Roasted Carrot Crostini with Dill Pesto & Feta

I'm happy I decided to try to start posting recipes again just in time for Easter.  I love all food-related holidays but Easter is especially nice because after the heavier meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas, we now get to celebrate bright and fresh flavours that go along with the start of springtime.

Whenever I try to think of Easter recipes my mind always goes straight to carrots.  As part of our Easter dinner last year, my sister made roasted carrots and radishes with a lemon dill pesto (inspired by With Food + Love) and the flavours worked really well together.  So I decided to turn that concept into an appetizer, with the addition of feta because feta makes everything better!

This dish looks a little fancy but is really easy to prepare. I just chopped and roasted some carrots in the oven, then whipped together a lemony dill pesto in the food processor.  I toasted some whole wheat baguette slices, spread some of the pesto on top, then topped them with the carrots and feta. I loved how the bright flavours of the pesto balanced out the earthy carrots and salty feta.

I'm in charge of apps for our family's Easter dinner this year so I think I'll be making these again!  I hope you all enjoy the long weekend and have a happy Easter if you're celebrating it!

Roasted Carrot Crostini with Lemon Dill Pesto & Feta

Serves 10-15

Ingredients:

For the carrots:

1-1/2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped into small, about ¼-½” pieces

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the lemon dill pesto:

1-1/2 cups packed fresh dill

1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Other:

1/4 to 1/3 cup crumbled feta

1 large baguette, sliced diagonally into thin slices (I used a whole wheat ciabatta loaf)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss carrots with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Roast in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, prepare dill pesto.  Place all ingredients (dill, parsley, garlic, walnuts, lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper) in the bowl of a food processor (I used the smaller bowl) and process until the pesto is as smooth as you can get it.  Taste and adjust any seasoning or amounts to your liking if necessary.

When carrots are done, leave oven on, and spray baguette slices with cooking spray.  Set on baking sheet and let toast in oven for about 3-5 minutes, until toasted.

Prepare crostini by spreading pesto on baguette slices, top with crumbled feta and roasted carrots, and garnish with chopped parsley if desired.  Serve while carrots are still warm.

Gluten-Free Moroccan Macaroni Bowl (+ a giveaway!)

I don't follow a gluten-free diet or think of gluten as an evil thing to avoid, but I know there are a lot of people out there who have to avoid it for health reasons, and for their sake I'm happy that there now seem to be so many gluten-free alternatives out there.  People should not have to go without food like pasta!

Catelli pasta is one of my favourite brands here in Canada because they offer so many alternatives to regular white pasta.  I love their line with vegetables in the pasta, but I usually buy the whole grain pasta.  Last year they launched a line of gluten-free pasta including penne, fusilli, and spaghetti, and recently they added macaroni to the line-up and asked if I wanted to give it a try. 

Turns out it tastes just like regular pasta, even though it's made from white and brown rice, corn, and quinoa.  I still prefer using whole grain pasta whenever I can, but it's nice to know there's a tasty alternative out there for those with gluten sensitivities or intolerance, or for me to use in dishes where whole wheat doesn't really work as well, like in this pasta bowl.

Catelli has lots of awesome pasta recipes on their site, and I decided to go with a Moroccan version to test out this pasta, and I'm so glad I did!  Everything about this pasta is so different from your typical tomato sauce pasta, and even though it looks like there are a lot of strange ingredients in this, they all work together so well!

Instead of a sauce, this pasta is tossed with a light dressing full of fresh lemon flavour and lots of spices.  You also use some of this dressing to roast some cauliflower and chickpeas, giving them awesome flavour and texture.  I never roast chickpeas for pasta, usually tossing them in raw, but now I always want to eat them this way - I love that they get a little crispy!  Also mixed in there are some green olives, sliced dried apricot, feta cheese, and mint leaves.  I know it sounds a little weird, but trust me that it all the ingredients are balanced and together make an amazing flavour, so don't leave anything out!  I couldn't stop eating this right after I made it and already look forward to making it again.

If you want to try out this gluten-free pasta yourself, you can get a coupon for $1.00 off here.  And if you're lucky (and live in Canada), you have a chance to win a whole year's supply of Catelli's gluten-free macaroni!

To enter to win this awesome prize (with a retail value of approximately $180), please follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below - there are three ways to enter: leaving a comment on this blog, following me on Facebook, or on Twitter - pick one or all three for more entries!

Please be sure to enter with a valid e-mail address or Facebook account so I can contact you if you're randomly selected as the winner.  The contest will close at midnight EST on Sunday, June 8th, 2014.  Please note that as this is a Canadian product, this contest is open to Canadians only (sorry, American friends!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don't forget to check out the recipe below!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post.  I received one box of pasta to make this recipe but was not compensated in any other way for my time, ingredients, or thoughts, which are all my own :) I just thought this was a great giveaway opportunity for my readers!

Gluten-Free Moroccan Macaroni Bowl with Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas

Slightly adapted from Catelli Pasta

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 (540mL) can of no-salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 small head or 3/4 of a larger head)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1 box (340g) Catelli® Gluten Free Macaroni

3/4 cup slivered dried apricots

1/3 cup sliced green olives

1 cup crumbled feta

3/4 cup loosely packed chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet (I used two) with parchment paper or foil.  Add cauliflower and chickpeas to a large bowl.  Whisk lemon juice, oil, honey, ginger, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until combined.  Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the dressing over the cauliflower and chickpeas and toss to combine.  Spread cauliflower and chickpeas onto prepared baking sheets in an even layer.  Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until browned, tossing halfway through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining.  Toss cooked pasta with roasted cauliflower and chickpeas, apricots, olives, feta, mint, reserved pasta water, and reserved lemon dressing.  Stir until combined and serve warm.

Chickpea & Veggie Brown Rice Barley Bowl with Tahini Dressing

Healthy "bowls" seem to becoming more and more popular these days both across the internet and in cafes and restaurants.  They have many names and variations, but the basic concept is that you combine a base of grains (like rice, quinoa, barley, etc), several different vegetables (raw or cooked), a protein or two (chicken, tofu, beans, nuts, or cheese), and a delicious sauce to tie it all together, thus giving you a complete meal in a bowl.

I find myself drawn to any healthy meal that ends in "bowl" because I love a meal with different textures, flavours, and colours that all fit together in one dish, and these bowls are easy to make super nutritious.

The problem with ordering them in a restaurant is that they're usually pretty expensive, and while making them at home can require a bit of effort, it's cheaper and you can make a lot so that you have delicious healthy bowls for lunches through the week!

For my version, I combined the following:

Base - a mix of brown rice, barley, and spelt (I used a PC blend of the three for convenience!)
Veggies - steamed broccoli, roasted beets and sweet potatoes, sauteed spinach with garlic, and grated raw carrots
Protein - I forgot to include this in the picture above, but I used chickpeas
Sauce - tahini dressing with soy sauce and sesame oil for flavour!

Another nice thing about these is that they're highly adaptable, so if you don't like the ingredients that I used, you can make whatever substitutions you like, as long as you maintain a variety of colour and textures!

Try using quinoa as a base if you don't like rice; substitute the chickpeas for chicken or tofu if you like; grate raw beets instead of roasting them; sautee brussels sprouts or kale instead of spinach; roast squash instead of sweet potato ... you get the idea!

This makes a filling lunch or dinner that will leave you feeling great.  If you're making enough to have leftovers (which I recommend you do!), just be sure to store the sauce separately or else it will get absorbed and leave the dish feeling sauceless, which won't be as good as sauce is the most important part!

Chickpea & Veggie Brown Rice Barley Bowl with Tahini Dressing

Inspired by several recipes, such as ones seen on Paint + Tofu, Dishing Up The Dirt, and Grace Bezanson

Makes 3-6 servings, depending on serving size

Ingredients:

For the Toppings:

~1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large sweet potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 large beets, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch of baby spinach (however much you like; I used a small container)

2 large carrots, grated (a food processor with the grater attachment works well for this!)

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

For the Base:

3-4 cups cooked brown rice and/or barley (I used a bag of mixed brown rice, barley, and spelt) or your favourite grain, such as quinoa (about 1 to 1-1/2 cups uncooked)

For the Sauce:

1/2 cup tahini

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon honey or agave

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Toss sweet potatoes and beets with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread in an even layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes, until tender.  The sweet potatoes will likely be done sooner than the beets; just transfer them to a bowl and put the beets back in the oven.  I prefer roasting beets whole but this takes longer; if you have time, just roast the whole beet for 1 hour, drizzled with oil and wrapped in foil, then peel and chop it after.

Meanwhile, you can cook the broccoli, spinach, and your grains.  Steam the broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water, covered, for about 2-3 minutes until bright green and tender.  Rinse with cold water and drain.  For the spinach, heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds (this is optional; you could also use a different oil if you like), then add spinach and cook just until wilted.  Remove from heat.  Cook your grains according to package directions; I cooked mine uncovered in simmering water for around 18 minutes, then seasoned with salt and pepper.

Prepare the dressing by whisking all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.  Taste and adjust any amounts to your liking.  Note that this makes a lot of dressing and likely more than you’ll need; just save any extras for another use!

Prepare bowls by adding grains to the bottom, topping with vegetables (beets, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, spinach) and chickpeas, and drizzling tahini dressing on top.  Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper, if desired.  You can eat this warm or at room temperature.

If you have leftovers, you can portion out everything together into containers except the sauce - that should  be kept separate and drizzled on right before eating so it doesn't get absorbed.

Broccoli White Bean Soup

Winter is still showing no signs of slowing down here in Ontario, so despite it technically being spring, I'm still eating comfort food like cozy warm soups.  Which I'm not complaining about, as soups (at least the versions I make) are one of the easiest and quickest meals to prepare and they make great leftovers to be welcomed home to after a cold bus ride home after school!

This broccoli white bean soup is not only quick and easy to prepare but is nutritious and filling too.  I've used beans as a soup thickener before (like in this curried chickpea and kale soup or this roasted tomato white bean soup) and though it doesn't give it the same silky smooth texture that full fat cream would, I actually prefer the slightly chunky texture and thickness that beans add, not to mention it's a great way to sneak in protein to a vegetable soup!

In addition to the white beans, this simple soup mainly just consists of broccoli and vegetable broth along with some basic flavourings like onion, garlic, and lemon juice.  I added nutritional yeast to the soup to give it a bit of cheesy, nutty flavour (and added nutrition) without any cheese, but some shavings of good quality parmesan on top are also critical for flavour.  I decided to only halfway puree my soup to leave some texture in it, but you can definitely puree it all if you prefer a smooth soup.

While you won't trick anyone into thinking this is a traditional butter, cream, and cheese filled broccoli soup, it's a great alternative if you're looking for a more nutritious but still comforting version of broccoli soup!

Broccoli White Bean Soup

Adapted from Whole Living

Serves around 3-4

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium to large yellow onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (540mL) can of no-salt added white kidney beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or grated parmesan if desired)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper (I used around 1/2 teaspoon each)

Shaved parmesan for topping

Directions:

Steam broccoli in a steamer basket, covered over simmering water, for about 3-4 minutes, until bright green and tender.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened and translucent, about 6-7 minutes.  Add the beans and broth and bring to a simmer.  Add broccoli and red pepper flakes and stir.  Remove from heat and puree about half to two-thirds of the soup either by transferring to a blender or using an immersion blender.  I wanted to leave some texture to the soup, but you can puree all of it if you prefer the soup to be smooth.  Return to saucepan and stir.  Stir in the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm, topped with shaved parmesan.

Avocado Green Goddess Grilled Cheese

A simple grilled cheese sandwich with melted cheese oozing out of buttered toasty bread is pretty much perfection on its own, but sometimes it's also fun to get creative and mix things up a bit.  I'm not sure where the line is drawn between grilled cheese becoming basically a grilled sandwich, but I think this version retains the key elements of a grilled cheese, just kicked up a notch!

In this version, I whipped together an avocado green goddess dressing, with a ripe avocado, a bit of light sour cream, and lots of herbs.  You could stop right now and just use this as a veggie dip (and indeed you can do that with your leftovers!), but we're going to keep going...

And spread that sauce on some fresh sourdough bread, adding sliced mozzarella cheese to a second slice and throwing in some spinach for some extra green colour and a boost of nutrition!

Then we put it all together and grill it up so everything gets warm and toasty, and we have our avocado green goddess grilled cheese sandwich ready to eat!

I loved the bright flavour of the herbs paired with the creamy avocado and melted cheese, and the sourdough bread was the perfect choice to sandwich it all together.

I used part-skim mozzarella cheese for its mild flavour, which let the green goddess sauce really take over, but if you want to be able to taste the cheese more, you could definitely use something a little stronger like a white cheddar, provolone, or maybe an herbed havarti.  You could also leave out or increase the amount of spinach in this sandwich, or use something like arugula for a bit of peppery bite.  There are so many ways to customize this!

If you're into football, this would also make a great game day snack for this Sunday, especially if you'll be cheering for the 49ers along with me!  I actually made this with San Francisco in mind, as it's the birthplace of green goddess dressing and is famous for its sourdough bread (and the 49ers mascot is named Sourdough Sam!).

But of course, if you don't care about or even hate football, you can still enjoy this for your Sunday lunch before you do something much more productive with your day than I will be :)

Have a great weekend!

Avocado Green Goddess Grilled Cheese

Idea inspired by Kenny Callaghan on Today; Recipe adapted from Panini Happy and my green goddess salmon sliders

Makes 4-8 sandwiches

Ingredients:

For the avocado green goddess sauce:

1 ripe avocado, flesh scooped out

1/4 cup light or non-fat sour cream

1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley

3 tablespoons chopped chives

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Dash of Worcestershire sauce (optional, omit for vegetarians)

For the sandwiches:

8-16 slices of fresh sourdough bread, sliced about ½” thick

~4-8oz part-skim mozzarella cheese (or your cheese of choice, such as white cheddar, provolone, Havarti..)

Spinach – a few leaves per sandwich, depending on your preference

Margarine or butter for toasting the bread, if desired

Directions:

To make the sauce, add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.  Start with only 1/2 tablespoon of the lemon juice and add the rest after tasting, if desired.  Adjust other amounts as well, if desired. 

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat.  Prepare sandwiches: Spread 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of sauce on a slice of bread, per sandwich.  I used 1/4 cup per sandwich which is a lot of sauce, so if you don’t want the sauce to be overpowering, use only 2 tablespoons to spread a thin layer.  Note that there is 1 cup of sauce total, so using 1/4 cup per sandwich will allow for 4 sandwiches, and using 2 tablespoons will make enough for 8 sandwiches.  Season with a little extra salt and pepper, if desired.

Add desired amount of sliced cheese to other slice of bread and top with spinach leaves.  Combine two slices of bread to form a sandwich and very lightly butter one side of the bread.  Place that side face down in preheated skillet and cook until golden brown.  Butter other side of bread and flip until cooked.  Remove from heat and eat warm.

Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus

Sorry I haven't posted very much lately!  I had wanted to share a few Thanksgiving-y recipes before American Thanksgiving this week (even though we already had our Thanksgiving over a month ago, I always love an excuse to make comfort food!) but I just didn't have time.   I did, however, make this amazing balsamic caramelized onion hummus last weekend so I'm selling it as a last-minute Thanksgiving appetizer idea for my American friends, but you can and should make it any other time you want!

If you've read my blog for some time you know I love hummus, and especially trying new flavours of hummus.  I try to make it myself when I can because it's usually cheaper and healthier (plus you get a much bigger batch than the tiny containers from the store!), but I often buy it too, especially when a new flavour catches my eye at the grocery store.  The latest one to do so was Summer Fresh's caramelized onion hummus, which I completely devoured and then vowed to make my own version.

So I drew inspiration from the ingredient list on the container as well as a few recipes I easily found online to make my own recipe, and at the last minute decided to drizzle in a balsamic reduction to make it extra special!

I know I say this after every hummus I make, but I think this is my new favourite hummus!  Caramelized onions are already one of my favourite things to add to any dish, but they work especially well blended into a creamy dip and complemented with the sweetness of the balsamic reduction.  I left some caramelized onions whole too which gave the dip a nice added texture.

I ate mine with caramelized onion triscuits which obviously went perfectly well with the hummus.  They made great dippers, but if you want to make this a bit of a fancier appetizer, you can spread some hummus on the crackers and top them with a little caramelized onions and balsamic drizzle.
 A little more work but also a little prettier!

If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I hope you have a wonderful time with family, friends, and food! 

Balsamic Caramelized Onion Hummus

Recipe inspired by Summer Fresh Caramelized Onion Hummus with additional inspiration from several sources including The Real Housewife, An Edible Mosaic, The Sweets Life

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 medium yellow or sweet onions, thinly sliced

1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, divided

1 (540mL) can chickpeas

3 tablespoons reserved liquid from can of chickpeas

3 tablespoons tahini

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and stir to coat with oil.  After about 5 minutes, season with a bit of salt.  Spread onions out evenly across the pan and let cook, stirring about every 3-4 minutes, until softened, about 20-30 minutes total.  In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add 1 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, and stir to coat.  Once they are caramelized to your liking, remove from pan.  Save a small amount of onions to top the hummus later, if desired.  Add the rest to the large bowl of a food processor. 

Meanwhile, reserve about 3 tablespoons of liquid from the chickpea can and drain and rinse the rest of the chickpeas.  Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and let simmer until reduced to a thick, syrupy liquid, about 1-2 tablespoons worth.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Add to the food processor the chickpeas, liquid from the chickpea can, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  Process until smooth.  Adjust any ingredient amounts to your liking, if necessary.

Serve hummus topped with reserved caramelized onions and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

Golden Summer Squash & Corn Soup

I apologize that I haven't been able to share a recipe post in a couple of weeks now!  I thought I would have plenty of downtime in Japan for blogging, but it turned out I barely even had time to email my family at night - not that I'm complaining, because it meant I was keeping busy there and seeing lots of sights!  Now that I'm home though, I'm so excited to be able to get back into a routine, including blogging and cooking for myself again!

I had a lot of great food in Japan, but considering I didn't know all the ingredients that went into my meals (or sometimes what my meal even was), it's nice to be able to make my own meals now where I can control exactly what goes into them.  And with summer flying by, all I've been wanting to throw into my meals lately is tons of summer veggies!  I also caught a pretty bad cold in Japan that I've been suffering through all week, so I knew as soon as I got back that I wanted to make a summer soup.

I'd bookmarked this golden summer squash and corn soup from Eating Well (one of my favourite recipe sources) a while ago, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity to finally make it.  The soup is pretty simple - basically you sauté some onions and summer squash, puree them with vegetable broth, add some fresh corn, and top with feta and chives.  I made a few changes to the original recipe, like using veggie broth instead of chicken, onion plus garlic instead of shallots (mostly because I didn't have any), adding some jalapeno for spice and an extra cob of corn to be pureed with the squash, and using dried basil and fresh chives as the herbs (but you can use whatever you like). 

This soup was bright and summery but warm and comforting at the same time.  I especially loved the chunks of feta, which sounded like a strange addition at first, but surprisingly worked pretty well.  While this hasn't exactly helped my cold this week, it definitely satisfied my craving for a fresh homemade summer meal!

Summer Squash and Corn Soup with Feta & Chives

Adapted from Eating Well

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1-1/2 pounds yellow summer squash (the ones that look like zucchini) (about 3 medium squash), chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed (divided)

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 a jalapeno, minced (or a whole pepper for more spice)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

~1/4 cup chopped chives

~1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes, stirring often.  Add squash and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add kernels from one ear of corn along with the garlic, stir, and cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add vegetable broth, basil, salt, and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer about 5 minutes. 

Transfer mixture to a blender in 3 batches, being careful not to fill the blender too high as the mixture will be hot.  Puree each batch until smooth, transferring the pureed portions to a separate large measuring cup or bowl as you go.  Once everything has been pureed, return it all to the saucepan over medium heat.  Add the remaining corn along with the jalapeno, and let simmer gently for another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.  Add additional seasoning to taste at this point.  Serve warm and top each portion with about 1 tablespoon each of feta and chives (or more, if desired).

Lemony Lentil Salad with Dill & Feta

As I mentioned in my recap of things I made and did in July, I was recently reminded of how much I love lentil salads when I tried a recipe from My New Roots.  Not only are they easy to make and highly adaptable to different flavours and ingredients, but they usually make a lot of leftovers that are great for packing filling lunches, plus they’re super healthy – lentils are low in fat and really high in protein and fiber.

So as soon as I finished all the leftovers from the last lentil salad I tried (and there were a lot of leftovers!) I immediately made a new one, and I’m going to try to keep this up as much as possible, considering I now have three giant bags of lentils in my cupboard to use up!  

While the last lentil salad I tried was heavily spiced, this time I wanted something more bright and summery.  I knew I wanted to use lemon and dill, so when I came across a recipe for a lemony lentil salad with dill and feta from Eating Well I knew I was on the right track.  Of course, I can never seem to leave a recipe alone, so I made a few changes, starting with using dry lentils instead of canned lentils (canned are still fine, but if you’re concerned about sodium then it’s best to use dry - I use them because they're cheaper and easy to cook).  I also used shallot instead of red onion, added a clove of garlic, used more cucumber and replaced the red pepper with cherry tomatoes, and for the dressing I added a bit of honey for sweetness, reduced the lemon juice (it’s still very lemony!) and reduced the olive oil from 1/3 cup down to 2 tablespoons, which was plenty of oil for me.

I loved the balance of the lemony dressing with the salty feta, along with the bright flavour of dill and the crunch of summer veggies.  I threw a handful of fresh arugula into each serving to make it more salad-like and also cut the strong lemon flavour down to just the right amount (so I recommend this step!)

I hope you guys love lentils as much as I do, and if you think you don’t, perhaps it’s time to give them another try!

Lemony Lentil Salad with Dill & Feta

Adapted from Eating Well

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups dry brown or green lentils

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon honey or agave

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-1/2 cups chopped cucumber

1 cup chopped grape or cherry tomatoes

3/4 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Arugula for serving

Directions:

Combine lentils with about 3.5 cups of water (enough to cover them by a couple of inches) in a medium or large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender (but not mushy!).  Remove from heat, drain, and rinse with cold water to cool.

While lentils are cooking, prepare dressing by whisking together the lemon juice, dill, shallot, garlic, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Slowly add the olive oil until combined. 

Toss cooled lentils with the dressing.  Mix in the cucumber, tomatoes, and desired amount of feta and toss to combine.  Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.  Serve in bowls with a big handful of arugula added to each, if desired.

Blueberry Maple Cornmeal Cobbler

This past weekend, my family got together to do some cherry and blueberry picking, which was my first time berry picking in years (when you don't have a car, berry fields are kind of inaccessible).  Fortunately, blueberries and cherries are probably the easiest things to pick - no prickly thorns to watch out for and no crouching down getting your shorts covered in berry stains.  It was crazy hot out, but it was pretty nice ending up with bags full of fresh berries with fairly minimal work involved.

Of course, I now have a ton of blueberries to eat, but that's not going to be much of a problem for me because they're one of my favourite berries to eat on their own.  If you like your blueberries more in dessert form (or if you just love blueberries in any form), this is the dessert for you!

I love crisps and cobblers because they're such the perfect summertime dessert - they can be thrown together quickly and with minimal dishes, there's only one dish in the oven to worry about, they highlight summer berries, and they're a fairly light tasting way to end a meal out in your backyard on a summer evening.

Which is exactly how we enjoyed this blueberry maple cornmeal cobbler on Saturday night.

And because I made this for my family to enjoy, I didn't style and photograph it the way I normally would for a blog post, making sure I have optimal lighting, accessorizing with napkins, and cleaning up the sides of my bowl from berry stains.  Instead, what you see is exactly what we saw before we all devoured our servings. 

The only difference you may see in your own version is that your biscuit topping will probably be a bit puffier because unlike me, you probably know how to follow recipe directions.  I realized only 15 minutes after I had put the cobbler in the oven that I completely forgot to add baking powder to the biscuit dough.  I had a minor little meltdown thinking it would turn out to be a disaster, but luckily, it still turned out wonderfully!

I had reduced the amount of sugar in the blueberry filling and added pure maple syrup (plus some cinnamon) for flavour, and I loved the hint of maple in the sweet, warm berries.  I also loved the crunch of cornmeal in the topping that paired so well with the blueberries, along with the crunch from the turbinado sugar on top that also added a lovely sparkle to the dish!  The original recipe called for forming biscuits and placing those on top, but I just dropped my dough across more evenly so every piece could have some of the delicious cornmeal biscuit dough with it!

The only thing missing from the servings pictured was vanilla ice cream - I didn't think to add it when I first served it but it would have been the perfect addition to cool down and cut the sweetness of the filling a bit.  My sister tried some of the leftovers with ice cream and assured me that it was the way to go - so make sure to serve this with ice cream (and don't forget the baking powder)!

Blueberry Maple Cornmeal Cobbler

Adapted from a recipe in Rustic Fruit Desserts

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon unsalted butter at room temperature, for greasing the baking dish

Filling:

3 dry pints (2 pounds) fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Biscuit Topping:

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fine cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup cold heavy cream

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Butter a 2 or 3 quart glass baking dish.

To make the filling, wash and drain the blueberries and place in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon.  Toss with blueberries to coat.  Pour in the lemon juice and maple syrup and stir to combine.  Transfer to the prepared dish, using a flexible spatula to scrape down the bowl and get all the juices.

To make the biscuit topping, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add the butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut in the butter until the mixture reaches the texture of large crumbs. Pour in the cream and stir just until the mixture comes together (it will be wet).

Drop the dough by large pieces on top of the blueberries, leaving some gaps.  Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top.  Transfer to preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until biscuits are golden and filling is bubbling in the middle.  Serve warm, but let servings sit for a few minutes before eating as the filling will be very hot!  Serving with ice cream will help with this too (and is highly recommended).  Leftovers will keep for a few days at room temperature, covered with a tea towel.

Whole Wheat Pasta with Chickpea Sauce, Broccoli, & Tomato

I got back from my little vacation up north almost a week ago now and somehow I still haven’t cooked a meal for myself yet.  Usually I’m dying to get back to cooking my own meals when I return from a trip, but this time I’ve been too busy to go grocery shopping or plan a meal and have therefore been eating a lot of peanut butter and jam sandwiches (thankfully I froze some fresh blueberry chia jam before I left) over the last week!  But seeing as I used up the last of my frozen bread today, I think tonight I’ll finally force myself to go shopping and make some food to get me through the rest of the week!

One of my go-to meals when I need an inexpensive and healthy meal that will give me leftovers for lunches through the week is this chickpea pasta.  A sauce that’s made out of chickpeas may sound a little weird, but it tastes so good!  I want to say it tastes like a white wine cream sauce but I’m sure someone who regularly eats cream sauces will disagree, so I’ll just say that it’s hard to guess it’s a chickpea sauce (unless you’re looking closely at the texture, which is of course a little chunkier than a cream sauce).  

I’ve adapted this Cooking Light recipe over several meals to my own liking, so that in my version I eliminate the raw garlic as I don’t think it’s needed, add cooked onion to the sauce for more flavour, use vegetable broth instead of chicken (not just to make it vegetarian but because I think it tastes better in this dish), and I add broccoli and increase the amount of veggies.  I also like to use whole wheat pasta and have tried shells, rotini, and linguine – they all work.  Feel free to use whatever vegetables you want too – mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, leafy greens – they’d all be great if you want to boost the nutrients even more.  

With the protein in the chickpea sauce, this makes a great vegetarian meal that will fill you up to power you through the rest of the work day, which, along with coffee, I will definitely be needing this week!

Whole Wheat Pasta with Broccoli, Tomato, & Chickpea Sauce

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (540mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1-3/4 cups vegetable broth
375g (one box) uncooked whole wheat pasta (any type works)
1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Grated parmesan cheese for topping
Salt and pepper for extra seasoning

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and stir for another minute. Add salt, red pepper flakes, chickpeas, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions. During the last few minutes of cooking, place broccoli in a steamer and set covered over the boiling water until bright green. Drain broccoli and pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

Place chickpea mixture in a food processor. Add lemon juice and reserved pasta water and blend until smooth. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Combine chickpea sauce, pasta, broccoli, and tomatoes in a saucepan or large bowl and toss to combine. Serve warm, topped with grated parmesan cheese.  Season again with salt and pepper if needed.

Lemon Chickpea Quinoa Burgers

I love those free little newspaper/magazines that grocery stores put out to advertise their new products every season, mostly because I love anything that’s free, but also because I’m always looking for new sources of inspiration for ingredients and recipes.  It’s not often that I find a recipe I actually like in there, but when I saw these lemon chickpea quinoa burgers in the latest issue of Inspired (by Sobeys), I was intrigued because I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

So, I got right to work making my own version, with shallots instead of red onion, basil instead of parsley, more oats to firm the mixture up a bit, and a lemon yogurt sauce to serve with them.  I also refrained from processing the whole mixture to keep some texture in them, and I pan-fried my burgers instead of barbequing them (because I don’t have a bbq), but I think they’d be firm enough to bbq if you want to give it a try!

I loved the texture of the burgers, which held their shape and had a bit of crunch from the quinoa, and I loved the bright lemon flavour that really shone through in both the burgers and yogurt sauce.  I also think they would work really well as cute little vegetarian sliders at a bbq!

And as far as burgers go, these are pretty darn healthy!  They’re full of protein from the addition of chickpeas, quinoa, and Greek yogurt, as well as fiber from the oats and whole grain buns, and vitamins from the veggies and lemon.  

After tasting them, I did think they needed a little something extra to balance out all the lemony-ness, so the next night I added feta cheese on top of the burger, and the saltiness of the feta was the perfect thing to balance out the sour lemon.  So don’t leave out the feta!

(I had to take a quick shot the next night to document the feta since it wasn’t in any of the other pictures.  I went a little heavy with the feta, but a lot of it falls out anyway!  The sauce is still there, on top of the lettuce):

Of course, the boyfriend said that these were good, but that next time I should maybe make them with buffalo or chipotle sauce instead of lemon (he’s not much of a lemon person, except for lemon poppy seed bread). 

But while these may not be much of a manly burger, I think the fact that he was willing to eat them for dinner three nights in a row shows that they’re still pretty tasty!

Lemon Chickpea Quinoa Burgers

Adapted from Inspired

Makes 5 burgers

Ingredients:

For the Burgers:

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 (540mL) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup minced shallot

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2-3 tablespoons packed minced basil (or parsley if you like)

For the Sauce:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced basil

Salt and pepper

For Assembly:

5 whole grain hamburger buns

Lettuce

Feta cheese (low-fat, if desired)

Directions:

Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil.  Add quinoa, cover, reduce heat and let simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and keep covered for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, add chickpeas to the bowl of a food processor or mini chopper and pulse until they are finely ground.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add oats to same food processor and pulse a few times to break them down into fine crumbs (but not a powder).  Add to chickpeas in large bowl.  Add to the bowl the shallots, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg, cumin, salt, pepper, and basil.  Add quinoa.  Mix everything together with a large fork until well combined.  (note: leave the egg to mix in last if you want to be able to taste the mixture first and adjust seasonings or lemon juice to your liking). Divide and shape into 5 patties.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and cook patties for about 4-5 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, prepare yogurt sauce by mixing yogurt, lemon juice, and basil, and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble burgers with yogurt sauce, lettuce, and feta on whole grain buns.