Spanish Stuffed Peppers
Halved mini bell peppers are excellent bases to stuff for two bite appetizers and snacks. They stay sturdy enough to hold heavier meat-based fillings, but once cooked they are tender enough to easily bite through. Their freshness and sweetness compliments richly flavoured chorizo but keeps the whole dish light. They are high in fiber, which makes them filling and helps the digestive process, as well as vitamin C, a nutrient necessary for strong immunity, wound healing and energy production. Continue Reading →
Sugar Pumpkin Soup
Sugar pumpkins are a small, sweet variety of the famous round orange squash synonymous with autumn. They fall into the hardier winter squash family (unlike lighter summer squash like zucchini) filling bins and tables at all the markets and grocers this time of year. Cooking with winter squash can be very rewarding or very disappointing, especially with the simpler dishes like soup. Continue Reading →
Tomato Chipotle Soup
Soup is not the most summery dish but this is the best possible time to get tomatoes. The market shelves are full of plump, firm and incredibly flavourful tomatoes just waiting to be eaten. On a slightly cooler, ideally rainy, lazy afternoon or evening this is a nourishing meal to put together and leftovers can be frozen until the temperatures take a dive and the leaves start to turn. Tomatoes are famous for their lycopene content, a carotene that acts as an antioxidant in our bodies. Continue Reading →
Rainbow Hummus Collard Wraps
Collard greens are a staple in the South where they are often cooked and eaten as a side dish. They are a leafy green related to cabbage and broccoli and when raw they taste like a cross between the two- definitely stronger flavoured than more delicate leafy greens like romaine and spinach. Just one cup of raw collard greens (around 3-4 leaves) provides half the amount of vitamin A needed for the day and well over double the amount of vitamin K needed. Continue Reading →
Rainbow Rosemary Skewers
Rosemary is a herb long renowned for its memory boosting abilities, back in Ancient Greece students would place sprigs amongst their hair when studying (don’t knock it until you try it). It grows in evergreen bushes with needle like leaves and has a deep woodsy scent reminiscent of a dense forest. Rosemary contains several antioxidants and nutrients that help strengthen immunity, increase circulation and sooth stomach aches and indigestion. Continue Reading →
Prawn Lettuce Cups with Mimosa Vinaigrette
Mimosas are a brunch cocktail made from combining orange juice and champagne. They are now widely available and known but their origins are shrouded in mystery. There is a possibility that they were first invented in the mid 1920s at the Ritz Paris, although the truth may be that a French bartender took the idea from a London club where they started the pouring the combination in the early 1920s, though with a stronger ratio and the name “Buck’s Fizz”. Whoever invented it did the whole world a favour. The sweetness of the oranges and lightness of champagne is a combination that works for food too and compliments the delicate flavour of prawns and other seafood nicely. Continue Reading →
Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chili Butter
Corn on the cob can be grilled a couple different ways, either with or without the husks still on. Doing them naked like this takes away a bit of the moisture but leaves nice grill marks and a slight smokiness that contrasts well with its natural sweetness. Corn is a good source of B vitamins, antioxidants and fiber and it has been a staple food for many cultures in North, Central and South America for thousands of years. European colonists who came to the new world in the fourteen and fifteen hundreds and didn’t adopt the local cuisine commonly suffered from pellagra. Continue Reading →
Cucumber Hummus Bites
With all the diets that come and go the Mediterranean based eating style has stayed in the spotlight for some time now. It is based on good quality plant-based foods including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds along with some lean animal protein sources like fish and chicken. Seasoning is accomplished with herbs and red meat is limited, though red wine is regularly on the menu. This is an eating style abundant in nutrients that helps promote healthy bodies from efficient digestion to strong hearts. Continue Reading →
Mexican Ceviche Boats
Ceviche is a light, simple dish that can be served as an appetizer or side salad. It is prepared by marinating raw seafood in acidic fruit juice and salt, with no cooking required. It originated with the Incas of South America as a way to preserve fish and was then adopted and spread by Spanish conquistadors. Ceviche is versatile and many different regions have different variations, though some of the best and most delicious main ingredients to use are prawns, scallops and rich fish like salmon and ahi tuna. Continue Reading →