quinoa kick: coconunt quinoa cucumber raisin salad.

I love quinoa. I can't really get enough it. I make it a lot since my son doesn't eat meat and I enjoy a mainly vegetarian diet.

I also love coconut. So I decided to marry the two in a harmonious blend of yumminess.

This is what I came up with:


Cook the quinoa in a can of coconut milk, plus whatever amount of water you need to thin it out and to cook it for long enough that the quinoa will be cooked.

add cucumber, raisins, and Thai basil, salt and pepper to taste.

This is a salad that has a slight Thai/Vietnamese hint of flavour to it through the coconut and basil. The raisins perfectly complement the coconut milk.

  xo Jo

today I am orange

Is there any other colour that can make your mouth water quite like the colour orange?

The color orange was named after the fruit, not the other way around.   Before then, the English speaking world referred to the orange color as geoluhread, which literally translates to “yellow-red”.

One usually either loves orange or hates. I myself am and orange convert. I used to loathe orange. It actually seemed to almost repel me. And now I love it. LOVE IT. Especially burnt versions of it, but even pylon orange is a soothing sight to me now.

What changed? I don't know. Perhaps I opened myself up to orange's optimism, its powerfulness and sociability, its power without being overwhelming. 

And then there are orange's strange cultural associations:

The Orange Men, William of Orange, orange Pekoe (which has nothing to do with oranges). Orange is used to signify safety and danger, and gluttony.

It is a comforting colour for many- the colour of sunset, fire and citrus. It can also be earthy despite the neon version of it that may first come to mind.

 xo Jo

radical radishes

So, last weekend, I was at Edmonton's Earth's General Store, one of my favorite places to go shopping. I was picking up my rain barrel- a re-purposed rig by the Hutterites of Southern Alberta. The two young men who hauled the barrels up from the colony were also selling radishes, and so when they pointed this out to me and I gazed upon their glorious size (the radishes, not the young men) and colour, I very happily purchased a bag of these under-rated beauties to go along with my other organic and delicious purchases.

Radish sandwich came to mind. But then I also recalled seeing a recipe for radish chips some time ago and thought I would give that a try, even though I couldn't find the recipe. That's never stopped me in the past. How hard can it be?

Super easy and more yummy than you can imagine!The finished taste is sort of earthy and spicy- sweet. This is the perfect way to enjoy them.

Slice the radishes fairly thin.

And look: each one is like a unique and beautiful snowflake:

Toss in peanut oil. Bake on a parchment lined bake sheet for about an hour at 300 degrees.

 Season lightly with salt, or whatever spices strike your fancy and munch them up. Then go set up your rain barrel before it rains....

xo Jo

give peas a chance

A lot of what I make is often driven by what wonderful and fresh ingredients I can find at the Farmer's Market. This week it was pea shoots.

So I made up this recipe for this yummy salad on the spot and under pressure as my kids started to get screamy for their dinners, as the toddler witching hour was about to begin. It was delish!

ingredients:

fresh pea shoots
zebra tomatoes

red/yellow/orange/green- whichever you like peppers
feta cheese
thai basil

olive oil and lemon juice for the dressing
freshly ground pepper to taste ( I don't add salt if I am already using a salty cheese such as feta)

xo Jo

beet chips? yum!

Simple. Yummy Nutritious.

What is more earthy, more visually stunning than a beet?

Here is a golden beauty:

The Farmer's market had these gorgeous golden beets, and I couldn't resist. You can also make them with your regular garden variety purple beets.

I sliced them moderately thinly:

I tossed them in peanut oil.

I spread them out on a parchment line baking sheet and roasted them at 400 for an indeterminate amount of time.
Honestly, I don't know. Things got crazy. Both kids started screaming and yelling. Everything was happening all at once. Hence the reason I don't have any pictures of them when they were done. But I'm sure you can figure it out. Just keep an eye on them. When they look like they are roasted enough for your taste, take them out.

I sprinkled them with a little cayenne pepper for a little added zip. We ate them up fast.

Next time I make them, I will add some "finished" pictures, I promise.


XO Jo