Tag: vegetarian

Cheddar Cornmeal Muffins

Photo of cheddar cornmeal muffins on a green and white antique plate

Today was the perfect day for soup and savoury muffins – our first snow of the year. I know, lots of you might think Canada is a winter wonderland, but on the west coast we rarely get snow, so Feb 2 is about right for a first snow of the year. Really wet snow.

I’ve made this recipe so many times, but it wasn’t until a group of friends celebrated CheddaFest* that I realized I really needed to share this with all of you. It whips up really quickly, and is the best accompaniment to soup. I often make a broccoli leek soup with them, something really light and healthy. These muffins make it a meal.

The recipe comes from FoolproofLiving.com. A few changes that I made to the original recipe: I didn’t add corn kernels or dill. I didn’t have whole wheat flour, so I made it with All Purpose, and used Oatmilk in place of whole milk. I have made this so many times, and never saw the instruction saying to let the batter rest for half an hour…. The recipe says to bake for 22-25 minutes, but mine was done at 20, even when I accidentally had the oven set for 400 degrees instead of 425.

These are best when they have been freshly baked. I’ve also eaten them after they had been sitting at room temperature for a few days, and they are still good, especially if warmed up a little! I usually freeze some of these, in a ziploc bag, and I try to remove as much air as I can.

Makes 12 muffins.

What you need:

  • 113 grams unsalted butter (or add less salt to the dry ingredients if you have salted butter
  • 3/4 cup milk (oatmilk is fine)
  • 2 eggs – room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 & 1/4 cups flour (AP or WW)
  • 1 cup cornmeal -fine grind
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup scallions/green onions, chopped
  • 1 cup aged Cheddar cheese

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
  2. Great the cheddar and chop the scallions.
  3. Melt and let the butter sit until it has cooled down.
  4. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
  5. Beat the eggs with a fork, then add the milk, honey, and cooled butter.
  6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold the ingredients together, but not completely.
  7. Add 3/4 of the cheddar and all of the scallions. Mix just until combined. Any more mixing will make the muffins tough.
  8. Use a large spoon to place batter into the muffin tin liners, trying to make sure they are about equal.
  9. Sprinkle remaining cheddar on top or each muffin.
  10. Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking around 20 minutes. They should be lightly browned, and an inserted toothpick should come out clean.
  11. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes, remove the muffins from the tin.
  12. Feel free to eat them while they are warm! If you want to freeze them, make sure they are completely cool first.

*CheddaFest is a holiday we made up when some friends were interested in learning some cooking and baking skills. And we all really needed to not think about work for a while!

Furikake Glazed Squash

photo of a plate of roasted squash with furikake sprinkled on top

Tonight I made this squash dish and I just had to share it! It was so delicious!

The squash is first tossed in a honey soy sauce glaze, then roasted in the oven. To serve it is sprinkled with Furikake. The combination is a winner! A hint of sweetness, saltiness, and nuttiness from the sesame seeds. Love. It.

If you’re unfamiliar with furikake, it is a Japanese condiment made of sesame seeds, seaweed, and sometimes dried fish. The one I bought, Ajishima Nori Komi Furikake, has no fish, and also no MSG which some brands contain. In a pinch you could fake this ingredient with some toasted sesame seeds and a little salt. Even better if you have some nori.

The recipe comes from Jess Damuck’s Health Nut: a Feel-Good Cookbook. It’s got plenty of yummy healthy recipes. I enjoyed the Seed Crackers, recipe which happen to be gluten-free.

This recipe is only half the original, as I only had one acorn squash. It is more than enough for two people as a side dish. I used less oil than the recipe called for.

What you need:

  • 1 delicata or acorn squash
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons-ish neutral oil
  • 1 tablespoon furikake

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Combine honey, soy sauce and oil in a large bowl. Taste and adjust to your liking.
  3. Halve the squash then cut into slices about 1cm thick.
  4. Toss the squash in the glaze and make sure it’s all coated. Place the squash on the lined baking pan, and add any remaining glaze.
  5. Roast the squash until it is tender, about 25 minutes. Flip the squash half way through the time.
  6. To serve, sprinkle with furikake.
  7. Enjoy!

Healthy One Pot Carrot Cabbage Tofu Meal with Lime and Peanuts: Nasi Goreng

This delicious recipe comes from Anna Jones’ cookbook One Pot, Pan, Planet; A greener way to cook for you, your family and the planet. Here’s a link to her website where you can find a lot more yummy recipes and info about her book.

Why this recipe, especially after my long hiatus from contributing to this blog? Well, delicious, healthy, meal in a bowl: those are my favourite dishes. Plus most of the ingredients are things I normally have in my kitchen, with the exception of the crispy shallots. I found some crispy onions at a Mediterranean store for about $5 – close enough for me!

The title of this recipe in the cookbook is “Carrot and Peanut Nasi Goreng,” but I wanted a title that explains a bit more about the recipe. I’d say the cabbage, tofu, and peanuts are the main features here, with lots of flavour from ginger, garlic, herbs, lime, and the sauce that gets drizzled on at the end. My guests liked that they could add as much of the toppings as they wanted – not everybody loves cilantro and hot sauce it seems . . . so they can choose what they want to add the theirs.

Was a hot summer day the best time to make this? Only if you love standing in front of a hot frying pan . . . with a big fan running at least.

Was my frying pan big enough for this recipe? Of course not, even though it’s a big pan . . . so I just stirred carefully when it was fully loaded.

I only made a few little changes to the recipe: I did not use the complete half of a cabbage because I just couldn’t fit it in the pan; maybe I was meant to use half a small cabbage. I also didn’t put in as much rice as the recipe asked for; the recipe asks for 350g cooked rice, and I started with 1/2 cup dry rice, so that would be a bit less than called for. I used tofu; tempeh is given as an alternative, but I really don’t like tempe, and I really enjoy tofu! I also wrapped my tofu in a towel for about an hour before using it, to soak up some of the water. I put in only a little chilli oil, but put a bowl of it on the table to drizzle on later, so everyone could choose their own spice level. I have a batch of Wil Yeung’s chilli oil, which I highly recommend. I used the 50/50 mix of honey and soy sauce instead of ketjap manis. I didn’t use the optional fried eggs. I always keep ginger in my freezer – so I have it when I need it, and because it is so easy to grate it when it is frozen.

This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and what you thought of it! I’d love to hear from you!

What you need:

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 200 grams firm or extra firm tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 small onion or 2 shallots
  • thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated (easiest to do this with frozen ginger)
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 300-350grams cooked basmati rice (cold, day old rice!)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon chilli oil or sambal oelek, depending on your heat tolerance
  • 2 carrots, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped (or other green veg of your choice)

For serving:

  • juice of 1 lime
  • small bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • 100 grams chopped peanuts
  • 2 spring/green onions, thinly sliced
  • crispy shallots or onions
  • 1 tablespoon ketjap manis OR 50/50 mix of soy sauce and honey
  • (optional 2 eggs for frying)

What you do:

  1. Begin by laying out all the ingredients you need and chopping all the vegetables up as listed in the ingredients.
  2. Heat a large frying pan over medium/high heat, adding a little oil. Fry the tofu (I did mine in 2 batches) for about 5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned. Remove these from the pan into a bowl for later.
  3. Turn the heat to medium and add a little more oil to pan. Fry the shallots until soft, taking care not to burn them. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for another minute. Add the turmeric and fry for another minute.
  4. Add the rice to the pan, then pour on the soy sauce and chilli oil, stirring to coat the rice.
  5. Add the grated carrot and chopped cabbage, frying for about 2 minutes.
  6. Add the tofu and continue to fry until everything is hot. If you choose to fry eggs for this dish, do that now in another pan.
  7. Squeeze the lime juice over the rice and vegetable mixture.
  8. To serve, spoon some ketjap manis/ soy and honey sauce, on each serving. Sprinkle on the cilantro, spring onions, peanuts and crispy onions. Add extra chilli oil if you like a bit more heat!
  9. Enjoy!! Please comment!!

Thanks to everyone who has been so patient in waiting for a blog post! I’ve had some incredibly busy years, completing a Masters degree while working a very full-time job. I got out of the habit of taking photos my new dishes, and sure didn’t have time to write up a blog posting. I also wondered if anybody is out there… I get a bunch of hits on my site, but very few people comment, so I sort of thought no one would really care if I quit this blog. I’m going to make an effort to post from time to time, so I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Garlicky Roasted Mushrooms and Brie

For Christmas Eve, we enjoyed this awesome roasted mushroom and cheese dish on slices of fresh baguette! It’s pretty quick to prepare, ready in around a half hour including baking time. It was so tasty, and felt quite indulgent! We also thought it would be great with just the mushrooms, so next time that’s probably what we will try.

The recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen website, a huge favourite of mine. Her printed cookbooks are great too! I made one change to the recipe: her version called for capers, but my Main Eater doesn’t enjoy capers so I substituted olives to provide that salty flavour. She suggests anchovies as a substitute, but those are also not a favourite here. I used a bit more garlic than the recipe called for, and served it with freshly sliced baguette instead of toasted baguette, just to keep it simple. I opted for Camembert, but gooey Brie would also be awesome!

This was way more than the two of us could eat, so it is safe to say this would be a good amount for an appetizer for four people.

Photo of a serving dish containing roasted mushrooms with a round of cheese in the centre, placed on a cutting board surrounded by slices of baguette.

What you need:

  • 1 lb mushrooms (I used Cremini and King Oyster)
  • 2 tablespoons minced olives (or capers)
  • 3-4 cloves minced garlic (not run through a garlic press)
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or less to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
  • juice of half a lemon (or less)
  • a few sprigs of parsley (garnish)
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme if you have it
  • 8 oz wheel of Brie or Camembert
  • baguette, sliced or toasted

What you do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. Break the mushrooms up into bite-sized pieces using your hands. I just cut the ends off the stalks first, then tore the mushrooms up.
  3. Mix together the mushrooms, olives, garlic, salt, oil and quite a bit of pepper in a baking dish, large enough that it will have enough room to add the cheese later.
  4. Cut the butter up into small chunks and sprinkle it over the mushroom mixture.
  5. Roast for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.
  6. While the mushrooms are in the oven, use a knife to score a circle in the top of the cheese, then remove the top of the cheese. This will allow for easier serving. (You CAN eat the rind).
  7. Push the mushrooms aside to make a space for the cheese. Place the cheese in the middle of the baking dish, place the fresh thyme on top of the cheese, then put it all back in the oven for about 10 minutes. The cheese should be melted, so if it’s not, you can give it a few more minutes in the oven.
  8. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the mushrooms and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately!

Cauliflower and Roasted Fennel Soup

cauliflower and roasted fennel soup - trust in kim

Well, I will definitely be making this soup again! The roasted fennel gives it some depth of flavour without tasting overly like anise.  It is smooth and creamy without any dairy or dairy substitutes.  You have the option of making it vegan, as the original recipe was, but I used chicken stock instead of vegetable.

The recipe is from Brian L. Patton’s Sexy Vegan Cookbook. I’m always happy to add healthy and delicious soups to my repertoire!

What you need:

1 fennel bulb

2 teaspoons olive oil + a little for roasting the fennel

1 cup chopped sweet onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 russet potato, peeled and cut into chunks of about 2 cm

3 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I needed more than this so I added some water bouillon)

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.  Cut the stalks off the fennel and set them aside.  Chop the fennel bulb in half and rub it with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then place cut-side down on a baking tray.  Roast the fennel for 30-40 minutes, or until browned and tender.  Remove from the oven and cut into large chunks.

2. While the fennel is roasting begin making the rest of the soup.  Heat a large pot on medium heat and add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil.  Add the onion, sliced fennel stalks and a pinch of salt.  Cook for 4-6 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another 4 minutes.  Add the potato, cauliflower and enough stock to cover the vegetables, and bring to a simmer. When the fennel is roasted, add it as well.  Cook until the cauliflower and potatoes are very tender.

3. Puree the soup (I used an immersion blender, but a food processor or blender work as well) until very smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Zucchini Linguini and Pesto

zucchini linguini and pesto - trust in kim

This one’s a raw recipe, excellent for using zucchini that will be coming up in your garden soon. It’s fresh and delicious, and really easy to make.  I serve it cold, but you could cook the zucchini in a little olive oil if you prefer.

What you need:

a young zucchini

1/4 cup very lightly toasted pine nuts

3/4 – 1 cup basil

1/2 clove of garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (I use lactose-free l’Ancetre brand)

olive oil

salt

What you do:

1.  Toast your pine nuts very lightly; you still want them to be creamy when you puree them.

2. Place the pine nuts, basil,  and garlic and a bit of salt in the food processor and add as much olive oil  as you need to make it smooth.  Then add the parmesan and give it one last whirl.  Add a bit more olive oil if you think it needs to be a little thinner.  Taste it and see if you need to add a little more salt. (You could also do this with by hand with a mortar and pestle.) This recipe makes enough pesto that you can save it for a pasta recipe, or freeze some for later.

3. Julienne the zucchini.  I don’t use the very inner part of the zucchini because it doesn’t hold together very well, so I just peel the whole thing with my julienne tool (see photo below).

4. Arrange the julienned zucchini on a plate and top it with some pesto, and you’re ready to dig in!

julienne peeler - trust in kim

julienne tool from Kuhn Rikon

 

Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad

Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad - trust in kim

Having a strong affection for roasted cauliflower and Middle Eastern foods, I adore this recipe.  I love a salad that has enough going on that it could be a light lunch.  This one has nuts to give it a bit of protein, and the yummy sweetness of the pomegranate.  Once you’ve got your cauliflower roasted, it is quick to make.  I kept it as leftovers for my lunch, but added the hazelnuts just before I ate it so they would retain their crunch.

The recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem cookbook – love this book! I was wary of the cinnamon and allspice, but I put them in anyways and the salad was delicious.

What you need:

1 head cauliflower, cut in florets

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 stalk celery, cut on an angle

5 tablespoons hazelnuts with skins on

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 of a pomegranate

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 & 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Heat the oven to 425F, then mix the cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and some pepper.  Spread on a roasting pan and roast in the top of the oven for 25-35 minutes. The cauliflower should have crispy edges and some if it should have turned brown. When it’s done, put the cauliflower in a large bowl and let it cool down.

2. Lower the oven temperature to 325F and roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 17 minutes. Let the nuts cool a little and then chop them coarsely.

3. Add the parsley and pomegranate to the cauliflower.

4. Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cinnamon, allspice, vinegar, maple syrup, and a little salt and pepper.  Combine, then pour over the salad.

5. I like to add the hazelnuts just before serving so they remain crunchy.  Serve at room temperature.

Cauliflower and Cannelini Bean Soup

Continuing my love affair with cauliflower, I wanted to make a soup that was creamy and dairy-free. Rather than using potato to add creaminess and thickness, I  pureed a can of cannelini beans.  Adding the beans for protein also made it into a soup I could use as my main dish for lunch.

Roasting cauliflower brings out its sweetness; if you’ve never roasted a cauliflower before, you’re going to want to give this a try, and you might become as addicted to it as I am.

I crisped some sage leafs as a garnish when I first served it, but for a subsequent serving fried up a little chorizo and arranged it on top.  Now I think a combination would probably be perfection.

trust in kim - cauliflower cannelini soup

What you need:

1 large cauliflower

1 garlic bulb

1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1 leek

4 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons fresh sage, plus more for garnishing

olive oil

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. As soon as you’ve turned it on you can toss in a bulb of garlic.  Just slice off the end, wrap it in foil and throw it in the oven.

2. Cut the cauliflower into florets and then cut the larger ones in half if you need to.  Roast for 25-40 minutes, or until the cauliflower has browned slightly.

3. While the cauliflower and garlic are roasting, heat the broth in a large pot.

4. Drain the cannelini beans and add them to the broth, and then add the sage.

5. Chop the leeks into rounds, rinse them, then add them to the broth.  Bring this to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.

6.  When the cauliflower is ready, add it to the broth.  The garlic should be ready when the cauliflower is done, so unwrap it from the foil and squeeze it into the pot as well.  Let this simmer for about 10 minutes.

7.  Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup for several minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

8.  For the garnish, heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan.  Add several sage leaves and fry them until they have crisped.  They can turn brown pretty quickly, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan while they are still green.  Arrange on top of each serving of soup.

This soup freezes well, so you can make a big batch to save for a rainy day.  It’ll warm you right up.

Green Salad with Beets and Mango

trust in kim - green salad with beets and mango

Here’s a simple salad with some tasty toppings and the amazing Glory dressing.  Easy, light, and scrumptious!

What you need:

mixed salad greens

a beet, finely grated

a mango

Glory dressing

plus anything else you’d like; nuts would be great, maybe some toasted pumpkin seeds

What you do:

1. Make the dressing ahead of time.

2. Put lots of salad greens on each plate, then toss with a little dressing.

3. Grate the beet right onto the salad until it looks like enough

4. Cut some slices of mango and place them on top.  Enjoy!

Whitewater Glory Salad Dressing

trust in kim - glory dressing

Yum! A friend recommended the Whitewater cookbook to me, so while waiting to get it out of the library, I did a search online.  I found this salad dressing recipe and made it up for my salad tonight.  I love the creaminess of it, and recall tasting a dressing like it once before in a restaurant, but couldn’t figure out how to replicate it.  I know that not everyone has nutritional yeast sitting around, but if you buy it you can also put it on popcorn (recipe to come!)

I find making salad dressing to be so easy, even one like this that requires a blender.  I like knowing exactly what is in the dressing, and I can add more or less of some ingredients if I want.  It always tastes better than the store-bought ones, doesn’t have preservatives in it,  and is way cheaper.

What you need (for a half recipe):

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon tahini

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

What you do:

1. Put all the ingredients except the oil into a blender and give it a good mix.  I used an immersion blender, so feel free to do the same.

2. In a steady slow stream, add the oil until it is all blended in.

Ready to go, although it’s great if you can let it sit a bit, or keep it in the fridge overnight.  A jar of it should last a few weeks in the fridge.