Beet Rösti, just a postlet

Well technically it is not called a rösti by it's creators, but Jewel-tone Pancakes. They are light and slightly sweet of taste. But they don't stay crisp very long, so keep them in the oven.

I have found that when grating beets - whether for salad, rösti or casserole - grated carrots go very well with them. And beets are so tasty! I love their color.

Fresh summer plate

Think of this as a flat, untossed, prettily placed salad.

I've got home-made humus, room-temperature quinoa, diced avocado, grated beet, cucumber, "heirloom" style tomatoes, lettuce and orange bell pepper.

Honestly, a pleasure to eat and to look at the colors. I bet if I put that picture upside down, you'd see a funny face.

A note about home-made humus
If you are a student, and you have a food precessor, making your own humus is not only more delicious, it becomes incredibly cheap and a standard food to eat. Eating it, for example, in wraps, in salad and as a snack. Chickpeas are high protein and high fiber, which means that they actually do fill you up and keep you going. Plus, when you make your own humus, you control what's in it. The secret to my humus: caramalized onions and garlic. That way, the flavor is a little less raw and the sweetness of the caramalized onions will help give it the extra yummy factor. Oh, add parsley too!

For those who it scares them to eat garlic because of bad breath: you are silly, garlic is probably one of the healthiest things to have everyday, and it's nothing brushing your teeth and eating gum won't get rid of. Also ginger is really good for you!! Your immune system will be thankful for you.

 Enjoy!!

Quinoa!

I made quinoa, zucchini and stuffed tomatoes for supper the other day.

I put mozzarella cheese and herbes de provence in the tomatoes, I peeled some zucchini slices and I roasted both in the oven. Take care that you watch your zucchini slices - they cook fast. And brush them with oil.

For the quinoa, I cooked it with stock to give it a little more body and color.

As for the funny nutty looking thing: chopped roasted pine nuts, chopped parsley and lemon zest. (loosely based off gremolata)

The tomatoes were really delicious!! ^___^

Cauliflower, my beloved secret weapon

Have you ever had cauliflower mash? I never had until last week. I hold no words (right now) to describe the most delicious flavor that I got out of the recipe I followed from my September issue of VegTimes. The special ingredient in the recipe is miso. Weird I know, but key in the comforting flavor.

Oh my gooooooood I'm still all in a daydream about it.

It's also a less starchy alternative to mashed potatoes. So rejoice diabetic people!!

Here, because of the flavor of miso, I paired the cauliflower mash with mirin and soy sauce.

p.s.: If you think I'm not having any protein in these meals, it's a lie!! I omitted to mention I added tofu with my cauliflower.

Steamed broccoli and zucchini with the heaven sauce

Stir fried zucchini and mushroom with the heaven sauce

Easy food!

You'll find that for lunch I usually like to make myself salad or stir fry. And that I'm crazy over soy sauce and mirin together. Mirin is sweet cooking wine made from rice. It is delicately sweet and paired with soy sauce makes that sweet & salty combination some of us often crave. It is heaven.

Vegetable gyoza with orange peppers and greenbeans

Really simple to make. Gyoza is a type of asian dumpling popular in japanese cuisine. These are frozen and I got them from the supermarket.
First, fry the gyoza. Once the bottom is golden, add water to the frying pan and cover to steam 3-4min. Set aside.
Second, fry minced ginger (if you like it) and vegetables. Add equal amounts of mirin and soy sauce to pan. Let the alcohol evaporate a little. Add the gyoza and cook a little more.

P.S.: When I say fry, I really mean put a touch of oil, not 3 tablespoons of oil.

Salad with black beans and avocado dressing

Ok so this salad might not look too appetizing because I didn't place the vegetables all nicely, but it's quite delicious.
The avocado dressing is a little spicy and gives a creamy guacamole-like flavor.
There's romain lettuce, grated carrots, tomatoes, black beans, cucumber, red and orange pepper. And probably other things. My salads are like tornados, they have a lot of things in them.

Yeah, so stir-frys and salads make great one dish meals when you are eating solo either for lunch or supper. You are obviously allowed to make them for other people too! ^__^ Share the joy!!

Black Bean Chili & Cornbread

Here's a lovely lunch, black-bean and cornbread style. That granola, by the way, is home made (with all kinds of healthy goodness - flaxseeds rich in omega3, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cranberries, dates and about half a dozen other ingredients)

 

Who said vegetable cutters were only for vegetables? I think those little things will come in handy!

I had 0% Greek Yogurt from Laliberté. You should try it! It's very thick and perfect for Tzaziki sauce. For those who have never made their own Tzaziki, there is nothing like using the real, fresh ingredients. 

Black Bean Chili: 

p.s.: I'm not sure if I'm suppose to call it a chili? Maybe it's more like a black bean stew.

makes 4 portions

1/3 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 zucchini, julienned

1 carrot, chopped

1/4 green pepper, chopped finely

1 tomato, chopped

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 tbsp ground cumin (or crushed cumin seeds)

1 pinch of ground coriander seeds

Hot sauce of your choice (you choose how much)

Enough water (or broth) for the chili to simmer 20-30min

1. Sweat onions in olive oil
2. Add spices and  garlic, sweat until fragrant
3. Add vegetables except the tomato, let that heat a minute
4. Add the beans, tomato and water
5. Simmer 20-30min

 If you find your chili to liquidy, you can thicken it (using arowroot powder or cornstarch for example).

Cornbread:

This cornbread recipe is really easy and speedy. I love it because it's mostly corn flour, there's not much fat or sugar.

Makes 12 regular muffins or 24 mini muffins
Preheat oven to 425°F

In one bowl, wisk:
2 cups corn flour (N.B: NOT CORN MEAL, I've always hated that stuff in muffins)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1-2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt

In another bowl, wisk:
1 egg
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup milk

1. Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ones, it's ok if it's still lumpy
2. Spoon mixture into the muffin baking things

Enjoy!! ^_____^

P.S.: Everything is Gluten-Free except for the granola, which has regular oatmeal. But seeing as I didn't give you the granola recipe it doesn't really make a difference.

My very second Bento

My sister got me a Bento Box as an early birthday present because I had been drooling over Bento&CO's beautiful supplies for the past 3 months.
(lfgjbrigresgbvdfjbsdf I want the entire webstore)



This is my second bento, the first one - yesterday's - was not fit for a photoshoot. As I write to you I'm enjoying my bento's delicious & adorable contents!!!

We went to Pacific Mall last Thursday in the hopes of getting some bento supplies. The only thing I found were some vegetable cutters. You can see the cute little zucchini flowers I made! Those one's were blanched in dashi but you could also coat them with egg, then bread crumbs and pan fry them in a little oil. So tasty! You could do that with asian eggplant too. The crispiness on the outside, the warm tenderness on the inside... urh so good.



Anyway, there are some pictures of tamago too! I forgot to put them in the Bento (and... there was no space left) I filled them with little pieces of (blanched) zucchini, carrot and red onion. I also mixed dried dashi with the raw eggs. The salesman at Sanko (my favorite grocery store ever) suggested I do that to give the eggs a smoky flavour. And sure enough super tasty addition.

By the way, tamago is a sort of rolled omelette, it's normal for the egg inside to be quite runny but if you don't like that, you can microwave it for a few seconds before cutting it.



The only thing I'd do different is the "apple-carrot" slaw. Which honestly does not at all look appetizing. Grating apple by hand = not good idea. I seasoned it with some rice vinegar and mapple syrup. If you want to make it, try chopping a crisp green apple instead of gratting it.



This second bento was really enjoyable and I recommend getting some multigrain rice, not only is the taste hearty but the color and texture of the grains are absolutely beautiful!