Potato, Leek and Celeriac soup

1-2 Leeks, thinly sliced
1 small-medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c butter
3-4 medium potatoes, diced
1 celeriac - don't be scared, i know its ugly, but its delicious. peel and dice, use greens if desired.
2 cups + h2o
1 vegetable bullion (or 1-2 tsp sea salt- to taste)
black pepper, rosemary, thyme to taste
1/3 c dry white wine
1 C milk (cow, unsweetened soy or rice)

1. Sauté leeks, onion and garlic in butter in a soup pot until tender and golden
2. Meanwhile chop the potatoes and celeriac and then add to onion mixture.
3. Continue to sauté for 5 minutes
4. Add water, bullion and spices and bring to simmer. Simmer 20 minutes until everything is tender/well cooked
5. Blend with hand blender in pot, or transfer into a regular blender to purée smooth.
6. Add wine and milk, and heat gently if its cooled too much.
7. Serve as is or grate cheese and sprinkle fresh parsley on top.

Enjoy!

Tarka Dahl with Butternut Squash

For Dahl, in a large pot simmer:

• 2 C. red lentils (rinsed)
• 1 C. + butternut squash, chopped in 1cm cubes
• 1 inch + fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 2 tsp sea salt
• cover with water
  

For Tarka, fry in a pan until onions are really sizzling and turning golden on the edges

• 1/4 C + oil or butter
• 2 medium onions, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp cumin seed

Once the lentils are squash are soft, remove the cinnamon stick, and puree until the squash is blended in. (a hand blender works really well).

Remove the Tarka from the heat, and mix in with the lentils, or you can add it on top as a garnish.

Big ol' Batch of Pumpkin Muffins

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
2 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp. or 1 c oil
1 1/8 maple syrup
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 c chocolate chips (optional)

mix dry ingredients
mix wet ingredients
then mix them together
spoon into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mins

Southern Spiced Roasted Veggies and Quinoa

I'm on a roll with making up recipes here!

(what's quinoa?)










Wash and chop into bite sized pieces, then set aside
3-4 large Kale leaves,

Chop:
- 2-3 medium sweet potatos
- 1 large red pepper
- 1 small red onion
- 6 cloves of garlic

combine veggies them in a bowl with:
2-3 T olive
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t sea salt

put the veggie mix on a pan and broil until the potatoes are cooked through and everything is getting golden brown, about 30 minutes.

in the mean time, cook 2 cups of quinoa in 4 C water. (its good to rise it first). bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until soft and fluffy. Remove from burner. Mix in kale, so it gets steamed in heat of quinoa.

Mix the roasted veggies with the quinoa/kale.
Add 2-3 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 C + chopped cilantro or parsley.

taste and add more cumin, chili, and salt if desired.
Serve warm or chilled. Makes 4-6 servings.

big batch of ginger-peace-almond muffins

mix and let it sit to get gelatinous
1/4 C ground flax and 2/3 C water

in a large bowl mix:
4 C flour
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t sea salt
1-2 T cinnamon
4 T fresh grated ginger
1 C ground almond
1/2 veg or olive oil

to the flax mix in:
1/3 c pure apple butter
1/3 + C pure maple syrup

mix the wet and dry ingredients. then add 4 C chopped peaces.
spoon into muffin tins, and then sprinkle with cinnamon

This evening I made up two recipes all by myself!
(the soup is an attempt to replicated something i had a veg resto in montreal- my variation is a bit more complex, might i say, more delicious?)

Sweet and Savory Beet Soup
6-8 beets (less if they're really big ones, more if they're tiny)
1 small head of garlic
1 large leek, thinly sliced up to the start of the dark green park
1 small onion, chopped
5 C water + 1.5 vegetable bullion OR 5 C vegetable stock
1 C brown (french) lentils, rinsed
2 T pure maple syrup
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 T fresh parsley (or 1 t dried)
1 T 1 T fresh rosemary (or 1 t dried)
1 T fresh thyme (or 1 t dried)
1-2 cups green or yellow beans, cut into bit sized pieces (optional)

1. Rap the beets (washed but not peeled) and the head of garlic in tin foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour at 375 degrees. (toaster ovens are great for this!)
2. Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients
3. Sauté the leek and onion in a bit of olive oil for several minutes until tender
4. Peel and chop the beets into bit-sized pieces and squeeze the cloves of garlic out of their skins.
4. Add the beets, garlic, stock, maple syrup, lentils, pepper, and herbs to the leek and onion.
5. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
6. 5-10 Minutes before serving add the green beans and continue to simmer.


Brown rice and lentil pilaf
1 small onion, chopped
1 pepper, any color will do, chopped
a handful of mushrooms, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 C brown rice (rinsed)
1 C brown/french lentils (rinsed, check for pebbles!)
4 C water
1/2 t sea salt or vegetable salts
1/2 t thyme
a dash of pepper

1. Sauté the vegetables until tender in vegetable or olive oil
2. add spices, rice, lentils and salt.
3. bring to a boil uncovered
4. once boiling, reduce to low temperature and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are tender.

and serve with love...

tell me what you think if you have a chance to give them a try!

(image from http://pinchmysalt.files.wordpress.com)

Savory Sun-dried Tomato bread or muffins

3 C flour ( i used a combo of slept, kamut and chickpea flours)
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 T cumin seeds
2 T+ ground cumin
1/2 T cayenne (optional)
1/2-3/4 C finely chopped sun-dried tomato
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C water

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium boil. Then slowly add the wet ingredients until a thick sticky dough forms. Place into oiled muffin tins or a bread pan and bake at 350 (20-30 mins for muffins- until knife comes out clean), or 40-50 mins for bread.

(for a variation you could try adding kalamata olives, maybe 1/2 C olives and less sun-dried tomatoes.)

Squash, over the last few years, has become one of my favorite things about fall. You can do so many things with it and meld it with a great range of flavors.

So far, butternut is my favorite, mostly because I've got lots of good recipes for it. This fall I'm going to experiment with buttercup and acorn and whatever else i get my hands on.

Here's a recipe I've adapted from La Dolce Vegan, I'm calling it...

Butternut Dhal
1 small onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
2 inches fresh ginger, grated
2 C butternut squashed, cubed
2 C vegetable stock
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or a 14 oz can of diced toms)
1/2 C red lentils
1/2 t salt +
1/2 t ground pepper
1/4 C chopped cilantro

in a medium soup pot, sauté onion in oil until translucent. Add the ginger and squash and sauté for 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients, except the cilantro. Bring to a boil and then reduce temp and simmer for 15-20 until squash is cooked. Add cilantro. Blend with a hand blender or food processor. Makes 2-3 large servings and 4-5 small.

I've also been discovered the deliciousness of steamed greens lately. On my plate tonight was a mix of beet greens and kale with sea salt.

tell me what you think of the recipe if you try it!

things i loved about today:

-wandering around kitchener
-using my austrian Klimpt bag
-cooking butternut squash that was larger than many newborn babies
-my roommates being awesome and making me laugh


we had family dinner tonight. I made ginger-pear-peach rice pudding.

purée together until smooth...
-2-2.5 cups cooked brown rice
-2+ cups peaches and pears, or other seasonal soft fruits
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-1/2 cup milk (soy, rice, almond or cow)
-1+ T grated fresh ginger
sprinkle with cinnamon before serving (optional)

Peach Salsa, by L and A

12 large field tomatoes, diced, seeds removed
1 large red onion
2-3 cloves garlin, minced
2 sweet peppers, diced
1 large red onion, diced1 jalapeno pepper, chopped very finely
2-3 other small spicy peppers of your choice
8-10 peaches, diced
1/4 C lime juice
1 t salt
1 t cumin
1 t cinnamon
1/2-1 C fresh minced cilantro

1. core and chop tomatoes (you can peel them if you like, i didn't bother, there's lots of vitamins in those skins)
2. put diced tomatoes in a large pot and bring to a simmer, allow the tomatoes to simmer, uncovered until they get soft. (if there is lots of juice, take off as much as you can. you can save it in the freezer for vegetable soups).
3. while tomatoes are simmering chop onion and garlic, add it to the tomatoes. then add the peppers and peaches, spices and salt once the tomatoes are soft and reduced down.
4. remove from heat and add the cilantro

you could make a smaller batch and chill and serve fresh or you can can the large batch like we did, it makes 4-5 pints.
for water bath canning directions watch this video

Rhuba-a-pa-ruh-ba-pa-rhu-barb Muffins! 

I just created this recipe all on my own

2 C flour (spelt or whole wheat)

1/4 tsp powdered stevia (or 1/4 C sugar (or more if you like sweet))

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 c + chopped pecans 

MIX 

1 free-range, local egg 

1/4 c vegetable oil 

3/4 vanilla yogurt (or plain, but add a bit more sugar then or strawberry would be good)

1/4 apple butter 

1-2 tsp + grated fresh ginger 

1 1/2 C finely chopped rhubarb 

MIX then add to Dry ingredients

TOP with cinnamon sugar

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until a knife comes out clean. 

Tell me what you think!

fruity muffins

INGREDIENTS
2 cup rolled oats, ground
2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger (or 1 T + Fresh)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup mashed peaches
1/2-1 C blueberries
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 C plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
Place 1 cup rolled oats in a food processor and process until ground. In a large bowl, combine ground oats with flour, 1 tablespoon rolled oats, chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the banana and vanilla. Stir in yogurt. Mix oat/flour mixture into egg mixture. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans.
Topping: of brown sugar and cinnamon
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

don't have many interesting stories to tell of the past few days... i've just been a bookworm trying to prepare for my last exam wednesday. golly gee, i can't wait till its over! my time in montreal is winding down fast, i'll be leaving 2 weeks from yesterday to return to goshen for the summer!

here's a pretty yummy supper recipe i made up tonight:

savory veggies and beans over pasta
in a large pan or wok, sauté with olive oil
- small red onion, diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced

Add
-1 cubed sweet potato (already cooked, baked or boiled)
-1 red pepper
- 1-2 cups chopped broccoli
- 1-2 cups chickpeas and/or black beans
- 1 cup tomato/pasta sauce
- 1 t salt
- 1 t cumin
- some chili pepper if you desire some heat

simmer until broccoli is cooked. serve over a bed of pasta.

the magical transformation of our fire escape....






its was emily's birthday and we wanting to something surprising and special. we succeeded overwhelmingly in both respects.
dinner was curried kabobs, pita, yogurt and cilantro sauce and sangria. then for dessert i made chocolate dipped fruit, since i got a number of compliments, here's the recipe. it's so simple.


chocolate + fruit= love
ingredients
- 8+ squares bakers chocolate
- 2-4 T butter/marg
- strawberries, pineapple, and/or dried apricots
- optional: ginger root, shredded coconut, chopped almonds or other nuts

- melt bakers chocolate in a double boiler with a couple tablespoons of butter (i did about 4 squares of unsweetened and 5 semisweet because i like it bitter).
-while its melting wash strawberries (leave the leaves on) and peal and cut pineapple into squares. also slice some thin pieces of raw ginger.
- holding the strawberries by the leaf or the pinapples pieces with a skewer, dip 2/3 the way in chocolate.
- set on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper.
- quickly, before the chocolate starts to harden sprinkle nuts, coconut, and sliced ginger onto chocolate.
(i recommend pineapple with ginger and/or coconut, and apricots with ginger and pecans or almonds. strawberries i prefer simple)
-refrigerate for about 1 hour for chocolate to harden.


after dessert, we drank chai tea, listened to music and basked in the glory of a warm spring evening spent amongst good friends.

happy easter!
it just doesn't feel like easter until i smell paska baking in the oven. so i got up early this morning to get to work!
it turned out pretty well and tastes fabulous! it didn't rise as much as i hoped, but in hindsight i also don't think i put nearly enough dough in the pans. mum's recipe is supposed to be for 7 loaves, and if that is supposed to be 7 large loaves, it definely didn't rise enough to make that. but oh well, its still delicious! (thanks for your help on the phone with all my questions mom!) I'm going to serve the Paska at our easter brunch tomorrow, monday is a holiday in quebec!



Mum's Paska

- in a small bowl dissolve
1 1/2 TB yeast in 1/2 c water with 1 t. sugar
set aside to activate

- in a blender:
blend the juice and rind of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 orange, until finely chopped
- then add
8 eggs
3/4 c honey- or less
3/4 sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla

- in a sauce man scald (not quite boiling)
1/2 c milk (or milk replacement (i used unsweetened almond milk)
- remove from heat and add
1/2 c butter, softened

- in a bowl mix all the liquids (egg mixture, yeast, milk)
- slowly kneed in
8 c flour approx ( i used a mixture of kamut and spelt, this didn't rise quite as nicely as wheat, but its fine)

- the dough should still be quite sticky
- cover with a damb tea towl and place in a warm spot. let rise until double (1-1.5hrs)
- once double, you beat it down and shape into loaves (or braids!)
the loaves should take up about 1/3 the pan (oiled pans!). let it rise again until doubled.
- preheat the oven to 325.
once it has doubled in the pans place in oven to bake for about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the loaf. it should be just turning golden on the top when they are done.
- Frost with a cream cheese or butter frosting with lemon and orange zest. Delicious!


these little bunnies wanted to wish you a happy easter too!!!

Empanadas!

i forgot to mention in my last post that last night my roommates and friends had an empanada party. we did this as a send off for tyler, who is leaving to columbia with CPT next week. Empanadas are made throughout central and south america, and as far as Spain and the Philippines. (have you had any ben?)
ours turned out really good!
basically you make a dough very similar to pie crust. roll it out, and then fill it with things like meat or tofu, potatoes, cheese, carrots, other veggies and spices. then you bake or deep fry them (we opted for the baking). you can also make dessert empanadas. we made some DELICIOUS ones with cream cheese and mango filling and topped them with cinnamon sugar!

check out this step-by-step guide for making your own!

Home-made Yogurt!

Nothing goes better with a bowl of home-made granola than home-made yogurt. Oh my my.
Making yogurt is about a scientific as I can get. I’m talking sterilization, bacteria, monitoring temperature, incubation…
No, actually, its pretty simple.
1. heat milk to kill any existing bacteria. I recommend putting your pot of milk, inside a pot of water which you place on the boiler, less risk of burning. Heat it 180 degrees F.
2. let milk cool down to between 110-120 degrees. Add 1/2c powdered milk if you desire thick yogurt.
3. next add, in a jar put several Tbs of fresh, plain yogurt (or from your last batch). Add a couple Tbs of your warm milk. Mix. Then add the rest of your milk. Mix.
4. heat your oven to about 125 degrees, turn it off but leave the light on. Put in your jar of milk + bacteria.
5. Now give your milk some privacy, the bacteria are basically going to have a big orgy and reproduce like there’s no tomorrow. In about 6 hours, they’ll have transformed your milk into delicious yogurt!

For more detailed directions I recommend consulting this fabulous wiki how page .

And as always, I recommend organic, hormone free milk form happy free range cows.

Saturday Decompressing

after a stressful week of school and job searching it was with time to...
sleep in, chat on the phone, clean room and cook!

Cranberry Scones
- 2 T ground flax mixed with 3 T water (vegan egg replacer)
- 3/4 C plain yogurt
- 1 C cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1T orange juice, or orange zest
mix, then add
- 2 T sugar
- 3 cups whole grain flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/2 salt
cut in 3/4 c cold margerine
add- 1/2 cup pecans
with a round cooking cutter cut into circles and place on grease cookie sheet.
mix 1T white sugar and 1T cinnamon and sprinkle on top
bake for 12-15 minutes

Big pot of Lentils Francais
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 med. onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
saute until soft, then add:
- 2-3 carrots, chopped in rounds
- 1-2 stocks celery, chopped
- 3-4 C water and a bullion
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 t dried thyme
- 1/2 dried rosemary
- 1/2 t pepper
- 1 C french lentils (the ones that are small and bluish brown)
bring to boil and then simmer till tender, 25-30 minutes.

I just created this delicous stir fry for lunch! all made from locally grown, seasonal produce of course.

Autumn Stir-Fry

1 large sweet potato, cubed
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloved garlic sliced
1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained
2-3 inches fresh rosemary and oregano
a few dashes of salt and pepper

put all togehter in large frying pan with 2 Tbs olive oil and cook on medium heat, stiring occasionally until potatos are soft and browning. serve over a bed of fresh spinach or quinoa.

makes 2 servings, total prep and cooking time 15-20 minutes.

Fall has decended upon montreal this week. the leaves are turning and today i took out my jacket (and found $20 in the pocket! i love it when that happens!!)
friday afternoon-saturday evening i had a residence retreat up in the laurentines. we stayed in a beautiful cabin at a mennonite bretheren camp. the camp was situated right above a stream and beyond that a ways i looked out over the lake. it was complete with a rap-around porch, a glorious wood stove, and a slightly frightening amount of posters of mountains and sheep with bible verses in french. we ate good food, played games, did some "community conflict prevention", hiked, and napped by the fire. it was wonderful to be in some wide open space with no cement and honking horns for a while.


today i had training at a yoga centre yoga centre where i'm volunteering 3 hours a week in exchange for unlimited classes. i am a receptionist. i think i'll really enjoy it and greatly benefit from all the classes! yoga makes such a difference in my calmness and contentness. i'm really thankful to have found this opportunity. i also hope that it will be a good place to meet potential friends, as i have been finding that a bit challenging in this big city.

tonight i needed a warm supper, so i found this fabulously yummy recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, La Dolce Vegan, by sarah kramer Sarah Kramer-
Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup
(makes 4 large, or 4 small servings)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small yam/sweet potato, cubed
1 regular potato, cubed
2 C veg stock
1/2 C dried red lentils
1 tbsp curry paste, or 2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1/4 fresh cilantro, minced

in soup pot, cook onion in oil until they are translucent. add the garlic and celery and saute for 5 more minutes. add the yams, potato, spices, veg stock, and lentils. bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. taste lentil to make sure they are cooked. then turn off heat, add coconut milk and cilantro. blend (a hand blender works great) until the soup is smooth.... and serve with love.
absolutely delicious on it's own, or good with some toast, rice or salad!

bon semain mes amis, i love you and miss you all!