Mmmmm….Alaskan Black Cod is one of my favourite kinds of fish. To me, it tastes like butter- just decadent and rich! I’ve only really had it in a miso based sauce before, so when I saw this recipe for it using a red coconut curry sauce (looove coconut curry!), I knew I had to make it.

Alaskan Black Cod in Thai Red Coconut Curry (adapted from here)

• 2 tablespoons butter (preferably from grass-fed cows)
• 1 medium sweet onion, cut into quarters lengthwise, then sliced crosswise
• 1 small red or green bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 1 14 ounce can coconut milk (unsweetened), shaken well
• 1 1/2- 3 tablespoons red curry paste (start with 1 1/2 tbsp, but taste-test and adjust accordingly- you may need more depending on the brand used)
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar, to taste (optional)
• 4 dried kaffir lime leaves
•  2 or 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted cashews (optional)
• 1 to 1/2 pounds wild-caught cod fillets (I used 1 large fillet)
• sea salt

I recently spent the weekend on Saltspring Island (one of my favourite gulf islands here in British Columbia, Canada). Saltspring is known for it’s self-sustaining community. For this small island, you can literally get anything you need. There are plenty of beautiful farms producing everything from fresh dairy  and vegetables to lavender and wine. Every Saturday there is a market in the heart of town that showcases all of the great products of the island. I love seeing all of the fresh organic vegetables, hand crafted jewellery and clothing, and of course the raw, or vegan baked goods.

A trip to Saltspring Island reminds me of everything summer, which leads me to this salad. A caprese salad just screams summer, to me. Using tomatoes straight from the garden or farmer’s market for the fullest of flavours, along with fresh basil, and soft mozzarella cheese, you just can’t beat the taste that these simple ingredients provide. A quick vinaigrette to drizzle over top and this colourful salad is ready to serve.

Caprese Salad

• 2 large tomatoes, red or yellow or both, sliced
• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 lb soft mozzarella, sliced or bocconcini
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp altogether of dried italian herbs (ie. basil, oregano, thyme)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

I’ve been trying to eat gluten free as much as possible lately, as I suspect I have a gluten sensitivity. When I eat totally gluten free, I find that my regularly occurring migraines disappear, as does the brain fog and fatigue.

I’ve never been a huge fan of rice but lately I have been eating more of it, as rice and rice flour are gluten free. Since the summer I have been wanting to make rice paper wraps and I finally got my act together! These wraps are so versatile, and once you get the basic steps of softening and rolling the wraps, you can really fill them with anything that you want.

Rice Paper Wraps with Almond Butter Sauce

• carrots, cut into matchsticks
• cucumbers, cut into strips
• green onions, cut into strips
• bell peppers, cut into strips
• parsley, chopped
• prawns, cut in half, de-tailed
• rice noodles, cooked, and cut into smaller lengths
• avocado, cut into strips

Almond Butter Sauce:

• 1/4 cup smooth almond butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp honey
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sambal oelek
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Blend all ingredients in food processor, or by hand, with a whisk.

Prep your ingredients

I used pre-cooked frozen shrimp in some of the wraps. I thawed it by running it under cold water for a couple minutes. I took the tails off and slice them in half.

I used a handful of rice noodles and put them in boiling water for one minute. I drained them and rinsed them under cold water to end the cooking process.

Lay out the things you will need to prepare the rice paper wraps. A big bowl of water, three damp tea towels or kitchen towels, and your wraps!

Handle the wraps carefully when pulling them out of the package ‘cuz they are fraaaaaaaaagile.

Lay out a damp tea towel and quickly submerge the rice paper wrap in the bowl of water. Don’t let it sit in the water literally cover it in the water and take it out right away. Otherwise, it will be too soft and you won’t be able to roll it without it ripping. Place it on the tea towel, and do a 2nd one. Cover them with another damp tea towel.

I did 4 wraps at a time- 2 on each towel, stacked on top of eachother. After all 4 are wet and covered, flip the wraps over. I did this by folding the sides of the towels and flipping it all at once.

Rice paper wraps are SO sticky. And my patience went from almost non-existant to completely non-existant pretty fast haha. If you try to pick them up and move them, they will just stick together like saran wrap. Instead….leave them on the damp towel and fill them there, it will save you some trouble!!

It was about this time, after wrapping half the wraps that I realized I had forgotten the spinach!!

Roll them up tight, tucking in the edges as you go.

Cut in half, or do like I did and cut into three’s. Use a very sharp knife (not serrated!).

Make your sauce and Enjoy!!!

I like coming up with other foods to use in the place of bread or wraps. Using toasted nori sheets as a wrap is one of my favourites. In this case, though, I’m using big lettuce leaves to encase this yummy asian filling.

This is a great meal because you can use all your favourite veggies and your favourite protein, or use up all of those odds-n-ends you have sitting in your fridge. I decided to use prawns as my protein, but you could easily use chicken, beef, tofu, etc.

I made one large pan full of filling, but add in the vegetables and just eyeball how much you want to make.

Hoisin Lettuce Wraps

• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• button mushrooms, chopped
• red and yellow bell peppers, diced
• celery, diced
• 1 can baby corn, drained and chopped
• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 3 green onions, chopped
• prawns (I used frozen, pre-cooked prawns, so that all I had to do was thaw, remove the tails, and chop. I used about 15 prawns in total.)
• red chili flakes
• tamari (maybe a tbsp for a big pan)
• rice wine vinegar (1/2 tbsp maybe)
• hoisin (a couple tbsp)
• sesame oil (a tsp maybe)
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, leaves seperated

Heat the oil in a skillet, add the onions and cooking, stirring, until translucent. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and cook a minute or two more. Add the celery, bell peppers, ginger, and baby corn. Cook for a couple minutes, and then add the water chestnuts and green onions and chili flakes. Add the prawns, just to heat through. Add a splash of tamari, hoisin, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar. Just taste, and experiment!! Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Ahhh, I’m a few days late in putting up a new post, but once again I was in one of my favourite places ever- Whistler. Doesn’t it seem like I just got back from there….? I’m not complaining! This time we got to do one of my favourite Whistler activities….”The River of Golden Dreams” although sometimes this little river is a bit of a nightmare! It’s always fun, but this time was exceptionally fun. There was a bit of beer involved, kayaks flipping into freezing water, a lost and recovered hat and pair of sunglasses (twice!), soaking wet clothes, a lost and not recovered $600 pair of Oakleys, war wounds from getting entangled in surrounding bushes, and an unfortunate duck mama losing two babies that ended with a happy reunion between them.

The guys trying to get all the water out of the flipped kayak…bahaha!

Uh-oh…stuck in the bushes again!

The reunited duck family!

I’m home now, but I can’t say I feel much like cooking anything….I feel like it’s too nice out to be in the kitchen! But when I saw Sweet on Veg post about these falafels, I just HAD to make them! When I was in bartending school, my friend and I would eat at the falafel place downstairs from the school for lunch and we became totally addicted, but I haven’t had any since!

I followed the recipe for the falafels pretty much exactly, but instead of making them in pitas I used wraps, which work just as well. I love how these can be baked or pan-fried. I slathered my wrap with hummus and a bit of tzatziki, and filled it with lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Yummmmm!

These potatoes taste exactly like a samosa. I’m not a huge potato eater (yams on the otherhand, I adore!) but I really did enjoy these, and it was great to not have to worry about making a dough like you would for a samosa. Same great flavour, though!

Sorry for the slowdown in posts (this has been sitting in my drafts folder for a long time now!), but I am in Whistler, like I said before. I’ll be home very soon, though (with a review on a fantastic restaurant I went to).

In the mean time…this is what most of the weekend looked like- plenty of birthday fun

Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes (adapted from Veganomicon)

• 4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed, baked, cooled (to bake a potato, preheat the oven to 400 F, poke the potato with a fork several times, bake for about an hour until easily pierced with a fork)
• 1/4 unsweetened soy milk
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Slice the baked potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato in the skin. Be careful, so you don’t break the skin! Mash the scooped out potato with the soymilk and set the skin aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard and coriander seeds and heat for a minute or two until they start to pop. Add the onions and carrots and saute for 7-10 minutes until the onions begin to brown.

Add the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute. Add the cumin, turmeric, and salt, along with a splash of water. Stir well, then add the potatoes mixing well. Add a little more water if it looks to dry. Cook until the potatoes are heated through. Add the lemon juice to taste, and stir.

Brush the insides of the potato skins with a little bit of olive oil. Scoop the filling into the skins. Line a baking sheet with the stuffed potatoes and bake for 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro, and enjoy with Mango Chutney.

Mango Chutney (adapted from Veganomicon)

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp dried chili
• 1 large mango, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tbsp unrefined sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp curry powder

Preheat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the oil, garlic, ginger, and chili to the pan. Saute for 1 minute. Add the mango, sugar, water and turn up to medium. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, until boiling. Add the red wine vinegar and curry powder and cook for another minute, uncovered. Chill until ready to use.

I really wanted to try making a dish that I haven’t made before…in fact, I have never even liked dolmades- until I made these! I chose to make a completely vegan version and I was really happy with the results. Dolmades are basically a rice mixture (sometimes with ground meat, or vegetables) wrapped in grape leaves. You can find grape leaves at specialty grocery stores, but I was lucky enough to purchase them from this great little restaurant in Vancouver. I have been eating their awesome falafel wraps on pretty much a weekly basis lately, with my friend, as we attend bartending school (did I mention I was doing bar school!? It’s so much fun!!). They also happen to sell a few items like grape leaves, hummus, dates, etc. and I will definitely be doing a proper review on the restaurant in the next couple of weeks- they’re so nice and make such good food! When I picked up a jar of grape leaves to buy, the man at the till was so kind and he asked me what I was doing with them. I told him I was making vegetarian dolmades and he gave me all kinds of tips to make them just like his mom used to- how cool!! I took some liberty in making these though and probably used some unconventional ingredients, but it’s all about the end result You can definitely roll the dolmades a couple days ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you want to cook them.

Vegan Dolmades

• about 35 grape leaves, rinsed in warm water for about 30 minutes to wash off the brine, drained, and patted dry, and stems trimmed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup currants
• 1/2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 tsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 long grain white rice ( I used basmati…)
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1-2 tbsp tomato paste

Line a large saucepan with about 5 of your grape leaves (use the torn or damaged ones if you have any). Set aside.

In a skillet, heat a tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the green onions, and cook, stirring once in awhile until soft. Add pine nuts and currants and stir, let cook for about 2 minutes. Add dill, mint, salt, and rice and cook for about a minute.

Add 3/4 cup of vegetable stock, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer about ten minutes. Stir in peas and turn off heat (keep covered).

Lay out a grape leaf (vein side up) and place one tbsp of the filling into the middle of the leaf.

Fold the bottom stem end up over the filling, fold in the sides and roll toward the top of the leaf. Repeat with all the remaining leaves. This is where you can stick them in the fridge for a couple days before cooking, if you so choose.

If you want to cook them now, put them in your large saucepan that you had previously lined with grape leaves in a single layer. ( I had some double layers because I’m a rebel)

Drizzle with a tsbp of olive oil and add the remaining vegetable stock, and the tomato paste into the pot. Add more vegetable stock if necessary so that the dolmades are pretty much covered. In case you’re wondering, that blob is my tomato paste….it was frozen.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer for about 1 hour, until the rice is tender. Lift them out of the pot and you can eat them warm, or cooled. I had them with tzatziki! Enjoy!!

Guys, I love sushi. I could eat Japanese food every day for the rest of my life and never get bored. I’m super excited about my garden this year because I was given EDAMAME seeds to plant! These seeds are very special- it’s difficult to get edamame (soy bean) seeds that are organic, and not genetically modified and the seeds I recieved are just that- pure, and organic! I can’t plant them just yet, but I’m looking forward to the day that I can go out to my garden and pick fresh edamame pods to steam. I’ll take some pictures of my garden soon (it’s all covered in net right now to keep the bugs and neighbourhood cats away). I’ve planted a ton of romaine lettuce already, as well as arugula, radicchio, mesclun greens, and salad bowl lettuce. We also planted red onions, TONS of sweet walla walls, white onions and green onions. We have enough cilantro growing that we could feed a small country, and we have plenty of other herbs growing throughout the year. My rhubard is beginning to pop up, and my two little strawberry plants survived the winter! Along with the edamame, I will be planting a couple of other kinds of beans, and, get this- personal cantaloupe! My garden has evolved quite a bit from when it began last year and that’s just what I want! Self-sustaining, baby- woohooooooo!

Wow….I went a little off track there. What I meant to say was that I made sushi. Yes, I attempted the art of sushi-making for the 2nd time in my life. I’ve now come to understand why Nobu was not even allowed to pick up a knife for the first three years of his apprenticeship- Japanese food is ART!

I made some great, authentic tasting sushi rice, using instructions from here. I also used there instructions on how to make a California roll (the rice is on the outside, and the seaweed inside), which got a bit complicated and I ended up reverting back to normal sushi-rolling methods.

Sushi Rice

Prepare a mixture called Tezu- Mix together 250 ml of water, 30 ml of rice vinegar and 5 ml of salt.

• 500 ml Sushi Rice
• 600 ml Water
• 60 ml Rice Vinegar
• 30 ml Sugar
• 5 ml Salt

Wash the rice several times until the water runs fairly clear when draining.

Heat rice and water on the stove until boiling, cover tightly and simmer at lowest heat allowing the rice to steam for 18 minutes. You must leave it covered… no peaking!

Remove your pot from the heat and let stand covered for another 15 minutes.

Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let your sushi vinegar cool to room temperature.

Moisten your bowl with a cloth dampened with your tezu mixture.

Put the hot rice into your mixing bowl and add 1/4 of the sushi vinegar solution. Mix with a folding motion and repeat until all sushi vinegar is used

California Rolls

• 1 avocado, sliced into strips
• lump crab meat (I don’t recommend using imitation crab…)
• 1 English cucumber – remove seeds and cut into strips – 10 cm long and 1/2 cm thick (skin on)
• nori sheets
• sushi rice
• wasabi to mix with mayo (to taste. I used vegenaise, as I don’t eat regular mayo)
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Place a sheet of cellophane wrap – same size as your rolling mat on your bamboo rolling mat.
Dip your fingers in your Tezu  and take some rice with your finger tips (10 cm round ball). Place the rice ball in the center of the wrap and gently distribute the rice the width of your nori sheet and 5 cm longer then then your sheet of seaweed. Don’t work your rice too much.

Center your nori sheet on the sheet of rice. Place a row of avocado wedges in the center of your nori sheet. Your nori should cover the entire rice sheet side to side and towards you. The extra 5 cm rice should be open along width-wise away from you

Put the cucumber strips alongside your avocado and do likewise with your crab sticks. Lay a strip of the wasabi/mayo mixture.

Roll the side nearest you to form a center core of ingredients surrounded by nori (there should be that 5 cm band of rice left after your nori).

Pull out your wrap at the end of your roll and overlap your ingredients roll over the last band of rice. By pulling and lightly squeezing your mat, form your roll circular or triangular-wise (gently hold your ingredient in on the ends while manipulating your roll).

Cut your roll into 8 pieces. Your knife must be very sharp, and dip it into the Tezu before you cut it, to keep the rice from sticking to it.

Garnish with sesame seeds.

If you can remember back to this post, I made a meal inspired from the Middle East. This particular dish is a cumin- carrot salad. I used organic carrots and they were so fresh and sweet, it added an entire element of flavour compared to regular carrots. Yum! For those of you that don’t know, cumin is an extremely healthy spice. It has a unique flavour and wonderful properties that aid in digestion, help fight off colds, and cumin is actually very rich in iron. It’s also a powerful antioxidant, and has even been said to aid those suffering with insomnia. It’s used extensively in Ayurvedic healing, and you can see why! Try this salad, and experience the benefits of cumin.

Cumin-Carrot Salad (adapted from the NY Times)

• 1 lb of organic carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch of salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup black olives, sliced

Place the carrots in a steamer above 1 inch of boiling water, cover and steam 5 to 8 minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water, and drain on paper towels. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic and cumin. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in carrots, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, remaining olive oil, parsley, and olives. Serve at room temperature. Serves 4.

Earlier in the week, in one of my culinary classes, we were all asked to bring in a dish that represents comfort food for us. We then headed to the kitchen and go to explain the dish we brought, and then share it with the class. One of my favourites was what my Chef brought in. He is from the Middle East, and he made beautiful, soft, homemade pita bread with hummus, a fava bean dish called Fool Meudane, and wonderful falafel. I was so impressed and inspired that I wanted to make the very same meal for my family! I decided to add a cumin-carrot salad to the meal, as well. Something I love about these dishes is that they all happen to be vegetarian- yum!

I’ll be sharing the recipes over the next little while, and I’d like to start with a basic hummus recipe that gets topped with the fool meudane. My chef informed me that this is not a traditional way of serving it, but hey, he did it….and I liked it!

Basic Hummus

• 1 19 fl oz can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

Combine all the ingredients, except olive oil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and blend. Stir in parsley and top with paprika.

Fool Meudane (original recipe can be found here)

• 2 cups frozen fava beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (add tbsp by tbsp, until you get the amount you want- a 1/4 cup may be too much for some people)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1 small tomato, diced

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, stir until fragrant. Add the fava beans, lemon juice, and salt. Cover and cook for a minute or two. Add the diced tomato, cover and simmer 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and mash the ingredients with a fork until chunky. You don’t want this dish to be perfectly smooth. Garnish with parsely and drizzle with olive oil.

To serve these, spread the hummus in a bowl leaving a hole in the middle, add the fool meudane in the centre, sprinkle with smoked paprika, and drizzle with olive oil.