Flowfit

Who would have thought that mustard goes so well with salmon?  This is truly a great combo – one that can be prepared camping!  Well, that’s what my cooking facilities are like at the moment, so yours should turn out even better than mine!  Right?  The asparagus was cooked in a saute pan on my hot plate, while the salmon was cooked on the BBQ.

For the asparagus, simply wash and cut off hard ends.  Into a saute pan add, 1 tsp peanut oil, 1 tsp sesame oil and the asparagus.  Add some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and toss to combine.  Saute on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and squeeze lemon over asparagus and serve.

YUM!

I’m not going to type a formal recipe for the salmon… you’ll laugh, but I used what I had, and it worked, so I challenge you to do the same!  I used a squirt of plain ol’ yellow mustard, a dollop of whole grain mustard, another dollop of dijonaise and about 1tbsp of soy sauce and about 1tsp of sesame oil.  Add in some cracked pepper and a glug of peanut oil.  Mix all together, and pour over salmon, reserving a bit to add after salmon is cooked.  Grill for about 4 minutes per side.  Soooooo good!  The mustardy sesame sauce was amazing!

Double YUM!

We have WALLS!  And a ceiling! Tomorrow the flooring goes down – hooray!  What a difference walls can make! And the amazing thing? Sometimes you don’t know how bad something was until you change it – for us, that means insulation!!  WOW!  No more cold pockets.  Our house actually feels warmer!  Too warm in fact… we’ve been turning the heat off at night – it’s too warm!  Funny eh?

As I type, the walls are being painted as is the ceiling.  The pot lights are installed, and we had fun last night playing with all the dimmers.  This week is a full one – our floors (African walnut) will go down, the walls and ceiling will be completely painted and some of the cabinets will arrive!  Can’t wait to see it!  It’s amazing watching it all come to life.  So exciting!

Everyone knows chicken soup soothes the soul, but it also soothes what ails you.  Well, thanks to Alicia Silverstone, I’ve discovered that you don’t need chicken fat to create an equally delicious, nutritious and literally healing soup.  This soup was inspired by Alicia’s “Magical Healing Soup” from her book, The Kind Diet.  For me, this soup is never the same thing twice – if I have broccoli I add that, bok choy – awesome!  Just take a look and add whatever veggies you have on hand, keeping some colours in mind as you go.  Remember, each wonderful colour of vegetable has a different variety of minerals and nutrients!

Healing Soup:

• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 potatoes, chopped (I like to leave the peels on for extra texture)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower
• 1 cup chopped cabbage
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 2 cartons vegetable broth (or 6-8 cups broth of choice)
• 1 good sized piece of ginger (about 1 inch by 2 inches, cut into 3 pieces)
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Heat oils in heavy bottomed soup pot.  Add onions, celery and carrots and saute on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add remainder of vegetables (except spinach) and enough broth to completely cover vegetables.  Stir and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, add parsley, cilantro and ginger.  Simmer uncovered for 30 – 45 minutes.  I like my vegetables to still have a good firmness to them, but if you prefer them softer, cook a little longer.

Remove from heat, toss in spinach and lemon juice, stir, cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Time to go fishing!!

Remove parsley and cilantro with tongs.  Fish out ginger – biting into that wouldn’t be too nice.

Serve up steaming hot.  It’ll do ya good.

And it’ll also cure a hangover ;o)  Honest…

YUM!

I seem to have an over abundance of carrots!  They’ve been coming in my weekly Plan Box now for maybe three weeks straight.  One of my crisper drawers is literally FULL of carrots!  Time to get creative!  Here is the first of many deelish carrot recipes.  More to come…..

Enjoy!

French Carrots ala Lisa:

I call these French because of the butter and wine…. isn’t it the French that believe everything tastes better with butter and wine?  Julia Child maybe?  I”ll have to find the reference.  Regardless, these carrots are delicious, easy and bright – they keep their lovely orange-y colour and add punch to your dinner plate.

• 5-6 medium sized carrots
• 2 tbsp butter or replacement
• 1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp dry white wine (optional)
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• chopped fresh parsley
• kettle with hot water

Cut carrots how you like.  I like mine either in sticks or cut in half lengthwise and then cut again on a diagonal.  Then again, sometimes I like them cut into pretty little coins.  However you cut them is fine.

Heat butter and oil in saute pan, place carrots in pan and toss to coat.  Turn heat to medium, add about 1/4 cup of the hot water from kettle and wine if using.  Simmer and watch.  As the water evaporates, add more a bit at a time.  You have to keep your eye on these as they will burn if the water completely runs out. continue to cook uncovered for about 7-10 minutes.  Carrots should still be crisp tender…. and oh so yummy!  This is one of my favorite ways to prepare carrots – and my son gobbles them up like this!  And not to worry…. the alcohol from the wine will have evaporated itself away.  No worries.

Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

YUM!

Basa is one of my favorite fishes.  It holds up fairly well on the grill and remains moist no matter how you cook it.  I often use it in soups, but this time was inspired by my new favorite mustard – Maille Provencale.  Just opening the jar and taking a sniff made me feel like I was in France!

Basa Provincial:

• 4-6 Basa fillets
• 1/4 jar Maille Provinciale mustard (200 ml jar) – approximately 4 tbsp
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp prepared bbq sauce (strange I know, but trust me)
• 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• fresh cracked black pepper
• sea salt

Combine mustard, bbq sauce, oil, parsley and s&p in bowl.  Pat fist dry with paper towel.  Pour mixture over fish and cook on preheated grill for approximately 3-4 minutes per side (don’t worry too much if fish splits while turning – just go with it).  Remove from grill, cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

I served this fish with garlic and herb crostini and fresh greens.  YUM!

Last Sunday, I hosted our annual “Four Fathers” Father’s Day BBQ.  Since I was the only “vegan flirt” at the party, and was on a budget, I opted to serve grilled salmon and came up with this new recipe that was a HUGE hit!  Originally I was going to serve Veggie Burgers, but this was honestly WAY more cost effective.

I always liked the seafood available at Costco – I am in the process of researching where they source theirs.  I will let you know the details soon!  In the meantime, enjoy this incredible salmon.  I served it with Mango Salsa and green salad … what a great combination of flavours.  Enjoy!

Grilled Salmon for a Crowd:

Serves 10-12

• 2 whole sides Salmon (I buy mine at Costco – abt. 20.00 for package with 2)
• 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
• 4 tbsp light soy or tamari sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1/4 cup REAL maple syrup
• handful chopped fresh parsley
• 2 green onions, chopped
• fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

Cut salmon into 2 inch wide portions.  Place salmon in large casserole dish or lasagna pan.  In separate bowl, combine other ingredients.  Pour over salmon, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 8 hours ahead.

To grill –

Place salmon on preheated grill.  Cook 3-5 minutes per side, depending on BBQ.  Check for doneness by breaking piece off and looking at colour.  Should flake easily and be a consistent colour.  Remember, fish continutes to cook once removed from heat.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

YUM!

Serve with Mango Salsa