oven and serve with soba salad.

a hail-storm of a dinner: braised cod with chickpeas & corn

After writing about breakfast items like poached eggs and biscuits, I figured a hearty dinner recipe was more than required. I had a good one all lined up too because last week I had a little dinner party and made a pretty amazing eggplant dish...and I don't even really like eggplant. But then last night rolled around and I ate one of the best meals I've had in a long while. The eggplant dish will come later, I promise.


Last night was a cold crisp night. Biking to my Monday night bowling league game I was a bit wary because there was frost on the ground and I diligently searched and stayed clear of any patches of black ice. My way home however, the clear skies turned cloudy and let loose a barrage of hail. After realizing that the hail actually helped improve my traction by making the streets extra crunchy (and pretty), I took off for home. The only downside was going down hills only because of all the stinging icy bits hitting me hard in the face. When I got home, getting dinner ready didn't seem like something I really wanted to pull off...especially since it was almost 10pm. But our rumbling tummies made it clear that something had to be done.


A quick peek at Epicurious, a small bit of prep and tweaking to the original recipe, and dinner was in the oven. It was that quick. I even got together a simple green salad going that turned out to be the most perfect accompaniment for this meal. Letting the dressing mingle not only with the greens but with the rest of the ingredients on the plate took the entire meal over the edge into 'oh my god' territory. At first, I wasn't sure how cod and cumin-spiced chickpeas would work together, but the meal was delicious. Next time I'd sprinkle a bit of finely diced red onion over top before popping it in the oven just because I love onions so much and a bit of added crunch would be a nice touch.


braised cod with chickpeas & corn
1 can of chickpeas
1/4 c water
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 t red pepper flakes
1 T cumin
2 T olive oil
1/2 c frozen corn
3 cod fillets
salt
freshly ground black pepper
handful of parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Add chickpeas to a pot along with water, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin and the 2 T olive oil. Heat over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add chickpea mixture and corn into a square baking dish.

2. Rinse cod fillets and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Lay fish on top of the chickpea mixture, sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice. Drizzle really good olive oil over top of the fish and put the whole shebang into a hot oven. 20 minutes later check on things and if fish flakes easily, remove from oven and serve with a green salad.

simple green salad with lemon vinaigrette
juice of 1 lemon
really good extra virgin olive oil
spoonful of tarragon mustard
pinch of kosher salt
dollop of honey
small head of romaine leaves, washed, dried and torn

Shake all ingredients in a small jar and drizzle over salad greens. I didn't give measurements here because going by taste is the only way I can get this dressing perfect. It's tart and just a bit sweet and it works so well clinging to the leaves as it is mingling with the braised chickpeas and fish.