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.

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

Here is another great salad recipe that is light and healthy and perfect for Fall. Delicious bosc pears, dried cranberries, candied pecans, and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The pecans are really the star of this dish, they are sooo tasty!

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing (Oh She Glows)

Salad:

• 1 bag baby spinach (about 6 cups)
• 2 bosc pears, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup candied pecans

Dressing:

• 2.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 minced clove of garlic

Candied Pecans

• 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup pecan halves

In a skillet, stir together the sugar, olive oil and vinegar over medium heat until the sugar melts and the syrup bubbles. This should take a couple minutes. Stir the pecans until they’re evenly coated and toasted. This should take about 5 to 6 minutes. Spread the nuts out on a piece of parchment paper and separate using two forks. Cool completely.

Directions: Toss all ingredients into a bowl and whisk! Makes about 1/2 cup of dressing.

I thought I would also share my table settings for a Fall dinner. I went with pumpkins, squash, and a black, white and orange theme. Not quite all out Halloween, instead just a touch!

Love these cool skulls from Home Sense for about $5.00!

Also loooove these great Paris plates (they’re my mom’s!). Some even have cool + creepy gargoyles on them.

I bought some funky little squash from the local nursery for like 99 cents each and placde them along with  this white ghost pumpkin which is from Pier 1, I believe.

I think my favourite part was adding little name tags to these cute little pumpkins!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I know I just posted about salads, but I like this salad too much to put it off! It’s a simple spinach salad with crunchy bean sprouts, button mushrooms, tomato, and avocado, but it’s alllll about the sweet ‘n’ tangy dressing! This recipe is just slightly adapted from my Aunt!

On another note, is it weird that I’m already excited for Halloween? I already ordered my costume from online….it should be here in the next few days!! Can’t wait to show you all!

Annnnnnd I have some very exciting news as of about October 1st. Just wait and see

Spinach Salad

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup vinegar (1/2 white wine vinegar, 1/2 red wine vinegar)
• 1/2 vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup ketchup (I’ve used my homemade, as well as regular before)
• 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

Blend until smooth in a hand blender.

Salad:

• Spinach
• Bean sprouts
• Button mushrooms, chopped
• Avocado, sliced
• Water chestnuts
• Lots of pepper and salt

Combine in amounts to your liking. Top with dressing. Enjoy!

I love salads and I eat them everyday. The key to getting the most out of them is to pack them with nutritious and filling ingredients. Lettuce, spinach, or mixed greens are just the base, and in this delicious case, I roasted up some butternut squash to add on top. It made this salad so much for substantial and it was a great dinner. Take advantage of all the in-season squash!!

Balsamic Roasted Butternut Squash

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, and cut into roughly 1-inch cubes
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt + pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place squash on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes, or until tender and beginning to caramelize, turning once or twice.

The rest of my salad was made up of spinach, romaine, goat cheese, red onion, tomato, pecans and avocado.

I loooove Whistler, and since I visit here often, I’m so excited that I’ve found such a fantastic place to eat at now. Creekbread not only makes delicious food, but I was amazed at the amount of organic and local ingredients they use. It seems like everything on the entire menu is made of top-quality ingredients, from nitrite-free and organic meats to fresh produce grown at local farms, and local, organic whole-milk cheeses.

This is the little 2nd floor:

The menu basically consists of an organic salad which comes with a blend of greens, arame seaweed, sesame seeds, celery, carrots, and a homemade raspberry vinaigrette. From there, you can really add whatever you can imagine on to your salad for a couple dollars more. The next option is their beautiful thin-crust pizzas that are cooked in a giant wood-fired oven. You can choose your base pizza and of course, customize it to your liking with their great ingredients. There are vegan pizza options, too! All the pizzas are available in 12-inch or 16-inch sizes.

I should mention that the tasty crust is made from 100% organic Candadian wheat, milled into white flour, and with the wheat germ restored. Creekbread is located at 2021 Karen Crescent in Creekside, Whistler.

I don’t look that happy here….I can assure you that I was very happy, though I had just been woken from a much needed nap- haha!

It was absolutely packed when we went in and I was happy to see that! There are two levels to the restaurant, as well as a patio and all were full. All the servers and hosts were really positive and it suited the friendly, community vibe that the restaurant has. Between my mom, my dad, and I, we ordered two salads and 1 16-inch pizza, and we had leftovers to take home. I love that they had great beverage choices, too (so happy to see plain, unsweetened ice tea on a menu- it’s always super sugary usually!) I took a look at the dessert menu, and they had some really nice options like a locally made pumpkin gelato with a gingerbread cookie cooked in the wood oven, or a brownie sundae, also cooked in the wood oven! Alas…I was already to full to indulge.

The salad was yummy, and I ate the one with goat cheese (which was really good) and the dressing was nice. I was hesitant when I heard it was a raspberry dressing, as I don’t like the super sweet fruity vinaigrette that lots of restaurants serve. I was pleasantly surprised to find it light in flavour and it went well with the salad.

The pizza…..ohhh, the pizza. To die for! This sealed the deal- I will absolutely be eating here again. We ordered the Whistler Community Creekbread which consists of tomato sauce, caramelized organic onions, BC grown mushrooms, whole milk mozzarella and asiago cheese on organic bread dough with organic garlic oil, and a sprinkle of organic herbs. The mushrooms had such amazing flavour- really woodsy and delicious. The crust was so thin and the tomato sauce was light and fabulous. I reaaaally enjoyed this pizza.

If you are visiting Whistler, I really recommend giving Creekbread a try- it feels great to know you are getting the best quality and sustainable ingredients when you are eating out. Creekbread also does something special on Tuesdays where they donate a portion of every Creekbread sold to a local non profit organization- so nice!!

On another note, tomorrow is Father’s Day, and I just had to share with you these awesome necktie-themed cakes- they are too cute to miss! Thanks to Matt for showing me these!

And two bonus pictures of my dog, Pepper, because I love her to death!

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.

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.

When I went to Mexico, one of my favourite meals was at a Mexican restaurant in the resort. There was a great salad bar and one of my favourite salads was a corn salad. It had a mystery flavour to it, but it made it fantastic. After a couple bites, I realized that the flavour was cinnamon! A strong cinnamon flavour. I knew that when I got home I would be making a salad with corn and cinnamon. Instead of stopping at a corn salad, I decided to add the cinnamon flavour to quinoa, and make that the base of my salad. I added black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, and feta cheese and it made a truly beautiful, healthful salad. I took the flavour up another notch by making a roasted red pepper vinaigrette to top the salad.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups cold water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• pinch of salt and pepper
• zest of one lime
• juice of one lime
• tobasco, to taste
• 1 avocado
• 3-4 tomatoes
• 3/4 cup canned or frozen corn kernals
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 cup cubed feta cheese
• 2-3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

Rinse the quinoa thoroughly and put in a pot with cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper, lime zest and juice, tobasco, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from stove and let sit for 5 more minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and toss. Enjoy!

I love Japanese food and I go out for Japanese food almost weekly. There are some great local sushi places that are super cheap and produce great food- I’m addicted. Some of my favourites are the crab miso soup, gomae (spinach in a peanut dressing), sunomono salad, california rolls, spider rolls (sushi with deep fried soft shell crab in it) and sesame broccoli salad. Instead of going out tonight (the Canucks are playing, I can’t miss that!) I decided to stay in and create a Japanese inspired meal of my own. I started with a Sunomono Salad straight out of the Cookbook of the Month, “Rebar”. It did not dissapoint! Though a different style than the ones I usually have, it was fantastic. I got to dust off the ol’ bottle of sake and use some ingredients I don’t use often. I realize that I love making Japanese food because the aesthetics of it are so key. It’s so much fun to make food and work extra hard to make it look beautiful.

Sunomono Salad (Adapted from Rebar Cookbook) Serves 2

• 1/4 cup sake
• 2 tbsp honey (or use mirin if you want it completely vegan)
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• fresh lemon juice to taste
• 100 g rice vermicelli (the really skinny ones)

Bring the sake to a boil in a small pot. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the honey. Allow to cool a bit, and then add the rest of the liquid ingredients. Chill. When ready to use, add lemon juice to taste.

Cook the rice noodles according to the package. Drain and rinse very well under cold water. Split between two serving bowls.

Add the liquid until the noodles are almost submerged. Garnish the dish with avocados, thinly sliced lemon, cucumber, julienne carrots and white sesame seeds.

A few days ago my mom bought me a lovely piece of tuna and I was eager to use it. I did a bit of searching to find something fun that would go with my sunomono salad, and I decided on a dish from….”Dish”. I don’t know if any of you are familiar with the show Dish on the food network, hosted by Trish Magwood, but she makes really simple and fun foods for various events for her clients. The tuna was originally supposed to be raw, but I thought a quick sear would make it better, as my tuna had spent some time in the freezer and I wanted to perk it up. I also used Vegenaise instead of mayonnaise, because frankly, I prefer the flavour and the fact there are no egg yolks in it.

Cucumber Tuna Rolls (Adapted from Dish)

• 1 English cucumber
• Enough tuna for how many rolls you need (about 1 lb  should do)
• 2 Tbsp black sesame seeds
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Wasabi
• 1/4 cup Vegenaise (or mayonnaise)
• 1/4 tsp Sambal Oelek (or hot chili paste)

Mix together the black sesame seeds, sesame oil, and freshly cracked pepper in a bowl.

Lightly oil a saute pan and heat to medium high heat. Season your tuna with salt and pepper, and place into pan. Sear for about 30 seconds one side and remove.

Dice tuna into a 1-inch dice and toss into sesame oil mixture. Reserve.

Use a mandolin or vegetable peeler to cut long strips from the cucumber.

Take a strip of cucumber, add a couple of pieces of diced tuna at one end, and a small dot of wasabi at the other end. Roll up the roll like sushi, and use the wasabi to secure the end. Repeat with the rest of tuna and cucumber.

Mix the Vegenaise and Sambal Oelek together and place a small dollop on top of each roll. Add black sesame seeds to garnish. Serve and enjoy!

All in all, this meal was a total winner, and I would love to recreate it sometime for friends. Try it yourself!