Okay okay, so these are really just crab cakes, but you can’t blame me for fantasizing about trying one of Spongebob’s favourite foods.

This was actually the first time I had made crab cakes and I was very pleased with the recipe. It didn’t involve eggs as a binding agent and was very light on the bread crumbs (It calls for one cup, but I used maybe a 1/4 cup just coating the top and bottom of the cake lightly.). I also replaced the mayonnaise with a vegan mayo, so these crab cakes were egg free! I had also never made chimichurri sauce, and that turned out to be a total breeze. Just chuck the ingredients in a food processor and you’re good to go!

Crab Cakes in Chimichurri Sauce (adapted from here)

Sauce:

• 3 large garlic cloves
• 2 cups fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne

Another delicious summer salad recipe for ya today! This one features plump, juicy, ripe peaches that are warmed and caramelized on the grill. They pair up with toasty walnuts, blue cheese, and peppery arugula and it’s all tied together with a honey & balsamic reduction. What’s not to like!? I’ve included a variation of this recipe that I think would be delicious to try!

Grilled Peach Salad (adapted from here)

• 2-3 ripe peaches, cut in half
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
• butter (or olive oil/Earth Balance/etc. to veganize the recipe)
• 5 oz baby arugula
• 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 4-6 minutes until they are aromatic. Set them aside to cool. Once cooled, give them a rough chop.

In a small saucepan, heat the honey, balsamic vinegar, thyme, black pepper and salt over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the honey and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the honey balsamic syrup cool a bit – it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Preheat a grill pan to high heat. Spread a thin layer of butter over the cut side of the peaches. Place the peaches on the grill, cut side down. Grill until peaches are softened and grill marks appear- 4 to 5 minutes.

Arrange the peaches cut side up over the baby arugula and top with blue cheese crumbles and toasted walnuts. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy!

**Variation: Try using apricots instead of peaches, goat cheese instead of blue cheese, basil instead of thyme, and pine nuts instead of walnuts.

This recipe is very easy to make, and you can easily adapt it to include other delicious ingredients- mushrooms, red onion, or sun dried tomatoes would all be great add ins. Make this for a light meal or serve it as a delicious summer appetizer.

Grilled Veggie Tart

• 15oz puff pastry, thawed ( I used Tenderflake, which is vegan, but any kind will do!)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tsp dried basil
• sea salt and pepper
• 2 oz mozzarella
• 2 oz feta
• 2 oz parmesan

I’m a huge fan of quinoa, and this quinoa dish is no exception. It is easy to make, requiring only two saucepans and makes a perfect side dish or light meal. Use a good quality parmesan cheese and make this for dinner!!

Mushroom Broccoli Quisotto (slightly adapted from Quinoa 365)

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cups asparagus, chopped
• 2 cups white button mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the asparagus, mushrooms, onion and garlic until tender, about ten minutes, stirring frequently.

Combine the quinoa, stock and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until quinoa is tender and liquid absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. Leave covered saucepan on burner for a few more minutes and then fluff quinoa up with a fork.

Add the cooked quinoa to the vegetable mixture. Stir in parsley, parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Here is a great use for butternut squash (my fav!). It’s a lovely curried soup and it’s so easy to make. I served this for my friends when they came over for a “Fall Dinner” and they asked me if it was from a package because they thought it was too good. What a great compliment!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup (adapted from The Everyday Vegan)

• 1 large butternut squash, cooked (6-7 cups)
• 1 large yam, cooked
• 1 cup carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup sweet white onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Madras curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1- 1 1/2 cups of water
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 F and bake squash and yams for 55-60 minutes (until soft when pierced). Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. Prepare other ingredients while squash and yams are baking and cooling. Once cooled, slice squash and peel from flesh. Slice yam.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, sea salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Add some water or stock if necessary. Stir in garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander, and cinnamon. Cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until onions soften. Add vegetable stock, 1 cup of water, squash and yam. Puree soup in blender or food processor until smooth. Add extra water depending on desired thickness. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for ten minutes. Season to taste.

This makes a lot of soup, but I like to put it in single-serving sized containers and freeze it. Yum!

Ooh, and I finally got my copy of Foodies of the World in the mail. Check it out!! Excuse the crappy pictures…I took them with my cell phone!

I had been debating what to do with the beautiful and GIGANTIC rhubarb growing in my garden for several weeks now. It got to the point where it had to be picked, before it turned hard and stringy. I settled on scones, because I had never made them with rhubarb before- usually I stick to sauces and such. Although I did make a rhubarb sauce to top them with! I had just found a giant bag of spelt flour (which I love!) at Costco, and took advantage of the opportunity to use it.

Check out the size of just one leaf! To me it looks prehistoric…like something you’d see with dinosaurs around it…but then again I was always a huge fan of Land Before Time as a child.

Rhubarb Spelt Scones

• 1 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unrefined sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, cubed and cold
• 1/2 cup rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and let stand a few minutes, until curdled. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the butter, and cut it in with a pastry cutter, until only pea-sized pieces remain. Add the rhubarb and the curdled almond milk. Mix until it just comes together. If it is too crumbly, just add a bit more almond milk little by little until you can form a ball with the dough. On a lightly floured surface, make the dough into a circle, about an inch thick, and cut into 8 pieces, brush tops with almond milk and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Rhubarb Topping (adapted from here)

• 4 stalks rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine rhubarb and water in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes- until rhubarb begins to soften. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt. Continue to simmer until rhubarb is completely softened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in honey and vanilla extract. Let cool.

Serve the scones smothered in rhubarb sauce, with clotted cream or whipped cream, or of course with some nice, cold butter. Enjoy!

I thought I would also share some of my favourite pics from the summer so far, because I know my blogging hasn’t exactly been regular. At least you can see a bit of what I’ve been up to!

Kayaking in Whistler

Attending a concert- Trace Adkins & Toby Keith! Any excuse to wear my cowboy boots!

Ummm...stealing Yoshi's head

Forcing my brother to take a picture with me

Drinking bellinis...possibly after a beer garden...tough work to say the least!

And there you go!

One last thing I have been doing is writing for Examiner.com as their Vancouver Vegetarian Restaurant Examiner. Please check out my first couple of articles, and feel free to subscribe, comment or share on Facebook or Twitter!

I had a brand new package of organic bulgur that had been sitting in my pantry for way to long. I wanted to make something other than the traditional tabbouleh with it (don’t get me wrong though, I enjoy tabbouleh!) I found a fantastic recipe from Bittersweet and as soon as I saw it had miso in it, I was sold! I was so impressed with this recipe, it sounds so simple but simple really is best here. My mom and I have been enjoying this over the past couple of days.

In case you aren’t too familiar with bulgur, it’s a Middle Eastern grain. It’s high in fibre and protein, and low in fat and calories. It’s a whole grain, and usually derived from durum wheat. When you buy it, it comes par-boiled and dried. It’s used around the world in pilafs, salads, soups, baked goods, and as cereal. Ya learn somethin’ new every day!

Bulgur Pilaf

• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp tamari
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted
• 1 tbsp chopped chives

Heat a dry skillet over the stove and toss in the bulgur. Toast for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to keep the bulgur moving, until it smells nutty and turns slightly darker brown. Pour the grains out onto a plate, and place the emptied skillet back over the heat.

Add in the oil, garlic and ginger, and cook for just a minute or two until the spices have browned a bit. Stir in the lemon zest, soy sauce, and miso paste, breaking up any lumps that may form. Stand back a bit while slowly pouring in the water, as it may hiss and splash slightly. Scrape everything off the bottom if it’s sticking, and add your toasted bulgur into the mix, along with the peas. Turn down the heat, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes. If all of the liquid hasn’t been absorbed by then, simply continue to cook over low heat, uncovered, until it has all evaporated.

Let stand for 5 minutes off the heat, and stir in the almonds and chives.

Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side.

My garden’s lettuce box has been growing like crazy and we have an abundance of arugula, salad bowl lettuce, mesclun green, and romaine. I love love love our romaine- it’s sooo crisp and fresh and you can’t get more local than your very own backyard. I decided to make a caesar salad, because it was a perfect way to showcase this lovely lettuce. My friend was over for dinner and she couldn’t get over how good the salad tasted- she was sure it was the homegrown lettuce! This is a really neat Caesar salad dressing, because it’s completely raw. There is no mayo, or eggs, or anything like that, yet it’s creamy and garlicky, just like regular caesar salad dressing. Instead of using croutons, I just used cashews, as I’m not eating yeast right now. I know the argument that cashews aren’t technically “raw” but I don’t eat 100% so it’s not a big deal for me.

I took some pictures of the other wonderful things we have growing here, too. I think the only things I left out were our tomatoes, marionberry, strawberries, some herbs, and the several kinds of beans that I have yet to plant.

Romaine:

Lettuce Box:

One of the raspberry ‘bushes’….gotta give this little baby some love for the next couple years!

Parsley:

Peas (and those little containers contain personal cantaloupe!):

Rosemary- my favourite herb!!

Rhubarb:

Garlic (I cannot WAIT to harvest this and eat it…mmm….garlic….)

I found this recipe on the internet, but apparently it is adapted from Natalia Rose’s Raw Food Detox Diet Book. It makes about 3 cups, and keeps for about 10 days.

Raw Caesar Salad

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp miso
• 5 dates
• 4 celery stalks
• freshly ground black pepper

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.

This is a unique, and ultra creamy soup. The subtle chamomile flavours pokes through the dish just enough for one to taste it, but not identify it. The chamomile tea takes the place of any herbs and spices, and a nice pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper is all you need to enhance the lovely flavour of the soup. This soup took about 20 minutes to make- it was so simple. I love how the cauliflower is just so creamy and smooth, without the addition of any actual cream- or any dairy at all, for that matter. For a vegan soup, I think absolutely anyone would enjoy this.

Chamomile comes from a flowering plant of the daisy family. It has been used for centuries to help with insomnia, anxiety, skin conditions, headaches and stomach problems. The smell of chamomile just brings relaxation to mind. This soup is a great way to enjoy chamomile in a form other than tea.

Chamomile Cauliflower Soup (adapted from Cooking with Tea)

• 7 chamomile tea bags
• 3 cups water
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 large shallot, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• chopped frresh parsley, for garnish
• olive oil, for garnish

Boil the water and tea bags in a large saucepan for 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags and squeeze the excess liquid into the pan. Add the cauliflower to the tea, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving the liquid.

In a small saucepan, saute the shallot and celery in the olive oil until the shallot is clear. Put in a blender with the cauliflower, plenty of salt and pepper to taste, and a cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Blend until smooth and add more liquid if necessary until desired thickness is reached. Pour into bowls, garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly chopped parsley, and enjoy!

I really love having healthy muffins on hand for snacks- I just keep them in the freezer and then heat them up whenever I need a little boost. I really find that so many muffins are more like dessert than healthy snack so I think it’s better to just make them at home. These ones are fantastic- very little sugar, healthy protein packed quinoa, flaxseeds, and great flavour. I topped these muffins with a bit of butter and honey or almond butter. The quinoa makes them have a unique chewy texture that I had to get used to- they never tasted bad, I just hadn’t had a muffin with that texture before. Vegan or not, these are very enjoyable and you can feel good about eating such a nutritious muffin!

Almond Quinoa Muffins (adapted from Veganomicon)

• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I used slightly less)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup currants or dried blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin. In a bowl, whisk together the almond milk and ground flaxseed and let sit for one minute. Whisk in oil, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extracts.

In a seperate bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the cooked quinoa and currants/blueberries and mix until the large lumps are gone. Pour into the muffin tin and bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.