Most of the restaurants I have been to this past week have been spreading some festive Valentine’s cheer with delicious cocktails featuring rose water. Since they were so enjoyable it got me thinking about how I could use it in savoury dishes. Chicken is an easy and healthy conduit that takes on most flavours well and since rose water is mainly used in Middle Eastern and North African cuisine I went Moroccan and added in some other typical ingredients for a simple dish with some exotic flair. Continue Reading →
Bacon Butternut Chickpea Pesto Pasta
A comforting bowl of pasta can get some extra nutrients by using whole grain pasta, adding in some fiber and protein rich buttery chickpeas and sneaking in a vegetable that become quite tasty and pretty inconspicuous like sweet butternut squash. Bacon provides a ton of flavour and makes the dish extra filling while a light, oil-based sauce like pesto enhances all the other flavours and keeps it from getting too weighed down. Continue Reading →
Pesto Potato Frittata
Pesto and eggs are a perfect pair and with the addition of potatoes they come together to form a healthy, simple and hearty frittata. Frittatas are basically Italian omelettes and they are super easy to make- you just throw all the ingredients together and leave it to bake until the top is golden brown. Continue Reading →
Meyer Lemon Chicken
Baked chicken is a versatile meal that can be made year round in small or large batches. Adding in some bright citrusy flavours with meyer lemons, sumac and lemongrass along with some pungency from an onion and fragrant earthiness from thyme creates a fresh, light main dish with little effort. Simply layer the ingredients and let them do their magic while the chicken bakes. Continue Reading →
Teriyaki Salmon
Teriyaki is a Japanese glaze made from boiling down soy sauce, mirin (rice wine) and a sweetener like sugar or honey into a thick sauce. It bestows a distinct sweet and salty taste and pairs well with pretty much all fish, meat, tofu and vegetables, though it can be particularly complimentary to the rich, buttery flesh of salmon. There are many good pre-made versions available but since it takes only five ingredients and ten minutes to make, a fresh, homemade version is hard to beat. Continue Reading →
Honey Mustard Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Adding some bacon to a dish always betters the overall flavour and along with some fresh herbs and a glaze made simply from honey and mustard it makes an easy-one pot chicken meal with just a few ingredients. The extra fat from the bacon enhances the potatoes (or any desired vegetables) as they cook but everything crisps up better (and is healthier) if most of it is removed at the halfway point and then again near the end. Continue Reading →
Apple Pork Chops
Pork chops have long been a favourite in my family. Our dad makes a really good breaded and fried version and my brother, who is becoming quite the master chef, makes them with apples and brown sugar (my other brother’s most recent creative culinary idea was reverse cordon bleu- chicken cooked in a block of cheese, so luckily for our health he doesn’t cook very often). I stole the apple idea and added some wine, dijon and maple syrup which cook down into a sauce and keep the pork tender. Continue Reading →
Butternut Squash Bacon Spaghetti
As the temperatures drop outside the two foods I find more and more enticing are bacon and pasta- neither are traditionally regarded as the most healthy ingredients. For the bacon, a dish like this is perfect because a little goes a long way and just a few pieces infuse the whole dish with its flavour, coming up in every bite. An extra flavourful variety like Tyrolean Speck (often labelled as Tiroler Bacon), with distinct juniper undertones and a longer curing time, is ideal. Continue Reading →
Rainbow Carrot and Mango Prawn Soba Noodle Bowl
Soba means buckwheat in Japanese, the naturally gluten-free whole grain that these dense, nutty flavoured noodles are made from (look for 100% buckwheat options, some contain less nutritious refined wheat flour as well). Buckwheat is a good source of fiber, minerals, B vitamins and has a notable amount of protein. The combination of fiber and protein make these noodles a lot more filling than regular white durum flour options like spaghetti even though they have fewer calories- an example of the power of nutrient density over just caloric density. Continue Reading →
Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Chili is a really versatile and easy one-pot meal to throw together. This version gets an extra dose of nutrients from added vegetables and chickpeas. It is the kind of thing I like to leave around for my brothers when their schedules get hectic and time gets tight. They can heat up in a minute then load up with sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado and/or tortilla chips- it is fast and easy enough that they will do it instead of stopping at a drive through on the way home for a different kind of fast food. It is heavy enough to be hearty and filling while also being really nutrient dense, an ideal lunch to get fuelled for a long day of studying. Continue Reading →