Fresh green beans are a little bit sweet and a little bit earthy tasting and it doesn’t take much to turn them into a side dish. In just one pan start off by sautéeing some garlic for a couple minutes, once it browns add in the beans and then shortly after add in some nuts and in just a few more minutes they are ready to go. Grate some lemon or lime zest straight on then squeeze the juice over and these simple vegetables become layered with flavours. 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 →
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 →
Za’atar Envelope Vegetables
Za’atar is an Egyptian spice blend that commonly features sumac, sesame seeds, sea salt and some combination of thyme, marjoram and/or sage. The citrus notes in the sumac balance the nuttiness of the sesame and earthiness of the herbs, and the blend goes well with any vegetables you have on hand and like baked. It offers enough flavor for adventurous eaters but is not too overpowering for the more demure palates. Continue Reading →
Tropical Mango Edamame Quinoa Salad
Quinoa salad loaded with a fresh vinaigrette and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables is easily portable, nourishing and light but satiating. They are perfect for picnics and BBQs because they are more food safe then mayonnaise based salads and they will provide lots of energy for fun and games without leaving anyone with weighed down or bloated feelings. The fiber, healthy fats and protein make a whole grain salad like this very filling because it provides everything needed to keep our bodies optimally fueled. Continue Reading →
Vegetable Trio
Back when I was younger and before I started liking vegetables I loved this dish. It actually got me excited to eat them, the combination of rich butter (or olive oil) and smoky dried thyme transforms the vegetables to become a medley much better than the sum of its parts. I made it recently for a family dinner and not only were my brothers visibly stoked for it but our parents showed some enthusiasm too. All four of them are generally against vegetables unless they are completely drenched in creamy or cheesy dressing, so any dish that gets them to eat vegetables that are visibly vegetables is a near miracle. I didn’t make this recipe up, it came from my Aunt Karen, a lovely lady and fabulous cook. Continue Reading →
Colcannon
This rather unattractive looking dish hails from Ireland and combines mashed potatoes with sautéed cabbage or kale for a hearty but nutritious side dish. The name comes from the Gaelic “cal ceannann”, meaning “white-headed cabbage”. More traditional recipes require some heavy dairy but plain almond milk and olive oil are good substitutes, with a little butter or Earth Balance thrown in at the end. Another variation I like is to cut the potatoes pretty small, into cubes around the size of dice and then steam them instead of boiling, a method that causes some of the nutrients to be lost in the water. If we are going to eat vegetables we may as well get the maximum nutritional benefit from them. Continue Reading →
Crispy Yam Fries
Yam fries in restaurants have crispy coatings that can’t quite be replicated by baking yam wedges with just salt and spices at home. However, adding in some cornmeal or corn flour can come close to copying the commercial versions, without the frying and addition of processed sugar and other additives. Cornmeal has larger granules and in the end the fries are a bit crispier, corn flour has smaller granules so it coats the yams better but they do no end up quite as crispy (I used corn flour for this batch so that is what the photos depict). Continue Reading →
Roasted Balsamic Orange Carrots
Carrots are a special vegetable in that most people like them, even those who don’t voluntarily eat or enjoy other vegetables. They have a natural sweetness and nice crunchy texture when raw, but roast them and the sugars caramelize and the taste gets richer and deeper, taking on a whole new level of deliciousness. Continue Reading →