Monday 29 December 2014

Toasted Walnut and Beet Salad

     Beets are one of those vegetables that I don't often get to cook at home (mostly because I'm too lazy to clean them) but that I commonly eat when I am visiting my parents'. I've been in North Bay for just over a week and I think that we've had beetroots five times. So needless to say, we all love beets. 


     Beets are a carb-loaded winter vegetable that can be enjoyed boiled or roasted, hot or cold, plain or dressed. This salad isn't too sweet, and has a lot of zing! and crunch, walnuts are great for crunch.This salad can be made with roasted or boiled beets, it's completely up to you. If you are making a big batch of beets, you can also use plain leftover beets to make this salad.


Serves: 4-8

Ingredients


  • 6-8 medium beets, stems and ends removed
  • 3/4-1 cup (3 oz) walnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp dijon mustard, coarse or smooth
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp oregano
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

  1. Cook beetroot; while cooking you can prepare steps 3 and 5.
    • Roasted: wrap in tinfoil and bake at 400°F for about 60 minutes or until tender.
    • Boiled: cook beets in boiling water for about 60 minutes.
  2. Let the beets cool, then peel and cut into thick slices.
  3. Toast walnuts in the oven at 400°F for about 8 minutes on a baking sheet (or in a pan on low heat for 5 minutes).
  4. Slice onions and place in a small bowl to marinate for 10 minutes in the 3 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar.
  5. To prepare the dressing, whisk together all other ingredients in a small bowl. 
  6. When all ingredients are prepared, mixed together the beets, walnuts, onions (you can also add the leftover vinegar), and the dressing. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Serve cool or at room temperature along side your favourite main, I served mine with veggie pot pie

Wednesday 24 December 2014

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

     Christmas eve baking anyone? Why not some super moist ginger molasses cookies? 
I baked up a batch of these yesterday, along with a myriad of other goodies, and the house smelled wonderful! These molasses cookies have all the zestfulness they need, with all the chewiness you want. They are made with fresh ginger which really gives them a surprising zing and a real freshness. 


     There's really not much more I can say about these cookies. They're delicious, they stay soft and chewy for days, and I always eat them way too fast. I suggest making a double batch.


Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup margarine
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger, packed + 1 Tbsp water


Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda, and spices.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, cream together the margarine, sugar, molasses, ginger and water.
  4. Slowly incorporate the wet mixture into the dry until you've formed a crumbly mixture.
  5. Spoon out packed tablespoon-size portions of cookie dough and roll into balls.
  6. Roll the balls in sugar and place on your baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
Enjoy with a warm beverage next to warm fire (dreaming just a bit).

Thursday 18 December 2014

Baba Ghanoush

     As a vegan people are ALWAYS asking me what exactly I eat. And of course, whenever they ask me I always say the most boring things....pasta (although, I seriously eat a lot of pasta)...pizza....vegetables....and then, as I fail at saying anything inspiring, I might just refer them over to my blog. And then normally I get a response something along the lines of "Oh my gosh! that's vegan?! but it looks so tasty!" At this I usually laugh. Why would I eat something that doesn't taste good? Anyhoo, a couple weeks ago, I was at dinner at my friends' house and they asked what my favourite dip was. My answer: Baba ghanoush.


     Baba ghanoush, as it is most commonly known in the Americas, or mutabbal, is a deliciously rich and creamy dip made of roasted eggplant and garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and salt. This dip is usually served as an appetizer with pita bread or chips.


     I made some the other night for dinner, and ate about half the batch. I felt guilty for about one second and then remembered that it's pretty much all eggplant.
Might seem like a difficult dip to make, but most of the time you aren't active. So give it a try, I'm sure you'll love it!


Serves: 6-12 (appetizer servings)

Ingredients

  • 2 medium eggplants (about 3 pounds)
  • 1 head of garlic (trust me, it's not too much)
  • 1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 2 lemons, juiced or 5 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil + more for garnish
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • Scant 1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
  • Paprika (original or smoked), to garnish, about 1/4 tsp
  • Chopped parsley, to garnish


Preparation

  1. As your oven is preheating to 450°F (broiler), cut your eggplants in half lengthwise, sprinkle generously with salt, and let them sit for 20 to 30 minutes. This will reduce the natural bitterness of the eggplant, and although it is not necessary, sometimes you can get a particularly bitter fruit, especially off season, so I find it best to cover all my bases. 
  2. After about 25 minutes, you should see water droplets on the surface of your eggplant. Wipe the water off with a pepper towel, and place the eggplant face down on a baking sheet. Place your whole head of garlic next to the eggplant, and bake for 15-30 minutes under the broiler.
  3. When the eggplant is ready you should see the flesh pulling away from the skin (it will look wrinkly), and possibly some charring on the skin. The flesh should be soft and caramelized. If it looks light-coloured, pop it back in the oven. As for the garlic,when the oven smells garlicky, and the head of garlic collapses slightly when squeezed with tongues, it's ready to be taken out of the oven. 
  4. Place your eggplants in a bowl, and let sit for about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. A dark liquid will collect at the bottom, taste it, if it is bitter, you may want to remove some of it so that your baba ghanoush is not bitter (although, I have never had this problem).
  5. Deflesh you eggplants. My favourite tool for this job is a grapefruit spoon (yes, it has more than one use!), but a fork also works. Just hold your eggplant from the top and scrape the flesh down into the bowl. 
  6. Now squeeze the garlic cloves out of their casings and toss into the bowl of eggplant. 
  7. To your bowl of eggplant and garlic, add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin and salt.
  8. Purée with an immersion blender until smooth (or transfer to a food processor). 
  9. Let cool in the fridge for at least 10 minutes before garnishing. Garnish with a generous sprinkle of paprika (I particularly like smoked paprika in this dip), a drizzle of olive oil (the good stuff) and a bit of parsley (optional).
  10. Serve with pita bread, falafel, dippers or your favourite crackers.

Enjoy friends!

Monday 1 December 2014

And finally my logo is complete!

Happy December 1st everybody! As promised, I've made a few changes to the blog! 
It has been quite the process, so I included some of my work-in-progress pictures below (possibly so that you can just enjoy my shotty drawings :) ).










After a very long process of researching, doodling, planning, sketching and more, the new logo is finally complete! Check it out above! I want to give a shout out to Ryan and thank him for all his hard work (also happy 7 year anniversary!).

Feel free to tell me what you think about the changes and my new logo.
-K