hey, goodlooking

I've really been getting the hang of working full time...and it's only 2 more weeks before I go back to my slacker life of working from home. I've got my daily routine pretty much set and I've discovered that when I don't have too much freelance work to do in the evenings, I pretty much have my old life back. It's a good feeling even if it only means that I now have time to cook proper meals, tidy up my desk space and make it to the gym. I don't want to spend my precious evening hours searching for recipes or running out to the store to get ingredients so I just fell back on the old standbys. However, a trip to the farmer's market this past weekend gave me some new inspiration and so far, I've been cooking up a storm!

Sometimes the most comforting food doesn't end up looking so pretty, but when you can turn a few ordinary ingredients into a colourful dish full of texture and flavour, well, you've pretty much got it made. Tonight's dinner had colour, texture and flavour to spare. It not only was easy on the eyes but it's simple to prepare on the most hectic of days. Substitute ingredients as you wish.

pasta primavera
1 400g bag of spinach & cheese ravioli (frozen)
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large handfuls of green beans, broken in half
3 T olive oil
1 t chili flakes
1 large pinch of dried basil
salt & pepper
parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions in salted water. Shortly before the pasta is finished cooking, add in the green beans and cook until bright green and tender-crisp. Reserve some of the pasta water for the sauce, but drain the pasta and beans and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large cast iron pan, heat olive oil and add garlic and onion until translucent and fragrant. Add the celery, red pepper and zucchini along with the red pepper flakes and basil. Add salt and pepper. Stir about for a couple of minutes until the vegetables soften slightly. Add in the ravioli and green beans along with some of the reserved pasta water (a quarter of a cup should be good, but add more if necessary). Toss everything about and serve with a bit of grated parmesan cheese.

hey, goodlooking

I've really been getting the hang of working full time...and it's only 2 more weeks before I go back to my slacker life of working from home. I've got my daily routine pretty much set and I've discovered that when I don't have too much freelance work to do in the evenings, I pretty much have my old life back. It's a good feeling even if it only means that I now have time to cook proper meals, tidy up my desk space and make it to the gym. I don't want to spend my precious evening hours searching for recipes or running out to the store to get ingredients so I just fell back on the old standbys. However, a trip to the farmer's market this past weekend gave me some new inspiration and so far, I've been cooking up a storm!

Sometimes the most comforting food doesn't end up looking so pretty, but when you can turn a few ordinary ingredients into a colourful dish full of texture and flavour, well, you've pretty much got it made. Tonight's dinner had colour, texture and flavour to spare. It not only was easy on the eyes but it's simple to prepare on the most hectic of days. Substitute ingredients as you wish.

pasta primavera
1 400g bag of spinach & cheese ravioli (frozen)
1 small zucchini, diced
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large handfuls of green beans, broken in half
3 T olive oil
1 t chili flakes
1 large pinch of dried basil
salt & pepper
parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions in salted water. Shortly before the pasta is finished cooking, add in the green beans and cook until bright green and tender-crisp. Reserve some of the pasta water for the sauce, but drain the pasta and beans and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a large cast iron pan, heat olive oil and add garlic and onion until translucent and fragrant. Add the celery, red pepper and zucchini along with the red pepper flakes and basil. Add salt and pepper. Stir about for a couple of minutes until the vegetables soften slightly. Add in the ravioli and green beans along with some of the reserved pasta water (a quarter of a cup should be good, but add more if necessary). Toss everything about and serve with a bit of grated parmesan cheese.

a fishy feast

Last night we wasted our evening by watching the horrible Woody Allen "thriller" Match Point which we borrowed from the library. We may never get those 2 hours back, but at least we had some delicious dinner settling in our bellies. Dinner was a fish dish so full of savory flavour that throughout the meal was complete and utter silence. Even Cornelius didn't mind digging around the olives because everything was so tasty. Normally, I cook fish either in an Asian style with soy sauce and ginger or panfried with a cornmeal crust, so this was a bit different but it was simple and something I'll definitely try again. Plus, it was a one dish meal with everything baked on a foil-lined tray for super easy clean up. As well, this meal could easily be turned into a vegetarian one dish feast by getting rid of the fish and throwing in some chunks of zucchini, yams and eggplant instead. What's not to love?

roasted fish with rosemary, olives and vegetables
2 large potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
1 small onion, quartered
4 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 t dried rosemary (plus additional sprinkle for fish)
2 T olive oil
1 t coarse salt
pepper to taste
1/4 c green spicy olives
1 T capers
2 filets of fish
juice of half a lemon

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a foil-lined walled cookie sheet, evenly line the pan with the cubed potatoes and large onion chunks. Drizzle with half of the olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper and toss everything around with your hands to coat. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes until starting to brown.

2. On a plate, season the fish and the cherry tomatoes with salt and pepper and a bit of rosemary and coat with the remaining olive oil. Use your hands to make sure everything is covered with the oil and spice.

3. Push the potatoes to one side of the cookie sheet and place the fish and the tomatoes on the other side. Fill in remaining gaps with olives and capers. Squeeze lemon juice onto the fish and tomatoes. Return tray to oven for another 20 minutes or so, until fish is cooked and tomatoes are roasted and wrinkled. Transfer onto plates and serve.

the small joys

I've totally been craving Shepard's Pie, or pretty much anything that comes from the oven all toasty with childhood memories. It's too hot for that now, but the days are getting shorter and summer is coming to an end (it really hurt me to say that!) and soon enough it will be time for Shepard's Pie and soups and all those other comforting foods. Last night I wanted all those cozy feelings of childhood but without the heat of the oven, and so dinner was a simple veggie burrito. Burritos don't hold any childhood memories for me since I had never even heard of salsa or burritos or refried beans as a child - a true shame. I don't have any photographic evidence of this meal (it was that good) and it was so easy to prepare that putting a recipe this dead simple on this blog seems kind of silly. But sometimes that is just how it goes.


And how about a little self promotion? Well, I've started a new blog in addition to this one. Yikes! It's not really food related, nor is it solely about shopping or crafts (tho there is some of that too). It's just a way for me to not lose track of the little things I find along the way. The small joys, is just that. Random small things I find along the way that I'd like to keep close to my heart. Anway, just a little invite to take a peek and say hello.

bean & veggie burrito
1 can of refried beans
1 t olive oil
salt
1 package of Yves Veggie Ground Round "Chicken"
1/4 c chili powder
1/2 c salsa plus extra for topping
1 onion, sliced into matchsticks
1 green pepper, sliced into matchsticks
flour tortillas
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
hot sauce

1. In a cast iron pan, heat up olive oil and add green peppers and onions and salt. Stir occassionally and add in some hot sauce if you wish. When it's all roasted and slightly charred, it's done.

2. Meanwhile, in a small pot, heat up the can of refried beans. About 5 minutes or so should do it.

3. Meanwhile again, heat up a larger fry pan, add a drop of olive oil and in the ground veggie "chicken". Stir and and in the chili powder. Mix until well combined and heated through.

4. Heat up tortillas one at a time over the gas flame of your stovetop. If you dont have a gas stove, heating in the microwave is fine. Add the toppings along with some extra salsa and grated cheese to the tortilla, roll it up with your prefered method and eat up.

summer in a bowl

It is HOTT outside! It rarely gets all humid and sticky like it does out east, but right now Vancouver is going through a little heatwave and I'm not used to all this humidity. Cooking just isn't an option. Yesterday we were invited to a bbq and I decided to whip up a salad. Unfortunately, I wasn't very inspired to make anything new (I blame the heat), but somehow after checking out what the local market had out for sale, I knew I couldn't let all that natual goodness go to waste. Armed with green beans, fresh corn on the cob, cucumbers, parsley and other yummy vegetables, I whipped up a salad that is the epitomy of summer in a bowl. Colourful, crisp, fresh and healthy, this salad was a delicious barbeque accompaniment and I'll definitely be making this again.

The key to this salad is to keep everything bike sized. Not only does it make the salad look extra pretty, but it makes for a tastier mouthful!

colourful chopped vegetable salad
1 lb green beans, chopped
1 bunch of radishes, sliced into discs
1 green onions, sliced
2 tomatos, seeded and chopped
1/2 english cucumber, chopped
2 ears of corn
1 orange pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 t cider vinegar
1 t honey
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans. Blanch until bright green and tender-crisp, about 1 minute. Drain and add to ice water to cool. Place green beans into bowl. With a sharp knife, remove the kernels from the corn cob and blanch for 2 minutes in salted water. Drain and cool. Add corn to bowl. Add remaining vegetables and parsley and mix.

2. Make dressing. Combine lemon juice, honey, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Mix until thickened.

3. Toss dressing into salad and serve immediately.