Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
Buns? Or rolls? Growing up we called them hamburger rolls. But now that we are more selective about what we eat, our favourites are these whole wheat sun dried tomato rolls.
They’re great on their own, or filled with cheese, hummus, or a burger. This morning we filled them with home grown greens (lettuce, mustard, romaine, beet, kale) and a couple of slices of tomato. Then we added a soft cooked egg, some sharp cheddar, and a smear of Dijon. Magic!
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Not wanting to heat up the kitchen to make bread, potatoes were just the ticket for today’s breakfast. We’re keeping an eye on the Open Championship while we catch up on our reading.
To make this: 
We grated two potatoes and chopped some greens, green onions, and herbs from our garden. In a well seasoned or nonstick pan with just a touch of olive oil, we cooked them until they were getting golden. A flip (messy is okay) and we added an egg for each. Once more over easy, we served them with some avocado and tomato, and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. They were, in a word, the breakfast of Champions.
“Eat your colours” is a great description to get kids to tuck in to a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eye appeal works just as well for us, the “grown-ups”. That’s the whole idea behind today’s Super Sesame Salmon Bowl. (A vegan version could just as easily feature sautéed mushrooms, chickpeas, or seitan).
2 c /500ml broccoli florets and stems cut in coins
1 c /250 ml sliced red cabbage
2 small avocados, diced
1 apricot, sliced
1 ripe tomato, sliced
2 t / 10 ml sesame oil
1t / 5 ml honey
15 ml sesame seeds
1 can salmon
For two, we steamed the broccoli for a minute or so in the microwave in a large bowl with the juice of a lemon. Put veggies (except avocado) in a bowl w the steamed broccoli. Drizzle with sesame oil, honey, and sprinkle in the seeds. Toss lightly.
Add the salmon and avocado and mix gently. Eat and enjoy.
English friends, full disclosure…not chips, or what you might call crisps. Fruit crisps are a summer dessert and breakfast staple. This one started with a layer of stewed rhubarb, although simply chopping with a little maple syrup would work well. Any summer fruit (or mixture) will do.
Put the fruit in a square pan. In a large bowl mix 1/4c melted butter, 1/4c maple syrup or brown sugar, 2c large flake rolled oats, and 1/3 c each of unsweetened coconut and walnuts. Change it up with nuts and seeds as you like. Add more oats until you have a consistency that’s not too wet and sprinkle over the fruit.
Bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes for pre-cooked fruit or up to an hour for fresh fruit, until topping is nicely browned and fruit is soft and bubbling. A glass pan lets you see what’s going on underneath.
We served ours with a tasty yogurt topping but whipped cream, ice cream or nothing at all and it would still be divine. (1/2 c fat free plain yogurt mixed w 1t maple syrup and 1/2t vanilla is plenty for two).
We’ve been in “use it up” mode at our house lately, finding creative ways to avoid the grocery store and use what’s on hand. This includes working down things we have in the freezer, in anticipation (hope?) of another season of garden bounty. Also, I was once again fooled into buying bananas. Here in Nova Scotia, even if the bananas look as green as grass, they won’t last more than a day or two. So here’s what we did – enough for last night’s dinner and lunch today…
Dice a large carrot, an onion, and two peeled white potatoes. Put on to boil in some vegetable broth, then simmer 10 minutes til tender.
Chop up half a pound or about 200g of fish, or use leftover cooked fish, and add to the veg along with a couple of large spoonfuls of dried unsweetened coconut and a tablespoon (15ml) of curry powder. Simmer until fish ish opaque and stir in a cup or so of milk.
Heat through…and here’s the surprise: in each bowl, slice in half a banana. Top with the soup and some chopped herbs – we have basil and Vietnamese coriander growing in the window.
It was delish, and we hope you enjoy it.
After a quick trip to the T-Dot to visit the kids and the in-laws, life is getting back to normal, food wise, at least. Yesterday I baked an updated version of English muffin loaf, with multigrain flour instead of white. It’s a fast mix, no kneading, and you can ignore it and do other chores during the rising. Here’s the recipe:
2c plus 1 T/265 ml multigrain flour (make your own or try a mix including bran, rye, oat, spelt, kamut, or cracked wheat, and flax or sesame seeds if you like)
1T/15 ml or 1 packet active dry yeast
2t/10ml brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup)
1c/250ml lukewarm 1% milk (any milk will work, including nut milk)
1/4t/2 ml baking soda
Mix dry ingredients (except soda) in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick batter, then for 15-20 seconds more until it looks stretchy.
Cover with a tea towel in a warm place and let rise for about 45 minutes til double.
Dissolve soda in 1T/15ml water and stir vigorously into batter, continuing just until it looks stretchy again.
Grease or spray an 8″ loaf pan. Scrape batter in, cover with towel and allow to rise again about 40 minutes.
Bake in a 375 oven 45-55 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from pan right away.
Tastes best when toasted.
We had ours with a pepper and mushroom omelette. The sun is finally doing its work and the snow is beginning to recede. Thankfully, we just might see spring after all.
The second best thing about St. Patrick’s Day is the day after. Assuming you paced yourself with the boiled dinner, there’s enough left for hash the next day. Cook it all up in a nonstick pan and top with an egg. If you’re worried about the calories, don’t forget: move more. Fortunately with yet another blizzard assaulting the city, we know exactly how we will be doing that.
Delicious! We are always inspired to find new ways to use things like a basic roasted turkey. Soups, salads, stews, chilis…it’s all good. Today’s lunch finished off the last of the bird.
For two:
1 package of romaine hearts – chop or leave whole and arrange on plates
Top with:
110g diced roast turkey
1 medium apple
For the dressing, mix:
10ml/2t anchovy paste
15ml/1T each Dijon and lemon juice
30ml/2T fat free plain yogurt
Drizzle over your salad and grate on a light serving of Parmesan cheese.
Glorious oatmeal! Somehow this delicious breakfast treat gained the nickname “Goatmeal” in our house…but whatever you call it, it is a warm, wonderful way to start the day. We’ve been to the gym and are safe inside observing the trees dance to another “weather event”. Hopefully Kid Two and his gal are safely ensconced in their home after a trip to Brazil.
Here’s how you make it:
In a micro-safe casserole (for two): 3/4c large flake rolled oats, 1T each raisins and walnuts, a good sprinkling of cinnamon, and a large Apple, diced. (Wash well and leave the skin on; we all need the fibre!). Microwave on your machine’s oatmeal cycle or 3 mins on high, 5 on medium. Stir and serve with milk and a little brown sugar (you won’t need much, and if you don’t want any, it is still delicious). Have a great day!
As the weather cools and many of our garden crops have been harvested, it can be easy to turn our thoughts to root vegetables. Well we should! But it isn’t too late for salad yet, even without cold frames. Yesterday we harvested delicious beets and Swiss chard, an we still have a healthy crop of mizuna. All of this was turned into today’s lunch salad, along with some chopped apple, walnuts, and feta cheese, held together with this vinaigrette (for two):
15ml/1T each of red wine vinegar, tarragon Dijon, and olive oil, whisked together. If you don’t have tarragon Dijon, use regular, and add some chopped herbs of your choice.
Tasty – although we admit if the chill stays in the air, we will turn our thoughts to soup!
