Doing Valentine’s Mexican Style in a Canadian sorta way….

Oh Man! Bonnie Tyler may have sung, “I need a hero,” but I need a breather! I am actually listening to her as I type and it is pretty intense. A whopping 19 million others have clicked onto this video. I can’t even begin to imagine who they are, but I am sure they are all pretty cool. Happy Valentine’s! I don’t need a superman to sweep me off my feet, but I do need someone to rub them…Sean? He is actually out right now with a dear old friend he has not seen in probably 3 years, but my feet will await, slippers off with great anticipation. Today was a radically fun and dazey day. Sweet friends Ashley and Shaun would understand. We had a quite an evening last night, one in which records were played and talks of God, life, marriage, and pasts. We were all stunned and half asleep when we peered at the time and it whispered 2 AM. Wow. So, needless to say, I don’t have a clue what I packed in 1′s lunch this morning. I don’t know how I even got dressed, but life as a mom is not about standing around and asking questions, it is about getting the things that need to get done, done. I know she went to school with a lunch, what it had in it, I do not recall. Boys 2 and 3 had their haircuts late this afternoon, and as we left the salon, Sean asked what was for dinner. As I glanced at the clock in our car shouting 5 pm, I determined and willed for a spicy warm Mexican Valentine’s Dinner. Mmmmmm. I have been craving this for a week. Unfortunately my organic avocados couldn’t hang in there, so we did without them, but the meal was scrumptious none the less. We had 3 Cheese Nachos, Black Bean and Red Quinoa Salad, and cheesy refried beans!

Three Cheese Nachos

Ingredients:
Favorite Taco Chips
1 or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and seasoned (we used Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoning)
1 Red Pepper, cut in rings
1/2 Red onion, cut in rings
1/4 cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Salsa, optinal, on the side
Sour Cream, optional, on the side
Guacamole, optional, on the side

How To Play:
Turn oven on to Broil. Spread the taco chips evenly in a large 9 X 12 baking dish. Layer with shredded cooked chicken, peppers, onions, and cheeses. Top with chopped Cilantro. Place in hot oven for 5-10 minutes, checking often to make sure the taco chips don’t burn, but cheese is melted, perhaps even bubbling. I do realize that this may be a lot of cheese, we, or perhaps it is more so me, loves cheese, so please tweak the ingredients to your preference!

Serve with refried beans (heated with shredded cheese and salt), salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and Black Bean Red Quinoa Salad.

Enjoy.

Living the life we choose

Because I am so awesome with keeping up with things…I was pleasantly surprised to come across this re-vitalizing salad I made the other month, which never made it to the cyber side of this life. It has been so busy. We all, in this day in age, are busy, I get that. Within the business of life, I am beginning to see how it could be so easy to choose a bag of potato chips, down a few tim-bits, pop a burrito in the microwave, or just order in, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Please know I am not complaining, I am stating the obvious, I live the life I choose. So, yea, it might take a bit more time, more prep, more organization, less time watching the Bachelor (yay for PVR), and so forth, however in the long run, I rather this colorful concoction of beauty over a bag of potato chippers any day, come on, grains, seeds, beans, and leaves, it does the body good, in more ways than one!

Adzuki Bean & Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

From Oh She Glows

Ingredients:
For the tabbouleh (makes 5.5-6 cups):

1/2 cup dry adzuki beans (or use 1.5 cups cooked beans)*
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (makes 2.5 cups cooked)
1 cup packed fresh parsley, thick stems removed and minced
1/2 cup packed fresh Cilantro, thick stems removed and minced
2 small tomatoes, chopped (makes 1 & 1/4 cups)
3 large green onions, chopped
Herbamare or fine grain sea salt & black pepper, to taste

For the dressing (makes 2/3 cup):

1/3 cup + (1 tbsp, optional) red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Herbamare/fine grain sea salt & ground pepper, to taste
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

How To Play:
1. Adzuki beans: Soak the dry beans overnight in water. After soaking, drain and rinse the beans and then place back into the pot with new water, covering the beans with water by about 2-3 inches. Bring water to a boil and then reduce heat to low-medium, simmering for about 35-45 minutes. Watch closely and add more water if necessary. Alternatively, you can use canned beans for a time-saver.

2. Sweet potato: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice a sweet potato into 1cm rounds. Lay flat on baking sheet at bake for about 15 minutes each side, watching closely so it doesn’t burn.

3. Quinoa: Add 3/4 cup of dry quinoa and about 1 & 1/4 cups water in a medium-sized pot. Stir. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and cover with lid, simmering for about 15-20 minutes and watching closely. Quinoa will be light and fluffy when ready and the water will be absorbed.

4. Dressing: Whisk together all dressing ingredients and season to taste. Or feel free to use a mini processor if you have one.

5. Tabbouleh: Combine the drained & cooked beans, quinoa, and chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Pour on the entire amount of dressing and stir well. Season to taste. Makes about 5.5-6 cups and should keep for at least a few days in the fridge.

6. To assemble the salad: Add 1 cup shredded kale onto a plate or large bowl. Spoon on 1.5 cups of tabbouleh on top. Garnish with goji berries, pepita and hemp seeds, and a handful of sprouts (all optional). Finally, add the grilled or baked sweet potato rounds on the side.

Enjoy.

For Lizzie, It’s Amore

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore” Ok, so these lyrics have never really made sense to me, but I can see Cher and Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck, with his wooden hand making pizzas, a big sweaty mess, and Cher with her absolute coolness, being well, Cher. I used to love that movie. I just realized that it is kind of an odd movie to like when one is 8, perhaps it was just the song, It’s Amore, by Dean Martin, that stood out to me the most. There is something about Pizza. I love it. I loved my mom’s homemade pizza growing up. When we lived in Europe, there was not a word to describe the thrill my taste buds endured. Absolute wonder. I am excited to share a pizza dough recipe that was introduced to me when I visited my lovely friend Renata and her family in the state of WA. This recipe is from a blog called Not Without Salt. I find making this dough therapeutic. The kids love watching the process as well, especially when it rises and we poof it down. There is an atmosphere of begging, “Can I touch the dough, can I touch the dough.” Seriously, it is the most exciting thing for them. The most freeing thing is, is that you can top the pizza however you like. I am still on my radicchio and truffle oil kick, but the kids love these different types of toppings:
mozzarella cheese with ricotta and Parmesan
mozzarella cheese with pizza pepperoni
mozzarella cheese with ham and pineapple
and then there is me with spinach,feta, peppers, mozzarella cheese, and radicchio in there somewhere…
But for all who are in great need of a snazzy pizza dough, I truly hope this helps in some way, I have been so pleased with it.

The Greatest Pizza Dough I Know

From Not Without Salt

Pizza Dough
makes enough for 3 or 4 pizza

4 cups all purpose flour (1 lb 4 oz.)
1 T salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 cups water, room temperature
Additional flour, for dusting.

Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 2 cups of room temperature water, then mix on low speed using dough hook until dough binds, about 1 minute, adding more water as necessary. Let rest for 5 minutes. Knead on second-lowest setting for 5 to 7 minutes, until dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth ball. (I don’t have a stand mixer, I just use a wooden spoon.)
Turn out onto a floured surface, knead and form into a ball, then let rest in a bowl for 3 to 4 hours.

By this point the dough should have doubled in size. Punch down and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge overnight. It is possible to use this dough the same day with great results although the long rest in the fridge improves the texture and becomes much easier to stretch.

Take it out of the fridge two hours before you want to eat dinner and let rest on counter. After approximately 90 minutes, turn out the dough onto a floured surface and cut into 4 8-ounce pieces. Fold and knead each three or four times until it forms a smooth ball. Let rest/rise for 30 minutes.Working with one ball at a time, using your hands, slowly stretch the dough to your desired size leaving a bit of a crust around the outer edge. If the dough becomes tight and hard to work with, let it rest for a few minutes while you move on to the next ball of dough. Sometimes the dough just needs a moment to relax. Preheat your oven for at least 45 minutes with a pizza stone inside, to 485 – 550 degrees. Create 12” round using your dough. We then place it on a floured piece of parchment paper, place it on the stone or baking sheet, cook for 6-8 minutes until cheese is bubbling and the crust is to our liking.

Enjoy.

Greek Red Lentil

I was first introduced to this soup 4 years ago. I was 6 months pregnant with 2 when I traveled to Calgary in early December of 2008 to visit with my good friends Sarah and Brian. It is hard to believe that we have been friends since TWU days, which seem like just a couple of years ago. Truthfully it does not at all feel like 12 years have gone by that fast. We used to laugh when I would pick her up in my dad’s massive Ford truck with my hair out of control and No Doubt’s ‘Hella Good’ blaring as we would enter the school grounds, slowly going over the zillion speed bumps. We reminded ourselves of Janey and Lynne from the 1985 most awesomeness movie ever, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Anyways, back to the soup. On a beautiful crisp winter day, Sarah made this soup for dinner and it was just so yum. I love to serve it with really fancy loaf. I had good intentions of picking one up this evening, but decided the sourdough bread in the freezer would be just fine, and it was.

Greek Red Lentil with Lemon, Rosemary, and Feta Cheese

Inspired by Rebar

Ingredients:
2 cups red lentils
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion diced
2 tsp salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, diced
1 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 tsp red chile flakes
1 tbsp minced rosemary
2 tbsp minced oregano
2 bay leaves
8 cups (2 litres) vegetable stock (I used organic chicken stock)
zest 1/2 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tsp minced rosemary
cracked pepper to taste

How To Play:
Rinse lentils thorough in a colander under cold running water. Set aside to drain. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat and saute onion with 1 tsp salt until translucent. Add garlic, carrot, pepper, chiles, herbs, bay leaves and remaining salt. Stir well and saute until the carrots are just tender. Add rinsed lentils and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart. If you like, the soup can be pureed or left as is. If you choose to puree, remove the bay leaves first.
Season the soup with lemon zest, lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, stir together the feta cheese, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle over hot bowls of soup and enjoy.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Homemade Bread

This was the soup my friend Renata had made for us when we were in Tacoma. It was so yum, that I knew it was going to be a perfect soup for a lunch gathering, such as the one this afternoon. This recipe is taken from 101 cookbooks. As I perused this fascinating blog, it became very clear to me, it is full of brilliant dishes. This recipe is makes enough for about 4-6 people. We had 9, so I had added more than what was called for. I added shredded havarti and about 2-3 tablespoons of whipping cream. It was nonetheless a tasty treat on a beautiful fall afternoon.  I didn’t make the croutons, for we had homemade bread to go with it, but here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it, as we sure did.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

From 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:

croutons:
5-6 ounce chunk of artisan whole wheat bread, torn into little pieces (less than 1-inch), roughly 3 cups total
1/4 cup butter or olive oil (I like 1/2 and 1/2)
1 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

soup:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups light, good-tasting vegetable broth
1 large head of broccoli (12 ounces or 3/4 lb.), cut into small florets
2/3 cup freshly grated aged Cheddar, plus more for topping
1 – 3 teaspoons whole grain mustard, to taste
smoked paprika, more olive oil, creme fraiche (optional)

How To Play:
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and place the torn bread in a large bowl. In a small saucepan heat the butter until it has melted. Whisk the mustard and salt into the butter and pour the mixture over the bread. Toss well, then turn the bread onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crunchy. Toss them once or twice with a metal spatula along the way.
While the croutons are toasting, melt the butter (or olive oil) in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallots, onion, and a big pinch of salt. Saute for a couple minutes. Stir in the potatoes, cover, and cook for about four minutes, just long enough for them to soften up a bit. Uncover, stir in the garlic, then the broth. Bring to a boil, taste to make sure the potatoes are tender, and if they are stir in the broccoli. Simmer just long enough for the broccoli to get tender throughout, 2 – 4 minutes.
Immediately remove the soup from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Add half the cheddar cheese and the mustard (a little bit a a time). If you are going to add any creme fraiche, this would be the time to do it. Now add more water or broth if you feel the need to thin out the soup at all. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Serve sprinkled with croutons, the remaining cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a tiny pinch of smoked paprika.

Serves 4 – 6.

Radicchio Pizza with Truffle Oil

Have you ever had or used Truffle oil?  I hadn’t, until I made it my great quest to find it and then impulsively buy it. I have been wanting to make this pizza for some time and when I finally did, I wasn’t sure what I thought, until I made it again, with less truffle oil and more mozzarella. MMMM! I often tell my sister that I can eat the same thing over and over again, I know she doesn’t like to do that, and many others are the same. I love this for dinner and then for lunch the next day. It is super easy, quick, and convenient for the busy. I know the season I ‘m in is quite full, but so many of us mom’s or non-mom’s are all in the same boat.  We have deadlines, appointments, full agendas and the same 12 hour days as the next.  When 3 was born, it was not uncommon for me to say, “I just need more time, there is not enough time to do the things I need to do!” This meal has become my time saver.  I hope you like.

Inspired by The Kind Diet

Ingredients:
1 large head of Radicchio
Olive Oil
Fine Sea Salt and fresh ground Pepper
White Truffle oil, to taste (I use 1/8 tsp)
shredded mozzarella cheese
1 fresh whole grain pizza crust

How To Play:
Cut the radicchio in half, then slice each half crosswise into thin ribbons (as thin as possible). Dress with olive oil, salt, pepper, and truffle oil. Preheat the oven to 415 F. Toast the pizza crust in the oven for 7 minutes or until it is heated through and slightly golden, but not crunchy. Scatter the dressed radicchio over the pizza crust, sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes, until the radicchio is warm and just starting to wilt, and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

The Return of the Caesar Salad…

Caesar salad and I go way back. It was my favorite salad when I was young, older and oldest. I remember in high school, my sister and I would go to The Keg once a week.  It was a tradition.  I would always order their Caesar salad. My mom makes a really good Caesar.  In University days, it became a ritual for my girlfriends and I to meet once a month, typically the 24th, to have our monthly fondue and wine party. I would bring my guitar to play them my newest songs and my homemade Caesar salad.  Forward to a few years later, homemade spicy chicken Caesar salads has become one of Sean’s favorite meals.  It was a weekly thing, until I fell pregnant with 3. Pregnancy does weird things like that. Even after his birth, Caesar salad was definitely not on my “what to eat lists”, until last night…Alicia Silverstone, in her Kind Diet book, says, “this is the best Caesar salad ever, on the planet. Period.” My first thought was, “Well, you haven’t tried my mom’s…” But, I don’t think she ever would, because my mom is not a vegan.  I thought I would put this wonder salad to the test…the results…it is pretty-very-excellent. I made a couple of changes, because Sean is not a Dijon mustard fan, so didn’t put in as much that is called for, plus, added Parmesan cheese.  I made it for Sean and the kids, thinking I wouldn’t have any, but I did. Has the Caesar Salad returned to my life? This one just may have.

Caesar Salad

(Inspired by The Kind Diet)
Ingredients:

Croutons
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
3-4 slices of whole wheat sourdough bread, or a baguette, sliced into cubes (1 1/2 cups)
Olive oil

Dressing
2 tbsp roasted almonds
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil (or grapeseed)

romaine lettuce,torn into bite-size pieces
grated Parmesan cheese

How To Play:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Stir together the rosemary, garlic, and salt in a small bowl. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and drizzle with the oil. Toss well to distribute the oil. Sprinkle the herb mixture over the bread cubes and toss again. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the croutons are dry and lightly toasted. Cool completely.
Meanwhile, combine the toasted almonds, garlic, mustard, soy sauce, tahini, lemon juice, oil, and 1/4 cup of water in a food processor; process until smooth and well blended. (I stirred in about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, afterwards).
To serve, toss the lettuce and croutons together in a serving bowl. Add the dressing, and toss to coat. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese over the salad and serve right away.

Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad

This is for the Sean’s:

Ingredients:
Caesar Salad Recipe
Chicken boneless, skinless, chicken breast, or thighs
Louisiana Hot Sauce
Grapeseed oil

How To Play:
Cook chicken thoroughly in grapeseed oil. Once it is completely cooked, douse it with hot sauce until it is very well coated. Fry the chicken for 2 more minutes, on a high heat, until the hot sauce has burned off and is no longer runny, but well cooked into the chicken. Place onto the Caesar Salad and serve immediately with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Enjoy.

One meal deal…

Are you a one meal deal type person like me? What does that mean? It means, you can be happily content with the same meal for lunch, dinner, and perhaps again the same thing the next day? This dish is one of those dishes for me. I make it, then eat it, for lunch and dinner for the next couple of days and I just cannot get tired of it. It is so good and so good for me. I am a person of particulars. I am particular about bathroom stalls, cereal bowls, dinner plates, and tea mugs. Every morning I have to eat my cereal out of a large coffee mug. I eat my dinner in a square bowl, and drink my Chai tea in a mighty grand size Starbucks mug. When I was pregnant with 3, I would eat President’s Choice chocolate crackle ice-cream faithfully every night in the same little white tea cup.
For some reason I felt it was not so bad to go for seconds or thirds with such a tiny cup…well, 54 pounds later, hello?! Ice cream + Me = DANGER.
Well, 3 is now one and I have only had ice cream once since the day of his birth. After his birth I went on a Panini kick and raspberries, too. This July, the panini cravings have returned, I did cave once to it and the raspberries, oh man, I just can’t get enough. However, back to what I was saying about this salad, I eat it in a cup that I used to eat the ice cream in. This recipe is from Oh She Glows, it is scrumptious and refreshing and makes every cell in my body rejoice with happiness, because they love healthy salads that taste like colors and music!

Back On Track Salad

Inspired by:  Oh She Glows

Salad Ingredients:
1 cup Bulgar wheat
2 cups/500 ml cooked chickpeas
1 English cucumber, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh parsley, diced with large stems removed
4 green onions, diced
Sea salt + pepper, to taste

Dressing Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, to taste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp spicy mustard
1 tbsp Tamari
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

How To Play:
Boil 1 1/2 cup of water with 1/4 tsp sea salt in a medium saucepan until it boils. Once it boils, pour into a heat proof bowl with the Bulgar wheat and place a plate on top of and let it sit for 30 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together the diced vegetables (cucumber, red pepper, tomato, minced garlic, parsley, green onions). Add in chickpeas and stir.
In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, Tamari, fresh lemon juice). Set aside.
When the Bulgar wheat is ready, fluff with a fork and make sure all the water has been soaked up then stir into the salad. Add the dressing just before serving and stir well. Now season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with additional parsley if desired.

Enjoy.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Ok, so I have a weakness. When in line at the check out stand at the grocery store, I am not tempted to buy a candy bar, gum, or even flip through a gossip magazine. It’s Martha! I can not bi-pass her Food everyday magazine. Her latest one hasn’t really inspired me, just because I don’t like freezey type things, but all her others, yep, I am there perusing as quickly as I can hoping to somehow subconsciously store the data my eyes glance over, all to no avail. I realize I have retained no information whatsoever in the 30 seconds of flipping furiously through the fine pages. So, I cave. I scrunch my shoulders, give a look of defeat, and place it slowly down on the counter ready to be scanned in for yet another purchase I don’t really need. Sure, her articles and recipes are online, but there is something so cozy for me to read through the book from front to back lying in my bed. These potatoes are a result of my caving in and buying another Martha Stewart magazine.

Twice Baked Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes

Inspired by Martha Stewart

How To Play:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Rub 8 small russet potatoes with 1 Tbsp of grapeseed oil. On a baking sheet, bake until potatoes are easily pierced with a paring knife about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

2. With paring knife, cut a thin slice lengthwise off the top of each potato and discard. Using a spoon scoop out all but 1/2 inch potato flesh from inside skin. Transfer to a bowl and add 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup milk, 3 Tbsp butter, and 1/4 cup chives; mash until combined. Stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with course salt and pepper. Spoon mix back into the potato skins. Sprinkle with more cheese (I used cheddar and Parmesan) and chives, bake until browned or cheese is bubbling.

Enjoy.

Summer time barbecue, finally…

I am not sure how the weather has been elsewhere, but on the west coast, it has been chilly. I remember last July it was the same thing. I had no complaints, though. I was overdue with 3 and uncomfortable to the max. This week has been a great week of sunshine. Summer is finally here. We had friends come over for dinner the other night and we were able to use our new BBQ. My sister would mock me, for I have no idea how to BBQ. Marriage, did it truly have an impact on me in a stereotypical way? Man’s work, I call it. I tend to the kitchen and he tends to the BBQ. I am not complaining, I am just saying.
Here are a couple of photos of the BBQ dinner we had. Unfortunately, the photos of the meat we barbecued have been lost. With the homemade BBQ sauce, we used it on marinated steaks and on chicken. It was delish.