Steelhead trout on Brown Butter Greens on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

I'll be presenting the following recipes on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod, tomorrow morning after the 8:30 news.

We have lovely Steelhead Trout, from Watersong Farms, in Warren Manitoba.  It is available fresh each Friday at Gimli Fish.  They produce gorgeous Steelhead trout that looks and tastes like buttery salmon.  

The Spinach, for today's recipe, came from Fertile Farm, Manitoba and their wonderful produce is available at the St. Norbert's Farmer's Market. 

Pecan Crusted Steelhead Trout on Brown Butter Greens

1 fillet Steelhead Trout
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 heaping tablespoon pesto or 2 tbs chopped fresh herbs and garlic
1 egg
salt and pepper
drizzle olive oil

Place fillet on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, for easy clean up.  Mix topping ingredients together and spread over fillet.  Bake at 350�F for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Serve immediately over Brown Butter greens.  We enjoyed this with a baked sweet potato as well.

Brown Butter Greens

2 bunches Swiss Chard or Spinach, washed and cut chiffonade style
1-2 cloves garlic, sliced
1-2 chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp hot smoked paprika
1-2 tbs butter
pinch ground nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1- 2 shallots, sliced

Heat large and deep pan to medium heat and brown the butter without burning. One trick, once the butter is brown, is to add a bit of olive oil.  Add the remaining ingredients and saut� until softened and cooked through. 

To plate, place greens on plate and the Pecan Crusted Steelhead Trout resting on top.  Serve with sweet potato, or your favourite side dish, such as quinoa, rice, etc.

Enjoy!

Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars

Are you mad at me??  I've been bad at blogging lately :(

In my defense, it's been a particularly busy week over here and some exciting things have been happening oooooonnnnlllyyyyy, I can't tell you yet.  Ugh, you're mad at me again!!

But hey!  I made you something!  Something with A LOT of chocolate, and it's ooey, and gooey, and it's half brownie, half fudge, half cookie.  I realize three halves don't make a whole, but just go with it.  These bars are delicious, easy to make, yummy to look at, and you forgive me, right?

I'll be on the Today Show Monday (in the 9am hour), and back to blogging regularly next week, I swear.  In the meantime, I just signed up for Snapchat and DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND IT?!

Recipe here.

pre-baked...

post-baked...

April 7th - World Health Day!

Diabetes Awareness - April 7, 2016!



Today is World Health Day and the focus is on Diabetes. Did you know that there are an estimated 11 million people who are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes in Canada? There are over 420 million people in the world who have diabetes and that number is projected to double within the next 20 years...



This year, the World Health Organization's theme is diabetes. It is a disease that impacts millions of people globally.

Diabetes is a disease where the body cannot produce insulin or use the insulin it produces to control sugar. Every three minutes, a Canadian is diagnosed with this disease.



Disease Prevention



The WHO is looking to highlight beating diabetes through:

• Healthy eating


• Exercise, and 


• Avoiding excessive weight gain.

We support this as we believe that everyone should have access  to local nutritious foods that they can prepare for themselves at home. Which is why we have local workshops focused on healthy eating or preparing nutritious foods.



Gardening is exercise - both mentally and physically. You are moving, digging, dragging and in some cases lifting (or carting) heavy soil. It is also great to get outside (patio container gardens count too) and connect with mother nature. At Burnaby Food First, we promote community gardens as well as learning to grow your own veggies in containers through our workshops as well.



By cooking and preparing your own food as well as gardening, you are avoiding excessive weight gain. Eating healthier and gardening helps to create a healthier environment. Through gardening, you also benefit from homegrown foods!



So, today let's help beat diabetes - either by cooking nutritious food at home or getting outside in your gardens (in your backyard, on your balcony, within your community or through sharing backyards)!

Warm Lentil Salad with Butter-Crumbed Eggs | #SpringPantryPurge

I have a tendency to hoard but a desire to live minimally.

I have a nostalgia for things, which I come by naturally. My dad was a first generation child of immigrants, growing up in a family who had left everything behind. I think that probably makes you hang onto things a little tighter. When my parents were young and child-free, they travelled around the American southwest, living in a tiny travel-trailer in small towns along the way. That forces you to live minimally. Then when I was born, they settled on a 5 acre property, with lots of room for stuff. When I was growing up, we didn�t have a ton of money, which I also think makes people hang onto things. And we never moved. My entire childhood. So we just kept saving stuff and filling up our space. And overtime, we grew very attached and sentimental about our things. My mom still has all of my childhood toys. So, getting rid of things is hard for me. But I feel so much better in a clutter free environment. I truly feel like clearing the clutter in my house helps clear the clutter in my mind. So, I�m trying.

I�m in major spring cleaning mode, and like everyone and their mother and sister (and my mother and sister), I�ve started using the KonMari method to help me get rid of things. A few months ago I did a huge closet purge, only keeping items that sparked joy. OMG it was HARD. I definitely need to do another full closet purge. For me it�s a process� I get a little more ruthless each time. Having cut-throat friends or family members join the purge helps. 

Evan and I also cleaned out our garage, and our pantry and food cupboards. So, Phoebe�s invitation to participate in a virtual blogger #SpringPantryPurge couldn�t have come at a better time. When I got her email, I had just unearthed, from the depths of my cupboards, a bag and two jars of lentils as well as three unopened packages of panko. If, like me, you hoard lentils and breadcrumbs, this is a perfect spring cleaning pantry purge recipe. It uses up some dried goods in your pantry, but it�s light, fresh, and springy, while still being warm and comforting�perfect for ushering in the new season.

The eggs are based on the butter-crumbed eggs from Prune, the restaurant and cookbook. Evan and I had brunch at Prune the first time went to NYC four years ago (after I had read Gabrielle Hamilton�s memoir), and I still think that dish�stewed chickpeas with butter-crumbed eggs and flatbread with olive butter�was the best brunch dish I�ve ever had. I bought Prune, the cookbook, the moment it came out, and lucky for me, that dish is there!

In my dish, warm lentils, bacon, and briny cured olives get tossed with a mustardy vinaigrette, spooned over fresh greens, and topped with crispy, buttery, breadcrumb coated, runny-yolked eggs. So long lentil stash, hello lunch! 

Warm Lentil Salad with Butter Crumbed Eggs

Serves 2-4

Salad

1 cup small green lentils

2.5 cups water

� teaspoon salt

� pound bacon, diced or cut into lardons

Arugula

� cup cured black olives, pitted and roughly chopped

Mustard vinaigrette (below)

Butter crumbed eggs (below)

First, make the lentils. Add lentils, water, and salt to a pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until lentils are tender, but not mush. Drain any excess water. Taste, and add a bit more salt if needed.

Cook the bacon, and drain on a paper towel.

To assemble, add a pile of lentils to plate, top with arugula, bacon, olives, dressing, and 1-2 butter crumbed eggs. 

Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons grainy brown mustard

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely diced shallot

Salt & fresh cracked black pepper

Whisk ingredients together

Butter crumbed eggs

6 eggs (4 for poaching, 2 for the breading)

1 cup panko

Salt & pepper

4 tablespoons butter

Poach 4 of the eggs until whites are set and solid, and yolk is still runny. Using a slotted spoon, gently place each egg into an ice bath to stop cooking, then move to a paper towel to dry. Let eggs dry completely (patting gently if necessary, being careful to not break yolks).

Beat the 2 remaining eggs in a dish, and in a separate dish, add panko with a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently coat each poached egg in beaten eggs, then in panko until totally coated. Set aside.

Heat butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high. Fry each coated egg in butter, a minute or two on each side, until nicely browned and crunchy. Top with a little bit of flaked sea salt.

***

Wait, there�s more! Check out the other #SpringPantryPurge recipes, and visit Phoebe�s site, Feed me Phoebe, to learn about donating to Feed America!

Feast + West | Honey Chipotle Roasted Chickpeas
Clean Food Dirty City | Lentil Rice Bowl with Shaved Cauliflower Salad
Crepes of Wrath | Garlic Noodles
Appeasing a Food Geek | Wine Wednesday + a Kale and Tomato Galette
Feed Me Phoebe | Maple Pecan Gluten-Free Banana Bread
Domesticate ME! | Chicken and Wheat Berry Salad with Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Arugul
Arthur Street Kitchen | Kale Kimchi
Pamela Salzman | Drunken Beans
The Mom 100 | Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger
Snixy Kitchen | Kale Salad with Toasted Nuts, Seeds, & Buckwheat
The Speckled Palate | Curried Veggie Rice Bowls
The Naptime Chef | Basil Polenta with Pine Nuts and Feta

Bolthouse Farms

I recently partnered up with Bolthouse Farms and attended an event where they premiered a line of new beverages.  The ingredients are fresh and honest and the flavors unique and exciting, such as Mango Pineapple Colada and Banana Honey Almond Butter (my personal favorite).  They sent me a bunch to try and challenged me to come up with four recipes featuring their smoothies, shakes and juices, and they are posted below!  It was so much fun to think outside the box (or bottle - puns are sort of my thing), and I'm really happy with each creation.  My family was my main source of inspiration, particularly my middle child who desperately needs more fruits and vegetables in her life, and I am NOT above sneaking nutrition into her diet in a covert manner.      

First up, these muffins that are a great snack or breakfast on-the-go.  When I tasted the combo of banana, honey and almond butter, I immediately wanted to bake with it.  Adding the shake to the muffins keep them moist, and adding ripe bananas and almond butter make them burst with that perfect flavor combination.  My toddler LOVED these, and I was happy knowing she was getting some extra protein in her diet!     

Banana Honey Almond Butter Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup Bolthouse Farms Banana Honey Almond Butter Protein Shake

1/4 cup almond butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

Turbinado sugar (cane sugar) for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk first 5 ingredients in a bowl, set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk together both sugars with protein shake.  Stir in almond butter, egg, vanilla and mashed bananas.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Place into paper-lined muffin tins, about 3/4 of the way full, sprinkle a little cane sugar on top of each muffin, and bake for 18-20 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  

Next, after sipping this sweet and tart Raspberry Blood Orange juice, I thought it would be great as a vinaigrette for salads (and I may or may not have poured some with vodka while I whisked away).  It's particularly delicious over peppery arugula, and would also make a great glaze for chicken or fish.

Raspberry Blood Orange Vinaigrette

Yields: approx 2 cups

1/2 cup Bolthouse Farms Raspberry Blood Orange Juice

1 small shallot, roughly chopped

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.  Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Pour over salad or save in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Smoothie bowls have always intimidated me.  They look like masterpieces on Instagram, and too pretty to eat.  But after creating my own bowl, I was pleasantly surprised how easy and quickly it came together.  I added avocado for texture and creaminess, but the options are endless (banana, yogurt, leafy greens, etc).  And don't get me started on the toppings! 

Green Goodness Smoothie Crunch Bowl

Yields: 1 bowl

1 15 oz. Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness Smoothie

1/2 avocado

1/2 cup ice

Suggested Toppings:

Raspberries

Blueberries

Sliced bananas

Shredded raw coconut

Granola

Drizzle of honey

Combine Green Goodness Smoothie in a blender with avocado and ice and puree until smooth.  Pour into bowl, top with desired toppings and drizzle with honey.  

Finally, this cake.  This cake, that I want to make love to.  After one sip of the Mocha Cappuccino beverage, I knew I wanted to make something rich and decadent.  It tasted like such a treat, and I knew it would translate well as a dessert.  While this cake is creamy and indulgent... it's also light and would be a great thing to serve as the weather starts to get warmer! 

Mocha Cappuccino Smoothie Ice Cream Cake

Yields: 1 cake

35 chocolate wafer cookies, divided

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1.5 quarts coffee chip ice cream 

1 cup Bolthouse Farms Mocha Cappuccino Smoothie Beverage

1 cup ice

1 cup whipped cream

Chocolate chips or shavings for topping (optional)

Place 25 cookies in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until crumbs are formed.  Add butter and pulse until combined.  Place mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan (with approx. 3 inch sides) that is lined with parchment paper, and press with your fingers until crust coats the bottom of the pan.  Freeze for 10 minutes.  During this time, remove ice cream to soften and pulse remaining 10 crackers in the food processor, then set aside.  After the 10 minutes, remove pan from freezer and add ice cream.  Smooth with a spatula to create an even layer, then add cookie crumble on top, and place back in freezer for 10 minutes.  During that time, place ice and coffee beverage in a blender and pulse until a smoothie is formed.  Remove to a bowl, and fold in whipped cream.  Place on top of cake and smooth with a spatula.  Sprinkle chocolate chips or shavings on top, and freeze for 30 minutes or until ready to eat. 

Invincible Coffee: The Next Evolution of Joe

Warning -- Satire -- old April Fools post!

You've heard of Bulletproof Coffee, that mixture of coffee and butter that keeps you lean and supercharges your mental focus.

The problem with Bulletproof Coffee is that the butter forms a greasy oil slick on top of your coffee. Yuck! Is there any way to rescue Bulletproof Coffee?

Enter Invincible Coffee, the next evolution of Joe.

Read more �

Kristy Taco Salad (with Doritos and French Dressing)

In my pre-teen through teen years, taco salad night was a pretty regular occurrence at my house. I would help my mom season and cook the ground beef (seasoning taco meat was where I got my start in the kitchen), my sister would prep the veggies, and Tami, my sister�s best friend, would grate the cheese. Seriously, I don't have any memories of anyone else grating cheese in my teen years.


If my life was Full House, I was a mix between Michelle and Stephanie, Amanda was DJ, and Tami was Kimmy Gibbler (no offense, Tam) in that she was always at our house, and Amanda was waaayyy nicer to me when it was just the two of us and Tami wasn�t there. And, just like on Full House, sometimes Tami/Kimmy and me/Michelle/Stephanie would hang out and get into trouble without Amanda/DJ, and Amanda/DJ would get really annoyed by it (like the time Kimmy and Steph started that band or the time Kimmy pierced Steph�s ears� totally the kind of shenanigans Tami and I would get in). 

By the way, I thought the first episode of Fuller House was brilliant. They all looked like they were having so much fun. And they were making fun of the show in such a nostalgic, hilarious way. I laughed. I cried. When they dedicated the episode to their moms!!! Are you kidding me! I actually did cry. I could care less about the rest of the series, it�s basically your run of the mill cheesy network-style comedy. Ain�t nobody got time for that. I�m way too busy plowing through Nurse Jackie. Because Edie Falco/Carm Soprano is life, and also� Merritt Wever!? Love her!! Does anyone else think she and Brie Larson look like sisters/ doppelg�ngers?

Back to taco salad. We would set up a build your own taco salad situation, with leafy green lettuce, super seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, olives, cheese, beans (sometimes black, sometimes pinto), sour cream, salsa, and (always) Juanita's tortilla chips, all fresh and layered nicely on top of each other. That was taco salad.

When I got to college, my roommate Kristy made us a batch of taco salads. If Kristy was in our Full House scenario, she would be Gia, Amber/ Stephanie�s hot, sassy, boy-crazy, party-animal bff who hosts make-out parties and tells her mom that the booze in the dorm room belongs to her roommate (me) when really it�s hers. So she made taco salads, and I. was. appalled. Unseasoned ground beef? Nacho Cheese Doritos? FRENCH DRESSING, FFS!? And all of it chopped and pre-mixed together forming sort of a crunchy-mushy-slimy bowl of neon-orange!? This was NOT taco salad. It sounded terrible. It looked terrible. I freaking loved it. I begged Kristy to make her taco salad all the time. She brought it to every picnic/BBQ/road trip. I introduced it to my family. I gave it the very creative moniker KristyTacoSalad.

Well, it turns out this salad is a thing. It�s all over the internet. One recipe called it �healthy,� lol. My mother-in-law just emailed me a photo of a recipe card she has that�s almost identical, which she said she used to make all the time in the late 70s and early 80s. Someone, somewhere, is probably eating it in a church basement at this very moment. I have a lot of questions. Why is it a thing? Where did it come from? What kind of evil genius came up with it? Have you guys heard of this madness? What is happening here!?! Has John Stamos had work done?!?!?

You could freshen and fancy this up�make a homemade dressing, use a leafier green, layer it, make some kind of homemade tortilla chips, or even serve it in a Doritos chip bag to be hip and twee AF. But you�d be doing yourself and this salad a disservice. It�s amazing and disgusting and wonderful and terrible and addicting just the way it is, and you should definitely take it to a BBQ this spring or summer. 

This particular version of the infamous Dorito Taco Salad/KristyTacoSalad recipe is courtesy of Kristy and her mom Edie (no relation to Falco). I made a few tweaks to fit our lifestyle: Evan doesn�t eat kidney beans, so we used black beans, my grocery store is so fancy it doesn�t carry Kraft creamy French dressing, so we used Brianna�s Zesty French (which was great), and we�re strictly a Spicy Nacho Doritos household, so we used those in place of the classic Nacho Cheese Doritos. If you�re not eating it right away, mix the meat, beans, onions, and olives in one container and the lettuce and tomatoes in another. Just before serving, mix together with the avo, cheese, chips, and dressing. 

Two notes about the photos: My mother-in-law crocheted the red-trimmed towel (!), and I forgot to add cheese in the photos. 

Kristy Taco Salad / Dorito Taco Salad
Serves 4-6
The measurements here are a starting place. Add more or less of what you like. Kristy (and my mother-in-law) use a full onion. Kristy also doesn't season the beef at all, but I'm team S&P for life.

1 lb ground beef 
Salt & pepper
1 can beans (kidney or black) drained and rinsed
� large onion, diced
� cup sliced black olives
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 small head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 avocado, diced
4 oz grated cheddar cheese
Creamy French Dressing
(Spicy) Nacho Cheese Doritos (the chips aren't a garnish, they're a full on ingredient. Don't be afraid to use a lot... contrary to the recipe I found online, I don't consider this a "healthy" recipe... indulge, go wild).

In a skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef until browned. Drain, and then in a colander/ strainer, rinse (this sounds weird, but trust Kristy, if you don�t do it, the beef will have a greasy coating). Add beef to a large bowl, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in beans, onions, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, and cheese. Crunch up a bunch of chips and mix in, along with enough dressing to coat. Serve with more chips and dressing, as desired.