Workshop! Early Spring Container Food Gardening Workshop

Burnaby Food First is pleased to present a repeat of another very popular workshop! Get your garden growing!



Early Spring Container Food Gardening Workshop



Wednesday, February 17

6:30 pm to 8:15 pm

Tommy Douglas Library

(7311 Kingsway / Burnaby - map)

Join Leanne Zmud, gardener and permaculturalist, to plant your own early spring food garden in a pot. Great for people living in small spaces!



*Please be aware that that they you will be taking your planter, a heavy 3-5 gallon pot full of soil, home with you! No children please, but older teenagers welcome.



**WORKSHOP IS FULL**, please contact Meghan at (604) 209-2404 or at burnabyfoodfirst@gmail.com to be added to the waitlist!

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Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad

I have two minutes before the bus comes.  Do you think I can write about this salad in two minutes?  Well, technically it's two minutes, but when it's nice and cold outside the bus tends to run late because I think the universe thinks it's funny that moms and dads are wusses in the cold.

*Update: the bus was 10 minutes late DAMMIT.

Okay, now I'm back and I have ALL the time in the world to write about this salad.  Well, technically I have 30 seconds because after school snack, homework, dinner, tubbies, emails, wine... etc.

THIS SALAD IS DELICIOUS.  Roasted broccoli in garlic, fluffy quinoa, chopped spinach, crunchy pistachios, salty feta and all of that drizzled with olive oil and lemon.  Oh, and I added avocado.  

Truly wonderful, hot or cold.  Recipe here.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie

Holy Moly, people, you will need to try the dish I made on the Today Show this morning.  There may be a few more steps than your average "throw it all in the crockpot" meal, but I'm telling you, it's worth it.  Slow Cooker Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie will be a hit this weekend, between the blizzards and the football and the "oh come on, January is almost over and I deserve some comfort food" attitudes.  Click on the link above for the recipe, and please enjoy these photos of when Savannah and I realized we were out of time, and when Carson randomly posed with a vase of flowers...

Photos by the lovely Samantha Okazaki

Crunchy Taco Kale Salad

Day 2 of Salad Week!  I barely made it!  (By the way, you should know that 6pm is practically midnight in my world.)  Also, I'm terribly disappointed in myself, because in my "hangry" haste last night I forgot to take many pictures of Day 2 Salad.  You're just going to have to take my word that it was delicious.  We typically partake in Taco Tuesday cuisine, but rarely do salads.  However, after viewing this recipe for a Crunchy Taco Kale Salad (and in our ongoing effort to eat slightly better, at least during the week) I decided to go for it.  Homemade Chipotle Lime Avocado Dressing??  Yes please.  And it was as creamy and (subtly) spicy as you would imagine.  Drizzled atop a kale salad with chopped cilantro, black beans, shredded white cheddar and a variety of veggies... and I also roasted some shrimp for protein.  Oh, and did I mention the homemade tortilla strips??  

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Welcome to Salad Week!  That's a thing, because I said so!  Five full days (maybe) of different kinds of salads.  Let's start with this delicious orzo pasta salad with mediterranean flavors like crunchy cucumbers, bright lemon, dill and salty kalamata olives.  I loosely followed this recipe here, adding whatever I had on hand (like yellow tomatoes and diced red pepper) and I chopped up everything into very small pieces so it would be toddler friendly.  This is a great salad to make in large batches because you'll eat it all week long... add some shrimp or chicken for protein!  Salad!  

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

Things I did over the weekend include: bake a bundt cake, drink champagne, cohost my sister's bridal shower, drink champagne, cry over the Seahawks loss, drink more champagne, make batch number two thousand and sixty of these sweet potato tacos, so that I could photograph them for the blog... even though the sun was going down and the light was terrible and the photos aren't great and I used parsley to look like cilantro because I was out and didn't plan ahead (#reallife), I needed to share this recipe with you! You can now make this one recipe for the rest of your lives and never have to plan dinner again. You�re welcome... I'm gonna go drink some champagne now. 


These tacos are nothing fancy, and maybe you�re like, eh, whatever, there are a zillion sweet potato tacos online, grow up. BUT YOU GUYS, these tacos have made up about 80% of my diet since November. I seriously can�t stop, won�t stop with sweet potato tacos right now. I�ve made these tacos a few times a week for a few months, and when I do, I try to roast extra sweet potatoes, which I then eat for lunch every day. Seriously, I eat them probably 4 days a week. Is that good for you? I have no clue� I�m afraid to look it up. If you are what you eat, I�m definitely turning into a sweet potato. Hopefully one of those long skinny svelte ones, not one of the big round plump ones.

Aside from my daily sweet potato habit, I�m obsessed with these tacos for a few reasons: first, they�re super easy even on a weeknight, even on a weeknight when you go to the gym and don�t start making dinner until 8PM. B: I typically have most of the ingredients on hand, but maybe that�s because I know I�m gonna make them every chance I get. Third: I love the flavor combo of sweet, spiced sweet potatoes with savory black beans, citrusy guac, and salty feta cheese. And finally: this is the one meatless dinner that I�ve been able to get Evan on board with!

If you make these tacos, be sure to roast an extra sweet potato, because I have another recipe coming up soon that uses the leftovers! Hint: It�s January appropriate for all you resolutioners. Hint hint: It�s a salad. But today: tacos!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
Makes approx. 8 tacos

Corn tortillas
Black Beans (see below)
Sweet potatoes (see below)
Guacamole (with lime or lemon juice!!)
Feta
Cilantro
Sour Cream (if desired)

Warm corn tortillas in a hot skillet or in the oven. Fill with ingredients in order listed.

For the roasted sweet potatoes
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed into dice-sized chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spread sweet potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, syrup, cumin, chili powder, salt, and a crack of fresh black pepper. Drizzle over sweet potatoes, and toss to coat. Cook for 15-20 minutes, flipping once, until tender. Check on them for the last 5 or so minutes to be sure they�re not burning.

For the black beans
olive oil
half an onion, diced
1 mild pepper (like poblano), diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained
salt and pepper

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium. Add onion and pepper, and cook until onion is just starting to brown. Add garlic, and cook another minute or two longer. Add beans, and cook for a minute, lightly smashing the beans with the back of a spatula. Salt and pepper to taste.

Winter fare from Mexico on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Yesterday I had the pleasure of presenting these two lovely winter dishes on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.    

 They are surprising easy to prepare and with wonderful results.  I used the cheese from the Dairy Fairy for the Queso Fresco. 

Black Bean Soup with Orange Zest: Sopa de Invierno

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cups cooked black beans (if using canned beans rinse them well)
� cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, or to taste
� cup plain yogurt
 chopped cilantro and scallions for garnish
Salt, to taste

Preparation

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, add the onion and cook, stirring, until wilted and just beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the beans, orange juice and zest, chicken stock, lime juice and yogurt and cook until heated through.

Using an immersion blender, puree the stock to the desired consistency.

Serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro and scallions. Makes 4 first course servings.

Cheese-filled Sweet Potato Patties: Tortitas de Camote

In most of Mexico, these fried patties are made with white potatoes, whereas in Veracruz they are made with sweet potatoes or yucca. This cheese-filled version is more versatile than most, because it can be served as an hors d'oeuvre as well as a side dish.

Ingredients:

* 2 pounds sweet potatoes
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* salt to taste
* 1 pound queso fresco, farmer cheese or ricotta (not ricotta salata)
* Corn oil or vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

Scrub the sweet potatoes, boil in their jackets until tender, cool and peel. Alternatively, prick them with a fork in several places, cook until tender in the microwave, cool and peel.

In a mixing bowl, mash the sweet potatoes, adding salt to taste, with a potato masher or fork to a smooth consistency. Add the flour and combine well. The dough should have a uniform consistency.

Using moist hands, shape into 8 large balls (for side dish servings) or 12 smaller ones (for appetizers or hors d'oeuvres.) Poke a hole into each and stuff it with about 2 teaspoons cheese for the smaller size or 1 tablespoon for the larger. Re-form the dough around the cheese to cover, and gently flatten each ball into a patty.

Fry the patties in about 1 �" - 2" hot oil, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Makes 12 as an appetizer, hors d'oeuvre or buffet item.

Enjoy!