Cook(those)books & weekends.

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Ah, weekends. How those days do beckon. To me there are three kinds of weekend people. The practical ones who actually relax, the determined-to-get-away (and have fun!)-even-if-it-means-I’ll-be-exhausted-at-the-end-of-it ones and the bury the head in the sand types who spend their days at their desks happy that the phone isn’t ringing as much and they can finally get some work done. Now practical people recognize that you need at least three days for a proper weekend. A day to wind down and get some things accomplished, a day to relax and a day to wind back up and get ready for the week ahead. But how many of us actually find the balance and do this? This past Victoria Day weekend I tried. I gardened, and then I took a nap. I went to a wedding, but then went to bookclub with my girls. I tried a new recipe and cooked dinner for family, but then stayed in my pj’s until noon. Not a bad balance all in all.

What I also did over the long weekend was download about a bazillion photographs and sort through some of my menu and cooking notes. As I was doing that I realized it had been awhile since I did a Cook(those)books recap. So if you need a bit of inspiration here are a couple of the recipes that have been new to my kitchen in the last while.

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Easy Peasy Pesto.

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It is so green and spring like here. The garden is growing, the neighbourhood outdoor pool is beckoning and the farmers markets have officially opened for business. It however is definitely not summer. That does not make me a happy girl. The one thing that does make me happy is that the cooler weather means there is still some time to enjoy spring vegetables. After a week of travelling and eating delectably delicious (but exceptionally rich) food I have been craving the light, fresh taste of spring. I’ve had lettuce from the garden, simple chopped kale salads and radishes pulled fresh from the dirt. And peas. Lots of peas. I’ve had them curried, in salads, in the pod and as a quick and versatile pea pesto.

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The easiest cannellini bean recipe ever.

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I haven’t been blogging or cooking much lately. I have lots of excuses but no real reasons. You all know what that’s like. Keeping so busy with the business of living you don’t have time to actually live. The other day while I was in the midst of paperwork I decided enough was enough and that it was really time I made myself a real lunch. Thankfully I had some beans in the fridge ready to go. Ten minutes later I had lunch. Warm and crispy cannellini beans with sage. Since I’m very aware that everyone has mealtimes that can easily get rushed, or worse yet forgotten, I thought I’d share.

This is all you need!

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Peas on earth.

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There is an adorable picture that has been around for years that has a bunch of peas sitting on top of the world with the caption “Peas on Earth”. In the interest of copyright I haven’t included it, but do a google search, you’ll find it. If you haven’t seen it let me tell you, it’s pretty cute. Cute enough that my sister bought herself a t-shirt with it emblazoned on it (I haven’t included a picture of her either not because she’s copyrighted but because I figured she might hunt me down). Given that Sunday April 22nd is Earth Day I therefore thought it was only fitting to write about peas.  In this case pea soup.

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Spring asparagus and onions

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This is a post about onions.  Well, really it’s a post about asparagus.  Actually, it’s about shedding some tears, having good friends and making small mistakes work for you.

Over the Easter weekend onions seemed to be my nemesis. I know, I know, the sharper your knife and all that, but as I prepped leeks, and shallots and cippolini onions for various meals it wasn’t pretty. Continue reading →

Spring cleaning noodles.

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The calendar is saying it’s spring, but other than the rare gorgeous day it’s still pretty rainy and cool here in Vancouver.  It’s the time of year when I’m itching to get outside but from experience I know it’s still a bit early to start planting much in the garden.  So instead I’ve resorted to that other ubiquitous spring activity.  Cleaning.

Spring really is on it's way!

A muppet inspired jicama slaw.

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There is an old Muppet sketch that goes something like this …. (for full effect read it with a Groucho Marx/Fozzy bear kind of voice while using a carrot as a cigar)

“Do you know how hard is it for vegetables to break into show business?”
“Yeah, when we first started out, the audience used to throw people at us!”
(wocka wocka wocka!)

Imagine how hard it must be if you are a unique looking character actor vegetable? Surrounded by all the brightly coloured “pretty” vegetables it must be easy to be ignored. You work hard, you do your job, but no love. For the average cook, the good thing about many of these vegetables is you can get them for cheap.  A lot of value for a little money.
(insert commentary on film industry here….)

I seem to have taken a bit of a shine to odd vegetables lately.  Sunchokes, kale and most recently, jicama.  Jicama is a funny vegetable.  Sometimes called yam bean root, it’s one of those vegetables that I know I’ve had before, and have certainly read recipes that incorporate it, but it has only been lately that I’ve introduced it to my kitchen on a regular basis.

Power couple - Jicama and Cabbage.

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Kale chips and gardens.

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Spring is here.  Well, theoretically.

It is said that what we think, say and do manifests itself in our life.  If that is true (and I believe it is), it is warm, the sun is shining, there are fresh vegetables growing in the garden and I can eat pasta twice a day and be the size of a competitor again (without working out!).  Hmmm….. didn’t work…. okay time to get proactive, make a plan and take action.  Accepting that I can’t control the weather the rest is fairly simple.  First on the list? Simple.  Plant some cold weather vegetables.

So  that’s what I did.  I started to plant.  Kale, arugula and swiss chard outside, and with optimism on my side, four varieties of tomatoes inside.

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Simple paprika chicken.

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I’m a pretty simple cook.  To be frank I’m better at weeknight kind of meals than fancy-pants guest type meals and entertaining. The only menu items I’m consistently able to pull out for any occasion, without poring over cookbooks and stressing out, are pasta and chicken.  The trick for both, especially chicken, is in the spices.  Here’s a quick and tasty version that works for family and guests.

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