The. Best. Sandwich. Ever.

I was having another one of those, "Grr, I have nothing in my fridge... what do I eat?" days and before I headed to work, decided "Hey! I'm going to make a sandwich!" (I rarely eat sandwiches). Inspired by a Saving Gigi sandwich I ate the other day that was epically delicious as well, I created this. The. Best. Sandwich. Ever.

Isn't it pretty?

Ingredients:

for tapenade
-sundried tomatoes
-fresh basil
-olive oil
-pine nuts
-garlic cloves
for sandwich
-toast of choice
-avocado
-mustard (I used sweet red pepper jelly mustard)
-crab pieces (I used out of a can)
-portobello mushroom
-salt and pepper

Directions:

1). To make tapenade: Throw a handful of sundried tomatoes, some fresh basil leaves, a few garlic cloves, a few pine nuts and olive oil into a magic bullet (or blender) and pulse until blended. Add oil until at desired consistency.
2). Heat skillet to medium high and fry portobello mushroom in a bit of olive oil for approximately 5 minutes, flipping twice. Sprinkle some fresh ground pepper and a tiny pinch of salt on either side while frying. Toast bread while this is happening.
3). Mash 1/8 of an avocado onto a slice of the toasted bread. Layer mustard, tapenade and crab on top of that. Place hot portobello on top of everything and you have yourself the best open-face sandwich you will ever eat!

Guaranteed to cure all ills!

First cucumber!

A few days ago I picked my first cucumber! Grown all by myself from seed! So pretty! Here it is!

I also – luckily – moved into a place with black raspberry bushes in the backyard. Taste a bit different than plain raspberries but just as delicious! Also, a bit smaller and, well, tougher I would say. They don't squish when you're picking them which is nice. Native to the neighbourhood (and wild!) so says my downstairs neighbour!

The daily pickins!

Corn-mazing pancakes!!

Who loves pancakes? I love pancakes!
Who loves corn? I love corn!
What happened when I found a recipe combining the two? Love!!

So I have an amazing cookbook called "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen" by Jack Bishop and it is my favourite. I rarely find a recipe I don't like. Here is one I made the other day and have been raving about to everyone who doesn't tell me to stop talking about food.

Ingredients:

-4 medium ears uncooked corn, husks and silks removed
-1oz (1/4 cup) cheddar cheese, shredded
-1 tbsp minced cilantro (I used parsley)
-3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)
-2 large eggs
-2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
-1 cup all-purpose flour (I used all-purpose gluten-free flour and added 1 tsp guar gum)
-1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1). Grate the corn (yes, grate!) the corn down to the cobs. Stir in cheese, cilantro/parsley, milk, eggs and melted butter until smooth. Fold in flour, baking powder and salt.
2). Make like a pancake in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until lightly browned on either side, about 5 minutes total.
3). Serve with salsa, sour cream or (surprisingly tasty) honey!

This is my little urban garden a few weeks ago :) From left to right I have: rainbow chard, rainbow kale, tomatoes, sweet red peppers, cucumbers, french beans.

It has provided me with a few handfuls of french beans as of yet. These are the first ones (The first things I ever grew from seed that I could eat!) So easy! Thank you beans!

Berry Overload Cups

It's that berry-full time of year and I have been thinking, what do I do with this overabundance of berries? Make delicious phyllo cups of course!

Ingredients:

-spelt phyllo (defrosted in fridge overnight)
-1/4 cup melted butter
-approx. 2-2 1/2cups of berries (I used currants, raspberries and cherries)
-1 tbsp flour (of whatever variety)
-lemon curd
-cinnamon
-sugar

Directions:

1). Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on working surface and brush with melted butter. Place another sheet overtop the butter and repeat with 4 more sheets (there should be 6 layers). Cut into 6 squares and fit each square into a muffin tin. Repeat with a second 6 sheets. Bake for 5 mins at 400 degrees. Place in freezer for a few minutes to cool.
2). Simmer berries on medium-low heat for approximately 10 minutes. Add flour to thicken.
3). Spoon a tablespoon of lemon curd into the bottom of each chilled cup. Distribute berry mixture evenly between 12 cups. Sprinkle a bit of sugar and cinnamon on top of each cup.

Voila!

Easier than pie!

Empty Fridge/Heat Wave Potato Salad

So the recent heat wave in Toronto has made me not want to grocery shop, nevermind cook something and have to turn on a stove. But rain saved the week and here I am cooking again.

Because of no grocery shopping I had a random collection of food in my fridge but, man, success! The Empty Fridge/Heat Wave Potato Salad!

Ingredients:

-approx. 12 small organic red potatoes
-1 bunch farmers market spinach (yum!)
-1 avocado
-4 large cloves garlic (less if you are not a garlic fanatic like me)
-fresh ground pepper
-juice of 1 medium sized lemon
-2 tablespoons(ish) extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1). Boil the potatoes in small chunks until tender. Drain and put in large bowl.
2). Wash, dry and rip up spinach. mix in with potatoes while still hot so spinach wilts a bit.
3). Cut up avocado into small pieces and add. Dice up garlic and do the same.
4). Add lemon juice, olive oil and fresh ground pepper as a vinaigrette.
Makes about 6 servings

Who knew heat waves could taste so good??