January 27, 2012 0

Black Bean Soup

By in Favourite Recipes, Hospitality, Lunch, Main Dishes, Soups & Stews, Vegetarian

This soup may look bland and boring…but I assure you, that looks aren’t everything!

This black bean soup is zesty…spicy…filled with excitement!  It’s thin, broth-like, but packed with veggies and aromatic spices.  It’s a fantastic lunch, regardless of who is eating it.  And I can assure you, that I served it to guests, including a teenager, who told me that it was so good that I should serve it again next week when he’s over (I’m not that lame – I’ll make something new…but still!!).

How’s that for a winner?

Black Bean Soup:

  • 3 cups of cooked black beans
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 
1 red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 orange pepper, chopped
 (you can use any colour of pepper)
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. dried cilantro
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. cumin powder
  • 3 cups fresh spinach
  • 1/3 cup tomato juice
  • 8 cups of water
  • 1 tsp. lime juice

In a large pot, heat the oil, add the vegetables (except spinach) along with the herbs and spices and cook until tender.  Add in the spinach, water, tomato juice and lime juice.  Simmer for 30 minutes – 1 hour stirring occasionally.  Blend with a hand blender until you reach your desired consistency.  Serve with tortilla chips.

January 24, 2012 1

Weekend Re-Cap

By in Family Updates, Hospitality

This past weekend we had some delightful “new” friends stay with us (we’d met 1/2 briefly before & have connected on twitter countless times!).  It was good to get to know them!

In fact, we got to enjoy their company even longer because we had a crazy wind storm which meant no ferries were leaving the island to take people to the mainland, so they were stuck here for another night!  We were treated dinner at a Mexican restaurant and got to chat a bit longer.

Our Church’s main auditorium is being renovated currently (it’s going to be wonderful!), so we’re meeting in our main level multipurpose room right now.  I took a couple of pictures this past weekend that I thought I’d share with you.  Some of the better ones involve a variety of people, but due to privacy I’ve kept it to one of Peter (who just updated his blog!) and Barb leading worship together:

How was your weekend?

January 23, 2012 1

Pomeberry Muffins

By in Breakfast, Dessert, Favourite Recipes, Hospitality, Lunch, Snacks, Vegetarian

I am totally in love with this pomeberry frozen fruit mix that I found in the frozen foods aisle the other day.

You see, I don’t usually go down that aisle, but I was supposed to bring fruit to a potluck (theme: breakfast for dinner!), and I decided that buying fresh berries was a ridiculous idea in January.  So I opted for frozen fruit without any preservatives or sweeteners.  And I found a winner!

This frozen fruit mix is filled with pomegranate arils, pitted cherries, blueberries and strawberries.  DELICIOUS!

So, we were having people stay with us, and I decided that I would use the pomeberry mix to make some tasty morning muffin treats!

Pomeberry Muffins:

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups mixed berries & pomegranate arils
  • 3/4 honey
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375F.  Lightly grease 9 muffin cups (I know, I know…sorry).  In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together fruit, honey, egg and melted butter.  Stir the berry mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.  Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

January 19, 2012 3

Fries & Wings

By in Favourite Recipes, Main Dishes, Snacks

Is there anything more classic than fries and wings?  Like seriously: they’re easy, delicious, and the crowds love ‘em!

This Friday night, pair these delicious oven-baked fries along with either the salt ‘n’ pepper wings or Canadian wings and you’re set!  Oh, and maybe throw in a side of steamed broccoli just for good measure…

Oh and wait – one more thing.  There is nothing attractive about chicken wings at.all…and so these pictures may not look appetizing, but I promise you the wings really do taste good!!!

Oven-Baked Fries:

  • 5-6 large potatoes
  • Olive oil for drizzling
  • Sea salt for sprinkling
  • Cracked pepper for sprinkling

Preheat your oven to 425F.  Wash and slice your potatoes length-wise like fries (leave the skins on!).  Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Drizzle them with olive oil and lightly sprinkle sea salt and cracked pepper evenly over them.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Salt ‘n’ Pepper Wings:

  • 6 chicken wings or drumettes
  • 1 tbsp. ground sea salt
  • 1 tbsp. ground cracked pepper
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil

Place the wings and all the ingredients in a bag and shake the wings until they’re evenly coated.  Layer them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes until tender and cooked through.

Canadian Wings:

  • 6 chicken wings or drumettes
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cracked pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder

Place the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  Add in the chicken wings and allow them to marinate for a few hours.  Layer them in a single layer on a baking sheet with the sauce drizzled over them and bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes until tender and cooked through.

January 18, 2012 1

It’s a Marshmallow World…

By in Family Updates

Well, it’s officially winter here!

We don’t get much snow (if any at all) here in Victoria, but we got a bit of a dumping between yesterday and today!

The good news is that the forecast calls for rain and highs of 9 later this weekend, so we should see it allllll melted away shortly.

It’s pretty when it falls but it just wreaks havoc in this city where no one can handle snow.

What’s the weather like where you are?

January 17, 2012 0

How-To Refresher

By in Favourite Recipes, Kitchen Tips, Lunch, Main Dishes, Menu Plans, Slow-Cooker Meals, Vegetarian

There are some simple things that can really add substance to a meal, but oftentimes we just don’t list how to cook them. I’m talking about things like rice, beans, grains, etc.  We just take it for granted that everyone knows how to cook them!  I’m definitely guilty of listing something like “1 cup of cooked chickpeas” in a recipe, without expressing how to cook them.

Meanwhile, we all have different tried and tested ways of doing it – myself included!  So I thought I’d list how I cook some staples in our home: beans, lentils, quinoa and brown rice.

Dried Beans:

  • Get out your crock pot and decide how many beans it can hold.  Measure that out with chickpeas, black beans, navy beans, etc. (NOT kidney beans!  They need to be cooked on a stove top to ensure that they boil properly.  Also, not lentils as they don’t require that long of a cooking time.) into your crock pot.  Cover your dried beans with water about 2 inches above them.  DO NOT turn on your crock pot.  The beans will expand and grow overnight as they absorb water.  In the morning drain your beans and place them back in your crock pot.  Turn it on high for 6-8 hours (or low for 10-12 hours).  They’ll be perfectly cooked by the time you get home!

{Chickpeas above are featured from my Chickpea Curry}

Lentils:

  • Cover 1 1/4 cups of dried lentils with 1 3/4 cup water.  Bring your water to a boil.  Once it’s boiling, cover the pot and turn it down to simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir every few minutes.  After 20 minutes they should be tender and ready to eat.  Strain any remaining water (although I never have any left, you might have a tiny bit) and add to whatever dish you’re serving.

With both dried beans and lentils, you can bag up the extras and put them in your freezer to use at a later date!  We have small ziploc bags that we portion them out into.  We freeze them flat and then they can stand up in the freezer and hide in all kinds of nooks and crannies!

{Quinoa featured above is from my Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad}

Quinoa:

  • Cover 1 cup of dried quinoa with water and let it soak for a minimum of 5 minutes (I usually try to remember to get mine ready before work and then strain it later when I get home).  I use a French coffee press to do the job!  It makes straining very easy.  Pour the strained quinoa into a pot and add 1 1/2 cups of water.  Bring the quinoa to a boil.  Once it’s boiling, cover and reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Once 15 minutes has passed, remove the quinoa from the heat (still covered) and let it sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff and enjoy!

{Brown Rice from above is featured in my Basil-infused Brown Rice}

Brown Rice:

  • I’ve actually already done a post on how to cook brown rice, so I’ll just direct you over to the original post.  It’s always good to cook up extra rice and keep it on hand throughout the week for quick meals.  Or freeze some extras!
January 15, 2012 2

Generosity

By in Family Updates, Travel

We have some awesome friends from Saudi Arabia who live here in town.  Over the holidays the wife and her children went back to Saudi for vacation.  I just got to see her again last night, and she surprised us with gifts!

We received two packages of Saudi dates in syrup, spices, I received a jilbab, and Peter received a shemagh.

The spices I received are unknown, but the yellow one seems to be a “curry” mix of some sort, and the red one is like crushed red pepper flakes.  I was assured that I should use both on chicken, and the yellow one is wonderful in rice.

My jilbab up close (the detailing is lovely!!):

And Peter’s shemagh (he’s SO stoked!):

We have such thoughtful friends and we’re so blessed by their generosity.  It’s also just very cool.  :)

January 14, 2012 0

Home Again

By in Family Updates, Reflections

I’m soooo glad to be home.  There’s just nothing quite like the comforts of your own bed, eating your own food, and watching a good movie on your own t.v.

This past week we were away at Harrison Hot Springs where we stayed in a hotel for a work conference.  We were surrounded by this lovely view:

And this is the main view of where we stayed:

I’ve got a couple of random thoughts about the entire week:

  • The work-out room wasn’t open until 8 a.m.  Seriously?!  I kind of wanted to be done my work-out by that time.  What gives?
  • Why is it that in North America we’ve come up with the notion that pork has to be over-represented at breakfast time?  For someone who doesn’t eat pork it’s kinda annoying.
  • We brought Greek yogurt and granola with us (perpetuating our hippie island lifestyle!) which was very useful in having something to eat before working out.
  • The one night we had a dinner theatre presentation which was pretty fabulous and I enjoyed it.  It made dinner so much more exciting!
  • Coconut oil is GENIUS for traveling because it really helps nourish your skin when it’s so dry.  We found the hotel air to be particularly dry so it was really good to have.
  • I got to watch a bit of the Food Network each day and I’ve got my fill for the year now.  Although, the few times I watched it I realized how repetitive the schedule is and how even if I saw half an hour in the afternoon and turned it on later at night, I’d see the same show again.  This reminds me and confirms just how good it is for us not to have cable!
  • Bringing clothing items that you can wear multiple times is definitely helpful with packing.
  • God created each one of us in His image, and yet each one of us entirely unique.  Isn’t that a totally amazing and crazy paradox?!
  • In order to lead people we need to first love them.  NO ONE is unlovable.  I don’t care how challenging they are – they are NOT unlovable.  They just need a different kind of love.  It’s up to me as a leader to figure out what that looks like.

What did you learn this week?

January 13, 2012 1

Sandwich Inspiration: Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

By in Favourite Recipes, Lunch, Snacks, Soups & Stews, Vegetarian

Now that you’ve had the chance to see the recipes for my egg salad, and Thai tuna, now you get the best one of them all…

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese!

I think grilled cheese is just one of those things that reminds me of my childhood.  But this – this is like a deliciously classed up version of that…

Grown-Up Grilled Cheese:

  • 4 slices of bread
  • 1/2 wheel of brie cheese
  • 1/2 pear, thinly sliced
  • Butter

BUTTER one side of each piece of bread.  With the buttered side faced down, LAYER brie cheese (thinly sliced) on the butter-less side of two pieces of bread.  Add a layer of pear slices, and TOP with a couple more slices of brie cheese.  PLACE the other piece of bread buttered-side up on top.  HEAT your pan to medium heat and place the sandwich in the pan.  FLIP every 2 minutes or so pressing down on the sandwich with your turner until the cheese is thoroughly melted (approximately 7-10 minutes).  Makes 2 sandwiches.

January 11, 2012 0

Sandwich Inspiration: Thai Tuna

By in Favourite Recipes, Lunch, Salads, Snacks

You’ve got my egg salad recipe, and now I bring to you Thai Tuna…it’s fabulous just with crackers, or you can slap it on some bread and call it a sandwich!  OR you could top a salad with it.  It’s delicous in so many ways!!

Thai Tuna:

  • 1 can of smoked tuna
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 2 tsp. soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. nutritional yeast (optional)

Drain can of tuna and place in a bowl.  Add other ingredients and mash with a fork until desired consistency is reached.  Enjoy with crackers or on a sandwich!  Serves 2.

Stay tuned later this week for my final suggestion for some sandwich inspiration!

January 9, 2012 3

Sandwich Inspiration: Egg Salad

By in Favourite Recipes, Lunch, Snacks, Vegetarian

Lunches are always a bit tricky.  We often eat leftovers which saves us from the “What on earth are we going to eat for lunch?!?!” question.

However, for those occasions when leftovers don’t exist, I thought I’d take three pretty classic lunchtime spreads and give them a bit of zip.  We’ve enjoyed these and hope you will too!  I’ll be sharing all three throughout the week, so keep your eyes open!

Egg Salad:

  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 tbsp. white vinegar
  • 2 tsp. ground sea salt, divided
  • 1 tsp. ground cracked pepper
  • 1 tsp. ground flax seed
  • 1 tsp. prepared mustard
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped chives
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup chopped dill pickle

Place eggs in a single layer of water in a saucepan, covered by an inch or so of COLD water.  Add in vinegar and 1 tsp. of salt (using the vinegar will allow the eggs to peel easier without any additional taste).  Boil on high.  Once boiling, turn off heat and let it boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and cover with a lid for 12 minutes.  Drain water and replace with cold water a couple of times to cool down the eggs.  Combine other portion of salt, pepper, flax, mustard, parsley, chives mayonnaise and dill pickle together.  Mix.  Peel eggs and add them to the mixture.  Mash up with a fork.  Serve on your favourite bread, buns, pita, tortilla or crackers!  Keep stored in refrigerator for 3-5 days.  Makes 2 sandwiches.

January 7, 2012 6

Published.

By in Family Updates, Reflections

It’s official: I’ve been published!

It’s so exciting for a number of reasons, but one of which is that it’s a dream of mine that has been accomplished from my bucket list!

I had the pleasure of working with The Salvation Army’s Faith & Friends magazine for their “Lite Stuff” section!  Every month for the year of 2012 two of my original recipes will be published in the magazine, along with photos I took of the recipes. I’m stoked!

During each month I’ll be sure to let you know what I’ve published for each month.  Plus, I’ll include a visual to show you what the layout looks like!  Without the support of people to read my blog and try my crazy recipes I never would’ve thought of this opportunity.

Here is the lay-out of January (click to enlarge):

You can find the links to the recipes here: Prawn Stir Fry and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Plus the feature article that they did on little ol’ me (click to enlarge):

I look forward to sharing this exciting journey with you!

January 5, 2012 0

I’m a latte excited!

By in Beverages

Pardon the cheesy pun in the subject line.

It’s just that on New Year’s Eve I purchased this little baby…

So tell me: do you have a latte whip/frother?  If so, what’s your favourite drink to use it in??

 

January 2, 2012 0

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

By in Beverages, Family Updates, Hospitality, Snacks, Vegetarian

For New Year’s Eve we rocked out with our friends Nathan & Amanda just playing some board games, eating snacks and having a lovely time laughing at each other!

Organic dark chocolate truffles, blue-cheese stuffed olives, mandarin oranges, rice crispie squares, and hot artichoke dip (DELICIOUS recipe I vamped up w/ smoked cheddar and roasted veggies) with tortilla chips.

We played “Sounds Like a Plan,” “Sequence,” and “Skip-Bo”…apparently we really like games that start with “S.”

We stopped the games at about 11:55 to clean up and prep for the big 12:00!

But we weren’t paying attention and a minute or two after midnight realized we’d missed the big countdown!  So we did our own, and watched this RIDICULOUS video and sang along.

We enjoyed that seriously strange video with some sparkling pomegranate and elderflower juice in hand!

And then today we bit the bullet and finally took down our beautiful Christmas tree.  Is there anything more sad at the end of the holidays than taking down the tree (and the ever-expanding waistlines from all those sweet treats…)?!?

Peter devised a new strategy for packing some of our delicate ornaments.  He cut up some cardboard and made space for those ornaments to be safely packed in our rubbermaid bin of ornaments:

How did you spend your New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day or January 2nd, 2012 (also known in our house as the day of awesome)?

January 1, 2012 3

Happy New Year!

By in Beverages, Favourite Recipes, Vegetarian

Happy New Year to you all!

Start the year off right by enjoying some of the simple things in life; like nail clippers, matching socks, glitter glue and this deliciously warm Chocolate Chai beverage.

Hot Chocolate Chai for 1:

  • 1 cup chocolate almond milk
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 1/4 tsp. chai spice (I bought mine, but you can make your own!)
  • Cheesecloth or tea ball

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low to simmer for about 3-4 minutes so it’s nicely heated.  If you’re using cheesecloth, place it over top of your mug and pour the liquid on top – it will catch all the chai spice.  If you’re using a tea ball, put the chai spice in the tea ball into the saucepan when you begin the whole process.  Remove it when you’ve poured the liquid into your mug.

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