moroccan chickpea and vegetable stew

I'd love to say that I'm back in the kitchen, but it's been a slow process getting things back to normal. Not because I don't have the will, but because my time is short. There's been work to catch up on and I've been so lucky to have one of my best pals visiting from North Carolina, so when it comes down to cooking and baking, I've been slack and leaving everything instead to restaurants. It's a fun get-away but I'm missing my kitchen.

However, there is one recipe that I have made that is so simple and so ingrained as a meal standard, it's always a welcome dish. This Moroccan chickpea and vegetable stew was one of the very first meals I made for this blog way back in 2005. The recipe was loose and I didn't have a camera back then, so I feel justified in giving it another go. It's a goodie. It's vegan, hearty and a perfect warm cure for the February blues. You can find the recipe over at Poppytalk. So enjoy a bit of spice and warmth and I've already got a recipe or two up my sleeve, so stay tuned!

stewed peppers, tomatoes & onions

There's a lot of good writing out there in the food blog world. I've laughed and I've even cried over someone's personal story telling. But this morning I went to my feed reader and read this post by Tea & Cookies. It touched me deeply. Beautifully written and ringing of truth, I had to comment. So please head over to Tea's blog, read her words and let me know if it stirred similar feelings.

While I feel so many of the same things that Tea has mentioned in her post, I don't have an answer. While I know the life I am living right now is based on my choices, I should feel 100% satisfied and lucky. And most days I am. I love where I live, I love my friends, I'm proud of the work that I accomplish. And my husband? I couldn't imagine a life without him holding my hand, laughing at my tasteless jokes and loving me for who I am. But then there are other days when doing the simplest things seems too overwhelming.

This blog is a comforting place. It started off as a creative outlet, as a way to get back to writing, like in the days when I used to self-publish my own photocopied and stapled zine. It provides relief from my day to day, but sometimes because of life, it gets placed on the back burner. I'm not writing as much (or as well) as I used to, I'm feeling distracted and sometimes writing a post is like checking of an item on my to-do list. It's not a great feeling. All I know is that it's a busy time right now and soon enough I'll find my way back here with a full heart and a full belly. But on with the food, it's why you came here after all!

I made this meal yesterday for dinner and it was the perfect thing. Just fresh peppers from a Chinatown market, a plain old yellow onion, a couple of eggs, and a can of tomatoes from the cupboard. Elements that don't seem like much, but when put together and heated gently for about an hour, turns into something almost magical. Not bam-pop-wow magic, but the kind you feel from inside. It is warmth and comfort and it just feels right. Like a cardigan and knee socks and crisp leaves underfoot. Like hand-holding. And so I hope this blog will continue to feel as comforting and tasty as this meal. Just please forgive my table manners once and a while.

stewed peppers, tomatoes & onions
1 T olive oil
1 large onion or 2 small ones, sliced thinly
4 large cloves garlic, sliced
4 large peppers (any colour), sliced
1-2 red dried chilis, crumbled
1/2 t salt
1 can of 28oz tomatoes, diced
4 eggs, optional

In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat and saute dried chili peppers, garlic and onion until soft, translucent and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add in peppers and salt and stir occasionally until they soften up a bit. Throw in the tomatoes and combine. Cover for 45 minutes until everything gets soft and melty, stirring up everything when you remember.

If you want to poach the eggs in the sauce, I recommend it. Make 4 indentations with your wooden spoon and crack open an egg into each slight divet. Cover and cook until the whites firm up but the yolks are still runny. Gently ladle into big bowls. Serve with crusty bread.

If you skip the eggs, serve this with crusty bread or with over polenta, on top of pizza or use as a lasagna sauce. I've eaten this every which way and it's always good.

keep it simple stupid: quick n' easy rainbow chard & chickpeas over rice

Funny, I made a very similar meal last July. You'd think bringing out the heavy duty Le Cruset casserole pot would mean one thing: winter. But look at me? I defy the weather. It's hot, it's mid-July, and I'm cooking up a storm. I guess I really love the combination of chickpeas and chard. Don't mess with success...they just work so well together.

I whipped this up for a quick lunch because I was staaaarving and all the colours just looked so pretty together. I really thought about adding tomatoes to this dish, but in the end I decided to do without. In the ingredient list, I did add that you may want to add a lil' spoonful of fresh salsa to your bowl, but it really doesn't need it one bit. As for the feta, well, I love feta so I added some, but you can choose to top with another kind of cheese or just skip it altogether. This is a super easy meal to pull together. Just put the rice on first and then start with the rest. You should be eating in 30 minutes flat (or less if you skip the rice and just choose some crusty bread).


quick rainbow chard and chickpeas over rice
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 t red chili flakes
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 t kosher salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 orange pepper, chopped
1 bunch of rainbow chard, chopped
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1/2 c vegetable broth
1 juicy lime, juiced
1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves only
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
crumbled feta, optional
fresh salsa, optional

Saute onion, garlic, jalapeno and red chilis in the olive oil over medium-high heat until fragrant. Throw in the chopped orange pepper and chard (stems included). Stir until chard becomes somewhat wilted. Pour in vegetable broth, thyme and chickpeas and combine everything. Squeeze in lime juice. Let simmer for 5 minutes so that all the flavours combine. Snip in some fresh parsley and if using, the feta and salsa to top. Serve over brown rice.

curry in a hurry: curried red lentil stew with chickpeas and rainbow chard

I made this dish last week when I was doing a lot of running around. I was out of the house most nights and did not spend a lot of time cooking, opting for days of adventure and fun instead of looking through cupboards for dinner. It was fine with me at the time, but now I'm paying for it in the worst way. I'm sick. My voice is gone and despite all the sunshine Vancouver has had in the last week, I couldn't go out and enjoy any of it!

So despite that this meal is hearty, nutritious and good for you, it still didn't save me from the flu — but don't let that be a deterrent in any way. I certainly don't hold a grudge and I'll be making this meal again as it was a simple dinner to prepare and it filled the kitchen with a wonderful aroma. When my husband walked in the door, he wanted to know what we'd be eating since it smelled so great. Lucky for us, this meal not only smelled amazing but it tasted better.


The wonderful thing about stews is that they are easy to mess with. Don't have chard? Try spinach or kale instead. I think some diced butternut squash or yams would lend a touch of sweetness to this dish that would really take this dish up a notch. Quick, easy and packing a wallop of flavour, it makes a great meal alongside a bowl of brown rice.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.

curried red lentil stew with chickpeas and rainbow chard
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 heaping T of a medium-spiced curry paste
1/2 t dried red chili flakes
5 1/2 c vegetable broth
2 c red lentils
1 large bunch of rainbow chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped
1 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained

In a large pot, heat oil and saute onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in curry paste and dried chilies and stir until well blended. Add broth and chard and bring to a boil. Add lentils and turn down heat to a simmer, adding the chickpeas to the mix. Cover and stir occasionally until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Serve over brown rice and top with yogurt, if desired.

rainbow chard & lady peas

Last week it was all "heat wave" and "sunshine" and now it's back to grey skies and threats of rain. Whatever, I'm going with the flow. I've got my head in the clouds anyway. Cornelius and I are planning a trip to Europe soon and we've been searching all over for the cheapest flights, browsing through travel books, and making lists on "must see" things to do. I'm all open to suggestions, tips, where to eat and stay (all on the uber-cheap, however!) in London, Belgium (Brugge, Brussles, Antwerp), the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Haarlem, Utrecht), Berlin and Lithuania. It's my first trip to Europe and last week received my passport in the mail. I'm so excited!

I made this meal on Sunday night when it was still hot outside and it made the perfect simple supper. I had come home with some fantastic rainbow chard from a recent grocery haul and I wasn't sure exactly what to do with it. I figured I could make pasta with greens again, but I was in the mood for rice and came up with this easy meal. Everything tasted so great together and even though the chard was steamed and wilty it still had a great bite. Topped with some feta cheese and parsley snipped from my garden, it was the perfect meal to sit curled up on the couch while dreaming up travel plans.

rainbow chard with chickpeas
1 bunch of chard, washed & rinsed
1 t dried chili pepper
1 small red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 small can of tomatoes
juice of 1 lime
salt & pepper to taste
handful of parsley, chopped
feta cheese, optional

1. Cut off the bottom inch of the chard stems and toss. Chop up the remaining chard leaves and stems and toss all wet from rinsing into a pot on medium-high heat. Put on lid. About 4-5 minutes later remove lid and turn off heat. The chard should be all wilty and dark green and should have reduced considerably in size. Drain & set aside.

2. In a large pot, heat oil and add in onion, garlic and chili pepper flakes. Saute until translucent. Add in chard, chickpeas, lime juice and tomatoes along with a bit of salt & pepper. Stir to combine. Once everything is heated through...about 5 minutes, serve over rice with a bit of feta cheese and parsley to top it off.

leave your fancy pants in the closet

One of my best friends is taking 6 months out of her Vancouver life to ride her bike to Mexico with her boyfriend. They are still enroute, but after weeks of cycling in the rain and wind and cold, they certainly appreciate a home-cooked meal and basic shelter. Central heating wouldn't be amiss, either. You can read about their journey here and if you like, take a peek at Kristen's etsy shop. What's all this got to do with food? This may not be a vegan post (Kristen & her boyfriend are vegans), but it is a post that features some truely comforting food. And I'm sure something hot and home-cooked would go down nicely while riding down a cold, wet highway.

Comfort food ain't pretty, but pleasing the belly is sometimes more important than pleasing the eye and this stew fits the bill perfectly. It's nothing fancy. The flavours are simple, the directions are straight forward and once you add the ingredients, the dish pretty much takes care of itself. Nice. This recipe is also pretty flexible. You can add different vegetables (some rutabaga would be great) and you can control the amount of gravy by the amount of liquid and flour you use. And if you want to pull out all the comfort stops, certainly some dumplings cooked in the pot during the last few minutes wouldn't hurt a thing.

paprika chicken & vegetable stew
6 chicken thighs, skinned
2 T smoked hot paprika
1 T olive oil
4 medium potatoes, quartered
1 onion, quartered
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 c mushrooms
2 T flour
2 c chicken broth (+ more water or broth, if needed, to generously cover vegetables)
1 T dijon mustard
1 t dried sage
1/2 bottle of beer
1/2 c frozen peas

1. Sprinkle chicken on all sides with paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large pot and add chicken. Saute until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add vegetables (except the peas....those come in later) and saute for a few minutes. Sprinkle vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Stir in broth and beer.

2. Return chicken and any juices to the pot. Add dijon mustard and sage. Stir to combine and reduce heat. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add frozen peas during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Serve with rice or crusty bread.

tired of take-out

I'm once again working away from my home office during the day and catching up on freelance work at night. I don't have much time for cooking or blogging and everything seems like a bit of an effort. Don't even ask me about doing the dishes! But after a bad bout of salty, MSG-laden Chinese delivery, I decided I couldn't live with take-out horrors any longer. I had to make something simple and try to make use of the bits and pieces left in the cupboard and fridge. This was last night's dinner and the results were not only delicious but so simple to prepare. You could easily substitute any vegetable you had on hand as this recipe lends well to improvisation. I'd eat this over bad take out any day!

roasted vegetables & chickpeas over couscous
*Make sure all the vegetables are similar in size to help even out cooking time.

1/2 tin of chickpeas, drained
1/2 onion, diced
1 large potato, diced
1 large yam, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 head of broccoli, broken into florets
2 T olive oil
1/2 t Hungarian sweet paprika
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
salt & pepper
2 handfuls of raisins
2 handfuls of chopped walnuts
1 c couscous
1 1/2 c water or vegetable broth
feta cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas, onion, potato, yam, celery, broccoli with the oil and the spices and combine well. Dump in a roasting pan and heat until the vegetables are fully roasted, about 30 minutes or so. Remove from oven and add raisins and walnuts and mix well.

2. Boil water or broth in a saucepan, add couscous, turn off heat and cover. Wait 15 minutes.

3. Serve couscous in large bowls topped with the roasted vegetable/chickpea mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese, if desired.

ode to joy

If Christmas is anything, it sure is filled with food. For treats to give away, I made 2 kinds of chocolate bark (one white chocolate/candy cane and one vegan dark chocolate/salted mixed nuts), a peanut butter/dark chocolate fudge, a vegan version of Tanvi's chocolate-peanut butter squares, and my friend Kyla's recipe for dark chocolate gingerbread truffles. Yes, I definitely went overboard on the sweet gifts and we still have lots in our fridge to keep us nibbling throughout the new year.

On December 24th, Cornelius and I woke up with Bailey's fever. Bailey's Irish Cream went into our morning coffee and managed to sneak it's way into our waffle batter. Definitely a delicious way to start the day! The rest of the day was spent playing board games and watching movies -- everything from "The Lords of Dogtown" to "The Shop Around the Corner" (my favorite Christmas movie I've decided). Cornelius made me my favorite drink, the classic Canadian Caesar and I made him a blender drink full of strawberries, orange juice, vodka and Southern Comfort. It was time for dinner.

When I was little, my mom would often make boeuf bourguignon for Sunday dinners from her trusty Madame Benoit cookbook. I shamefully do not have any Jehane Benoit cookbooks so my recipe came from another old standby, The Joy of Cooking. This meal is rich and beyond satisfying and made a perfect Christmas Eve meal. I was hoping to serve it with dreamy white beans from the lovely Orangette, but I forgot to soak the beans the night before. Instead, I opted for roasted potatoes sprinkled with fresh thyme. Not a bad choice.

Boeuf Bourguignon
1/2 lb. thinly sliced salt pork (I used bacon)
Peel, add and saute lightly:
12 small onions or 4 shallots
Remove pork and onions from the pan. Cut into 1 inch dice and saute in the hot fat until light brown:
2 lbs. lean beef
Sprinkle the meat with:
1 1/2 T flour
Place it in an ovenproof dish with:
1 t salt
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1/2 t thyme or marjoram (I added a few springs of fresh thyme)
Cover meat with dry red wine and water (3/4 part wine to 1/4 part water).
Cook covered in oven for 1 hour. Place the pork and onions on top and contiue to cook for another hour or until the beef is tender. Or simmer the beef covered on top of the stove for about 1 1/2 hours in all. Add 1 c sauteed mushrooms and heat through. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

*Before I added the mushrooms, I added a bunch of baby carrots cut in half. Sometimes a bit of veg is necessary!

off the cuff.

Today I took work off my plate and decided to concentrate on Christmas crafting. Inspired by last night's button-making party/ANTM watching at my friend Carley's house (I brought those mint chocolate cookies!), I decided to sew rickrack on my screenprinted tea towels and tie up everything in ribbon. I also had plans on making felt ornaments, but didn't get as far along as I had hoped. Before too long, it was time for dinner and I had 4 chicken thighs defrosted just waiting to be used. I wanted to make an African-style meal that had a bit of spice, a bit of sweetness and a bit of sour. I looked through my cookbooks and I spent a few runs through Google typing in various ingredients, but my search was fruitless. So I decided to tackle dinner on my own. The end results were fantastic and it was a perfect meal for a chilly evening.

I used a homemade spiced pear jam in the recipe, but you really could use anything you had handy; peach jam, mango chutney, honey, molasses would all do a fine job I'm sure! I also didn't have any onions. If I had one, I would have added one. Have fun & play!

my african-inspired chicken stew
½ c flour
salt & pepper
4 skinless chicken thighs
1 T olive oil
1 large can of tomatoes
water
1 T spicy onion soup base
½ head of garlic, chopped
1 large knob of ginger, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 carrot, sliced into rounds
1 c broccoli, chopped
1 t red chili flakes
3 T raisins
2 T spiced pear jam
1 ½ t ground cinnamon
salt & pepper
juice of ½ lemon

1. Mix salt, pepper and flour together in a plate. Dredge chicken thighs in the flour.

2. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot. Add the chicken and brown on both sides.

3. Add the can of tomatoes into the pot and fill half the can with water and add that too. Add ginger, garlic, chili flakes salt, pepper, and onion soup base to the simmering pot and mix to combine. Simmer over medium heat.

4. Add celery, carrots, broccoli, mix to combine and cover for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the jam, raisins, cinnamon and lemon juice and mix well. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice into pot and mix well before serving.

6. Serve over rice or couscous.

ginger pineapple chicken -- the speedy way

Last night I told Cornelius I would have dinner ready by the time he returned from doing laundry. Time wise, I didn't hold up my end of the bargin, but it wasn't for lack of trying. He left with 2 loads to take over to our friendly (but slightly scary) neighbourhood laundromat and I searched the cupboard and fridge for ideas.

I had frozen chicken thighs, a can of pineapple, an onion, some celery, a large knob of fresh ginger and a few assorted items to make a nice sauce. Ah, some kind of sweet/sour sauced chicken, I thought! So that is what I set out to do.

I nuked the frozen chicken for a few minutes on a low setting. Still half frozen, I stirfried them with some garlic and ginger. I'm sure I was breaking some kind of rule by using still frozen chicken, but I was running out of time and I had a growling stomach to prove it. I dumped in a bit of vegetable broth once everything was nice and golden brown, threw in some red chilis, and put on a lid hoping that all the simmering would do the trick in fully cooking the chicken.

While things were gently bubbling away on the stove, I added some brown sugar, juice from the can of pineapple tidbits, soy sauce, white vinegar, more ginger & garlic and some sesame oil to the the remaining vegetable broth that I had left in a measuring cup. In another bowl, I made a slurry with a few tablespoons of the above mixture and some cornstarch.

It was around this part of the story when Cornelius did return with the loads of clean laundry and I didn't have things ready. No worries, as he quickly opened the cookie tin and started snacking on a couple of peanut butter cookies.

When I poked around the simmering chicken and noticed that things were indeed going as planned, i added some chopped celery and onions and the pineapple tidbits to the mix and then dumped in the sauce and some of the slurry to thicken everything up. I let the mixture bubble away for about another 10 minutes or so and then I served our meal up over some sticky rice.

Dinner went surprisingly well. We had clean clothes and our bellies were full. Not bad for a Sunday evening.

oh, couscous!

It's been one of those weeks where take-out seems to be the only way to go. I've resisted the urge to dial for pizza or order in Indian food, yet despite my resolve to cook what we had out of our cupboards, I wasn't really inspired. After browsing through cookbooks and dreaming about all the ingredients I didn't have at my immediate disposal, I decided that I'd have to just make do and make the best of a really bad situation. I had just read a restaurant review for a new Morocan restaurant and that, my friends, gave me true inspiration! I had cinnamon and spices, raisins and couscous! I could do anything!! So I tossed a few ingredients together in my trusty cast iron stewing pot and came up with something truely delicious.

Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Stew

I'm not very good at measuring, but I think you'll get the picture.

Ingredients: a can of chickpeas, a large can of tomatos, 1 small onion diced, 1 green pepper diced, olive oil, 1/2 a lemon, cumin, corriander, cinnamon, hot pepper flakes, salt, pepper.

In a large heavy pot, heat a small amount of olive oil and add the diced onion and green pepper. Add a dash of salt to the vegetables and let them get wilty but not mushy -- about 4 minutes. Stir in about a teaspoon each of the cumin and ground corriander (I didn't measure, but I'll assume that this is close). Add the can of tomatoes and crush them if needed. Normally, I chop them roughly before adding them to the pot, but this time I mashed them with a potato masher while in the pot. Next time I think I'll stick to chopping them beforehand, as the tomatoes were a bit too stringy. Next, I added the chickpeas and about 2-3 large handfulls of raisins, along with about 1/2 a teaspoon of hot pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspon (or more) of cinnamon. Mix everything together and cook over a low heat with the lid on until everything gets nice and soft, about 40 minutes. 10 minutes before serving, squeeze half a lemon into the stew for a bit of tang and mix well. Serve over couscous.

♥ This meal was great when we ate it on Saturday night with a nice glass of wine. It tasted even better tonight with some whole wheat bread spread with cold sweet butter. tasty!!

Sometimes you really can make something out of nothing.