Autumn Panzanella

I know it's not autumn but once you try this salad you won't care that it's not season appropriate! (Well who does care when the food is good?) I'd never had panzanella (bread salad) before trying this recipe. The idea of always sounded kind of strange to me, plus I hate soggy bread so I didn't like the idea of putting dressing on a bread. But! How things changed once I tried this recipe. It's now one of my favourite meals! I'm so in love with the dressing - it tastes like stuffing with thyme, herbes de provence, sage and garlic. I love the acidity of the lemon juice and cider vinegar. I love the bits of roasted sweet potatoes and onions, chopped tomatoes and chickpeas. The original recipe calls for Parmesan cheese which I tried the first time but I think it's just as good without so I don't usually add it.

Happy early Easter! At the request of my mom, I'm going to attempt making hot cross buns for the first time. If you have a good recipe, please share!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Broccoli Slaw
French Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Portabello Salad with Mustard Dressing

Autumn Panzanella
Adapted from Phoo-D

Serves 4 as a main course or 8-10 as a side salad

Be sure to allow the finished dish to sit for an hour before serving. This is necessary for the flavors to fully develop, otherwise the bread will not have time to absorb the dressing and may taste rather bland.

Salad
10 cups cubed whole wheat bread (cut into 1" pieces) (Ashley note: I use whole wheat baguettes usually but use what you like.)
1 cup diced sweet potato (about 1 medium)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2" wedges
2 cups diced fresh tomato (or a 14oz high quality can, drained)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, cooked

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon herbes de provence

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, with a rack in the middle. Line a large rimmed baking pan with foil, and evenly spread the bread, sweet potato, and onion across the sheet. Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil over the baking pan, and then toss all ingredients so they are evenly coated with oil. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring the contents occasionally, until they are evenly toasted and the vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile, assemble the dressing. Place olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sage, thyme, vinegar, salt, pepper, and herbes de provence in a blender. Blend in quick five second bursts, until the garlic is emulsified and the ingredients are well combined.

Once the bread and vegetables are toasted, place them in a large bowl along with the diced tomatoes, grated Parmesan (optional), chickpeas, and dressing. Gently toss all ingredients until they are well combined and the bread is evenly coated with dressing.

Cover the salad, and let it sit at room temperature for an hour, which will give the bread time to absorb the flavors of the salad. Once the flavors have melded together nicely, taste the salad to see if it needs any additional salt, pepper, or apple cider vinegar. Adjust seasonings to your taste, and serve.

Sun-Dried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins

Happy new year everyone!! Did anyone make new years resolutions/goals? I made a list of about 10-15 things I want to do in 2010. A few of them are join Toastmasters, donate blood and take swing dancing lessons! Some of my goals I need to make more concrete like eat healthier and reduce stress.

I've been neglecting my blog recently but hopefully will get back into it soon. Only a few days left of vacation then back to school on Monday! Yikes. Anyway, these sun dried tomato cottage cheese muffins were quite yummy and are good for a snack or for breakfast. These muffins really stuck to the muffin tin (as you can kind of see in the back of the photo) so I very highly recommend you use baking cups, unlike I did.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Savoury Green Onion Ricotta Muffins
Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins
Cheddar & Dill Beer Bread Rolls

Sun-Dried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

The recipe requires very finely ground almonds, which you can buy or do yourself. I ground the almonds with the 1/4 cup flour to try and minimize the chance of almond butter being created!

Makes 10-11 muffins

1 cup plain cottage cheese (low-fat is fine)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup almonds, very finely ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (Ashley note: If using dried and not in oil, rehydrate in boiling water first.)
2 tbsp freeze dried basil (Ashley note: Original recipe calls for 1/4 cup fresh. You could also use 2-4 tsp dried.)
1/4 cup water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a muffin pan with medium-sized paper baking cups, you'll need nine of them.

Put the cottage cheese into a bowl with all but 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, water, and eggs, and season with salt, then mix all together.

Spoon the mixture into the muffing cups 3/4 full, scatter with the remaining Parmesan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set, risen, and golden brown. Serve as hot or at room temperature.

Tomato and Corn Pie

I would have no reservations going as far as to say that this pie is one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. Maybe a tomato and corn pie doesn't sound that good but oh it really really is. My boyfriend and I were fighting over who got to eat the leftovers and who was eating bigger pieces. And instead of the traditional pie crust, it's made with a biscuit style crust. So very delicious.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Squash & Aged White Cheddar Tart with Sage and Roasted Garlic Custard
Chayote and Corn Enchiladas
Feta and Ricotta Cheese Pie

Tomato and Corn Pie
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted from Gourmet, August 2009

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 pounds tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (thawed), coarsely chopped by hand or lightly puréed in a food processor, divided
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil, divided
1 green onion, finely chopped, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
7 ounces (1 3/4 cups) coarsely grated sharp Cheddar, divided

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball.

Divide dough in half and roll out one piece on a well-floured counter into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Transfer the dough into a 9" pie plate carefully (you can wrap it around a rolling pin or fold it gently into quarters.) Pat the dough in with your fingers trim any overhang. Put the second half of the dough in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Preheat oven to 400F with rack in middle. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick and, if desired, gently remove seeds and extra juices. Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 of the green onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, green onions, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Do ahead: Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warm, about 30 minutes.

Mediterranean Pepper Salad

I'm still eating my daily salad for the salad challenge and will post a roundup of the past week on Sunday. But for now I will post about this other really yummy salad as I want to make sure I get in on Jacqueline and Lisa's No Croutons Required pepper challenge!

Since it's been so hot here I've been craving salads a lot so I've gone through many different salad recipes over the last while. This one is a definite favourite. I've made it 3 times so far (which is a lot for me) and plan to make it many many more times. I've always wanted to make Greek salad at home but never knew how (which sounds kind of ridiculous because really, how hard is it?) - and now I feel like I've found it. Though it doesn't have any oregano, and Greek salad doesn't seem to usually have peppers. I liked eating a big bowl of this with a savoury muffin for a meal. And this salad has also made me realize how much I prefer cubes of feta to crumbles. With cubes you get a nice bite of flavourful feta - versus crumbles where you can barely taste it unless you add a ton.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
French Barley Salad
Tabbouleh
Warm Vegetable Salad with Sesame-Maple Dressing
Santa Fe Pasta Salad

Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 4 meal size servings.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tsp salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 a red onion, cut into a 1/2-inch dice (use less if your onion is huge)
3 bell peppers, your choice of colors (I used one red, orange and yellow)
4 roma tomatoes (or 1 cup grape tomatoes)
1/2 long english cucumber
1/4-pound firm feta cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted sliced kalamata olives
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Swish together the red wine vinegar, water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set it aside.

Meanwhile, time to practice your knife skills. Core and seed your bell peppers and chop them into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly-sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta and olives in a large bowl.

By now, your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixture. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Toss evenly and serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours.

Salad Challenge Day 2 & 3 - The Diva Salad

Last night's salad was called the "diva salad" and I found the recipe in Fresh at Home. I've only made a few things from this cookbook but I think with its salads, noodle dishes, rice bowls and other delicious healthy things it will fast become a favourite. The diva had romaine lettuce, potato wedges (you're supposed to roast the potato yourself but we have these yummy frozen seasoned ones so just used those), capers, sun dried tomatoes, red onion, avocado and creamy dill dressing - with another piece of jalapeno cheddar cornbread. I was really interested in the creamy dill dressing because it uses firm tofu, onions, dill, garlic, dijon, vinegar and some oil. It was pretty good and something different, and I loved that the dressing contains so much protein (because of the tofu). But it was impossible (at least with my food processor) to get a smooth non lumpy dressing. It was kind of like ricotta. This salad was really filling and very satisfying.

Tonight's salad used up last night's creamy dill dressing. We used romaine and red leaf lettuce, red bell pepper, olives, red onion, green onions, feta, and homemade garlic oregano bread crumbs. The bread crumbs were super delicious and definitely were an integral part of the salad!

The Diva Salad
Adapted from Fresh at Home

As I mentioned, we used some frozen seasoned potato wedges. But I'll write out the recipe as is. Next time I'll add more capers, more onion, and cut the sun dried tomatoes into bigger pieces because I couldn't really taste them.
Serves 2

8 frozen potato wedges (or make your own potato wedges)
6 cups mixed lettuce greens
2 tbsp capers, drained
1/2 batch Creamy Dill Dressing (recipe below)
6 sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated if dried, sliced thinly
2 thin slices red onion
1 ripe avocado, sliced

Salad
1. Toss lettuce greens and capers with creamy dill dressing. (I didn't do this and realized afterwards that I really should have.) Divide between 2 salad bowls.

2. Top with sun dried tomatoes, red onion and avocado.

3. Arrange potato wedges vertically around edges of salad and serve.

Creamy Dill Dressing
Adapted from Fresh at Home

3 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
1 cooking onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 cups chopped firm tofu (1 package)
1 tbsp dried dillweed
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dijon mustard (Ashley note: I love mustard so I'd add more next time.)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
filtered water (optional)

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a skillet over medium heat.

2. Saute the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened. Set aside and let cool.

3. Put onion/garlic mixture, remaining olive oil, tofu, dillweed, salt, mustard and vinegar in a blender and process until smooth. Add water if needed for a smooth consistency.

Spaghetti All'Arrabbiata with Crispy Garlic Crumbs

I've always preferred white/cream sauces to red sauces. I like rose sauces (a mix of red and white) but just never found a red sauce that I liked. But then I tried out this recipe and I actually quite like it. It's simple and easy to make, uses basic ingredients and tastes yummy! You don't have to make the crispy garlic crumbs but they are certainly delicious!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Asparagus and Feta Pasta
Fresh Pear and Curry Pasta
Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce
Artichoke Rotini Pasta

Spaghetti All'Arrabbiata with Crispy Garlic Crumbs
Adapted from Rebar

1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3/4 tsp salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp red chile flakes, or more to taste
1 cup red wine
28 oz can whole or diced tomatoes (Ashley note: I use diced.)
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
10 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped (Ashley note: I think I used about 1 tbsp freeze dried basil?)
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
375 g whole wheat spaghetti
Crispy Garlic Crumbs (recipe below)

Heat the saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat until a piece of onion sizzles on contact. Saute onion with 1/2 tsp salt for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, bay leaves, chile flakes and saute another 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine and let it reduce until thick and syrupy. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, basil, pepper and remaining salt. Simmer gently, partially covered, for up to one hour. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on to boil to cook the pasta.

To serve, cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Toss with half of the arrabbiata sauce and transfer toa serving dish. Serve remaining sauce on the side along with grated Parmesan, chopped fresh basil and crispy garlic breadcrumbs to sprinkle on top.

Crispy Garlic Crumbs
1 cup fresh whole wheat breadcrumbs (about 2 pieces of bread)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake in a 325F oven until golden and crispy (about 10 minutes).

Spicy Indian Chickpeas/Chana Masala

As I've mentioned before, I'm not the biggest fan of beans, though I try to eat them at least somewhat regularly. Indian cooking has really helped with that as there are so many yummy spices and things added to them to make them so very delicious, like in this dish. What's also helped with my bean eating are the dishes that Lisa (of Lisa's Kitchen) makes! This is one that she suggested I try when I was looking to cook more Indian food, and I've defnitely fallen in love with it. It's intensely flavoured, for the most part uses pantry staples (assuming mustard seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom pods are pantry staples for you of course ;) ), and most importantly makes me look forward to eating beans. It definitely falls into the category of dishes to make again and again. I've also recently purchased a few Indian cookbooks (660 Curries, Indian in 6, and 5 Spices, 50 Dishes) so expect more Indian recipes from me!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Chickpea Cutlets with Mustard Sauce
Middle Eastern Chickpea Soup
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Artichoke Rotini Pasta

Spicy Indian Chickpeas/Chana Masala
Adapted from Lisa's Kitchen

My adaptations were to make it less spicy, use less lemon, and not add the cinnamon stick.

1 1/4 cups of dried chickpeas
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
5 green or black cardamom pods
2 bay leaves

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 tablespoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 teaspoon of turmeric

2 finely chopped hot red and green chilies
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 - 2 inch piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped

2 medium-large tomatoes, finely diced
juice from half of one small lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon of garam masala

Soak the chickpeas overnight in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 - 2 hours or until the chickpeas are buttersoft. Drain well and set aside.

Heat the butter and oil in a large pot. When hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Stir and fry until the mustard seeds begin to pop and the cumin seeds begin to brown.

Throw in the onions, and stir and fry until they begin to brown. Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne and turmeric to the pan and stir until the onions are well coated with the spices - about 1 minute. Then, add the fresh chilies, garlic and ginger. Stir and fry for a few minutes.

Next, add the tomatoes, half of the lemon juice and cook to thicken, about 10 minutes. Put the chickpeas into the tomato mixture, add the salt, some black pepper, half of the parsley, the remaining lemon juice and the garam masala. Cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavours, adding a bit of water if necessary. The chickpeas should be fairly dry.

Remove the bay leaves if you are using whole ones, and the cinnamon stick. Stir in the remaining parsley and serve hot.

Asparagus and Feta Pasta

I think this is the first recipe I'm posting from New Vegetarian Cuisine. I bought this book some time ago but never got around to trying out any recipes. I've started cooking out of it more though and while not all the recipes are keepers, some of them are. And the thing I like about the cookbook is that most of the recipes are healthy, relatively easy to make, and use easy to find ingredients.

This is one of my new favourite dishes, so please don't be put off by the less than stellar photo of it! The "sauce" has so much flavour (and I say "sauce" because it's not really saucey but it does coat the pasta). It's made of a delicious combination of sun dried tomatoes, feta, parsley, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, capers, oregano and pepper. You can easily sub in broccoli or any other vegetable for the asparagus (though asparagus is a favourite of mine so I won't be subbing anything in until asparagus goes out of season!), and you can use whatever pasta you want, though I'd recommend something that can catch this type of sauce well like spaghetti, fettucine or the suggested cavatelli. I'm submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, being hosted this week by I'm a Food Blog.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce
Santa Fe Pasta Salad
Artichoke Rotini Pasta
Soba Noodles with Zucchini Ribbons

My Abby. <3

Asparagus and Feta Pasta
Adapted from New Vegetarian Cuisine

The original recipe calls for more pasta and less asparagus but I like my dishes more heavy on the veggies so I adjusted it as such.

Serves 3-4

10 sun dried tomatoes
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 ounces feta cheese
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp black pepper
9 oz whole wheat spaghetti
20 thin asparagus spears, cut into 2" pieces

1. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes and water. Let stand for 2 minutes. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid.

2. Transfer the tomatoes to a food processor. Add the parsley and process until coarsely chopped.

3. Crumble the feta into a large serving bowl; drizzle with the vinegar and oil. Sprinkle with the capers, oregano and pepper. Stir in the tomato mixture.

4. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Add the asparagus in the last minute to parboil it. Drain.

5. Transfer the pasta and asparagus to the serving bowl. Toss with the tomato mixture and the rserved tomato soaking liquid; mix well.

Spaghetti and Beanballs with Onion & Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce

Let's start this off by saying that I don't like red sauce or meatballs (when I used to eat meat). So what compelled me to choose this recipe that combines spaghetti with red sauce AND beanballs (a vegetarian version of meatballs)? Well I was curious. Maybe I'd like the beanballs and find a yummy new protein source to add to dishes. Maybe I'd finally find a red sauce that I could eat and love (without adding cream or lots of cheese). Well I found neither. But I do want to share these recipes with you because I think there are many of you out there that would love to try out these beanballs (which had lots of flavour - maybe bordering on too much even) and my boyfriend was in love with the sauce, so maybe you'd like it too.

The sauce is a simple red sauce, which I added 2 roasted garlic bulbs to (one garlic bulb ended up with much softer cloves I could mash up and mix more easily into the sauce while the other bulb was a bit more firm so you got a mix of roasted garlic flavour in the sauce combined with bites of yummy roasted garlic), and sauteed onions (which I wanted to be caramelized but I'm always reluctant to add too much butter or oil so they weren't as deliciously caramelized as they could have been). The sauce was a bit thick, and probably would've benefited from the addition of a good amount of red wine, and a sprinkling of fresh cut herbs (basil and oregano, my favourite) once served.

As for the beanballs, the texture was not what falafel-like as I'd expected (mmm falafel) but more soft like a mix between a falafel and a dough ball. You could double the batch and freeze up whatever you don't eat for a quick and healthy snack, or to add to whatever else you're making.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi
Soba Noodles with Zucchini Ribbons
Hummus
Santa Fe Pasta Salad

Spaghetti and Beanballs with Onion & Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Veganomicon

The first thing you want to do is start roasting the garlic bulbs, as this takes at least 45 minutes. Then I'd sautee the onions, start the sauce. Add the onions and garlic to the sauce when they're done. Meanwhile, start on the beanballs (while the sauce and onions are cooking away). Once the beanballs are in the oven, put on a large pot of water to boil for the spaghetti.

Serves 3-4

1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti

For the beanballs
20 oz can (about 3 cups) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp steak sauce
1 tsbp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp grated lemon zest (optional, because I couldn't taste it)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme

For the roasted garlic & onion tomato sauce
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic bulbs, roasted*
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp oil

Preheat the oven to 375F for the beanballs.

Make the onion & roasted garlic tomato sauce
Make sure you've roasted your garlic! Now you have to squeeze out all the cloves. It's your choice to add the cloves whole to the sauce, or mash them up and stir them in (or do a bit of both as I did).

Take out a frying pan (for sauteeing the onions) and a saucepan (for the sauce) and put both on medium-low heat. Put the oil in the frying pan for the onions, and add the onions. Then start on the sauce. Add crushed tomatoes, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic bulbs. Cover, and raise the heat a bit to bring to a simmer. Simmer for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are soft and/or caramelized, add them to the sauce. Don't worry about the sauce sitting for longer than 15 minutes.

Make the beanballs
Mash the kidney beans in a mixing bowl until no whole beans are left. You don't want them to be completely smooth, you should still be able to recognize that they are kidney beans. Add the soy sauce, steak sauce, olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, bread crumbs, wheat gluten, and herbs, and use a fork to mix everything together. Use your hands to knead the mixture for about a minute, until everything is really well combined and firm.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, a silpat, or oil. Roll the bean mixture into walnut-size balls. (My note: The book says you should get 12 to 15, I got at least 20 and even then I thought they might be a bit big.) Place the balls on the baking sheet as you go.

Put a large pot of water on the stove and start boiling the water for the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti, so it should be done by about the time the beanballs come out of the oven.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip them and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. (My note: If you want you can fry them, but for the sake of being healthy, baking is a much better option.)

Put everything together
Once the spaghetti is drained, toss it with the tomato sauce. Either add the beanballs now and mix it all together, or you can dish out the spaghetti and then place some beanballs on top.

*To roast garlic bulbs, slice off the top of the garlic bulb to expose most of the cloves. Cover in tinfoil and cook in a 375F oven for 45-55 minutes, or until soft.

Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup

I'm submitting this soup to Food Blogga's Beautiful Bones event. Since May is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, Susan is hosting this event to promote awareness about osteoporosis. Check out her post which mentions the risk factors and many examples of calcium rich foods. I had no idea that tomatoes and spices have calcium! Anyway, the calcium rich foods my soup has are lentils, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, and potatoes.

This soup is good, filling, healthy and I plan to make it again! The flavour combination of cumin, coriander and lentils was really good. For a while now, I've been really hooked on red split lentils (which cook really fast and are so delicious). I haven't ventured out and tried many other types of lentils though, which I should.

Other soups I've made:
Baked Bean Soup
Corn Chowder
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special

1 1/2 cups dried red split lentils, rinsed
6 cups water
1 tsp oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 fresh chile, seeded and finely minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 potato, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3 cups (28 oz can) undrained canned chopped tomatoes
3/4 tsp salt

In a nonreactive soup pot, bring the lentils and water to a boil; then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium saucepan and saute the onions, garlic, and chile for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, coriander and cumin and saute for another minute, stirring to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the lentils are tender, stir the canned tomatoes into the soup pot. Add the salt and sauteed vegetables. Cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender. If you like, take 2 cups of the soup out and puree them, then add back to the soup.

Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad

I'm currently loving the interesting and different salads in Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special, and their Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad is no exception. I wasn't sure what the marinade would taste like and I was a bit wary of the fennel seeds, but wow I cannot believe how good it smelled as the vegetables were roasting with the marinade. What a wonderful combination of flavours!

The original recipe called for double the amount of vegetables (which is why there's 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a cucumber in my version), but I halved it because I wanted to add barley to make it a more substantial meal. Feel free to double the veggies and omit the barley if that's what you'd prefer. I also added the walnuts and sunflower seeds for some delicious nutrition. I ate the salad at room temperature the first time and it was good, but when I had it the next day after it had time to sit in the fridge and the flavours had mingled, it was so much more delicious. I really loved the combination of roasted veggies with raw cucumber and tomato, plus the marinade was so good.

Balkan Roasted Vegetable Salad
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special)

1/2 cup raw barley (pearl or pot)
2 cups water

Marinade
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil*
1 to 1/2 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Vegetables
1 sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, trimmed and halved (quartered or cut into 8 if large)
1 tomato
1/2 a cucumber

1/2 cup grated feta
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 500F.

Place the barley and water in a saucepan, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat until most of the water has been absorbed and the barley is soft, about 40 minutes. When the barley is tender, drain it in a colander.

While the barley is cooking, combine the marinade ingredients by whirling briefly in a blender or food processor, or by whisking them in a bowl. Set aside. On a large baking pan with raised sides, spread out the sweet potato, red pepper, onions, and mushrooms and drizzle with about 1/2 of the marinade. Right on the baking tray, toss the vegetables with the marinade until evenly coated. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.

While the vegetables roast, dice the tomatoes and cucumber.** Place them in a serving bowl. Add the drained barley. Drizzle with the remaining marinade and toss well. With a slotted spatula, transfer the roasted vegetables to the bowl and toss well.

Serve immediately, or at room temperature, or chilled. Top each portion with feta.

*I used freeze dried basil and I can't remember how much I put.
**The recipe suggests you peel and seed the cucumber, but I like eating the whole cucumber plus I don't want to throw good cucumber away! It's up to you what you want to do though.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salsa

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I really needed to make the effort to incorporate beans into my diet. Not only are they good for you but as a vegetarian, I think they should be included in at least a meal or two every week. Unfortunately up until this point, I have been a very bad bean fearing vegetarian. Because you see, I don't really love beans. The first bean dish that I liked was seven layer dip, but then the beans are covered by other delicious things like guacamole, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes and green onions. Then I discovered that I liked refried beans. But I haven't really explored the world of beans too much aside from that.

I've made a few dishes with chickpeas, though I don't really like chickpeas (aside from in hummus, delicious! - I still remember the time when I was on an airplane and my vegetarian meal was a bun with a few chickpeas in it...) I thought that if I made the beans from scratch (buy dried beans instead of canned), that might make the whole thing more exciting for me so I'd be looking forward to eating beans. I haven't done that yet, but I am becoming more accepting of beans. I think I need to find one or two kinds that I like and then find dishes that use them.

My issue with beans reminds me of Jeffrey Steingarten's book The Man Who Ate Everything. Great book by the way, highly recommend it. Anyway, he talks about how there were foods that he didn't like (I can't remember them now but I think one of them was Greek salad and possibly organ meats?). So what he did was he decided to expose himself to those foods enough, which resulted in him shedding his picky eater ways. Now in my head when I think of something I don't like but I know I should eat (ie. beans), I think of him and it makes it easier to know that one day I will like something I previously didn't.

Once I decided I needed to eat more beans, I started looking through my cookbooks' indexes to find something tasty. One of the first things I saw caught my eye: sweet potato and black bean salsa. Sweet potatoes are one of my favourite veggies (or technically tubers?) and one of my favourite things in general to eat, so how could I go wrong? And then I read the description above the recipe, which said "great for Halloween!" (since black beans = black, sweet potato = orange) and I was totally sold. (Halloween and the month leading up to it, the time of year, all the decorations, the spooky stories, and all of that wonderful stuff are all my favourite things.)

I had read through the entire recipe before going out to buy ingredients, but when I started making it, I completely forgot that I was going to half it (since it makes I think it was 7 cups of salsa!) That is an absolute ton of salsa for one person to eat. Luckily other people liked it so I constantly told them to eat it. I'm actually amazed that we got through the whole thing. Mostly I used the salsa to make quesadillas (just with the salsa and some cheese). So delicious. Other people wished it was spicier, and I would've been okay with that but I didn't have a problem with it the way it was. I was scared that the sweet potato would be too mushy once it was cooked and chopped but it held up just fine. The addition of pumpkin seeds was also festive, and nutritious! I've only made salsa a couple of times before and I haven't yet made a more traditional salsa. I think I'm scared of messing it up since I love salsa so much. I would definitely make this salsa again though, and surprisingly I wished that there were more beans in the salsa!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Salsa
(adapted from Entertaining for A Veggie Planet)

Makes 7 cups

2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2), peeled & quartered
2 1/4 cups finely chopped tomatoes
1 13-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup fresh lime juice*
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until just tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and allow to cool.

2. While waiting for the sweet potatoes to cool, put together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Once the sweet potatoes are cool, finely chop them and add them to everything else. Mix well.

*For some reason the recipe says this is 6 limes but for me it was 2.

Most Delicious Salsa

I've eyed the recipe in the Rebar cookbook for Parmesan corn risotto cakes many times. Of course this was always at times of the year when there was no fresh corn to be had. Finally it happened where I looked at the recipe and I knew I could get fresh corn. I set out to make these one day for lunch for a friend and myself, but without a lot of foresight. The risotto needs time to completely cool before it can be made into cakes. I spread it out on a cookie sheet and put it in the fridge (then was scared that that was the reason our fridge broke but no it wasn't) hoping it would cool down fast enough but it just didn't really work. It was really difficult to shape the corn risotto into balls (oh and did I mention that I completely forgot to add the Parmesan, it still tasted good though!) The next day when I had leftovers, I just took them to work instead of trying to make them into cakes again.

You can really see here how the risotto didn't shape very well into patties.

The risotto is made with corn stock (made using fresh ears of corn that have had the kernels sliced off), shaped into balls, covered in cornmeal, then pan fried. And of course you add the freshly cut corn kernels to the risotto. I had no idea how delicious fresh raw corn is when cut off the cob (and hopefully this is something that's okay to eat and not going to screw up my digestive system or something). The taste of the risotto was good, and the crispy cornmeal bits on the outside were good too. I have definitely discovered that I do not enjoy shaping things into patties and pan frying them though - unless the things I'm pan frying are really going to stick together. One time I tried to make potato patties but I must have let the potatoes boil too long because the patties were too moist - or maybe I should've just added some flour or bread crumbs to them. I really love the idea of risotto balls or risotto cakes (one time I saw Emeril using leftover risotto to make risotto balls that he stuck a piece of cheese in the middle of, then deep fried), so I'd like to say that I'd try it again. But if nothing else, the corn risotto was good on its own (with or without the Parmesan!)

Anyway, it was the grape tomato basil salsa that really stole the show here. I've seen the recipe before and thought I'd like to try it, but salsa was one of the many things I feared making (along with pie crusts savoury and sweet), and it requires fresh basil so I'd prefer to make it in the summer when basil is cheap. (Though now that I know how delicious it is, I'd like to make it all year round.) It was very strange that I had all the ingredients in the house to make this salsa (which was the salsa suggested to go with the Parmesan corn risotto cakes), because I don't usually have grape tomatoes or basil in the house. I'm extremely happy that I did though because this salsa is amazing. Truly truly amazing and so delicious. I will be making it again and again. (Which reminds me that I should make a list somewhere of all my favourite food so I have this wonderful master list to refer to.) There's balsamic vinegar in the salsa which seemed different because I've never had vinegar in a salsa (to my knowledge), but it was oh so good.

I served the cakes and salsa with sauteed zucchini on the side - local yellow zucchini at that. I was very excited about this yellow zucchini, but for some reason it ended up tasting very odd to me, like seafood or something. Now I want to stay away from yellow zucchini, though I really should give it another chance.

I wasn't going to post the recipe for the Parmesan corn risotto cakes but then after I wrote all about it, I'm sure someone might be interested in it so I'll just post both recipes. Though if you're only going to make one of them, make the salsa! Make it soon while things are still in season. If you're looking for other risotto recipes, you can check out the baked sweet potato and beet risotto with peas I made.

Grape Tomato Salsa
(adapted from Rebar)

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
3 scallions, greens only, minced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Slice grape tomatoes into quarters. Toss with remaining ingredients, season to taste.

Parmesan Corn Risotto Cakes
(from Rebar)

Fresh corn stock
4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed and reserved
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
few springs fresh oregano, parsley or thyme
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp coarse salt
8 cups cold water

Risotto cakes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups fresh corn
1 cup white wine
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fine cornmeal

Note: Make the risotto the day before you want to make the cakes so the risotto has lots of time to cool completely. If you just want to eat the risotto and not make cakes, then obviously this doesn't apply.

1. Place stock into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. Strain to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. Strain and keep warm (you will need 4-5 cups in total).

2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy saucepan and saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add the rice and cook, stirring until the rice is well coated. Add the corn, season with salt and saute for several minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until asborbed. Now start adding warm corn stock, one cup at a time. Keep stirring and add the next cup of stock only when most of the liquid is absorbed. Now start adding warm corn stock, one cup at a time. Keep stirring and add the next cup of stock only when most of the liquid is basorbed and the rice still looks creamy. When the rice is tender but the grains still slightly firm to the bite, remove risotto from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. (Stop here if you are just making the risotto and not the cakes.) Season to taste and spraed the risotto into a baking pan to speed cooling. Cover and refrigerate.

3. To saute cakes, form the risotto into 2 1/2" round cakes and dredge in cornmeal. Fry in hot olive oil unitl golden and crispy on both sides.

My Search for a Delicious Red Sauce Begins

I've always always preferred white sauce to red sauce. Probably because red sauce usually has a bit of a tang or sourness to me, and white sauce is creamy and delicious. I do really like rose sauces though, which mix the two together for the best of both sauces. (Maybe I could add a touch of healthy buttermilk to the red sauce to give it a bit of creaminess, instead of heavy cream.) Anyway, I was recently reading in an Everyday Food magazine about how cooked tomatoes are especially good for you (I love them raw, but cooked in any way not so much). Cooked tomatoes have the antioxidant lycopene, which helps to protect against cancers among other things. Apparently you can also get this health benefit through ketchup (though I don't really recommend it being your primary source)!

I thought about how white sauces from a jar compared to homemade ones taste. They're really not even comparable actually. So I figured that the same might be true for red sauces. I tried out Giada de Laurentiis's basic marinara sauce, with a few slight modifications. The sauce tasted fine (and better with the addition of Parmesan and pine nuts), but I definitely don't love it yet. I think the key for me to enjoying red sauces is to put lots of other finely chopped vegetables in the sauce. Next time I'm going to try roasting the vegetables before adding them to the sauce, and perhaps adding lots of garlic. I also need to figure out which herb mix I like best - this time I used thyme, basil, oregano and rosemary.

Knowing that red sauce is healthy for me (and certainly a lot healthier than a white sauce) actually helps me to enjoy red sauces more. In that sense it's all in my head but in a good way. I will try making red sauce again (in smaller batches) to see if I can find something I truly love. I will keep using Giada's recipe as my guide, modifying things as I figure out what tastes best to me.

Marinara Sauce
(Adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis)

Makes about 2 quarts (8 cups);
1 quart will serve 4 over pasta as a first course

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

General note: I added thyme, basil, oregano and rosemary. Can't remember how much of each. Fresh herbs would be amazing I'm sure, but I used dried.

Sweet Potato Badi

I really like this meal because it's tasty and I feel like it's good for me (hopefully I'm not deluded in thinking that). It has red lentils, tomatoes, zucchini, peas, sweet potato, and yogurt to make it creamy. (And being a coconut fiend, I love that this main course incorporates dried shredded unsweetened coconut.) The sweet potato badi is filling and easy to make, so as you can see this dish is a keeper. This is actually only my second time making it, only because I like trying out new recipes. I can see it being a dish I fall back on when I don't want to think about my meals for the week.

The first time I made the recipe I thought it was really weird that I had mixed up this bowl of coconut, plain yogurt, minced chile peppers, and salt. Definitely not a combination I had encountered before. All the ingredients come together really well though, and it's good reheated too.

Sweet Potato Badi
(Adapted from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons)

Serves 4
Takes about 40 minutes to make.

1/2 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup raw red lentils
8 curry leaves or 1 tsp ground cumin
1 medium yellow, white or new potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes*
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup frozen baby peas
1/2 cup (175g) plain yogurt
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tsp salt

Brown rice

1. In a small, dry skillet, toast the coconut over medium heat, shaking the skillet often, until the coconut is uniformly light brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the coconut to a small bowl and set aside.

2. In the same skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the lentils and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring, until they begin to brown. Stir in the curry leaves or cumin. Add the potato, sweet potato, and 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and peas, and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender and the liquid is almost gone, about 10 minutes more. If the liquid evaporates too quickly, add a little more water. Remove from the heat.

3. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the toasted coconut and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the remaining coconut, yogurt, chiles, and salt, and whisk until smooth. Fold the yogurt mixture gently into the vegetables. Cover the skillet and let stand for a few minutes until warmed through. Transfer the badi to a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons coconut on top. Serve immediately with rice.

*I halved the recipe this time and just used the 1 sweet potato.
General note: If you're eating this with brown rice, start cooking the rice before you even start doing anything.

Spinach, Crunchy Chickpea & Hazelnut Ragout

Why why why did I choose to make this recipe? I don't usually like chickpeas (though I'm trying), hazelnuts are definitely not a favourite nut of mine, wilted spinach bothers me, raisins only belong in raisin bread (though I am accepting them into other places more often now) and cooked tomatoes are unappealing (yes they have more of the antioxidant lycopene than raw tomatoes but cooked tomatoes are all mushy). The one good thing was the idea of baking chickpeas until they're crispy - however here they just become mushy again when added to the ragout. Oh and I also got to experience the joy of roasting hazelnuts and then rubbing them like crazy to try and get the skins off - I was surprised at how much effort and time it took. But then I think there were some very toasty ones that I kept trying and trying to rub the skin off of (though it was already off).

Sometimes I choose to make recipes with ingredients that I don't like. I have no idea why I do this. Maybe because I'm flipping through a cookbook, looking for a recipe, and it just sounds intriguing and hey you never know, it could turn out to be something delicious that you never expected (characteristic of recipes in the Rebar cookbook). I guess there were just too many ingredients here that I don't like - I couldn't even finish the portion I had dished out for myself. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with this recipe, if you like these ingredients, but I never ever want to eat this meal again. If somebody really wants the recipe, I'll post it, but I don't see the point. The recipe is from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet (Didi Emmons). And I'm not saying that this is a bad cookbook, because I have found other recipes in it that I like (sweet potato badi, sesame tofu). I just also found a recipe I really didn't like... so much for being adventurous!