Beet Greens with Tofu and Soba Noodles

When the end of summer nears closer and closer I feel myself clinging to the seasons best produce; green beans, tomatoes, peaches, and berries. Even though I'm actually slowly getting tired of these foods and actually can't wait to dive into my first winter squash or bag of brussels sprouts, I just feel like I need to avoid eating fall/winter vegetables as long as I can because before I know it beets, potatoes, cabbage and turnips will be some of my only culinary choices. 

During todays market trip however I just couldn't help myself. Its been weeks that I've been eyeing bunches of beets and piles of winter squash and I couldn't resist them any longer. We're heading out of the city for a few days tomorrow so I knew I needed to make quick work of the beet greens before my refrigerators crisper gets to them first. 

I think every fall I search for new exciting things to do with beets, especially the greens. I love their flavour but often find it quite overpowering.

After checking all my usual sources for inspiration and finding nothing, google provided me with this recipe from Canadian Living. I added this yummy tofu my friend Renee got me hooked on, as well as cashews and soba noodles. It was the perfect quick Saturday lunch! 

Green Bean Hazelnut Salad

This summer has been just fantastic so far. Despite the fact that the high temperatures don't agree with my pregnant body, my feet are constantly swollen and I'm getting a wee bit crankier...I am actually having a really great summer.
Yesterday was a perfect day filled with two trips to the lake, a great burger from my favourite new burger joint, a long nap, a delicious quickly-thrown-together summer meal, refreshing mocktails, and board games in the yard at dusk. What more could I want?

This salad comes from (you guessed it) Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. She comments on the surprisingly pleasant pairing of the tomatoes and the hazelnuts but I really think it's the green bean and hazelnut combo that wowed me. Either way, you must add this into your summer salad repertoire.

Asparagus Salad

Do you ever have those moments when you have an idea for a dish or meal that slowly evolves into merely a shell of it's former self? Well that happens to me sometimes, like when I wanted to make a spring Panzanella salad and wound up with this.
Baked croutons, asparagus, dill, bitter greens, and some green onions are dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, a little garlic and lots of shaved extra old gouda.
The end result really reminded me of the flavours of my favourite Kale Salad but with more texture and diversity. This one's a keeper for sure!

Wilted Swiss Chard Potato Salad

Everyone keeps asking me if I've been having any strange cravings while pregnant. I feel like I'm almost disappointing people when I say no, not really. I remember asking pregnant friends the same thing, so curious of the weird and wacky food combinations they were eating. But most of them, like myself had nothing interesting to share.
I do feel like I'm eating a little differently but not all that "weird". There were a few weeks there when I could eat a bowl of cherry tomatoes simply dressed a few times a day, yet now it just doesn't appeal to me in the same way.
Around the same time I'd also slather a piece of toast with an inch thick layer of herb goat cheese and savour every tangy bite.
Lately I'd be pretty happy to eat some sort of grilled sausage on a bun smothered in mustard at any point in the day, but that's about it for real "cravings".

For the rest of the time I'm still trying to just enjoy all that spring has to offer. This salad is a perfect example of such. Asparagus, swiss chard and quinoa make this potato salad feel like a much healthier version of it's usual self.

Sautéed Spinach with Coconut

There's nothing quite like feeling re-energized in the kitchen, eh? I don't know why but I've been on a rice kick lately. I cook up a big pot of rice and then use it in meals over a few days. This is a perfect example of how I've managed to sneak rice into my brunch; top it with sauteed spiced spinach, toasted coconut and a poached egg. It's heavenly!

Go to 101 Cookbooks for the spinach recipe and thank me later.

Tofu & Bok Choy Stir Fry

Finally a taste of spring! Bok choy is often one of the first green signs of spring at my local farmers market. Sure asparagus and radishes are often the veggies that get people (including myself) excited for spring, but in my little neck of the woods bok choy is truly my saviour from the depths of winter woes.

Last spring/summer I got hooked on this little dish but would always gobble it up too fast to tell you about it. It's really quite simple and so satisfying.

Green Potato Salad

Well my least favourite time of year is upon us: the end of winter. You're probably thinking "The end of winter? That sounds like a great time of year! Spring is around the corner, change is in the air..." but those few weeks make me restless and irritable. I'm sick of winter foods and all I crave are fresh tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce, berries, peaches, peas, zucchini...ugh it's torture just thinking about all that scrumptious produce that is just out of my reach.

And to add to that annoying nagging feeling of wanting time to fast forward, this is also the time of year when I begin to become OBSESSED with gardening again. I have literally been having dreams about transplants, I kid you not. And just like the produce I long for, waiting for the rare sunny days to help my seedlings grow feels rather agonizing. 

So what's a housewife to do? Well the other day I decided to try to brighten up my day with this summery potato salad. With bright lemon, spicy arugula and creamy avocado, it totally hit the spot and helped make the long grey day feel a little more tolerable. 

Marinated Beet Salad

This salad just made my day.
Maybe I was a little too hungry and waited a little too long for lunch. But this salad has somehow made me feel so good, better than I thought a salad could. Actually thats not true, I know the power of salads (don't laugh!) but I feel like I haven't been eating the healthiest food lately and I think my body was just SO ready for some vegetables that it jumped for joy as I ate this simple salad.
Good thing I made enough for two...because I'm definitely having seconds.

Raw Kale Salad

I never imagined I'd love raw kale so much. This salad is bursting with bright and bold flavours that make it a rather addictive dish. After eating it (and learning how to make it!) in a recent Feisty Chef cooking class, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I made it for Thanksgiving dinner a few days later and despite how "un-thanksgiving" it seems it really fit in well amongst mashed potatoes, turkey and stuffing. But it's also quite deserving of a plate of its own for an afternoon snack, just like I'm eating it now.

Linguine with Blue Cheese, Beet Greens, and Hazelnuts

I love when I go searching for new recipes to use up a particular ingredient and I find one that features other things I already have on hand, and it turns out to be my new favourite dish. The flavours are simple  but bold in their own ways and the hazelnuts really pull it all together. Yum!

Blue Cheese Caesar Salad

So...I'm kind of on a blue cheese kick lately. Mostly because I have way too much of it in my fridge so I can't help but find ways to sneak it into everyday life. This has to be one of my favourite examples of such sneaking. If you don't (think you) like blue cheese but want to learn to love it, I really suggest making this salad. You can easily put less blue cheese in if you're really freaked out, but I say just go for it!

Quinoa Patties

After waiting for what felt like months I finally got a call from my local library telling me it's finally my turn to borrow "Super Natural Everyday" by Heidi Swanson. I excitedly picked up the book on my way to renew my photo I.D.; a boring task that would surely go by quicker with a book. What I hadn't thought of however was that reading that book on an empty stomach when I'm 30 minutes away from my kitchen would end up feeling like a form of torture.
Kale salad with coconut? Millet Muffins?? Rice Salad with Cherries and Goat Cheese??? My stomach was growling with anticipation.
So you can imagine that as soon as I returned home (after a pit-stop at a bulk food store to pick up various grains for all these new recipes) I dove back into the book head first, this time while in my kitchen ready to play.

Kale Chips

I really wasn't sure what to expect these to taste like. I knew they probably wouldn't actually be very chip-like but other than that I had no idea. 

They look a lot like dried leaves...and sort of taste that way too, but in a good way.

I think it's safe to say that kale chips are one of those foods that is mainly a vehicle for salt. Which I'm totally okay with. 

BLT Sandwich

I know I just told you how my new favourite salad was going to replace my long standing favourite sandwich (and I have eaten far too many of those salads lately that I care to admit).  

But when the stars align in my kitchen and theres a freshly baked loaf of bread sitting next to ripe tomatoes and avocados, there's really only one thing to do. Make the best darn BLT and enjoy every single bite. 

I don't know if there's really all that much to say about great BLT's, other than making sure you've got great quality ingredients. From the mayo, to the bacon, to the lettuce it's all gotta be the best you can find.

Ina Garten introduced me to adding avocado to my BLT's (don't you love how it sounds like we're friends?) and I've never looked back. Douse the avocado slices in a little lemon juice before adding it to the sandwich and you're all set.

Swiss Chard Soup

When making this soup I really had to fight the urge to add things to it and change it too much.
I kind of hate when I read reviews for recipes and the reviewer writes "Oh this soup was so great! I substituted the swiss chard for spinach, added carrots and mushrooms, omitted the anchovies, added onions, substituted the pasta with rice and I'll totally make this again." That's not even the same soup anymore! How is that review going to help anyone wanting to make this?!

But, today I almost felt like one of those reviewers. I just kept reading the ingredient list over and over as if the missing ingredients would suddenly appear.

"No onions??? Is there really just swiss chard, beans and pasta?? What is going to make this so good?" I thought to myself. 

I ended up making a few minor adjustments (some based on lack of ingredients, some based on personal preference) and was pretty happy with this soup.

BLT Salad

Ok BLT sandwich, prepare to loose your title as my most favourite summer snack. There's a new BLT in town.

Bok Choy Salad

As my husband enjoyed his afternoon nap I cruised the internet for inspiration for dinner. Doing so on an empty stomach is never a good idea (almost as bad as grocery shopping while hungry), and couldn't help but whip up this quick little snack to tide myself over until dinner.

Halibut En Papillote

Today has just felt like such a fresh crisp spring day. I bought quite a variety of fresh local greens and some fresh halibut at the market today (along with radishes and pussy willows!) and thought "What a better way to end a beautiful spring day than to turn this into tonight's meal?"

I am willing to admit that I'm not very skilled in any aspects of cooking meat or fish. I mean I can get by, but it's not usually much to write home about. I bought "Martha Stewart's Cooking School" some time last year and had made a mental note to let Martha teach me how to cook meat and fish. Well it may have taken many months for me to actually pull out the book and start my first lesson, but it's better late than never right?

Orange & Avocado Salad

The sun may be shining today but it still feels so cold and wintery to me. As I anxiously wait for spring, it's salads like these that keep me from staying in bed all day.
How are you coping with the end-of-winter doldrums?

Feta & Bacon Omelet

This omelet is a bit of a guilty pleasure.
Chock full of maple bacon and feta (with some spinach and red onion thrown in to make it feel slightly healthier) the salty richness of this breakfast makes me weak in the knees.
Good thing I started my day with a giant glass of carrot orange and apple juice to balance it out.