“Each of us feels some aspect of the world’s suffering acutely. And we must pay attention. We must act. This little corner of the world is ours to transform. This little corner of the world is ours to save.”
-Stephen Cope (seen in this month’s Yoga Journal)

I think that’s about all I have to offer you today, other than the recipe of course. These lettuce-wrapped veggie delights made my little world quite bright when I finally got the ratios, salt/spice levels, stickiness etc to my liking. The patties have everything that hippie dreams are made of essentially. There’s brown rice, millet, tamari, nutritional yeast, chopped up tempeh, grated veg, the whole tree-hugging vibe thing. This is no instance of beef burger mimesis and it’s not a heavy-topped/”ultimate” veggie burger kinda scene either (sometimes those are great though). It’s a little giving/crazy moist, crunchy-golden-crispy on the outside and super flavourful in a way that doesn’t suggest animal protein, which is ideal for my own taste. Most importantly, the burger can stand alone. Of course I wouldn’t let it, but this seems important to mention. I served it up with a sliced ripe mango, lots of sriracha, sweet pea shoots and tiny, pungent red onion slivers. Balanced, handheld and lovely.

I lettuce wrapped these because I’m feeling that kind of lightness lately. I have about a jillion things on my plate these days, but I’ve been trying to go gently into Spring in a full body + mind sense. Hope you’re all being good to yourselves in your own corners of the world as well :)

tempeh, brown rice + millet veggie burger recipe
special equipment: a food processor
serves: 6-8
notes: I leave a lot of room for mods here because I know everyone’s spice/ingredient needs are different. Also, I would highly recommend refrigerating the patties for at least an hour before cooking them to let them set up all proper. I haven’t tried grilling these, but I feel like that endeavour would be unsuccessful. Sauté all the way, guys. (If you try baking or grilling or some other method, let me know how it goes)

patty ingredients:
1/2 cup millet
1/2 cup brown basmati rice
1/2 cup nuts + seeds (I used walnuts + sunflower seeds)
1 clove of garlic, peeled
3/4 cup roughly chopped red onion
1/2 cup grated vegetables (I used carrots + golden beets)
3/4 cup roughly chopped tempeh
1.5 tbsp tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp GF flour blend (or wholewheat, spelt etc)
2 tsp organic, non-GMO corn starch OR arrowroot powder
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1.5 tbsp ground spices (I used za’atar, ancho chili powder + Old Bay seasoning)
1/4 cup chopped herbs/greens (I used thyme + arugula)
salt + pepper
1-2 tbsp water

assembly ingredients:
grapeseed/coconut oil for sautéeing
1-2 heads of butter/bibb lettuce, washed and leaves separated
sriracha
sliced ripe mango
red onion slivers
pea shoots/other sprouts
+ anything else you like!

Combine the millet and brown rice with 2 1/2 cups of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt. Bring this mix to a boil and simmer until all of the water is absorbed  about 15 minutes. The grains will still be quite chewy. Scrape the cooked grains into a large bowl and allow them to cool a bit.

In a food processor, combine the nuts/seeds, garlic, chopped onion, grated vegetables and tempeh. Pulse the mixture a few times until a moist + chunky paste forms (doesn’t that sound great?!?). Scrape this mixture into the large bowl with the cooked millet and brown rice.

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl except for the water. Stir everything together until thoroughly combined and the mix resembles a thick paste. It should hold together when you pinch it with your fingers. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if necessary to bind it at this point and mix one more time.

Form the mixture into 6-8 patties with your hands. Place them on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet, cover them in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for at least an hour. If you want to freeze these babies, place the covered tray in the freezer for an hour or two to firm the patties up. Then individually wrap them/place all of the patties in a large zippy bag for maximum storage capacity.

To cook: Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cover the bottom with grapeseed/other neutral oil (like a 1/4-1/3 inch? you could also spray the pan with oil if you have a misto thing). Gently transfer 2-3 patties to the pan and sauté until golden on the bottom, about 3-4 minutes. Flip the patties over and cook until golden on the other side, another 3 minutes. I kind of nudged the patties up against the sides of the pan to brown them all over as well. Repeat with remaining patties, while you keep the cooked ones warm.

Serve the hot veggie patties with lettuce wraps, toppings etc.

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With that criteria floating in the background, I generally find the most comforting foods to be elemental, aligning with the makings of our magnificent earth. In nature, that force of Goodness or God is all around. The total immersion in colour and textures is evidence of this power. I want that on the plate in front of me in as much as I can manage. The approach to nourishment carries itself out from there rather seamlessly, making its own intuitive connections along the way.

There are poached eggs adorning the top of any dish you could imagine, their gleaming whites evoke drifting clouds and life-moving/affirming breezes. A salty noodle broth splashes, cleanses and renews us from deep down like the sea. Greens and roots arrive with the earth still intact, upfront with their healing power. The deep brown bottoms of heavy sourdough loaves remind us that fire was the original cooking tool of choice, that it really is all we need for sustenance. The flavour and whole-life-satiety of such things are with me long after the food is gone. These are instances of true comfort, one’s self made better by reconnecting with the world for a moment and a meal.

It takes me in with its warmth and, more importantly, the meal brings me outside of my own mind a bit as well. There is an awareness involved that goes beyond automated fork and spoon lifting. In this particular example of simple soup, there are still-toothsome bits of greens, heavy with garlic, that require a small chew. The broth is a bit saline and can be sipped carefully while piping hot. The sweet potatoes are soft and rustic, bringing a very felt fullness. I add lentils to contribute even more hearty qualities, which I find necessary on these cool and damp early spring evenings. The chickpea flatbread has a bit of a socca vibe, but it’s more of a low maintenance affair, doing its thing in the oven while you simmer the soup and what have you.

So with that, I’ll cut it short and sweet right here — hopefully leaving you all in thoughts of comfort, vibrance and the many other good things that we have going.

I almost forgot to mention that I have a guest post at the wonderful Golubka blog this week. Anya’s cuisine and photographs speak of life lived well and vibrantly, so I’m more than happy to be sharing some little (gluten free and vegan) lemon tarts over there for you. You can check them out by clicking here.

simple garlic + greens soup with sweet potatoes
serves: 3-4
notes: Use regular potatoes if you like and any kind of greens that strike your fancy. This soup is rather easy going.

1 tbsp grapeseed or coconut oil
1 small onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1/3 cup french/brown lentils, rinsed + picked over
1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1/2-1 inch dice (peeling is optional)
5 cups vegetable stock (or 1 veggie bouillon cube + 5 cups water)
4-5 cups of roughly cut, sturdy greens (mustard greens, kale, cabbage, collards)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt + pepper

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they are quite soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lentils and diced sweet potato and stir them about to coat in the oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the stock to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring the pot here and there. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the sweet potatoes/lentils are just soft, about 15 minutes. Add the greens and give the pot a stir. Allow them to wilt just slightly. Add the lemon juice, taste for seasoning and serve hot with chili flakes, drizzles of extra virgin olive oil and whatever else you like.

smoky chickpea flatbread
serves: 2-3
notes: You can mix this up with any spices/herbs/citrus zests etc that you like. Also I mixed this batter up, covered it, and left it in the fridge for 3 days. All worked out fine and it baked while my soup was happening.

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
salt + pepper (I was liberal with both)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (I used bittersweet)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups filtered water (approx)

In a medium bowl, combine the chickpea flour, salt and pepper, smoked paprika and olive oil. Stir that up a bit. Add the water, starting with about 1 1/4 cups. Stir the batter with a spatula until combined. The consistency should be like thin pancake batter. Add more water if necessary. Cover the bowl with saran wrap, pressing the wrap onto the top of the batter. Let it sit for 2-3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or grease it with more olive oil.

Scrape the batter onto the prepared sheet pan and spread it out to 1/4 inch thickness or so, shaking the pan and banging it on the counter to do so. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden in spots and lifting off of the pan with ease. Remove from the oven, cool slightly and serve warm in torn pieces. Optional: drizzle with more olive oil and black pepper.

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So it’ll come as no surprise that, upon receiving some rather passive aggressive emails/messages of all sorts relating to this blog in the last couple weeks, I got thisclose to meeting those notions of skepticism with something to the tune of “OMG. BUT R U OK?” Hitting the send button was the next step in that absurdly demonstrative reply. Then I thought of kindness (almost begrudgingly), and trying to default to that state. The mere thought didn’t offer instantaneous optimism, but its warm lightbulb glow entered my realm of possibility in a gentle and persistent way. Slowly returning to the center, thank goodness.

I can appreciate having a point of view, dedication to a personal observation, and the confidence to bring it all forward. It’s silly to be dismissive of any and all reactions because… it’s just something that I do on the internet. Considering the point, trying to turn the scene around, saying thank you, having a better life (+ acknowledging that the internet is WAY REAL)–that’s all easy on paper and, as it turns out, easy in practice over time. Feeling much more solid in this space lately (this album on repeat and big cups of vanilla rooibos while sifting through the emails/everything else is helping) and I’m glad that you’re all here.

So in that vein, I thought I’d share more of an every day kindness that I grant myself. This is something you might catch me fixing up for lunch on a normal day. I might pre-roast the whole squash and make up the dressing at the beginning of the week, reheat the strands with some stock in a sauté pan and top it all up as I’ve done here. I never make a dressing or sauce the same way twice, and this peanut lime one is no exception. The list of ingredients seems long, but it’s largely a compilation of pantry items that can be subbed, swapped or chopped altogether.

Stay kind, in your life endeavours and your lunches, peeps. xo

spaghetti squash noodle bowl + lime peanut sauce recipe
serves: 4
notes: Definitely use the sharpest knife you’ve got for the spaghetti squash. You don’t want to be pulling a stubborn knife out of a half-cut squash, commanding someone nearby to dial 9 + 1 in standby emergency preparation

squash etc ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise + seeds scooped out
4-5 kale stalks (7-8 if you’re using lacinato), stems removed
1 shallot, peeled
1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts of your preference (I used cashews)
3 tbsp sesame seeds (toasted, raw, whatevs)
chopped leafy herb if you feel it (cilantro, mint, thai basil etc)
1 bunch of broccoli, cut into florets
salt + pepper

lime peanut sauce ingredients:
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled + rough chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled + rough chopped
1-2 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce you like)
2 tbsp peanut butter (or tahini, sunflower seed butter, almond butter etc)
1 lime, peeled + chopped
1 tbsp rice vinegar (or apple cider/white wine vinegar)
2 tsp agave (or honey etc)
1.5 tbsp tamari soy sauce
little scoop of extra virgin coconut oil (optional, but I love the coconut fragrance here)
tiny splash of toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and place the squash halves, cut side down, onto the sheet. Bake for about an hour or until the flesh pulls away in easy strands.

While the squash is baking, slice the kale leaves into 1/3 inch-ish ribbons and place in a large bowl. Cut the shallot in half lengthwise, slice the halves into thin half-moons and set aside. Chop up the herbs and toasted nuts as well, set them aside with the shallows.

Once you’ve cut the broccoli, set a medium saucepan with about an inch of water over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer. Place the broccoli florets into a steamer basket and set aside until right before service.

Place all of the sauce ingredients in a blender and bend until fully incorporated. Taste for seasoning and set aside.

When squash is cool enough to handle, place the steamer basket of broccoli into the pot with the simmering water. Put a lid on it and allow broccoli to steam for 3-4 minutes, or desired doneness. While broccoli is steaming, scrape the spaghetti strands out with a fork into the large bowl with the sliced kale. The heat from the squash should wilt the kale slightly. Pour a big splash of the dressing into the bowl, season with salt and pepper and lightly toss the squash and kale.

Remove broccoli from the heat. Portion the squash and kale into 4 bowls. Top each bowl with the steamed broccoli, sliced shallots, chopped nuts, sesame seeds, chopped herbs and extra sauce.

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I decided that I wanted this year to be challenging and adventurous. Those are the only concepts/freeform goals that I’m taping up in the most visible spot of my mind for the time. Nothing quantifiable. Just things to work on and places to go–these goals can be rather expansive once you lay into them, which could explain why I’m telling you about my year two thousand and thirteen (wowzer, I know) goals on January 30th. Late to the party again, but totally fine with it this time. The extra consideration and space offered substance to those airy ideals.

Mark and I planned our first adventure of the year two days ago (just a little road trip–comin’ for you, America) and I started a bit of a challenge exactly yesterday. It’s a small and big undertaking at the same time. Up until a couple years ago, I ate strictly vegan foods. I gave up that way of living rather slowly when I moved away from the city, still maintaining a mostly plant-based diet, sure, but allowing for a bit more flexibility. Towards the end, I had qualms about the lifestyle, wondering if it was strictly a choice for the privileged. Why shouldn’t I be grateful for any form of wholesome food that came my way, animal-sourced or not? How a vegan diet, or any way of eating, aligns with or directly contradicts the ways of accessibility is varied across time, place and the community of people that surround.

I will say that eschewing animal-based products did bring an overall lightness in everyday being to my own life. My energy was even and good, perfect stillness in sleep, a freed mind in certain heady ways, lots of vegetables–undeniably good living on the whole. Slipping into some decidedly omni ways has more often than not felt like a denial of a truer nature to me. Rules and labels are not a part of my world and I certainly don’t conceive of anything spanning eternity, but a certain recognition has welled up within. I always do what feels right, based in thought or bodily intuition. In this particular moment, going back to that lightness is what I want most. There is that twinge of fear–of deprivation and judgment, but fear becomes a nonentity when you decide to take on exactly what you want with purpose.

And in the vein of intention and purpose, I made you these pot pies. I wanted to offer up something of this nature for a while, trying them with biscuit-y toppings and the like. This one is easily the best version so far. I basically filled out the mushrooms with all of the dark and more potent ingredients I had that would work together. There’s the mushrooms, all cooked down to a messy and unctuous jumble, leeks, shallots, garlic, thyme, stout, tamari, balsamic vinegar and bits of olives for a fruity-salty hit. The sweet potatoes get just the right amount of crispness from a visit in the oven and help to sop up the goodness below. It’s very hearty, peak-winter fare to see us through it all.

mushroom + stout pot pies with sweet potato crusts
serves: 4-6 (depending on how hearty you want the serving to be, what else you’re eating etc.)
notes: Feel free to use red wine or vegetable stock in place of the stout if you feel it. I would skip the balsamic vinegar if you go the red wine route though–there should be enough acidity from the reduction of the wine.

3 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral oil + extra for greasing, divided
2 shallots, fine dice
1 leek (white part only), chopped
5 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed + extra for garnish
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 lbs mixed mushrooms (I used cremini, portobello + shiitake), trimmed and sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 tbsp spelt flour (or GF flour/blend of choice–I’ve read that sorghum flour is great for thickening sauces)
1 cup stout or other dark, heavy beer (Source out a darker GF beer or use red wine instead if you can’t consume gluten)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1/3 – 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
5 sprigs of parsley, leaves removed + chopped
1-2 small sweet potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 4-6 ramekins with grapeseed oil and set on a baking sheet.

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the shallots. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Add the leeks and all but a 1/2 tsp of the thyme to the pot and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste to the pot. Saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chopped mushrooms to the pot all at once. Cook mushrooms until tender and glistening, about 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle the flour over top of the mushrooms. Stir and cook out the raw flour for about a minute.

Pour the stout into the pot, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Add the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until liquid is reduced slightly. Remove from the heat. Stir in the olives and chopped parsley. Season the mixture to taste.

Divide the mushroom mixture among 4 ramekins. Layer the sweet potato slices on top, overlapping the circles as you go. There should be 2 solid layers of sweet potatoes on top of the mushrooms. Brush the top of the sweet potato slices with the remaining oil, season with salt, pepper and remaining chopped thyme. Bake pot pies for 30-35 minutes, or until mushrrom mixture is bubbling and sweet potatoes are browned and lightly crispy on the edges. Serve hot.

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Happy new year to you! Sending all of my big hugs. The time for personal betterment is upon us (as always). But first, some soup.

A snow storm drove us indoors right in the midst of holiday time, so I’ve been going hard with the nesting/self care thing. I love to make a vegetable-heavy soup with miso, shoyu/tamari and ginger when I feel a bit off, whether I’m hungover or just generally space-y. The steamy ritual of it brings me back to earth and offers a bit of reconnection. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated; just whatever vegetables you have around, a nice broth and some quiet time to enjoy. A version of it was my breakfast of choice for a while, a blast of perfect silence to get the day rolling.

This particular version follows the theme of intense nourishment. I took every immune-boosting, deep-warming, feel good vibe-inducing ingredient I had and put it into this healthy and delicious bowl of love. You get to hold your head over the pot of fragrant broth while it simmers and deepens in flavour. I’m pretty fond of these pour-over style soups. Get the broth crazy hot, splash it around some finely cut vegetables/precooked noodles etc, and instant comfort is yours for the moment. If you batch-cook some broth, tasty and fortifying lunches are a cinch throughout the week.

There’s a lot going on in the pot and I’m confident that some ingredients can be substituted/left out altogether and you’ll still wind up with something tasty and soothing–very much a freestyle kind of effort. I used shiitake mushrooms (stems + caps), ginger, lemongrass, chilies, miso, tamari, cilantro (stems + leaves), thyme and some other aromatics. Pour that potent and mega hot broth over a tangle of vegetable shreds, garnish with sprouts and herbs, a squeeze of lime, some drops of sesame oil, maybe a dab of sriracha swirled into the mix. The process of it leads to a surprisingly heady food-life experience. Simmer, chop, pour, garnish, breathe it in, spoon lifted, instant calm.

Once you get into it, slurping everything up gives you a lightly sweaty flash of food-induced warmth that feels so good. It’s that deeply restorative, whole body satiation that snaps everything into focus and makes you feel ready. Nourishment and power in the palm of your hands. 2013, bring it.

a magic healing soup
serves: 2
notes: Whatever vegetables you decide to use, make sure they’re sliced up rather finely. You’re depending on the heat of the broth to soften them up, so rustic chunkiness is less desirable in this recipe. A vegetable peeler, which is what I used to make the strands of broccoli stems, is very helpful with achieving fine-ness.

broth:
1 five inch piece of lemongrass, bashed up with the back of your knife
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 onion, quartered
4-5 shiitake mushroom stems (slice the caps for the soup)
1 three inch piece of ginger, sliced
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1 chili, sliced in half
4-5 sprigs thyme
handful of cilantro stems (save the leaves)
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
2 tsp miso (add at the end of simmering time to preserve nutrients)

to serve:
1-1.5 cups finely sliced vegetables per person (I used carrots, snow peas, broccoli stems and the shiitake caps)
cilantro leaves
sliced green onions
sprouts (I had pea shoots)
toasted sesame oil
sriracha
lime wedges

Make the broth: combine all of the broth ingredients except for the miso in a medium-large sauce pan over medium heat. Pour 5 cups of water over top. Bring to a boil and simmer for half an hour or so (or longer if you want a more concentrated stock). Strain the broth and return it to the pot. Keep the broth hot. Add miso to the pot and stir right before serving

While broth is simmering, you can slice up the vegetables and garnishes.

Arrange vegetables in serving bowls. Pour/ladle hot broth over top. Stir it up a bit. Garnish as you like with herbs, sprouts, sriracha etc.

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Brassicas = mustard-y cabbages, brussels, broccoli, cauliflower etc goodness. This hearty winter salad is one of the better things I’ve made as of late. As you can see, it’s unapologetically golden brown. I’ve tried before to roast these babies and keep some green intact for the sake of aesthetic presentation, but for real? The more brown edged bits abounding, the better. Embrace the brown.

It has the aforementioned winter vegetables, light sweetness, sharp dijon plus so many textures and things popping at once. It’s a bit of a riff on a brussels sprouts dish I was into last year–the roasting treatment, a strong acidic component, the crunchy hazelnuts and a heavy dusting of pomegranate arils (love that word). This time I invited some other brassica buddies to the party, changed up the vinaigrette and steeped the roasting oil with Mexican oregano and a smashed garlic clove before I slid the veg into a really hot oven. The sour and juicy hits of pomegranate burst on the palette just when you need something to tame the overall heft of it.

My mother tells a really good story about the first time she tried a pomegranate as a child.  A girl had brought one to school and shared it with her. Alight from the experience, she came home and told my Nana about it. The mysterious new fruit! So delicious, fun to eat and completely beautiful! Like any good mum, my Nana went right to the Italian market and splurged on one so that they could share it together at home. Maybe this isn’t so much a story as it is a nice way to remember my favourite ladies: a mini version of my mum picking out the little jewel-like seeds and showing them to my Nana for the first time and maybe a small amount of griping about how much work it was to actually eat the thing. Warm fuzzies are still pretty much guaranteed every time I cut into the fuschia holiday staple.

That sweet image was on my mind again when I was watching some morning news the day after we got back from a little time in Costa Rica. Young girls were full-on convulsing/crying at the hands of a Justin Bieber ticket giveaway gone awry. It was an instance of recognition that went along the lines of “Oh right, this continues to exist in the world.” I guess I wasn’t ready for it. Maybe someone should give those gals a pomegranate? Anyway. (No judgment–all love for Biebz) (But seriously, those young ladies would cry way too hard if someone gave them a pomegranate).

This could serve a lot of your peeps at a festive gathering for sure. If you’re like me, it MIGHT carry you over three lunches once you store it in the fridge. I couldn’t stop eating it, seriously. I went from tropical fruit breakfasts, ceviche all the time and 30+ Celsius beach days to some serious cold and gray Canadian winter vibes rather quickly. Pulling on the woolies, lots of hot tea, basking in some twinkle-lit glow, cozy music and giant (GIANT) bowls of cabbage-y darlings sprinkled with pomegranate and hazelnuts have all been pretty great things.

Hope you’re all easing into holiday time with lots of joy, gratefulness and cup-overflowing-levels of abundant health. Be kind, say thank you and eat some vegetables, friends. Big love to you all.

roasted brassica toss with pomegranate, hazelnuts + maple dijon dressing
serves: a crowd
notes: I meant to throw a handful of crumbled sheep’s milk feta into this, but completely forgot pre-photo. It’s delicious without it, certainly, but dang if it wasn’t on a whole other level afterward. If you got it, do it.

vegetables + roasting oil:
1/4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 clove of garlic, smashed and peeled (reserve after steeping)
1 tsp dried mexican orgeano
1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed + quartered
1 small head of cauliflower, trimmed + broken into bite-size florets
1 bunch of broccoli, stems trimmed + sliced, florets broken off
salt + pepper

dressing:
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp filtered water
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp dijon mustard
reserved garlic clove
salt + pepper
1/3 cup grapeseed oil

salad:
1 small pomegranate, seeds removed (a good guide can be found here)
1/4 cup whole hazelnuts, toasted + chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a very large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Make the roasting oil for the vegetables: in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the 1/4 cup grapeseed oil, garlic clove and oregano. Bring it to a very faint simmer, remove from the heat and let the mix steep for 10 minutes or so while you trim the veg. Fish out the garlic clove and reserve it for the dressing.

In a large bowl, combine the brussels sprouts, cauliflower florets, broccoli stems and florets with the oregano oil, salt and pepper. Toss until all vegetables are coated. Place vegetables on the parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Flip them around here and there.

Make the dressing: combine all dressing components in a blender and blitz a few times until a homogenous mix is achieved and the garlic clove is completely pureed. Check for seasoning and set aside.

Toss the roasted vegetables with the vinaigrette, pomegranate seeds and chopped hazelnuts. Place salad in your serving dish and garnish with a few more pomegranate seeds and nuts. Can be served warm or room temperature.

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We’ve had Thanksgiving in Canada a month ago already, but no matter. I’m fairly grateful in a general way, so stuffing can certainly be made appropriate at a moment’s notice. I never go with a set recipe for this holiday meal fixture exactly. Like most of the things I make, it’s more of a feel-y approach. If anyone wanted to know what kind of cuisine I specialize in, that’s your answer: it’s feel-y. It’s incredibly easy to complicate the one life you have. A simple, but focused approach with food remains as a bastion of calm in mine.

Here’s two things I keep in mind throughout this decidedly felt cooking adventure: the bread should be really good (actually a defining characteristic of all of the bread in your life) and fat should be applied with abandon (arguably less appropriate at times throughout your life). That’s it, that’s all.

I went a cornbread route on this version. I had never done that before, but my love of this sweet-savoury treat has always been pretty serious. I was dreaming of its slight grittiness made crisp, paired up with smoky-spicy chipotles, sweet potatoes, garlic and some kind of greens. The chard in the garden continues to be prolific, staring me down from its thick rows every time I look out back. The earth is still soft and those perfectly emerald green and crinkly  leaves, with their defining salty bite, just grow taller. Put the little seed down in springtime and the land gives in the most utter sense; with no expectation of what is owed after all this time. A recognition of a love that intense that can just exist in the world makes my eyes go wide. Stating the obvious: I’m thankful for that. Big time.

sweet potato, chipotle  + chard cornbread stuffing
serves: 4-6
notes: I add some of the cooked chard towards the end of the baking process so that I still get some pretty green bits all through. Also, if cornbread isn’t readily available to you, Bryant Terry’s recipe is one of my favourites (link).

7-8 cups cubed cornbread
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp grapeseed oil, divided (+ extra for greasing/drizzling)
6 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 cooking onion, small dice
1 celery stalk, small dice
1 clove of garlic, minced
3-4 stalks of chard, leaves roughly chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled, small dice
1-1.5 cups vegetable stock
1 chipotle pepper in adobo + extra adobo sauce (use as much or as little as you want)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8 X 11 baking dish, line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Toss the cubed cornbread with 2 tablespoons of the oil, a pinch of the minced thyme, salt and pepper to coat. Place cubes on the parchment lined baking sheet and push into the oven. Bake until bread is golden brown and dried out a bit, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and dump croutons into a large bowl.

Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onions, celery and remaining chopped thyme. Stir constantly until onions are soft and ever-so-slightly browning, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Start adding the chard. Stir the greens around with the other veg until they begin to wilt a tiny bit and turn bright green. Remove from the heat and scrape into the bowl with the bread cubes, reserving some of the chard for a later addition if you like.

In the same saucepan, place the diced sweet potatoes, chipotle + adobo and vegetable stock over medium heat. The stock should cover the sweet potato dices by an inch. Bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mash the sweet potatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher so that you have various sized pieces.

Pour the sweet potato mashy-chunky bits and stock over the cornbread, greens and other vegetables. Stir gently to combine. Spread the whole mixture into the greased 8 x 11 baking dish. Drizzle a bit of oil over the top if you like. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If you’ve reserved some of the chard, scatter it over the top with about 10 minutes left of baking.

Serve hot.

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I had a tiny laugh. I also felt like a piece of shit. The implications of yuppie-dom glaring from the page. My mind went to the organic arugula on the top shelf of my own fridge.

I generally dismiss most artisanal/gourmet foods as frivolous kitchen fodder, things that take up space and generally come in tiny/way too festered packaging. Gourmet food shops are a source of annoyance for me, watching people examine and buy small-batch jams, grinders, artisanal waffle mixes and ceramic crocks of herbes de Provence–things no one needs, thought-to-be foodie merit badges, the like. I will clarify that my annoyance lies with the thought that these items are somehow necessary/worth the money; not the consumer as a human being. I like people, seriously, I do.

Despite the presence of some semi-unusual ingredients that I sometimes call for here (‘sup extra virgin coconut oil and smoked paprika!), I’ve always enjoyed more down-to-earth food on the whole: things that are good in nature, made better by a bit of salt and some ability in the kitchen. My grandmother has always liked arugula and bitter/peppery greens. This fondness has worked its way down to my tastes over time. So having grown up with it, it’s carried the connotation of home-y/grandmotherly food. Greens have been a humble and easy thing, there on the plate just when you need them with a sprinkle of chili flakes; not some upper class bullshit thing to feel shameful about.

There are different lives, different approaches to nourishment and the thoughts that surround. Our world is vast and complex with many extremes; this is certain with food also, a necessary across all walks.

Accessibility with food is more widely discussed from a socio-economical perspective–perhaps a lower income neighbourhood with poor fresh food accessibility will see higher rates of type 2 diabetes in teenagers for example. Knowledge and development of skills is a more sensibly approached facet of the accessibility issue to me. It is a pursuit that requires time, certainly, but the reward is so great. The “teach a person to fish…” route. That’s the amazing thing about the computer age: every bit of knowledge is there for the taking. From guides to starting tomato seedlings at home to practical advice on how to serve them once they come into full, gorgeous ripeness (a heavy sprinkle of salt, maybe a chopped herb, some kind of soft cheese and good, toasty bread–just sayin’), there is a resource available to anyone.

So I guess that’s why I’m here? In some teeny way, I’m trying to teach a few people how to fish. Which is to say that I’m trying to teach you how to make a delicious and easy pasta with some humble squash and the noble greens of today’s discussion. There’s toasty nuts, pecorino, garlic, thyme and my favourite pasta shape: orecchiette. It’s not always the most practical shape choice, but it translates to “little ear” and that is just too sweet to pass on for me. It all comes together pretty easily once the squash is roasted, which is exactly what I was aiming for. Shall we go fishing?

butternut orecchiette with arugula and pine nuts
serves: 4
notes: If you don’t have a blender/food processor for the sauce-pureeing step, just mash the squash and garlic up with a potato masher and the stock in the saute pan. Switch to a whisk to get it real smooth if you like.

sauce:
1 small butternut squash, halved lengthwise
1 tbsp grape seed oil
salt and pepper
handful of thyme sprigs (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil (or more grape seed or whatever you like)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and chopped
chili flakes (optional)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup vegetable stock

pasta:
2 cups dried orecchiette (or other small pasta)
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
big handful (1/2 cup) grated pecorino, or parmeggiano or grana podano etc.
2 big handfuls of washed arugula
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scatter the handful of thyme sprigs across the paper. Rub the halves of squash with the grapeseed oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay face down on the thyme sprigs. Place squash in the oven and roast until very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

Once you can handle the squash, scoop the cooked flesh from the skins into a bowl, discarding the thyme sprigs. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, thyme and chili flakes, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the roasted squash and stir it all up, mashing the squash down into the sautéing aromatics. Add the lemon juice and the vegetable stock, stir until roughly combined and remove from the heat. Puree the squash and garlic mixture in a blender or food processor, adding more liquid if necessary.

Return the squash sauce to the soup pot over medium heat. Season with a fat pinch of salt and lots of pepper at this point.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking water before draining.

Once squash sauce is simmering, add cooked pasta, chickpeas, pecorino, arugula and pine nuts, reserving a bit of each for garnish if you like. Add some of the pasta water of you want to loosen the mixture up a bit. Serve hot.

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This warm rice bowl with chard, avocado, almonds and unbelievably good (+ super easy) ginger miso gravy is synonymous with my solo, city living days. I was in school full time studying nutrition and culinary arts, had 2 jobs, volunteered at a community food centre’s after school program, helped with school functions constantly, worked a line shift 3 times a week for my internship at a high end vegan restaurant AND managed to fit in a shred of a social life. I would come home and wilt onto the couch, gazing towards the kitchen of my teeny bachelor apartment thinking about what I could possibly motivate myself to make.

More often than not, the prospect of this meal lifted my tired body over to the stove: warm brown rice or quinoa with a mix of steamed/raw/leftover roasted vegetables, some kind of sauce/vinaigrette and crunchy topping things. Here’s why: I could always have cooked grains around pretty easily, I made sure my fridge had a good selection of veggies (my school was right by an awesome market–huge help) and when I had a spare 2 minutes I would make a batch of some kind of sauce/dressing in my blender for the week. I learned how to prepare myself/ just have good ingredients around and whoa, my body thanked me for it big time. Twenty minutes of jumping around the kitchen and back on the couch watching Curb Your Enthusiasm with a giant bowl of goodness? Happiest girl.

The vegetables and grains are always interchangeable but a good sauce is so key. This gravy is fresh with ginger and lemongrass, bright with lemon, a fragrant hit of coconut oil, there’s a bit of chili paste to keep it interesting and the miso makes it salty and perfect. I generally always have vegetable stock on hand for cooler weather meals because it makes an appearance in soups, pots of beans, mushroom sautes, curries and wonderful warm sauces like this. They sell decent quality tetra-packed versions so even if you don’t have time to make it, there’s an alternative for you.

I’ve given you a miso-ish gravy recipe before (with mushrooms, white beans and SWEET POTATO BISCUITS, guh I know), but this version is a million times easier. No blending, super straightforward, chop, pour, whisk, strain (optional) and go. It calls for spelt flour too, but if you don’t eat gluten, you could use a teaspoon of arrowroot powder in its place.

warm veggie bowl with ginger miso gravy
serves: 1
notes:  I reach for light miso because that’s what I have, but I imagine darker, stronger varieties would be so good here. Also, the lemongrass is certainly optional. There’s plenty of freshness happening with the fresh lemon juice and ginger.

gravy:
1/2  cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 tbsp agave nectar/maple syrup/honey
1 tsp chili paste (or sriracha)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp minced ginger
2 inch piece of lemongrass, bashed up with the back of your knife
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 tsp light miso
1 tbsp spelt flour
2 tbsp water

bowl (just what I used for this one–use whatever you have/like):
1 heaped cup cooked rice, warm (I used a mix of brown basmati and black rice = purple rice!)
handful of string beans or broad beans, trimmed
3 chard leaves, stems removed and chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small carrot, peeled into ribbons
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 avocado, sliced
chopped almonds
hemp seeds

Make the gravy: Combine all of the gravy ingredients except the miso, spelt flour and water in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Stir the miso, spelt flour and water together until most lumps are dissolved. Add this slurry to the pot and whisk. Let the gravy simmer and whisk it here and there until it has noticeably thickened, about 3 minutes. Strain the gravy with a fine sieve if you like (but definitely remove the lemongrass stalk). Return gravy to the small pot, cover and put keep warm.

Set a medium pot with an inch of water over medium heat and cover. Place the string/broad beans in steamer basket. Once the water is boiling, put the steamer basket in and cover. Cook until beans are crisp tender, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped chard and cover again. Steam greens until wilted slightly, about 1 minute.

Place the cooked rice in a serving bowl. Top with the steamed greens and beans, bell pepper, carrot, green onion, avocado, almonds and hemp seeds. Give the gravy a quick whisk (just in case some lumps form) and pour it over the veggies and rice. Serve warm.

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