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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I had the loose idea for this winter vegetable stack thingy in my mind, so I went to work on it instead. And by “went to work on it” I mean: I raged. Like hard. I still hadn’t accepted that my tiny plans for my tiny website on the huge internet on this gigantic earth had gone awry. I slapped it all together, made a huge mess, enjoyed eating it in a hurried way, but then started wondering if this was the kind of thing that only I could enjoy (just adding to my ridiculous rage-pile, you know). Sometimes when Mark and I are thinking about going out to eat somewhere and he asks me what I feel like, I put my hands up and huff out “I just want a plate of vegetables!” (likely cranky from way too much sugar at that point). He’s usually good at sorting a tangible plan out of my ambiguous wishes for fibre and vitamins, making me realize that I’m being a huge pain, and eventually forging a way ahead. It takes two to make the meal-time satiation thing go right sometimes.

So if you’re like me and you enjoy just a bunch of vegetables for dinner/any meal, this could definitely be your thing. It’s pretty easy in a make-ahead sense too. Roast the veggie slices, make the lentils, blend the dressing, keep everything warm until you’re ready to serve, build, drizzle, garnish, voila! Fancy healthy-happy dinner time for you and the total babe in your life. To go along with your amorous or perhaps self-love motivated cooking adventures (the second one is more important), my friend Michelle made TWO music mixes for you to enjoy, one highlighting the glow-y, lightbulb-level-warm heart fullness of love, the other speaking more to some straight-up heartbreak. Click the picture at the bottom of the post for the two separate downloads!

All my kisses, hugs, songs + plates of vegetables,
Laura

lemon rosemary winter vegetable stacks w/ lentils + creamy horseradish vinaigrette
serves: 2
notes: Do remember to cover the beets for two thirds of the cooking process. I’ve had beets shrivel up so horribly because I forgot to cover them while roasting. You can also make all of these components ahead of time and just re-warm them for serving, making meal time a little quicker and less harried.

vegetables:
2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed + chopped
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 small celery root, peeled
1 fat sweet potato, peeled
1 large beet, peeled
1 head of cauliflower, trimmed

lentils:
2 tsp grapeseed oil
1 shallot, diced fine
1/2 cup lentils (I used a mix of French + brown), rinsed
1 cup filtered water + extra
salt to taste

horseradish + maple vinaigrette:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
splash of filtered water
1 tsp dijon mustard
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
horseradish to taste (I used 2 heaped tsp of fresh grated horseradish root)
salt + pepper
heavy 1/3 cup grapeseed or olive oil

to serve:
black olives
very roughly chopped parsley (I keep it rough because I like it as a separate, leafy kind of component-not just a garnish kinda thing)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 medium-large baking sheets with parchment + 1 extra, smaller baking sheet. Set aside.

Combine the rosemary, lemon juice and oil in a small bowl. Set aside.

Slice the celery root + sweet potato about an inch thick across. You want to cut them so that you get a large cross section for stacking. Cut one little portion off of the bottom of each vegetable so that you have a flat and steady surface for the vegetable to rest on the cutting board. Proceed to make slices from there. Lay the celery root + sweet potato slices on one of the medium-large baking sheets. Brush both sides of all vegetables with the rosemary and lemon oil, season with salt and pepper, and slide baking sheet into the oven. These should take about 35-40 minutes to brown up and soften. Remove and set aside.

Slice the beets about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Lay the slices on the smaller sheet. Brush with the lemon, rosemary and oil mixture, season with salt and pepper. Cover baking sheet with foil and place in the oven. Slide baking sheet into the oven. Roast for 20 minutes covered. Remove the foil and roast for another 10-15 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Slice the cauliflower into 1 inch thick cross sections with the core intact. Lay the slices on the last baking sheet and brush with the rosemary + lemon oil on both sides. Season with salt and pepper and slide into the oven. The cauliflower should take about 20-25 minutes, so make sure you prep this one last. Remove and set aside.

While the vegetables are roasting, start the lentils. Heat the 2 tsp grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add the diced shallots. Stir them around until they become translucent and soft, about 3 minutes. Add the rinsed lentils to the pan and stir them around in the oil and shallots. Add the water to the pan. bring lentils to a very faint simmer, like just a couple bubbles coming to the surface here and there. Cook until the lentils are soft with a tiny bit of bite intact, topping up the pot with more water as necessary, about 25-30 minutes. Season lentils with salt and stir in a glug of olive oil to keep the lentils individual.

Make the vinaigrette: Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and blend on medium-high until mixture is creamy and incorporated. Check for seasoning, adjust to your liking and set aside. I tend to like vinaigrettes on the more acidic side, so you may wish to add more oil.

To serve, divide the warm lentils among 2 dinner plates, pressing down on them with the back of a spoon to make a flat surface. Stack the roasted vegetables on top of the flattened lentils. Drizzle the whole thing with horseradish vinaigrette. Garnish with olives and chopped parsley. Serve warm.

Click the picture below for mixes!

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On the first one–that kitchen wisdom. It started with me completely over-thinking something and ended with the simplest, most calm and matter-of-fact answer (i.e. it mirrored my entire adult life). We had a daily feature at the restaurant that included succotash as a component of the plate. So I ask one of our chefs, perfect sentence structure intact obviously, “What like, definitively makes a succotash like… a succotash? You know?” I followed this with a flippy, fingers stretched, rotating hand gesture that, ahem, very clearly emphasized my query. The answer: “Just whatever vegetables we’re trying to use up. All together.” Sure, you can get technical, but that little shred of simplicity was all I needed to get the wheels turning.

The second inspiration for this truly came out of spite. I saw something bothersome on twitter (getting bothered by a taco-centric tweet; guh I know). A guy was talking about a “right” taco, that there was a proper route to follow in regard to this particular food. Any other way was laughable and misinformed. This implied one obvious, egotistical and riduculous thing to me: everyone was wrong about food except him. Sorry dude, a taco is never wrong. You can quote me on that. There is no right way with food. It is nourishing and individual and different and cultural and socio-economical. It is everything and it belongs to all of us in every way imaginable.

If you have the privilege to consume it regularly, food is completely right in any context. Whether made on a 6 burner Viking stove or stirred together with boiling water in a coffee pot because that’s what is available, it’s your context and it is right. We can decide to make it simple or complex. We make it because we love the process or we make it to get by and move on to the next thing. What’s important is that we do actually make it, that we ask questions of the food and its source, that we serve it to the people we love, that we sit around the communal table and talk and nourish ourselves in every way. That is truly everything.

So with that I give you a not-by-the-book taco with some improper succotash stuffed inside. Oh and some lentils, avocado and a tangle of lime and basil slaw on top.  It is different, it is improper in a sense, but they are so delicious it’s unbelievable and the sheer sight of them made me so happy. Whatever they say, that’s the final word.

One more exciting thing: Spirituality & Health magazine has launched a Good Food Blog on their website. I’m so thrilled to be contributing along with some other amazing bloggers. So in honor of all that, they’re letting me give away 2 subscriptions to their inspiring magazine! You can enter the giveaway on my facebook page. You have until Monday July 16th to get your entry in. Good luck lovelies :)

peachy sweet corn tacos with lentils + basil slaw
serves: makes about 10-12 tacos
notes: The succotash makes an awesome side dish all on its own. I would add some chopped basil to it to finish if you’re going to go that route.

slaw:
1/4 head of green cabbage, shredded
1 big sprig of basil, leaves removed and sliced
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
salt and pepper

succotash:
1/3 cup french lentils, rinsed
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 shallot, small dice
1 small red pepper, small dice
1/2 tsp chili powder (ancho or chipotle are amazing)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4 ears of corn, kernels removed
2 ripe peaches, pitted and diced
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper

assembly:
10-12 corn tortillas, warmed
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
lime wedges

Cook the lentils: place the rinsed lentils in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender but still have some bite. Set aside.

Make the slaw: combine the shredded cabbage, basil, lime juice, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Taste for seasoning and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside in the fridge.

Make the succotash: Heat the grapeseed oil in a medium-large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced shallot and red pepper. Saute mixture until soft and slightly translucent. Add the chili powder and cumin. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the corn kernels and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper at this point. Cook, stirring frequently until corn is crisp-tender and slightly more golden, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the diced peaches, cooked lentils and lime juice. Check for seasoning and keep warm.

To assemble: Place 1/4 cup or so of succotash in each tortilla, top with avocado slices and a good tongs-full of slaw. Eat immediately.

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And that was fine. The phrase certainly helped take some of the pressure off; not in a way that made you apathetic either. It just helped your hands to shake less when you were tying up roulades, mindful of the distant but aware gaze from the chef professor. You wouldn’t over-think it if you decided to throw a whole clove in to steep with a savory apple, onion and balsamic jam. You knew it would work and it freed you up to focus on your small dices, sautes, blanches, on and on. It helped us to consider the bigger picture.

The “just food” mantra has worked its way into my home cooking too.  Making soup used to be a rather daunting task to me. I always thought that soup was the one simple thing that showed real kitchen prowess. It was certain proof of authentic experience. Thinking of its transformative nature, its ability to turn inexpensive items, scraps, leftovers and afterthoughts into something comforting and whole, a dish with renewed purpose and character, was intimidating as hell to me.

When it finally kicked in that it was just food, an infinitely variable nourishing substance no matter the end result, the soups started tasting a lot better. I take my time, taste as I go and linger over the pot so as to take it all in with every languid stir. I’ve also realized that most soups can be quite forgiving if you take a wrong turn, use too much spice or absentmindedly forget to stir up some rapidly browning onions. It all comes out in the wash. Everyone eats and feels warm and everything is certainly quite good with a decent crust of bread.

This is my go-to lentil soup. It’s a bit smoky and rich with pimenton, tomatoes and olive oil, studded with the usual celery, carrots and onions, earthy and lemony  from thyme and tarragon. It is a simple serving of food that has great effect. Rather easily thrown together but complex and rich. Economical but satiating and full of grace. It is something that every home cook can (and should) tuck under their sleeve for when the deep winter chill sets into the bones and the variety of vegetables winds down to a bit of a minimum. It embodies the benefits of preparation and self-care and it makes your heart feel warm, maybe going a little bit past the criteria of “just food.”

french lentil soup with tomatoes, tarragon and garlic
serves: makes a big pot
notes: I know a 1/4 cup sounds like a lot of oil, but this makes a giant pot of very nutritious food. The volume of oil helps to stew the onions, garlic and herbs so that they effortlessly melt into the soup, meshing all of the flavours seamlessly (and rather luxuriously). Alternatively, you can use less oil and add spoonfuls of stock gradually to prevent sticking/over-browning.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, small diced
4-5 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and roughly chopped
2 tsp dried tarragon, crushed up with your fingers a bit
1 tsp smoked paprika
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and small diced
1 large stalk celery, small diced
1 28 ounce can dicd tomatoes
1 1/3 cups french lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained
6ish cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium low. Add the onions and saute for at least 10 minutes, stirring them around frequently. It shouldn’t sizzle too loudly, this is a slow-cooking kind of process. When the onions are quite soft, add the herbs and paprika and saute for another 5 minutes, stirring all the while. Add the garlic and stir until very fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until all vegetables are soft.

Add the can of tomatoes and stir  to coat vegetables. Cook out the tomatoes for about 5 minutes so as to remove some of their raw, tin-y-ness. Add drained lentils and stir to coat in the vegetables, oil and tomatoes. Add a splash of the stock and scrape any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add remaining stock, give the whole mix a good stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, return pot to a simmer, cover with a heavy lid and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Check in on the pot once in a while and give it a stir. Season to your liking

Serve hot with a bit of fresh herb on top and a nice crust of bread.

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I don’t know if it’s the coziness of Fall or the new free time or what exactly, but it’s making me feel a lot warmer and fuzzier about relationships in general, so grateful for all the interesting and lovely people in my life. I do revel in the complexities of the world and love working out problems of all persuasions, but I honestly don’t need much to be happy in my day to day. Lovely people and good food, roof over my head. That’s it. Just with that slight schedule change, I feel like I’ve won the lottery or something. My corner of the world is pretty rosy right now.

So to tie everything (and it really is everything) back into the recipe du jour: This dish is inspired by one that Mark and I recently enjoyed when we spontaneously (wee!) decided to eat at a place I’ve been dying to go to for a while. I kind of panicked a bit when I entertained the idea of going there, thinking we would need a reservation on a Friday night. Everything worked out fine. It was cozy, our waitress was so sweet, I warmed my hands (and insides) with a delicious hot toddy, we enjoyed the mentioned salad, some warm olives and fantastic wood-fired pizza. Happy endings for sure.

salty-sweet butternut and lentil salad
serves: 4-5
notes: I steam the squash so that I can retain the clean shape of it, but you could make this with some leftover roasted squash (perhaps from your Thanksgiving festivities…) if you have it on hand.

dressing:
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp agave nectar
salt and pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salad:
1 small butternut squash, peeled
1 cup green lentils, picked through and rinsed
5-6 handfuls arugula
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper

Cook the lentils: combine the rinsed lentils with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until lentils are just tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir here and there while they’re cooking. Set aside when done.

Steam the squash: fill a large pot with an inch or two of water and bring to a boil. Cut the peeled squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and slice both halves into 1/2 inch slices crosswise. Place slices on a steamer basket and drop into the pot of boiling water. Cover and steam for about 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender, but still has a little toothsome quality.

Make the dressing: combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend on high until combined. Set aside. You could whisk them all together too.

Assemble: toss the lentils and arugula with 3/4 of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper.  Place this mixture onto your serving plate. Top with the cooked squash slices. Pour remaining dressing over top. Sprinkle the top with feta and serve.

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When I was in culinary school, I did a co-op at an up-market vegan restaurant. The experience was interesting (um, most of the kitchen staff were obsessed with barbecue and charcuterie), but one of the more important takeaways was this fantastic spread. Its flavour is intense and upfront with cumin, sriracha and tons of fresh herbs. Making the spread was one of my daily prep responsibilities along with fava puree, large batches of boiled beets, fresh bread and chocolate terrines among other things. After service each night I would ravenously (and probably sweatily) grab a giant piece of leftover focaccia, slather it with this spread, dribble a little bit of balsamic reduction on top and relax for about two seconds before cleaning my station. It was a sweet, spicy and delicious bite.

The reduction and homemade bread isn’t necessary though. This spread has so much going on. It’s full of spice and really satisfying with the lentils. It’s amazing on sandwiches with avocado and arugula or with some simple flatbread, veggie sticks, crackers, whatever your preference. At the restaurant, we served it molded into little oval forms on the plate with a petite parsley bouquet emerging from the center. I serve it really simply: smeared on a nice plate with a heavy pour of olive oil, little flecks of the chopped parsley on top and olives on the side for good measure.

spicy red lentil spread
serves: A whole lot of people, seriously.
special equipment: A potato masher is helpful.
I know it says this in the recipe already, but I can’t stress it enough: you must add the cornmeal while the lentils are still hot. This is what makes the spread stiffen up a bit and hold its shape. Also, stir the lentils while they’re cooking, making sure to scrape the bottom. The first time I made this at the restaurant, I neglected that little morsel of advice, which resulted in about an inch of burnt lentils on the bottom of the pan. Humble pie. Like big time.

1 cup red lentils
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3 tbsp sriracha (or to your taste)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 green onions finely sliced (green parts only)
4 hearty stems of parsley, leaves finely sliced
salt and pepper

Cook the lentils.  Place them in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and simmer until lentils are soft and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently (you may have to add more water as it’s cooking).

Scrape the hot lentils into a medium mixing bowl and mash together with the cornmeal until a smooth, uniform texture is achieved. Add the cumin and cayenne and mix. Set aside.

In a small saute pan over medium heat, cook the onions until soft and on the verge of turning brown. Add the tomato sauce and sriracha and let simmer for a couple minutes to merge the flavours. Scrape into the lentil mixture and stir to combine.

Allow the spread to cool before folding in the herbs. Season the entire mixture to taste (a fat pinch of salt is good here) and serve.

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