Quinoa Muffins

Could I be any more obsessed with my current favourite cookbook "Super Natural Everyday"? I didn't think so, but I feel like my infatuation is reaching new heights. 

I had been searching for around for some quinoa muffins and these are just what I was looking for. Healthy, tasty, filling, with a great texture. Add they were quite quick to throw together. Bonus!

Cantaloupe & Cucumber Salad

This salad is a very welcome sign that my creativity in the kitchen (that has been sorely lacking lately) has returned!
I had some cooked quinoa and pearl barley in the fridge leftover from making tabbouleh, some juicy ripe cantaloupe that was begging to be eaten and just had this feeling that they could make up a great salad somehow.
I added some chopped cucumber, cilantro, sea salt, pepper, lime juice and a little olive oil and the result was the most refreshing summer salad.

Bean & Corn Salad

I know you probably won't believe me when I say I've been lacking some serious kitchen inspiration lately, but it's true!
Despite the stack of cookbooks on my dining table, hoards of bookmarked recipes on my computer, and a fridge full of local produce just begging to be eaten, I just can't seem to get excited about cooking lately.
Actually I should rephrase that. I haven't been excited about "everyday" cooking (such as making myself and my husband healthy and delicious lunches everyday). Planning meals for dinner has been less of a problem, thanks to cooking classes I've been taking with the Feisty Chef. But for the food we eat during the hours of 11am - 4pm, I've been drawing a blank.

Last night I finally mustered up the motivation to inspire myself and I weeded through recipes I've bookmarked for the last few years and found some new ones I haven't tried, namely this one.

Roasted Broccoli

For the last year or so I've been challenging myself to buy as much of my groceries locally as possible. In doing so I not only have a truer sense of the seasons here in Nova Scotia, but also a greater appreciation for my food. After suffering through a winter with fairly limited produce I promised myself I'd enjoy all that spring and summer have to offer by eating a wide variety of local produce. So what's a gal to do with produce she's not crazy about? Find a way to love it!

Broccoli is one of those things that just never stood out to me as an exciting delicious vegetable. I've always thought of it as the sort of thing mums snuck into their kids food, was usually overcooked, and often smothered in cheese to make it more appealing.
This broccoli dish however, really pleasantly surprised me. I actually bought more broccoli again today because I can't wait to make it again!

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.

Tabbouleh

As soon as I saw fresh parsley at the farmers market this morning I knew dinner tonight would involve tabbouleh.
I had never made tabbouleh before last summer but now I think it's safe to say it's become one of my warm weather staple salads. Making this salad reminds me that in the last year I've really had some eye- opening moments about seasoning, and this salad was one of them.

Cashew Sweet Potato Burgers

My favourite restaurant in Calgary, "The Coup" serves these delectable Cashew Yam Burgers. But they're not made with yams. Why everyone and their mothers calls sweet potatoes "yams", is beyond me. The two words are not interchangeable. It's not like calling a couch a sofa, or calling pants slacks. These are two very different vegetables! Stop calling sweet potatoes yams!

Ok...now that I've ranted about boring specific details...
These burgers are truly delicious and deserve to be made. So please don't make me beg, just make them.

Peanut Satay Dragon Bowl

Finally another dish from my already weathered copy of "Meet the Coup Cooks" cookbook! The famous dragon bowls are easily one of our favourite dishes at The Coup in Calgary, and was the first meal we cooked once back in Halifax after our visit to the west. 

This dish has such a great staple sauce, that it allows for much creativity with the rest of the ingredients. 

Quinoa? Rice? Millet? Soba Noodles? Whatever. 

Red pepper? Zucchini? Kale? Peas? Spinach? Whatever!