Salad Toppers

Have you ever tried corn nuts? I haven't until now and I am surprised to say that I like them. They look a little like the corn I used to buy from vending machines at farms to feed to the animals, but they taste like crunchy, salty, bites of goodness. And they are great as salad toppers!

The best thing I found about corn nuts is that they taste great on top of any salad I've tried so far. But I have to say that the salad I'm sharing today is pretty fantastic when topped with corn nuts.  Maybe it's the vinegary bite of the pickled beets with the salty corn nuts, creamy avocado, earthy lentils, and sharp green onions, but I think it's a great pairing!

Thai One On

I never thought I'd be one of those girls that could order a salad for dinner and be satisfied. And, to be fair, normally I'm not satisfied. Normally I'm still hungry after eating just a salad.

But the salad I'm sharing today is different. It's full of Asian flavour, filling because of the peanuts, and incredibly healthy so you don't feel bad going back for seconds or even thirds.

Ok, so maybe I ate a lot of the salad and that's why I was full.... But I swear, it's a good one!

Sesame Slaw

Did anyone else forget that there are only 28 days in February and it's March 1 today? I did and now I suddenly feel like I've lost a couple of days. I hate feeling rushed because it makes me make mistakes. When I'm rushing and cooking, I always seem to cut or almost cut myself. When I'm rushing at work, everything always seems to take longer because I need to do things twice. And when I'm rushing when I'm trying to get out the door, something will always be forgotten at home.

But there are a few rare occasions where something good has come from rushing. One of those occasions is preparing dinner. I now have a few quick and easy recipes that I almost always have all the ingredients for in my pantry, fridge, or freezer. One of those recipes is my Greek Chickpea Salad and another is the new slaw recipe that I'm going to share today.

I love to serve this Sesame Slaw with a simple piece of baked fish but it's also great with take out or frozen pizza or even a grilled cheese sandwich. It just makes food feel more like a meal.

Fanny Bay Makes Good Oysters

About two hours away from me is Fanny Bay, BC and when anyone around here hears the words "Fanny Bay", there's only one thing I know of that comes to mind - oysters! 

I remember the first time I tried an oyster and it was not a pretty sight. I was working in tourism and was on a working trip to PEI. We visited the lovely Avonlea Village and they had brought in a fiddling group and an oyster shucker for us. I loved the fiddling group and was wiggling away in my own special version of dancing, but was definitely shying away from the oyster shucker. 

The oyster shucker was interesting and talented, he barely touched the oysters and they were shucked, but I did not want one of those slimy things in my mouth. Unfortunately it looked like everyone else felt the same as I did and no one was heading over to eat one of his freshly shucked oysters.

I couldn't let the oyster shucker shuck away without anyone eating the oysters, so I went over and tried one. My colleagues lovingly took a few photos of me "enjoying" my slurp, but they will never see the light of day because I very obviously did not enjoy them. 

So why am I sharing this with you? Because I now love oysters, that's why! I still am not interesting in a slimy raw oyster, but I've learned how to not only easily grill oysters and how to make them taste amazing too. 

So from my part of the world to yours, I bring you my West Beach Oyster Roll - starring Fanny Bay oysters! 

                                     

Duck and Cover

Yesterday I went to China Town and bought a half Peking duck. I don't normally get excited about buying pre-cooked poultry but Peking duck is something I have no interest in making. It just sounds way too time consuming and they're done right in China Town, so why bother. 

I was planning on making some amazing duck spring rolls, but my wrappers wouldn't cooperate and I ended up with a delicious salad instead. I guess it just goes to show you that a new recipe is just around the corner and you never know where you'll find it. 

Stay tuned for my duck spring roll recipe in the future and read on for this tasty salad recipe now.

Cooking Club Challenge

You all must know that one of my hobbies is entering cooking and recipe contests. I love to cook and contests encourage me to get really creative in the kitchen by stretching my mind to come up with new ideas. Plus, there's the added bonus of getting a chance to win a prize!

Food Network Canada has a monthly contest where they ask everyone to cook a recipe of their choosing, take a photo, and send the photo in with a short paragraph about what you thought of the dish. 

This was my first time entering the contest and I won! I don't know what my prize is yet, but the day that it will come in the mail will be very exciting! 

You can check out a shot of my winning photo below or visit the Cooking Club Challenge webpage to see my photo and the recipe, Anthony Sedlak's Tangy Short Ribs with Coleslaw and Twice Baked Potatoes. 

I added some fresh apple cut into matchsticks, a touch of sesame oil to my coleslaw, and also folded a touch of blue cheese into my potatoes, but otherwise left everything as the recipe suggested. 

The only thing I don't agree with in the recipe is calling the potatoes Twice Baked Potatoes. At my house they're called Party Stuffed Potatoes, but that's a story for another day...

Flying Purple People Eater

Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple eater to me

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)


You've got to remember singing this song as a child. 


And didn't it make you want to eat only things that were purple? Surely I 
can't have been the only one?


For some reason that song came into my head again and I decided that I 
needed to make an all purple meal. 


I have already tried my hand at making an all yellow meal and it turned out 
delicious. 


I think this one did too. Let me know what you think. 

Wishes of Prosperity

I think a lot of resolutions and wishes are made with thoughts of wealth.

Can you think of the number of times you blew out birthday candles and wished for cards filled with a bill or two, the number of turkey wish bones you pulled hoping for a bigger pay check, or the number of new year's resolutions made with dreams of pricy treats, vacations, or just extra money in your piggy bank.

And I don't believe you if you don't admit to not dreaming of wealth of some kind.

So let's encourage wealth with a yummy (and healthy) Asian style meal on Chinese New Year today. Yu Sheng or Prosperity Fish Salad is a healthy dish with lots of deeply coloured veggies and Omega-3 rich salmon. Just toss everything together, pile the dish as high as you can, and you'll prosper in the coming year.

At the very least you'll feel healthier and happier after eating this meal. And isn't that what we're really wishing for when we dream of wealth?

Roll Back

The long weekend, what a beautiful thing.

While I do know this weekend wasn't a true long weekend, it was almost better than an extra day. It was just such an unexpected treat to sleep in or get something done that I wouldn't otherwise have had time to do. 

Plus, the entire next week is going to feel better because I'll be getting up an hour later, biking to work an hour later, and ok, so maybe getting home an hour isn't so great. But you get my point. There are lots of great things associated with the clocks rolling back. 

One thing you could have done with your extra hour was make Cabbage Rolls. Check out my recipe if you're in need of a great one! 

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Everyone loves apples. Teachers, dentists, doctors, moms, and fairy tale witches.

Johnny Appleseed walked barefoot for miles to plant seeds so the fruit could be enjoyed by the masses. And Adam and Eve even risked their lives for the forbidden fruit. 

But did you know that the real proverb from the 1800s went like this: "Eat an apple on going to bed, And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."

Apples are great for you. They help your immune system, reduce cholesterol, and help to clean your teeth by killing off bacteria. 

But, the phrase was actually coined because, in Old English, the word apple referred to any round fruit that grew on trees. So it meant eat healthy fruit and you'll be healthy.

If we can take this one step farther and use the word apple for any round fruit or vegetable, this recipe will really keep the doctor away! 

Cabbage Patch Kids

I grew up in the age of Cabbage Patch Kids and never thought much about how weird the Cabbage Patch story was. I mean children hatching from a cabbage patch? That's pretty bizarre...

But the dolls were successful and I sure had my fair share of them. 

Wa Wa the Cabbage Patch Kid was my first doll and I loved her. She had a little patch of short blond hair, a pink outfit to match my own, and I think I dragged her pretty much everywhere.

I might even still have her in my old bedroom at my mom's house, just waiting for me to give to my child one day. Hopefully I didn't chew her up too bad...  

As much as I loved playing with my Cabbage Patch Kids as a child, I equally love playing with cabbage recipes today. 

I wonder if my current love of cabbage stems from my old love of the dolls?

A Candy Cane Treat

Well.... I do love Christmas but even I know it's a bit early to start decorating and planning, so this recipe has nothing to do with Christmas at all.

Actually, to be honest, this recipe has nothing to do with me at all! It is my very first viewer's contribution and even though it's my mom's contribution, it still makes me feel excited that someone wanted to share their recipe through my blog.

My mom had been looking for special heirloom beet seeds, the golden beet variety specifically, forever. So when I found a huge selection of seeds at the great gardening store in Victoria, I had to get some for her.

I mailed the seeds off, she planted them, and now they're ready to be enjoyed.

Reinventing the old

My mom used to make cabbage rolls all the time when I was little.

I remember her throwing a cabbage into a big pot, rolling up the meat and rice mixture with the leaves, and covering many casserole dishes with tomato sauce. Then she froze most of the dishes in our huge deep freeze so she could bring them out for dinners one dish at a time.

What I don't remember is how my brothers and sister and I used to unwrapped our hand wrapped parcels and throw the cabbage wrapping away to solely eat the rice and meat tucked inside.

I thought I loved cabbage rolls. I thought I ate them up and asked for more.

I guess not because my mom stopped making them because seeing us throw away the hard work she put into the meal was no fun for her.

So when I heard this about my past, I got to thinking how many other things did I block out of my memory. I know I blocked out at least one more thing and it was embarrassing, but I'll share it now.