Flowfit

Greens greens, wonderful greens!  I love my Plan B fresh washed salad greens.  So tender and filled with goodness.

Although I LOVE salads, I have to admit, even I get bored after a while… so, when that happens and I have a fridge full of greens, I have to get creative! Changing up the flavours instantly reignites my taste buds.  Do the unexpected, add in some sweetness or a favourite marinade into your dressing…. you’ll be surprised how wonderful it can be!!

Lately, I have been loving the simplicity of a straight forward balsamic dressing.  Add in some strawberries, walnuts and dried cranberries, and presto!  Wonderful gourmet salad!  And if you want to go one step further… add in some fresh chevre (goats milk cheese).  DEE-LISH!

Basic Balsamic Dressing:

• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

That’s it!  Combine all ingredients and drizzle over salad.  YUM!

Salads aren’t the only place walnuts have appeared in my house lately.

Today they are just finishing up my BEAUTIFUL African walnut floors!

Even covered in dust they make me smile.

It’s really all starting to come together!

So exciting!!

Another favourite flavour combination for me, as always are the flavours of Asia.  Here is my favourite Asian inspired salad dressing -

Asian Vinagrette:

• 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 5 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tbsp honey or agave nectar

Combine all ingredients and drizzle over greens… I suggest adding a fruit (orange segments, thinly sliced apple, dried apricots, etc.) and nuts/seeds or dried noodles for crunch.  I also like to cut the veggies in long narrow shapes to give the salad more of an exotic feel.

YUM!

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!

This recipe was created in an attempt to send something for lunch that actually gets eaten!! Lately, my kids have decided that lunches are “yucky”. They are typically great eaters, so I wasn’t worried, just didn’t like the waste! This tortellini breaks away from the traditional Italian flavours and instead adopts more of an Asian flair.  It is super simple and hearty and best of all, makes enough to create a great quick and easy dinner too.

My kids are fine eating it at room temperature and love it if I send a little extra soy sauce on the side.  For dinner, I add steamed broccoli, bok choy and some of my Li Ju An Dipping Sauce!

Easy Breasy Tortellini

• 1 package frozen Tortellini (I use spinach and cheese)
• water for boiling
• good quality soy sauce or tamari sauce
• peanut or olive oil
• sesame oil
• 3 green onions, chopped on a diagonal
• 2 generous handfuls fresh sugar snap or snow peas, rough chopped
• sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Cook tortellini according to package directions.  Drain.  While tortellini is still hot, add green onions, snow peas, soy sauce and oils.  Gently combine.  Add pepper.  Easy breasy!! Serve immediately or refrigerate for ready made lunch or dinner.  YUM!

The first time I had this dish was in China Town in Toronto.  I was immediately struck by the simplicity and freshness and knew I needed to recreate it at home!  Asparagus is one of our families favorite green vegetables, which is a good thing as they are packed with Iron, Magnesium, Zinc and dietary fiber to name a few goodies.  You wouldn’t think protein when you think asparagus, but there are 5g of protein per one cup serving.  Not bad from a veggie eh?

Salt and Pepper Asparagus:

• 1 bunch asparagus, bottoms cut off and halved on an angle
• 1 tbsp peanut or olive oil
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sea salt
• fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
• 2 tsp dark sesame seeds

Heat oil in saute pan.  Toss in asparagus and stir to coat with oil.  Add salt and pepper and cook on med/high, stirring continually for 2 minutes.  When asparagus turns bright green, add soy sauce and 1 tbsp water, reduce heat and cover.  Cook for 2 minutes covered.  Remove lid, turn heat up again to evaporate any liquid.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.  And of course, a cilantro garnish to pretty it up.

YUM!