Daily Unadventures in Cooking

This lemon sauce is a simple addition to cooked fish or roast vegetables.

This Asian noodle salad is a healthy meal in itself which is perfect for a potluck or a packed lunch. The crunchy fresh vegetables bring the vibrant colour and the chicken adds a dash of protein to these tangy peanut noodles.

Firstly, for anyone wondering why in the world anyone would massage kale, let me enlighten you. Rubbing kale with salt draws out the bitterness, letting it be more delicious if eaten raw. (Similar to salting and draining eggplant to remove bitterness.)

It is time for something a little different, my first interview! When I was in Toronto, I got the chance to meet Chef Sara Harrel and asked if she would be interested in giving us some tips on eating more locally and seasonally. Chef Sara Harrel is the founder of the Veg Company based in [...]

Twitter is addictive, but it can give you inspiration. Oh yes, I was on twitter last week and I follow Tyler Florence since he is a foodie. Well every week he tweets and cooks a recipe, and his Crispy Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumbers and Cilantro caught my eye and I made it that [...]

I love goat cheese and add it to salads all the time, but this time I was wondering whether I could create a nice smooth salad dressing. I had half a lemon and a bushy parsley plant to add to the mix and was very happy with the results.

Last week I made a great recipe from the Bitchin’ Kitchen Cookbook. I was lucky enough to meet Angelique, a contributor for Bitchin’ Lifestyle when I was in Toronto. It was great to meet her but she sealed the deal when she gave me a free copy of the cookbook. I love [...]

I wasn’t that fussy as a child (feel free to correct me Mum) but there were a few things I didn’t like: cooked peas, canned tuna, mushrooms, curry and pears. Certainly, I now love mushrooms and curry, I think there is a place for cooked peas, and as far as tuna goes I will [...]

I am so into spinach right now – but so not into the washing of it. Has anyone figured out a way to wash it and have it be fun or easy? I hate how cold my hands get and how tedious it is. I usually use the method of throwing it [...]

I am officially a proud mama. Will you look at this? The beginnings of the first squash to come out of my garden. I know, I know zucchini are allegedly dead easy to grow but I am still new to this whole veggie garden thing and I am easily impressed. (He is only [...]

I made this dressing to go with a batch of enchiladas I made the other day. It was inspired by a recipe from here. Fresh, healthy and yummy. Do make sure you use fresh citrus juice.
Chile Orange Salad Dressing (makes 1/2C)
1/2t cumin3/4t chili powder1/4t saltpepperjuice of one orange1T fresh lemon or lime juice1T [...]

This Thai beef salad is spicy, crisp and surprising light.  This salad, also known as Yum Neua, has a  dressing made primarily of fish sauce and lemon juice which keeps it nice and fresh. Having the grilled beef in the salad makes it a full meal. Anyone have any other good dinner salad ideas? [...]

I got these amazing looking beets at the Trout Lake farmers market on Saturday so I had to man up and learn how to cook them. It was actually surprisingly easy to do, although both my cutting board and hands are now a little purple.I am definitely going to be roasting beets again, and soon. [...]

Maybe you don’t actually hate lettuce but let’s just imagine that when you open up the fridge and take out your lettuce it is covered in aphids. Like COVERED in aphids. You try and wash the lettuce since it is at least half a head but you just can’t get past all the bugs. So [...]

I made this salad to use up some leftover peppers and as an excuse to buy some beautiful eggplant but as it turned out and the grill recipes are just beginning I thought it was worth posting. I always feel a little guilty buying vegetables from Mexico because it is so far away [...]

I was struggling with vegetable guilt, you know the guilt you get when you know your organic delivery is coming and you still haven’t eaten everything from the last one? Well I was originally thinking of making a puree or soup, but after seeing Peter’s potato salad I thought my vegetables might work well [...]

Okay, this isn’t the most original thing at this time of the year. But if you can find some good fresh buffalo mozzarella and some nice local (or ideally homegrown) tomatoes then there couldn’t be anything better. Grab some basil from your window sill and you are good to go. Plus there is [...]

I find it extremely tiresome to deal with leftovers. I don’t mind taking them for lunch the next day – that’s great, but trying to do something creative with them rather then making what I feel like is a real challenge. And so I am frequently filled with guilt when I throw away moldy unidentifiable [...]

Chicken and mango are one of those way overdone combinations that you see at every panini bar. However, when you put them together yourself with a perfectly ripe mango and some fresh curry powder you end up with flavours those wannabes are trying to emulate. Plus anything where you add a bunch [...]

It is too hot to cook, too hot to even turn on the stove. In fact using the food processor was almost over the edge. At any rate I threw this together to use up things in my pantry, I had a big bag of carrots and a bunch of flat leaf parsley which [...]