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. 

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!

Grilled Cheese Goodness

A good grilled cheese sandwich is crisp on the outside and gooey and melty on the inside. The bread and the cheese can be switched around, but never do I want to bite into a limp breaded sandwich filled with hard cheese.

But crisp bread and melted cheese is not where a good grilled sandwich ends. No, good grilled cheese sandwiches need more than that. They need something special added in them. Maybe it's spoonful of fig jam smeared into the bread before Brie is sandwiches in. Or maybe it's a little pesto or apple added for a burst of flavour. Whatever it is, just make sure you put enough in the sandwich so you can taste it.

I think the grilled cheese sandwich I'm sharing today is pretty spectacular. It's full of healthy spinach and tart little artichokes. And it's high time a spinach artichoke dip met a grilled cheese sandwich, don't you think?

Veggie Cannelloni

I am truly addicted to pasta and cheese. But sometimes I try to make my meals a little healthier than just pasta covered cheese because we all could use a little more veggie love in our lives. I've subbed out pasta for cauliflower and made a delicious new version of Cauliflower Mac and Cheese and I knew I could make a cannelloni just as tasty as the real thing without using pasta too. 

Here's my recipe for Eggplant Cannelloni. They're stuffed with ricotta, black beans, olives, and drenched in a tomato sauce. 

BC Salmon Rocks

When I think of the best food from British Columbia, I think of big bright pink wild salmon. It's not that I don't love all salmon, it's just that salmon caught off the coast of BC or Alaska is quite frankly the best. 

So when Valerie from A Canadian Foodie challenged everyone who volunteered in The Canadian Food Experience Project to write about a Canadian regional food this month, I had no other choice than to choose salmon. I decided to pair my salmon with a fun cauliflower cous cous recipe because while cauliflower is sold and eaten year round, it's best in the winter. 

So if you have a food processor and are eager to pulse a head of cauliflower into couscous, read on for my easy recipe - inspired by cold Canadian winter dreams of heading to Morocco. 

Sweet and Salty Pasta Heaven

The last day of the Olympics is here! I almost can't believe Canada made it to the gold medal game in men's hockey and I can't wait to check the score to see who won.

Today's post is a recipe inspired by the Olympics. I could say that it's a mostly white dinner with bits of green poking through, just like Russia's grass poking through the snow - but I won't. Instead I'll say that the oven roasted cauliflower in my pasta is meant to resemble the Olympic torch. If you prefer the grass analogy, that's ok with me too!

Read in for the recipe. It's a perfect mix of sweet roasted cauliflower and salty Parmesan cheese, so I know you'll love it.

White Christmas Lasagna

Have you ever seen a heirloom pumpkin? They're huge, beautifully unique, and edible. I wouldn't suggest getting one for carving a jack o lantern next year because they're much too thick, but I would suggest getting one of you want to make to a truly delicious lasagna this winter.

I think that this lasagna is the perfect pre-holiday meal because with all of the extra house guests that come over, you'll need a big casserole of something to serve for dinner. Plus, you'll probably have leftovers for all those late night cravings when you're wrapping gifts.

And this lasagna is extra special because not only does it feed a lot of people, but there is an unexpected twist to it too. It's got a spicy curry kick to warm you up on a cold night and there is no tomato sauce for a white Christmas.

Curious yet? Read on for the recipe!

Three Cheers for Paneer!

I love Indian food, but I often seem to get it wrong when I try making it at home. Sure, of course I can pour a bottle of ready made sauce into a pan and we all lick our lips with anticipation of the yummy smells coming from the kitchen. But when it comes to making an Indian dish from scratch, I don't always get it right. 

But today I finally did it. I finally made a from scratch Indian dish taste like it was in an Indian restaurant. And since it's one of my favourite Indian dishes, I am pleased as punch. 

Palak Paneer has creamy little pillows of paneer, a delicious Indian cheese, floating around in an onion and spinach sauce flavoured with spices that Indian dishes are famous for. It might not be as spicy as some of the other dishes from India, but that's all right with me. 

Read on for the recipe, it's easier to make than you might think!

Jack-O-Peppers

Did you know that jack-o-lanterns were originally made out of all sorts of vegetables? It's been said that today's North American jack-o-lanterns could have been derived from how the Irish carved lanterns out of beets, turnips, and other veggies to guide evil spirits away on All Hallow's Eve.

I'd like to say that this is why I made these Jack-O-Peppers for dinner tonight, but I actually just saw a few fun versions on good old Pinterest and had to make up a few myself. Who knew they'd be so easy and fun?!

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.

Second Place Is Pretty Darn Good

This summer I passionately and consistently entered Weston's Grill Up Summer contest. I didn't come up as a $10,000 winner but I did get chosen as a second place winner twice!

Before I start exciting you, let me tell you flat out that my prize had no monetary value. And that part is a little disappointing. But I am featured in a cookbook and I am pretty excited about that.

The first time was chosen as a second place winner, I turned down the prize. I was definitively honoured to be chosen as a winner, but I was told that a person could only win one prize and I wanted to go for gold. I wanted to win that $10,000 prize and that means that my Cherry Cola Pulled Pork sandwich isn't going to be featured in Weston's Grill Up Summer cookbook. But you can still read all about it on my blog.

Do you want to know what recipe of mine is being featured in the cookbook? Wait no longer, check it out online here or just read on for my yummy recipe!

Local Canadian Food Heroes

This month's Canadian Food Experience Project challenge was a tough one. First I had to come up with who my local Canadian Food Hero was and then I had to come up with a recipe to share from that hero.

For me the challenge wasn't coming up with a hero, it was choosing just one! I go to my local farmer's market as often as I can to buy fresh veggies and Artisan products. I also love going to cooking classes in my city and learning from culinary instructors always makes me excited because I know I'll be able to bring home new techniques. Finally I love shopping at boutique food stores and promoting buying local. If all those people aren't food heroes, I don't know what is.

I finally came up with a duo of heroes and I know anyone who's visited Silk Road or attended a Heidi Fink cooking class will agree that I made the right decision. Silk Road is a local Victoria BC tea store and Heidi Fink shares her food knowledge through cooking classes, local Victoria China Town tours, and has also created one of my favourite Silk Road tea salad dressings.

I've used Heidi's salad dressing in a quick and yummy Asian stir fry. The sweet, smokey, and savoury salad dressing makes each bite of this stir fry amazing - and it's all due to the beautiful Silk Road Lapsang Souchong tea.

A Doll of a Dal

Dal is a delicious and easy first vegetarian dish. It's made with lentils which are easy to make and little protein powerhouse to boot. 

To make lentils all you do is simmer them away in salted water. They're pretty hard to mess up and taste great in everything from appetizers to dinners and even desserts. 

Dal is an Indian dish, but I think it would taste great with a lot of different spices. I know I will be trying out a few different combinations and I hope you do too. 

Old Favourites

Sometimes I feel really creative in my kitchen and come up with tons of new dishes. And other times I slightly less creative and merely take a past winning dish and work on it a little to make it even more winning. 

Tonight's dish is a reworked favourite and if you love Asian foods stuffed full of garlic, ginger, peanut butter, and lime - I know you'll love it. I amped up these flavours from the original dish and made it into a complete meal with a side of sautéed spinach and some crispy tofu. 

Read on for my reworked recipe!

Pocket of Happiness

Lately a lot of my dishes have been made with speed in mind. I still want everything to taste yummy, but I also want everything to be ready quickly. Today is the first day of summer and it's time to be enjoying the weather, not slaving away in the kitchen! 

Today's dish is a sandwich that's based on a salad I showed you last month, my Greek Chick Pea Salad. The salad was so quick and yummy that I used it for the base of an equally yummy pita pocket sandwich. My only problem now is that I don't know which dish I'll serve more often! 

Bay Gulls

I grew up on Georgian Bay in Collingwood, ON and anyone who had visited or lived there knows that saying that there are a lot of seagulls on Georgian Bay is an understatement. I don't think you could even walk down the beach, let alone eat a picnic lunch, without being stalked by a pack of those birds.  

Because I'm so familiar with seagulls, and because I'm a really hilarious person (ok... corny), my favourite joke is all about those birds. It's something that Luke and I joke about every single time we see a seagull. 

Why do seagulls live by the sea? Because they'd be called bay gulls if they lived by the bay! 

Alright, maybe it's not very funny. But we like it! And something else we like is bay scallops, read on for a yummy new recipe starring them! 

You didn't think I shared my joke because I'd made a recipe about how to cook a bay gull did you!

Protein Powerhouses

Meat isn't the only way you can consume protein and today's dish shows you how easy it is to get a protein rich veggie diet. I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh, but I will say that a 130 pound woman should have about 65 grams of protein in a day or about 1 gram of protein per two pounds of body weight. 

There are so many ways to enjoy protein and here are a few:

Tempeh - 4 oz equals 41 g of protein 

Seitan - 3 oz equals 31 g of protein

Lentils - 1 cup cooked equals 18 g of protein

Chickpeas - 1 cup cooked equals 12 g of protein 

Tofu - 4 oz equals 10 g of protein 

Milk - 1 cup equals 8 g of protein 

Yogurt - 6 oz equals 6 g of protein 

Spinach - 1 cup cooked equals 5 grams of protein

I wish I could say that I was sharing a tempeh or seitan dish, but I haven't verged into those ingredients yet. I know I will soon though, especially after hearing about the protein in them! No, instead today's dish includes a serving or more of tofu, yogurt, and spinach - at least 21 g of protein! 

Rainbow of Delights

I love noshing on colourful food because it looks so beautiful. And I love serving colourful food to my friends because it makes everyone smile and smiling is important when you want to enjoy what you're eating. 

Today's post might be simple to make, but it's also simply beautiful if you ask me. And I love to spoon up some of this puréed carrot sauce, inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart's Meatless, and pour it into my summer rolls. Delish!

Dip a Dee Do Dah

I love a good spinach dip, especially one that's served hot and covered in cheese. But while they're as tasty as can be, they're not very good for you. 

Spinach dips clearly have spinach in them and spinach is of course good for you, but most dips are also chock full of mayonnaise and full fat sour cream. My Spinach Dip doesn't have mayonnaise or sour cream in it and it also doesn't have a lot of cheese, but this doesn't mean it's not tasty. 

My dip has yogurt to make it creamy, artichokes to add extra flavour, and enough cheese so you can taste it. It goes great with veggies, but it would also be wonderful served in a bread bowl!

Silver Linings

It's the Oscars tonight and I am not the biggest fan of award shows, but I do love the Oscars. I love watching the pre-show to see the amazing dresses (and the not so amazing dressing, if I'm being honest). I love seeing the stars as normal people and watching their joy as they win. And I love making appetizers for my Oscars party. 

I love appy parties and I love themed parties, so when it's Oscar time I rack my brain to get the creative juices flowing. I love to make appetizers inspired by a few of the honoured movies and today's post is one of my choices for 2013. 

Silver Linings Playbook is set in Philly, the land of cheese steaks. Philly Cheese Steaks are not the best food for a party so I made mine mini and they turned out great. Read on for the recipe!