Carrot, celery and spinach soup

Super-quick to make; I just threw a container of frozen stock in the pot, added three carrots, five stalks of celery and some leftover spinach, then let it simmer on low for about ninety minutes. I added only salt – the strong flavours of the ingredients (especially celery) carried the soup.

It was good to make while I was working; ie didn’t need much attention – just a taste every half hour to see if it was done. And it was hearty and delicious.

My soup wasn’t vegetarian because I use chicken stock, but you could easily use vegetable or mushroom stock.

Chinese Pancake Spanakopita

I got creative with dinner the other day, and made a sort of Spanakopita, using chinese pancake, cheese, mushrooms and spinach.

I buy chinese pancake at the local grocery – the photo shows the brand I buy. They’re super useful as a pantry item; keep them frozen until you cook them. I usually broil them, flipping once. They are done in five to ten minutes. The kids eat them as after-school snacks, with soup or gyoza, or just on their own.

I thought they might be good for pre-taekwondo dinner – we need a lighter, easily digestible, nutritionally rich meal. I cleaned and stemmed a bunch of fresh spinach, while boiling the water for steaming it. While the spinach was steaming, I broiled the pancakes until they were almost done. Meanwhile, I chopped and sautéed oyster mushrooms.

Honey Roasted Almonds

I got a great deal on a bag of almonds last week. A huge bag for six bucks. I felt snacky so roasted them up in a teeny bit of grapeseed oil and coarse salt, then melted a tablespoon or two of honey over the nuts. After the honey melted, I plated it to cool and sprinkled white sugar on top. Yum.

Salmon salad with capers, basil, olives and pickles

Here’s my day’s amount of fat – maybe a week’s worth. Smoked salmon, (which I would inject directly into my bloodstream if I could), and capers on leaf lettuce, topped with a teaspoon of basil (dressing seemed redundant), sided by a few olives and three small pickles. Yum!

Mushroom Burgers

Darn! I forgot to photograph them. I often do because they smell so good that we're always anxious to eat, then we get distracted with condimentization. (It is so a word)

We get those big mushrooms that are essentially overgrown button mushrooms, dab a bit of olive or grapeseed oil on, and broil them until juicy, about five or ten minutes.

Meanwhile, I sauteed half a large sweet onion. We ate our burgers in portuguese buns fresh from the local bakery. Sides included baby gherkins, calamata olives, raita, and a salad of celery apple carrot and roasted almonds.

What a great meal; easily digestible by our evening taekwondo workout, and pretty healthy.

Curried Shrimp & Couscous

Some of my favorite flavours with one of my favorite words. (The food so good they named it twice.)

I made this last night with my twelve-year-old daughter. We sauteed an onion, then added curry powder, paprika, salt & pepper, diced potatoes, japanese eggplant, cilantro, and a can of coconut milk, with a bit of stock to thin the mixture. Simmered it about half an hour then added about a pound of shrimp and a couple tablespoons of lemon juice. Cooked that another few minutes while we made the couscous (easiest recipe ever - 1 cup couscous and 1 cup boiling water. Stir, fluff, and cover for five minutes or more), and I steamed fresh spinach.

The youngest child, who is still getting used to hotter foods, found it a bit spicy-hot but still quite enjoyable. She liked it enough to have multiple servings. There were no leftovers.

It was another great meal - easy to prepare; easy to clean up. It's a good meal for someone learning to cook because it doesn't require special skills or knowledge, its not time-consuming to prepare or cook, and substitutions are easy if you're out of specific ingredients. And it's pretty healthy.

Baked potato with Chorizo & Tzatziki

Wow, what a success, both in taste and in popularity. I par-boiled large baking potatoes, then baked them for half an hour at 450f. Cranked up the heat to 500f for the last ten minutes to crisp the skin. Meanwhile, I opened the casing on two chorizo sausages and pan-fried the meat. We topped our potatoes with the meat,  tzatziki, and green onions. Added sides of green leaf lettuce salad and broccoli-leak soup. Delicious!  And fairly healthy; lots of saturated greens and protein. Kind of hi-fat, but not too bad since the meat was more of a condiment than the bulk of the meal.

Broccoli leak soup with cream and onions

This recipe takes a potato, broccoli, leaks and stock. Next time I'll use less water - it called for equal amounts water and stock, and I found it a bit thin. I like my soups saturated with flavour! Nonetheless, it was a good soup; heartwarming on a cold winter day.

Update: I simmered it down for a couple of hours, gently so as not to break the cream. It's way better - quite delicious, actually.

Kabocha squash soup

Made with the leftover squash from christmas day dinner, and stock made from the chicken carcass. The soup was amazing! Sweet, thick and delicious. I added nothing but a bit of sea salt and a couple ounces of ginger tea. There are several sickies in the house right now - a cold/fluey thing and it seems to help them feel better.

The soup doesn't photograph well without fancy plating and a garnish, but it was one of the best soups I've made or eaten, and I've had soup so good it made me cry. (That was on my 30th birthday at a late lamented soup cafe run by two sisters and their mom in Kitsilano - anyone remember the name of it?)

Great leftover idea

I didn't photograph it, because it sort of looks like the dog's dinner (if you're unfamiliar with that phrase, think on this: dogs are notorious for "re-enjoying" their meals) but it was delicious, fast and easy. (I always resent that holiday mode doesn't extend to those who have to cook all the meals.)

We had leftovers from christmas dinner and after boxing day the kids' delight was starting to turn to grimaces as they saw the chicken being hauled out for a third time. So I got a bottle of Sherwood's Masala and dumped it on top of the deboned chicken, mixed it in with all the leftover vegetables in a large frying pan and simmered it for twenty minutes. Ha! The kids didn't know what they were eating - actually they did and still enjoyed it. Even the youngest, who is more sensitive to spice heat, gobbled it up and had seconds.

Because a bunch of us are sick, the spicings (and chicken and garlic) helped with our colds. On the side we had super-fresh whole wheat dinner rolls from a local bakery. (Greek Bakery, in Richmond - good breads & rolls, very fresh.)

Super-easy christmas dinner

We usually go out for lunch on christmas day, but just in case, I had a chicken brining in the fridge, and bought some winter vegetables. Sure enough, we couldn't muster up the energy to go out of the house, so I made the chicken.


The prep took maybe twenty minutes, including wine breaks. I had bought two bags of pre-washed mini-potatoes that were mixed in color; some yellow, some red and some purple. The potatoes were small enough to use whole without pre-boiling. I chopped some kabocha squash, a couple of beets, enoki & oyster mushrooms, onion, celery, carrot, and sweet potato, put them all in the bottom of a roasting pan and added a cup or so of chicken stock.

The chicken was stuffed only with seven garlic cloves and I patted a bunch of sea salt on the skin.

Cooked it at 450, rotated it after forty minutes and cooked another twenty. Meanwhile, we made red rice in the rice cooker. Easy peasy.

Plating the chicken, I sprinkled it with a touch of 5-spice. Oh man, what a great dinner. We couldn't eat fast enough. I love those meals that are so delicious they taste bad for you!For desert we had a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream (Haagen Dazs), with equal amounts vanilla yogurt, vanilla soy milk and eggnog. What a finish. Then we lay around for the rest of the evening, stuffed and happy.

ready to serve

the raw ingedients

Peanut brittle

Who knew peanut brittle was so easy to make? 2 cups of sugar, melted over low heat and stirred occasionally; 2 cups of peanuts stirred in. Then dump it on a greased cookie sheet, let cool and then smash and serve.

This year we made batches to give to friends along with shortbread, gingerbread men and christmas hippo cookies.

Jello ginger ale

When you're so sick that you had to postpone your 10th birthday party, what's the only thing that'll make you feel better? Jello ginger ale, of course.

Remember making jello when you were a kid? Remember always wanting to drink the liquid before it set? It was so sweet and so delicious.

In an effort to soothe the Sick One's sore throat and perhaps cheer her up a little, I invented jello ginger ale. I added the cup of boiling water to the jello powder, but not the cold water. I put about an ounce of that mix into a glass of ginger ale.

It's too, too sweet and very delicious. It even raised a hint of a smile.

Polenta Chips

This was a hugely successful experiment. I used one of those store-bought tubes of polenta - another great pantry staple - and sliced it thin. I placed the slices on an oiled cookie sheet, brushed them with olive oil, and roasted them on 450f until they looked crispy, about twenty minutes. Flipped the slices and roasted until they were crispy on that side. Took them out, sprinkled sea salt on top and served. Delicious and another great kid-pleaser.

Vegetarian Butter Chicken

Cut up a bunch of different vegetables - whatever we had on hand - and some tofu. Dumped a bottle of Butter Chicken sauce over top and simmered for about twenty minutes. Delicious! Also easily digestible; good for pre-workout dinner.

Faux trifle

When I take a break from writing sometimes I want a snack that’s both nourishing and a treat. I want fast, satisfying and fresh, so I make a faux trifle.

I made muffins on Monday. Today being Friday, they are viable but getting dry. They were nothing special to start with – from a nice enough moist organic banana muffin mix, but you’d never confuse them with homemade. Without their moistness, they are nothing.

Today I ground one up into coarse crumbs in a small bowl. I added vanilla yogurt and almost dessert tofu then stirred it up to a bready-custardy mix.

I could have drizzled it with a fruit syrup or honey or chocolate milk syrup. Or topped it with fresh fruit or frozen berries. I’ve blended it before, making a kind of smoothie.

It’s totally customizable to the moment’s whim and pantry and is always delicious, and a pretty healthy snack.

Sure there’s sugar, but you just build that into your daily diet plan. I believe that if you feel indulgent when you snack, you will feel satisfied and not crave snacks as often. The sugars and carbs give you quick energy.

Tofu and yogurt are high in fat and protein. Protein gives us long-term energy, and along with fat, contributes to a mental and physical feeling of fullness that makes us want to stop eating.

We continue to eat until we feel satisfied; one way to eat less is to take in foods that satisfy us.

Perfect fall Sunday afternoon, and dinner

I had a lovely Sunday, enjoying fall weather and eating. I'd already bought a chicken on Saturday and today walked up to the local groceries for veg and wine. Got a nice red - although I was expecting to drink white, it was this red that caught my eye. So I got that and went in search of beets, sweet potatoes and onions.

I came home with pearl onions, a couple of sweet yellows, two beets, a white and an orange sweet potato, green beans, oyster mushrooms, and a parsnip.

I salted the chicken, rubbing coarse salt into the skin creating a bit of a crust on the breasts and legs. (Not too much or it gets salty). Sprinkled dried herbs such as herbes de province and ground cumin. I placed several garlic cloves in body cavity and put the whole thing in a pot in the fridge.

Washed and chopped the veg - beet, carrot, potato, sweet potato, turnip, green beans, pearl onions, sweet onion, and mushroom - placing it in a roasting pan with a bit of salt. Let it sit on the counter, loosely covered with saran wrap, while I went outside and raked leaves.

I raked the front yard and then came in. After opening the wine to let it breathe, I pre-heated the oven to 425f, then started a fire in the living room fireplace.

As the fire built, I drained the bit of water from the vegetables, added two tablespoons of red rice, about half a cup of chicken stock and then drizzled them with olive oil and salt. I threw about a dozen hazelnuts on the chicken. Placed the chicken on top of the veg, then covered it loosely in tinfoil and popped it in the oven.

Pour a glass of wine, plop down in front of the roaring fire, with the Sunday Times. Ahh.

After 25 minutes, I removed the foil, and let it cook for another 25 minutes. Finally, I dropped the temp to 395f for the final 25 minutes.

Wow - it was so juicy! And flavorful. The beets were sweet, the carrot and potato were soft without being mushy. The beans were still a little crunchy. The rice was still hard inside but had a cooked quality to it, and because there was so little it was like a ground nut garnish. Very pleasant.

Longaniza Soup

I fried up some longaniza, sliced and added them to broth, along with onion and carrot. Simmered it down for about twenty-five minutes and ta da- excellent tasty lunch. Pretty healthy and good for cooler weather.

Longaniza is a sweet filipino sausage. It usually comes frozen. It's a perfect addition to everything except maybe coffee. Kids like it because of the sweetness and small link size. Some sausages - especially pork - can taste funky to me, but I never experience that with longaniza. Another good freezer staple.

Double Happiness soup

Did you know that you can find happiness in food? Double happiness even. A local noodle company sells Double Happiness noodles. What other food can make you feel so optimistic?

Soup for dinner tonight: I took a bag of three sausages out of the freezer. I buy them in bulk, split up the package and toss them in the freezer in ziplock bags.

Thaw them in a fry pan, about half-covered in water. Boil them off – remember to pierce the skins several times.

Meanwhile I boiled three litres of water for the noodles and let them boil unlidded for about twenty minutes. (That’s how long these ones take.)

I put a portion of frozen chicken stock into a pot to thaw and heat. I crush and add one garlic clove and some salt.

With all the pots underway, I wash and chop half an onion, several button mushrooms, a dozen green beans, and the rest of a very sweet red pepper. (Save the seeds for spring planting.)

The sausages are just about done now. The water’s boiled off and a meat thermometer inserted tells me they are to temperature. I let them brown, turning them as they sizzle. Add a small ladle of stock to deglaze the pan, then throw in the  chopped onion, mushrooms and green beans.

I hold the pepper back because it won’t take long to sweat the flavour and I don’t want mushy pepper. When the vegetables are almost sweated, I add the pepper for a few minutes, then toss everything into the stock pot to heat on med-low for five or ten minutes.

When the noodles are done, I drain and rinse (to stop the cooking – don’t want them mushy) then portion some into each soup bowl.

Add the soup over top and voila – a beautiful, nutritious and delicious pre-workout dinner.

Pizza night

Friday night is pizza night at our house. Last night's was chicken, artichoke hearts, olives, onions, mushrooms, and bocconcini, with mozzarella over top.

I don't use pizza sauce or tomato paste, opting instead for one of my more recently acquired staples; bottled organic tomatoes, crushed and strained. They are cheap like borscht, last a while in the pantry and delicious. I often make soup with just them, stock and a little bit of seasoning. On pizza, I just pour some of the tomatoes and add salt & pepper, and maybe some fresh or dried basil. Easy.

My daughter stopped using bocconcini on her pizzas, complaining that the little pearls didn't melt. I was surprised, thinking they were just little mozza balls, but boy was she right. They didn't melt or add much flavour. Clearly they are not interchangeable with mozzarella, which melts easily and deliciously. Love them in a salad - wouldn't use them on pizza again.

The crust was great. As usual I used Bittman's basic pizza crust recipe, but for the first time I used the crunchier variation - substituting cornmeal for some of the flour. Delicious. And it rose better. I've stolen a friend's idea of putting the dough in the oven during its rise (raise?) and leaving the oven light to generate a touch of heat. Because my oven is so well insulated, that lightbulb makes a difference and the dough seemed happy. It was big warm and fluffy when we got back from taekwondo. It cooked up really well. Our oven only goes as high as 500f, but I got fully-cooked, crunchy thin crust. Yum.