Chocolate Pot de Crème
Well well, look at that… it’s that cliché time of year again: Valentine’s Day. With the pressure to have a date, be a date or make a date with your mate, I say it’s bullshit. What is not bullshit however, is the need for chocolate. Regardless of the situation, chocolate will never disappoint.
I am all about no-bake desserts. I’ll say it again, I cannot bake. Also, I am obsessed with the combination of avocado and chocolate. Avocado is a healthy way to tap into that craving for something fatty, and chocolate – well, enough said.
Vegan-No Bake Pot de Crème – a.k.a. Avocado Fudge
Makes 3 portions, ⅓ of a cup each
- 1 ripe avocado
- 6 tbsp cacao powder
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tbsp mesquite powder or vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. If you do not have a food processor, using a fork, mash the avocado until you get a smooth texture. Using a whisk, alternatively adding the dry and wet ingredients, until well incorporated and smooth. Spoon into cups and garnish with seeds, nuts or berries. Refrigerate until it is time to serve.
Or just put on a movie and curl up with a spatula and the mixing bowl.
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A little side note. I was visiting with my friend K. this weekend and was lucky enough to get treated to some fantastic vegan cupcakes. She used this recipe from Vegetarian Times but substituted the all-pupose flour with spelt flour and the soymilk with homemade almond milk. I contributed to the recipe by making the icing, and I used this avocado fudge as the icing. So chocolatey, it was the perfect pick-me up after a long work-week.
[I have pictures to go with this post but I have temporarily misplaced my camera cable to download the pictures.]
When there is no time to cook…
Sometimes there is just no time to cook. I had aspirations of creating and writing about about all sorts of dishes that dreams are made of. Recipes that challenged me, and expanded my repertoire. Concoctions that required that I put my brand new Creuset to good use, for something other than soup. A new Creuset calls for a braised meal for me to truly say that it has been broken in. I’m over zealous, need to be consistently over -stimulated, that it is difficult to back off from overdrive. Amongst numerous parties and events that have kept me out of the house, I still need to eat good food made with my own two hands. Coming home late, tired and lazy, sometimes the last thing I want to do is cook. Yes, it happens to me too. You know when you open up that fridge and the only words that come to mind are: “there is nothing to eat!” Even though you know perfectly well that there are plenty of healthy ingredients, that should be used up and converted into food before you are forced to toss them?Yup, I do that too; but I hate wasting food. That is how I put this dish together.
It was 9pm and I was just walking though the door. Opened up my fridge felt completely uninspired and tired at the thought of having to be up at 6 am for the 6th day in a row after going to bed way past my bedtime more than once in the last week. Changed into sweats, considered skipping dinner but my tummy was growling. Went back into the kitchen opened up every single cupboard, drawer, and door for inspiration. I thought of my wilting spinach and abandoned bell pepper, caught a glimpse of the opened package of rice noodle vermicelli and settled on an idea. Twenty minutes later I was eating this:
Red Curry Veggie Bowl
Makes one portion, ready in less than 20 minutes.
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 cup of raw vegetables
- 1 cup of leafy greens such as spinach, Swiss chard or kale
- 1 handful of rice vermicelli, softened in boiling water (or about 1 cup cooked)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp hot water (take from noodle soaking water)
1 tbsp coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Use an assortment of vegetables, whatever you have leftover in your fridge is fine. I used some zucchini and red peppers. In a pan on medium-high heat, melt the coconut oil and sauté the garlic, onions and ginger until soft. Since discovering coconut oil I always have some in my pantry. It gives a great flavour to any dish and is great for sautéing. If you do not have any on hand, simply use a vegetable oil and add a dash of sesame oil when serving to add a nice nutty flavour. Add the remaining vegetables, sprinkle with the turmeric and sauté until cooked. Add the leafy greens, cover the pan and allow to wilt, about a minute.
In the meantime, dissolve the red curry paste with the hot water and the fish sauce. Strain the soaked and softened vermicelli. Uncover the pan to toss in the red curry mixture and noodles, until everything is well mixed.
Serve piping hot and you can choose to garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, a wedge of lemon or lime, or even some nuts or seeds for added crunch. I had none of these on hand, and my bowl was just as tasty.
You can also add some cooked shrimp, meat or a scrambled egg. Play around with what your fridge has to offer. We rarely ever make a fuss over our everyday meals, but nothing is stopping us from making something tasty and bright in no time flat.
Quisotto Primavera
After all the food, get-togethers, parties, and too much indulging overall during the holiday season, it is not surprising that come January, the biggest trend for New Years’ Resolutions has to do with realigning our lifestyle habits such as eating and exercising. In this part of the world, January is also synonymous with snow and below freezing temperatures, which makes it difficult to stick to those salad regimes we fantasize settling into with little effort. It is easy to succumb to some of our favorite comfort foods that may not be kind to our bodies or our resolutions. Cravings for hot stews, roasts, braised meats, butter, breads, pasta and all those hearty dishes are inevitable. Just because you want to eat better and feel better to start off the New Year, it doesn’t mean you have to ignore your cravings. It’s all about finding the right balance between satisfying your need for comfort in these cold months and choosing the right foods to make you feel better.
This recipe is inspired by this risotto recipe that appeared in Bon Appétit. I have since made my own version over and over again, and even turned it into a quisotto (quinoa, cooked risotto style).The quinoa provides more nutrition than the white starchy Arborio rice, the egg is the touch of comfort and vegetables are simply good for you. Try using different vegetables, keeping in mind that depending on cook time you may need to stagger adding your various veggies. For an even lighter version, poach the egg or skip it altogether and top the quisotto with roasted tomato slices. Ingredients make two hearty portions (or two smaller ones, with some leftovers for lunch).
Quisotto Primavera
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 mushrooms, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 zucchini, diced (about ½ cup)
- ½ bell pepper, diced (about ½ cup)
- 2 celery stalks, diced (about ½ cup)
- 2 carrots, diced (about ½ cup)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried herbs (I like using the Provence blend)
- ½ cup quinoa
- ½ cup white wine (optional, replace white wine with broth)
- 1 ½ cup broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 eggs
In a small pot, heat up the broth and keep warm while cooking the quisotto. The reason you want to keep the broth warm is because you want to avoid slowing down the cooking process when adding ladles of cold or room temperature broth to the quinoa/vegetable mixture. This applies to any risotto as well.
In a pot on medium-high, heat the olive oil, add the herbs and sauté the garlic, onion, celery and bell pepper until soft but not browned. Add the carrots, mushrooms and quinoa, stir for about a minute to coat well and toast the grains. Add the white wine, stir the mixture while simmering until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Turn down the heat to medium or medium-low and add a ladle of broth. Add the zucchini and stir until the liquid is mostly absorbed. Repeat until the quinoa is cooked through and has absorbed all the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you find you do not have enough broth, you can easily add a touch of water at a time until everything is cooked through. The consistent stirring adds “creaminess” but unlike Arborio rice, it is not fussy and does not risk becoming sticky.
In a pan, fry the eggs as desired and serve atop of the quisotto dish.
For those of you detoxing or doing a cleanse, why not try making a raw version of this quisotto with some sprouted quinoa, combining it with the raw diced vegetables and just barely covering with warm miso broth. Of course, skip the wine and the egg. ;-)
For information on sprouting quinoa, click here.
And last but not least, a very happy belated New Years to everyone, thanks for reading and I wish you all health and happiness for 2012!
The Kidney Community Kitchen
I don’t usually talk about my 9 to 5 here. This blog is a place where I write and cook for the love of it, and when I have something I find important to share. As I was saying in my last post (that was way overdue), I’ve been busy. With that, what I actually mean is that my work team has been busy. I work at the Kidney Foundation of Canada and for the last few weeks (months?) we have been putting a great deal of energy into producing a website that caters to the nutritional needs of people living with kidney disease: the Kidney Community Kitchen!
I am still learning about all the challenges that kidney patients have to face and eating is just the tip of the iceberg, and is in of itself a whole can of worms! Can you imagine having to track not only your sodium intake, but also phosphorus, potassium, protein and even liquids? Getting the right nutritional intake really is a science for people affected by this disease. Think about it this way: your whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce that you conveniently whip up because you don’t have time for dinner – a kidney patient can’t eat it. That gourmet sugar-free bar of raw chocolate that you splurged on? a kidney patient can’t eat it. Garlic roasted potatoes? forget it. How about your morning glass of OJ? yup, you guessed it…
As much as this project was an eye opener for me in realizing the complexity of this disease, when I saw the final product (a new online tool) finally coming together I was really excited. We managed to put together a site that makes tracking a kidney patient’s nutrient intake and creating meal plans easy (because it is hard work! I would know, I created some of them myself!). On the resource site, you can upload your own recipes and have them revised by our team of dietitians, and hare your experiences with other people in the forums. At the end of the day, all I hope for is this tool makes the daily life of kidney patient just a little bit easier.
Recently this news article was published and gives a good general insight into a kidney patient’s daily challenges.
Now I know this is not the type of topic I usually cover but since food connects us all – especially at this time of year, and kidney disease affects so many people I just had to share this exciting piece of news that I am so proud to be a part of. And, the best part is it not only looks great, it’s also free.
If you know someone who is living with kidney disease, please pass along this valuable resource. The Kidney Community Kitchen!
A warm kicked’up drink good for the soul (and a cold!)
Well it is that time of year again… I think I see a trend forming. Somehow come November this regular blogging thing goes on hiatus. In between closing the year-end with the 9-5, attending some fabulous events like the launch of the Mixeur Montreal Guides and the Alsace au menu dinner at Le hangar, planning Dishcrawl events, shopping, holiday parties, endless eating, some drinking…let’s face it and we all know this – it’s a busy time of year!
Amidst the rush, daylight savings time and the erratic weather, the common cold is just around the corner. If it is not a cold then I find myself wanting to curl up with some classic comforts that make me feel cosy inside even when it is crummy outside (snow anytime please, I’d like to ski over the holidays!), with some thick wool socks and warm drinks.
When I was little, my mom would make a grog for me when I had a cold and a sore throat. Her version of the drink was made with hot water with lemon and honey, the right ingredients to make me feel better (very PG). Since those days, I have moved out, taken on adult responsibilities and this drink has become all grown-up – but I still turn to this basic combination of ingredients when I need to curl up with something hot and comforting.
So here is my kicked’up version of a grog. Makes a great warm cocktail for the holidays, a snowy day or après-ski – and still comforts you when you have the sniffles!
Kicked’up Grog
- 1 oz whisky or rhum
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tbso fresh grated ginger
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tbsp honey, or to taste
- Pinch of your choice of spices such as nutmeg, clove, anis, cardamom…
Combine all ingredients in a mug, stir and enjoy! Makes one drink.
Out of my fridge
Food is our common ground, a universal experience – James Beard
Every one’s gotta eat! It’s simple enough, a basic survival instinct. Lucky for us we’re at the top of the food chain and have opposable thumbs at our disposal. Now, it’s time to put them to good use and rekindle that long lost love affair with your knife and skillet. The best meal comes right out my own fridge and is at the core of my daily life. I live for every meal. Yes I love food, I love preparing food, but most importantly I adore the moments that food creates. The moments range from heading to the market on a sunny Saturday, chopping onions with goggles on, taming flare-ups on the bbq, sitting down for a hearty stew on a cold winter day, and perhaps one too many glasses of wine with friends and family. Just as simply, it can be sharing an ingredient, a recipe, a technique that will be passed on from one kitchen to another, and today that is my goal. Together we’ll get a few burns, heal a few scars, create some memories. This is my everyday kitchen and I hope you enjoy it.
