Chickpeas in Asia

If someone told me that I could make a dinner that is easy, quick, yummy, and contains only six ingredients, I would tell them they're either crazy or just warming up a frozen dinner with a bagged salad.

Luckily today is not frozen dinner and bagged salad day. Today is Asian Chickpea Sweet Potatoes day and that day might come around a few times in the near future too. It's even easier than Twice Baked Mexican Sweet Potatoes day and just as yummy!

Baby Beluga

I tried caviar once, but it wasn't for me. The texture was too weird and each mouthful was too salty for me to enjoy it. I'm just not that fancy a girl.

But when I heard about beluga lentils, I knew I'd love them. I love everything about lentils and a special lentil with a name that attributed to caviar? I am completely on board with that. It took me awhile to find beluga lentils (I found them at Bulk Barn, which really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who knows me), and I discovered I do love them. 

So for May's new ingredient of the month, here's a new recipe starring beluga lentils - Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato and Beluga Lentil Salad. 

The Spice is Right

I love eating Indian food, but I seem to shy away from making it often because the flavours are so big and I just don't give my dishes as much punch as the restaurants do. Today, all that changes. Today, I vow to add "the punch".

To me "the punch" is spice. I don't mean hot peppers and that mouth burning feeling. I mean cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Indian food just isn't complete with enough spicy flavour to knock your socks off and today's dish has that spicy flavour. I adapted a great recipe from Vegan Richa and pumped up the flavours a bit to get exactly what I was looking for.

I think the spice is right in these Aloo Gobi Wraps, do you?

Say Cheese!

I love going to Farmer's Markets and seeing what amazing vegetables could be featured on my plate in the summer, but right now Farmer's Markets are filled with mostly cheese, eggs, preserves, and baked goods. While I am a little less excited about baked goods and preserves because I love to make my own, choosing a special piece of local artisan cheese is worth the trip to a Farmer's Market in a colder weather. 

This month's Canadian Food Experience Project challenge is to write about a Canadian farmer or producer and I can't think of any local producer better that Salt Spring Island Cheese Company. They make handmade goat and sheep's cheeses and each bite is worth every calorie. Their chèvre is particularly delicious, but I love putting out a cheese board filled with a few of their cheeses so I can sample a taste of everything.

I love to enjoy a bite of Salt Spring Island Cheese with nothing more than a cracker, but I think even just a few small pieces enhance a dish and makes it even more special. Why not try some with my Carrot Gnocchi recipe? It would make a great Easter treat this year!

Twice Baked Mexican Sweet Potatoes

Week nights and a sink of pots and pans don't mix at my house. I'd much rather make something quick, easy, and as sink free as possible. Today's post is one of my new ideas that combines these concepts to make a tasty and fun week night dinner. 

I love to eat these Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes on their own for dinner but you might want to serve them with a salad or a piece of chicken if you'd like something a little more hearty. But whatever you serve them with, just serve them. Your taste buds will thank you!

Veggie and Potato Pie

When I was small, my mom actually had one of those dinner bells. I think it was more for decoration than for practicality, but she still rang it from time to time to get us home for dinner. I'm not sure why, but today's recipe reminds me about that dinner bell.

I think I'm reminded about the dinner bell because today's recipe is a homey kind of dish. It's a vegetarian pie topped with mashed potatoes and full of a delicious vegetarian gravy. I can almost picture my mom making this dish for me. 

Read in for my recipe for my Veggie and Potato Pie recipe.

Delish Fish

If I was told I could choose one food to live on for the rest of my life, I think it might be potatoes. Potatoes are not my favourite food - that might be chocolate, cheese, or fresh berries - but potatoes are versatile, delicious, and healthy. I could never get bored of potatoes or feel sick from eating them.

One of my favourite ways to cook potatoes is to mash them and because I love them, I usually make way too much. If you're anything like me, you need new ways to use up leftover mashed potatoes and I have a perfect idea of what to create - my Potato Fish Cakes!

And, besides using up leftover mashed potatoes, one of the best parts of this dish is how easy it is to change up the ingredients and make something new. Just change the fish or the herb and you've got a whole new dish!

La Belle Patate

Does anyone out there make their own rolls for the holidays anymore? I used to think it was too much work, but then I discovered this incredible potato roll recipe that you make in a muffin tin.  It uses up leftover mashed potatoes and creates moist little rolls that are the perfect size for mopping up gravy or snacking on before dinner. 

I don't know about you, but I think making your own rolls and freezing them a few days before Christmas would be the perfect way to impress a mother in law at the big day's dinner. Plus, you can also half the recipe to get 12 rolls and a loaf of delicious raisin bread for breakfast. Who could say no to that now?

Crazy Ingredient Challenge - Onions and Gingerbread Spice

This month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge was the craziest yet. I love the holidays and I love gingerbread cookies, but when we were asked to pair gingerbread spice with onions, I almost didn't take part in the challenge. I couldn't come up with anything besides cookies to make with gingerbread spice and I knew that I did not want to try adding onions to cookies!

But then a month-before-Christmas holiday miracle happened and I came up with something delicious that I'll be making again before the holidays are upon us. And the gingerbread spice mix works surprisingly well in the recipe too.

My new Samosa Wonton Cups are perfect finger food for a holiday party and they're just as tasty as their more time consuming cousins too! Read on for the recipe!

Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties and a Giveaway!

My post on Harry Potter Butterbeer Cupcakes was so well received that I just had to create a second dish from my favourite movie franchise to share with everyone as a thank you! And if you read on past the recipe, there's a little giveaway opportunity at the end of this post too.

I absolutely love pie so choosing my second Harry Potter themed dish to share with you was incredibly easy. I always envisioned the Pumpkin Patsies sold on the Hogwart's Express as little Cornish Pasties style pies stuffed full of pumpkin. And if those pumpkin filled treats were good enough for Harry, I knew that they'd be perfect for me too.

I know they sound simple, but the magic created when these Pumpkin Pasties bake is truly amazing. But of course we all already knew that because they weren't featured in Harry Potter for nothing!

Monster Mash

Is it just me or does everyone want to start bobbing their head, dancing about, and smile when they hear the words to the "Monster Mash"? I don't think of myself as a great singer, or even a not bad singer, but I can't even help but to start singing along when I hear that song.

At least Halloween is supposed to be scary, right?

To get in the Halloween spirit this year, I'll be sharing fun Halloween themed dishes in each post from now until the Big Day. The first one is my version of Life Made Delicious' Spooky Shepherd's Pie.  Life Made Delicious' version is perfect for a family that loves ground beef and my version is a great option of a vegetarian family. Other than that, the main difference is that ghosts haunt Life Made Delicious' version and green monsters are mashing on top of mine.

Sweet Turk-tato

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!  I know most of you are enjoying turkey this weekend, but this short and sweet post is a smile for those of you that are choosing to enjoy something other than turkey. It's a sweet turk-tato! Or in other words, a sweet potato shaped like a turkey.

Can you believe my mom actually found this sweet potato for me? I almost couldn't believe it, but I'm happy she did. :)

Now I can't wait to hear what it's like when it's roasted and carved up!

Super Salad

If you're someone who thinks that there is something about a salad that says diet food, you just haven't tried one of my salads. I don't mean that my salads are high in fat, I mean that my salads have enough oomph, flavour, and substance to leave you feeling full longer. 

And since I've paired today's salad with one of my favourite treats, green onion pancakes, it left me feeling full for a very long time. This feeling of being super full may have been because I had two helpings, but who's to say? I think that when a salad is that good, you should always have seconds! 

Mad About You

Today my sister is flying to Madagascar for three months. I am a little envious of her adventure, but happy for her too because I imagine that there might be some delicious Madagascar vanilla in my future. And all the thinking I've been doing about the possible Madagascar vanilla has me thinking beautiful floral thoughts and playing with beautiful floral flavours. 

Today's dish celebrates the floral flavours of Madagascar and also acts as a farewell note to Mary. It's features a really inventive polenta made from cornmeal, silky puréed sweet potatoes, and coconut milk. I can't take credit for the concept because I read about it in an old cookbook from my local library, but I can take credit for making the dish really yummy. 

Safe flight and have fun, Mary. See you at Christmas! 

A Great Fish Dish

I know everyone doesn't love fish, or green beans for that matter, but this dish is worth trying. It's easy, quick, and best of all - all the flavours work together so well that it tastes awesome.

I've told Luke that I want real honest feedback from him on my cooking and sometimes it hurts, but sometimes it's wonderful. And the feedback from the dish was one of those wonderful times. The tartness, spiciness, and sweetness were just the right amount and everything was cooked nicely.

Sometimes I wonder why I asked for honest feedback on my cooking, but I know why when I get this kind of feedback. The dish is really as yummy as he says it is and I want all my dishes to improve to get to this same level of yumminess.

Martha Madness

Even in Martha's darkness days, I was a fan. I was never I fan of what she did to get into those darkest days, but I was always a fan of her cooking because Martha makes good, honest food. 

I love Martha's Meatless cookbook. I have flagged a ton of recipes to try and I know that even if you're not keen in eating meatless everyday, that you'd love a lot of her recipes in Meatless too. 

Today I am sharing my spin on Martha's Arugula, Potato, and Green Bean Salad with Creamy Walnut Dressing. I've substituted asparagus for Martha's green beans and changed her dressing a little too by adding a little curry to the party with my Curried Citrus Yogurt Sauce, but both options are as tasty as can be. :) 

Christmas Curry

Today is halfway to my favourite time of the year, Christmas, so it's only fitting for me to make a Christmasy curry. But before you start thinking about how I might be using pine needles, cinnamon, or sugar plums, let me tell you that I used perfectly normal and delicious curry ingredients - I just made my dish extra special with thoughts of Christmas in mind.

First off, I made my curry reflect the colours of Christmas by making a red curry sauce with plenty of fresh green broccoli and basil. And secondly, I decorated my curry with one of my favourite heirloom potatoes - the Warba New Nugget. I like to think of the Warba New Nuggets as little glass balls decorating my bowl because they're round, sweet as can be, and are even speckled with a decoration of pink eyes. 

You might be surprised at my use of potatoes in a curry because curries are usually paired with another starch, but potatoes are actually frequently used in curries and after one bite of this recipe I know you will never think twice about using a Warba New Nugget in your curry again! 

Flying Colours

Seeing a big rainbow on my plate always makes me happy. Maybe I'm like a bee collecting pollen, but I will always steer clear of the boring white and brown dishes and head towards the bright plates that call for attention. Luckily that's not a bad thing because colourful food looks beautiful and is super healthy for us too. 

When I told my sweetie I was making a beautiful purple sweet potato gnocchi for dinner, he asked that I serve us half purple gnocchi and take a little of the orange sweet potato gnocchi I had made and frozen out of the freezer so we could mix them up. At first I thought that sounded like extra work, then I realized how pretty it would look and got excited. 

I think my dish was a beautiful success and now my freezer has enough purple and orange gnocchi to keep us satisfied for awhile. So now I'm happy because it's all set for a day when I'm not in the mood to cook. 

Gnocchin' on Heaven's Door

I have made a few different versions of gnocchi before but none have given me the same amount of pleasure as this amazing dish did. And not to sound vain, but I don't think that it was necessarily the recipe either. I think the success of my gnocchi had a lot to do with the fact that I cooked my sweet potato the night before and let it cool in my fridge overnight.

I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that my dish tasted great and I didn't burn my hands while whipping it up. That makes it a winner in my books!

Today's recipe was inspired by one in April's Canadian Living, but I used quite a bit less flour in my dish and I think it helped to make the end result light and fluffy.

Gardener's Pie

I read the name Gardener's Pie in a cookbook the other day and loved it so much that I had to make my own version. I think that this recipe goes to show that eating a vegetarian meal can lead to sentences like "this is delicious" instead of "this is delicious, for a vegetarian meal". 

I packed a lot of flavours into this dish and it is really quick to make, especially if you make a double batch of my Garlic Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, one for the night before and one to save to top this dish the next night. 

The ground soy product tastes great to me, but you could always substitute ground meat if prefer.