Skewer Always on my Mind

Because I was going to be all by myself for dinner last night I had every intention of whipping together a smoothie. In fact, I was actually starting to look forward to it...that is until Francis had come home for dinner (I thought he was going to be studying at school all night).  I had just got back from the grocery store so I decided to whip up some delicious salmon and brown rice.

Skewer Alway on my Mind 

Eat Shrink and Be Merry

Ingredients

1/4 cup Lime juice
2 tbsp Minced cilantro
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Honey mustard (I used dijon mixed with honey)
1 tbsp Barbecue sauce (I used ketchup)
1 tsp Grated lime zest
1 tsp Minced garlic
1/4 tsp Each cumin, ground coriander, salt and black pepper
1 and 1/2 lb Boneless skinless salmon fillets, cut into chunks
Skewers

Preparation

Combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.

Place salmon chunks in a large, plastic bag along with marinade and seal bag. Turn several times to coat w marinade. Refrigerate for 30 mins. 

Preheat grill or broiler. Remove salmon from marinade and thread onto skewers. Coat grill rack or broiler pan with olive oil. Grill or broil for 3 to 4 minutes per side, brushing often with remaining marinade. Salmon should be slightly pink in the center.

This is on a salad plate...it really isn't the huge mound that it looks like. 

This morning I had a green monster smoothie, which I didn't take a picture of and by the time lunch rolled around I really wanted eggs.  I decided to make a frittata/omlette filled with spinach and light feta cheese, topped with chipotle salsa and cinnamon, raisin bread with hazelnuts, made in Qualicum Beach, BC.  It's made with spelt and kamut flour and is absolutely scrumptious toasted and topped with a little Earth Balance. Mmm... And no, it isn't as big a you think it is...again, it is on a salad plate. I really don't like eating off of huge plates because I never fill them and it is depressing for both my eyes AND my stomach...this way, I am tricking my brain and tummy into thinking it is getting more food! Man I'm smrt smart.

Okay, back to lesson planning and tea drinking!

Have a lovely Saturday night!

Amy

Quiche with Brown Rice Crust

A few nights ago my mom was flipping through the Eat, Shrink and Be Merry cookbook and came across an amazing recipe for a quiche.  It was the brown rice crust that sold us both.  After reading the ingredients I remembered that I had gone through a phase (surprise, surprise) where I made this quiche 3 or 4 times in a couple of weeks. It is easy, reheats well and is super scrumptious.

If you are interested in the recipe, leave a comment and i'll be sure to put it on here for ya!

On it's way to the oven...

Fresh out of the oven...

Served with fresh carrot sticks, mung bean quinoa salad (from Costco).

So so soooooooo good! It is seriously delicious.  Since I don't have my mom here in Victoria, I guess i'll have to make it myself...dang!

Have a great Friday!

Lovely Leftovers

A couple of days ago my mom, sister and I took a little trip down to Courtenay for lunch.  I hadn't been to the Atlas cafe in a couple of years, which is crazy considering it is in my top 3 favourite restaurants. I know what you're thinking...how have I survived the last 2 years right? Well, somehow I managed to survive, but that doesn't mean that I didn't miss it dearly.  I am glad that we have rekindled our romance...I promise to never let the spark die again, Atlas, you mean so much to me....

Because of my excitement, I completely forgot to take a picture of my meal, which is too bad considering their presentation is always so gorgeous.  But here is a picture of a quarter of my enchilada (I shared the half with my mom...lucky lady;) , made with black beans, sweet potato, other veggies I can't remember, cheese (a little too heavy on the cheese...my tummy wasn't very happy) and organic tofu, all wrapped up in a perfectly toasted curry tortilla.  Tomato rice, homemade tomato sauce and maybe a basil oil topped it off! Oh, and of a course...a little sour cream dealio on the side...not sure what it was but it was mighty tasty...definitely had some hot sauce in there!

...along with a mung bean and quinoa salad we picked up at Costco on our way home!

of course I added some fresh avocado and cherry tomatoes...

and had a delicious grape zevia on the side...and now i'm off to buy a couple packs of zevia because I have some coupons to use up! I love that excuse...

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Amy

Fancy meeting you here

Why hello there...fancy meeting you here! I know I haven't been around much lately and my posts have been nothing but sporadic...but I haven't been extremely motivated to take many pictures of my food mostly because they are repetitive, boring or they aren't even real meals...they are nothing exciting and definitely not post worthy. I wouldn't do that to you guys ;)

But I am going to try to post more regularly...that being said they might be shorter with less pictures, but I'm sure you all understand and may even enjoy it! Who knows..only time will tell!

Okay...so now onto the food...it is what we are here for after all!

Last summer my co-worker began talking about the Rebar miso soup she had been eating recently.  I completely forgot how much I used to love their miso soup so I decided to follow in her very fashionable footsteps and order one for myself. Man...it was just as good as I remembered it to be! The rest is pretty much history....I went through a phase where I ordered it quite often (it was quick, satisfying and very inexpensive), then I stopped...then I started to order it again...then I stopped and then about a week or two ago I decided to make it myself (I got the Rebar cookbook from my lovely sister this past Christmas).  I have made it about 5 times in the last week and a half...some may call it a slight obsession...I may or may not agree! Hey, at least it's healthy, right?

Last night...after talking to my mom about how yummy it is...we decided that's what we would have for dinner!

My version of the Rebar Miso Soup

all ingredients are approximate.  I didn't really measure them.  Definitely taste the broth after you have added the miso and it has melted. Add shoyu/tamari/soy sauce and more garlic powder from more flavour. 

3 cups water

2-4 tbsp shoyu/tamari/soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp-1 tbsp sesame oil, preferably toasted

1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

1 tsp garlic powder or 2 gloves garlic

1 block of organic firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Add these ingredients into a medium pot and simmer.  Once this becomes hot (don't allow it boil) add ~ 4 tbsp of genmai miso (made from brown rice - I prefer this one).  Also, important to note with miso is to not allow it to boil.  Once it boils it becomes too hot and all of the wonderful nutritional benefits are lost.

Add in about 3 stalks to green onions and about 3 cups of spinach (roughly chopped).  Cook for about 1-2 minutes and remove from heat.

Serve over top of buckwheat soba noodles, top with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!

A nice multi grain baguette served on the side...

and a beautiful salad made from local greens, topped with grape tomatoes, avocado and a drizzle of Little Creeks Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette. Mmm.... Such a satisfying and hearty meal!

As a side note...has anyone ever tried a shellac mani? I got one a few days ago and am absolutely in love with it!

Enjoy your funday Sunday! 

Amy

A whole lot of random...

My apologies in advance for my random post...but I've been extremely busy the past couple of weeks with school, so I haven't been making exciting meals and haven't been taking many pictures.  Any quick, easy, filling meals are what I've been after.  Fortunately I am a huge fan of quinoa! I've been making large batches of quinoa salad to have as an easy lunch/dinner.  It takes about 30 minutes to throw together, 20 of which are for the quinoa to cook.

This one includes red peppers, cucumber, grape tomatoes, red onion, fresh mint (please include this), roasted corn (roasted in the oven), olives, black beans and feta cheese.  Topped off with a simple vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, honey and lemon juice.  It's especially good when it has been sitting over night!

Delicious breakfast of oat bran, topped with fresh organic strawberries and cinnamon honey peanut butter (mix of PB2, water, cinnamon and honey - SO GOOD).

This past Saturday, Francis and I enjoyed a sushi lunch at one of our favourite spots in Victoria. It was a bit windy, but beautiful nonetheless.  I had a brown rice, vegetarian roll and it was awesome!

Seriously beautiful.

I decided to get up early (surprise surprise) and get a head start on a nice breakfast for Francis and I.  Since we both had a longggg day of homework ahead of us, a nice big breakfast was the perfect start to our day.

In comes Chai Spiced Pancakes...yes, you heard that right!

Chai Spiced Pancakes:

adapted from joythebaker.com

2 eggs

2 cups flour (I used all purpose, just for Francis...I will use spelt next time)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

healthy pinch of ground cloves

scant 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (or a dash of freshly ground black pepper)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup brewed black chai tea

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled (I used olive oil margarine - was out of earth balance)

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, chai tea, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. 

Step 2: Heat pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spray with cooking spray. 

Step 3: Pour roughly 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. 

To be super indulgent, because of course it is the weekend top with earth balance or butter of choice pure maple syrup. Next time I am going to try making a greek yogurt sauce and add fresh fruit. I just wasn't very patient, obviously...

**Note: Put cooked pancakes on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve. My Oma has done this since I was a little girl and I always love to do it because it reminds me of my childhood and having sleepovers at my Oma and Opa's house!**  

Oh, and this makes a LOT of pancakes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing considering they are just as tasty cold, topped with a little nut butter ;)

Well, that's it for the night. Now go on, and make this pancakes :)

The Birthday Goods

Well...we all know it's been awhile since I've blogged and well, I really don't have a great excuse. I have been taking pictures but have been too busy to post. But enough excuses...onto the goods...

When I went home for a visit a couple of weeks ago my family and I (mom, dad and sister) went up to Mt. Washington for a weekend of fun in the snow!

The first morning we were there we had a delicious bowl of scottish oats, made with soy milk, bananas, topped with delicious berries. Coffee with a splash of bailey's on the side. Nothing like a little bailey's in a warm drink on a cold winter morning.

It snowed a good 2 feet while we were there...we actually got caught in a snow storm while snow shoeing... and it took us about 4 hours to get back to the lodge. Fun...but a little bit scary since we couldn't really see anything through the snow! We got back to our condo at around 4:00 pm and were pretty much ready for bed...

View from our condo!

For dinner my mom made a delicious scallop dish with lemon and white wine. Unforunately, I was in charge of the grocery shopping and packing...and I forgot salad dressing. Oh well..at least some of us like hummus as their salad dressing (aka ME). My dad suggested drizzling the juice from the scallops on top of our greens. Um...I think we're okay Dad...but thanks for the suggestion :)

A few days after I got back to Vic it was my birthday! I was a little nervous this year because Francis was going to be away...my friends were either working or busy...and kids are on spring break so I didn't even have any volunteering. I was going to be all alone. However, both of my parents were lovely enough to come down for the day and spend it with me! I am beyond lucky! I definitely missed having Francis and my sister there though...but I still had a great time.

Because Francis was leaving early Weds morning (my birthday) for playoffs (which, the VIKES WON!!!!!) we decided to go out for a nice celebratory dinner at Il Terazzo. If you haven't been there...I urge you to go as soon as possible. The atmosphere, food, service...EVERYTHING...is always perfect!

I had salmon coated in crushed almonds, topped with mango salsa, on top of french lentils. Buttermilk potatoes on the side. This was SUCH a big portion...I took half of it home. Unfortunately salmon doesn't reheat very well.

And now for one of my favourite meals of the year! My birthday breakfast at Blue Fox. I had a veggie migas with a fruit salsa, fruit salad, fried banana and apple cinnamon raison toast. Oh my god...this was probably the largest portion of food I have EVER been served. I definitely couldn't finish this...but I put a huge dent in it. It kept me full and satisfied for most of the day. My mom, dad and I spent most of the day inside shopping (the weather was cold, rainy and just plain awful) and then relaxed at home with a cup of tea.

Note the beautiful runner my mom got me! It's now on my dresser...a much more practical place to have it

A little while later my mom and I (my dad had gone over to Vancouver in the early afternoon) decided, well actually I decided (because I was the birthday girl :)) to go to Rebar for dinner. I order the special which included tofu, peanut sauce, veggies and rice. It was pretty tasty, not the best thing I've ever had though. I took about half of it home and had it for lunch the next day! I also got half of my mom enchilada's that I had for dinner the next night! I LOVE LEFTOVERS!

Overall it was a really great birthday and I was happy to spend it with people who mean so much to me. As always though, I was extremely sad to see my parents as well as my birthday come and go. 

Comforting Classic

This past week I got a strong desire to have gravy.  Before becoming a vegetarian I absolutely loved gravy! I mean, common, who doesn't? It is SO delicious.  So I immediately found a recipe for a vegan gravy that would satisfy all of my cravings!


Comforting Vegan Gravy


1/2 tsp olive oil
2 cups chopped sweet onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tsp dried/fresh herb of choice (rosemary would be delicious but I used thyme)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbsp tamari
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
freshly ground pepper and salt


Instructions


1) Saute onions and garlic in oil over medium heat.  About 5 minutes.
2) Add sliced mushrooms, sauté for 12 minutes or longer, stirring as necessary. Stir in herbs, nutritional yeast and soy sauce (tamari).  Cook for a few minutes.
3) In a small bowl whisk together broth and cornstarch until climbs are gone.  Stir into the mushroom mixture.  Stir in a vegetable such as spinach or kale (optional).  Cook for another 5-6 minutes or so until slightly thickened.  Serve over top grain of choice!

Let's just say this picture doesn't do this dish any justice.  It was absolutely amazing.  

Rich and comforting. Just what the doctor ordered :)

Now onto last nights dinner....

My mom made baked tofu.  She dipped chunks of tofu in egg and then a bread crumb mixture with parmesan cheese, baked it and then topped it with tomato sauce and a bit more parm.  Baked for another 15 minutes or so.  If you are interested in the exact recipe please let me know and i'll get it for ya ;) Trust me...you're gonna want it!

Bean salad on the side.

And steamed kale, carrots and peas!

This was beyond delicious! Thanks for making such a yummy dinner Mom :) Always nice to have someone cook for you...the food always seems to taste just a little bit better ;)