Roasted Beet & Lentil Hummus

Life's good when you're eating pink (naturally). Beets, lentils and tahini - a few of my favorite things blended into one delicious pink bite. Hummus is one of my favorite snacks. Scratch that - hummus is one of my favorite things to eat, anytime. As much as I love making nice meals for dinner and using up different pots and pans, most of the time I am just as happy with some hummus on toast. And a hummus like this, loaded with nutritious beets and lentils - well thats a dinner idea I can really get into.

My mom and I share the same love for food. Good food. All things food. Collecting recipes from magazines, scanning through food blogs, and just chatting about different things we've made lately. Sharing thoughts on food and cooking is one of my favorite past times, come to think of it its what most my conversations with my closest friends always turn too. Since I've been back home I've shared many meals with friends and family, casual dinners with wine and great food. Its been really good - soul good. I've got a full belly and an even fuller heart. This hummus has been made twice now with my mom,  varying the recipe a little bit each time. We both agreed that roasting the beets adds a ton more flavor rather than boiling them with the lentils - so that's the recipe I've chosen to share here. A big tub of pink goodness. A big hug to the ones I've shared it with.

Roasted Beet & Lentil Hummus
So colorful and flavorul! Serve with sliced veggies, crackers or pita wedges. Adapted from Sarah Britton for Vegetarian Times Magazine (June 2013).

Ingredients

• 1 + 1/2 cup cooked lentils*
• 2 medium beets
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 heaping tablespoons tahini paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Basil leaves or other fresh herbs, for garnish

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F
2. Peel and chop the beets into small chunks, toss in a tiny bit of oil and bake on a baking sheet for about 20-25 minutes of until tender. Remove from the oven and let cool.
3. Finely chop the garlic in a food processor and then add the tahini, oil, lemon juice, zest and salt and process until smooth. Add the lentils and beets and blend on high until smooth (add water to thin it out if necessary). Season to taste.

*1/2 cup uncooked lentils, soaked for an hour or overnight and then cooked on the stove top in water until tender will yield 1 and half cups of cooked lentils. I used green lentils, but the original recipe called for black beluga lentils, so use whatever is available to you and follow the package cooking instructions. Best when lentils are well cooked and not al dente. If you are in a rush, precooked packaged lentils will do the trick but it might be best to add the salt at the end (if needed) since they can often be high in sodium.

Mediterranean Grilled Portobellos & Asparagus with Olive Mint Vinaigrette

I always thought that by the time I was 27, I would have life all figured out. I would know who I was and what I wanted to be and where my life was going. I would have it together. Well, I am now home for the first time in a year since I moved to France and sleeping in my old bed and still find myself falling to sleep at night wondering what I am going to be when I grow up.

When I was a little girl and imagined my life at 27, I didn't quite picture the woman I am today. Did any of us? We grow up, we make mistakes (a lot of them), we spend all our money, we get out hearts broken, we learn and we grow some more. And I can't help but wonder if all this growing and learning and mistake making and heart mending slowly hardens us. Are we still able to dream in absolute possibility? Can we step into a space where we have no boundaries, no limits on our goals and dreams for the future? Or are our decisions unconsciously mapped out by what we've learned from our passed? Can we get back to that place where we actually believed we could be or do anything we wanted to? I don't the answer - but I do know that I'm not ready to give up just yet.

I feel like I am at a crossroads in my life - needing to choose a new path but not quite sure in what direction to point my GPS. My head has been speaking much louder than my heart lately, making it hard to listen to who truly knows best. So while I am waiting for the fog to clear, I am focusing on the qualities that make me who I am. I might not quite know what I want to do, but I do know who I need to be to get there. Focusing on honesty and courage and pushing out the self-doubt and fear.  Making sure I get some time to myself, time in the kitchen and lots of time with the people that make me smile. Being bold, brave and more creative with this space. And in all this - there will be food. Because really, a journey is all about the good snacks to get you through.

'Someday we will find what we are looking for, or maybe we won't. Maybe we will find something much greater than that.' - unknown

Mediterranean Grilled Portobellos & Asparagus with Olive Mint Vinaigrette
Beautiful bellos get paired up with asparagus and some mediterranean flavors for a bright and fresh spring dish. Perfect served as an appetizer or as a vegetarian main beside some grains or greens. Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1 glove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 large portobello mushrooms
• 10-12 asparagus stalks
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 5 kalamata olives, pitted and thinly chopped
• 1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
• Small handful each sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
• Crumbled feta cheese for topping

What to do

1. To prep the portobellos, remove the thick end of the mushroom stem, leaving just a little bit attached to the cap. Place the mushrooms, top side up, in a shallow dish. Combine olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper and poor over mushrooms. Flip the mushrooms over so that they are evenly covered. Let stand for 15 minutes. 
2. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus. Toss the asparagus in the leftover marinade from the mushrooms. Place mushrooms, smooth side down on a bbq grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and let cook, flipping over half way through. Both vegetables should take a little less than 10 minutes, depending on what kind of texture you're looking for. I like my asparagus with a bit of crunch, so I took it off the heat after about 8 minutes. After 10 minutes the mushrooms were soft but still meaty - the perfect balance to the asparagus.
3. While the veg are grilling, combine the lemon juice, chopped kalamatas and mint in a small bowl and let sit. 
4. When you are ready to serve, place one portobello down on the plate, top with half the asparagus stalks, sundried tomatoes and artichokes, then spoon the olive mint lemon vinaigrette over everything. Crumble over a bit of feta cheese just as the icing on the cake! Enjoy!

Almond Butter & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I have a few travel days coming up in the next month - one long haul back to Montreal and one quick jaunt over to Manchester to visit my sister. I love travel days. I love sitting and getting lost in the hustle and bustle of airports. People coming and going, business and vacations, tearful goodbyes and joyful welcome hugs. I treat myself to a trashy gossip magazine, a large coffee and just sit and soak it all in. Traveling also makes me crave treats, something sweet and sugary to help me get through the long day. And while initially a massive toblerone bar seems like a good idea, I've learnt that it doesn't really help with the fatigue or the jet lag.

So this time I am traveling prepared - lots of water, an apple, a crunchy veggie sandwhich and an enormous bag of trail mix ( I like a mix almonds, cashews, pistachios and dried cranberries). Oh yeah - and for my treat - these cookies. And I will probably be packing more than just one, but not to share with the person sitting next to me - sorry! I've made these cookies a few times now and when I greeted my girlfriends in Geneva after  long flight from Canada and an even longer layover in Germany with cookies and apples as a snack pack - well, I'll just say I didn't see them looking for the toblerone bar. These cookies are the perfect little treat that you can feel good about packing in your carry on. Drink lots of water, eat well and have a cookie - happy travels!

Almond Butter & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Chewy, sweet and nutty cookies. Perfect for long travel days or as an energy snack for a day out in the mountains. Vegan & Gluten Free. Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie. Makes 6-7 cookies, one for each hour of a 7 hour flight :)

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoon flour*
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup all natural almond butter* (make your own!)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together (baking powder, flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt)
3. Add in the wet ingredients (almond butter, apple sauce, maple syrup) and mix until combined and then stir in the the chocolate chunks
4. Drop spoonfuls of the batter on the baking sheet and gently press down the tops. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, until slightly browning but still soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before attempting to transfer to a cooling rack. Once cool enough to move, let cool on a cooling rack until completely cool. Store in an airtight container for a few days.

* Since there is very little flour in these cookies, you can use almost any flour you have on hand. I have made two versions, one gluten free version made with oat flour and one made with spelt flour. I'm sure a gluten free AP flour would work great as well. 

* I used a homemade almond butter for these cookies, no salt or sugar or oil added, just 100% roasted almonds. I'm sure any nut butter would work well here - peanut butter is always a classic but you may want to adjust the salt/sugar if your nut butter has anything added to it.

Banana Nut Quinoa Granola

I'm really not great at measuring things in the kitchen, which, as you can imagine, poses quite the dilemma when it comes to posting recipes here for all of you to try out at home. What I love most about cooking is adding a little bit of, some of that, and just going with what you feel will work. Pulling out measuring cups and scales can sometimes feel like more work than fun, and for me takes the creativity out of making a meal. This is a bit more complicated when baking, since breads and cakes and doughs can be a bit more precise and sometimes just throwing in whatever you want works, but sometimes it really doesn't! Except for granola. Oh where would I be without granola? I love this stuff so much and have become addicted to making it at home, its become part of my weekly routine. Toss some nuts and seeds and oats together with whatever else you have and bake it - of course you'll need a bit of liquid, and bit of sweetness and probably a dash of cinnamon, but granola recipes are pretty versatile. 

So when I posted this photo last week and promised to fine tune the recipe so that I could share it here - my love for granola and my dislike for measuring came back to bite me in the butt because when i set out to recreate it - I actually had no idea what amounts of anything I had thrown in there. But oh boy was it ever good so I was determined to recreate it. I made it once, and then twice - and I'll say that the recipe below is pretty close to the original granola. I hope it works out for you guys - or,  just use the list of ingredients as inspiration and go with whatever you feel like - it will probably work out best that way anyways!

Banana Nut Quinoa Granola

Yields about 6 cups of crunchy clumpy delicious granola. Vegan & Gluten Free.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon chia seeds
• 4 tablespoon flax seeds
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and well drained ( I used red because I though it was pretty!)
• 1 cup rolled oats (used certified gluten free if you have a gluten sensitivity/intolerance)
• 2 cups mix nuts, chopped ( I used walnuts, whole and slivered almonds, and hazelnuts)
• 1 ripe banana
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)
• 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• Pinch sea salt
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup sultana raisins

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. In a large bowl, mix together the seeds, quinoa, oats, nuts, spices and salt. Add the in the ripe banana in pieces and mash together using your fingertips, until it is well combined with the granola mixture. Add in the oil and honey and stir everything well together. Poor onto the baking sheet and spread it out in an even layer.
3. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Granola always cooke faster around the edges, so stir it often to prevent any burning. Half way through stir in the shredded coconut and continue baking.  Once the granola is nice and brown and looking a bit crunchy, stir in the raisins and turn off the oven. Keep the granola inside the oven as it cools down slowly. After a few minutes remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an air tight container.
4. Serve with yogurt, milk or just eat as a snack!

Crunchy Sesame Spring Rolls with Tahini Coconut Dip

I would like to tell you that spring has sprung here in the alps, that the snow is melting and the birds are chirping and the buds are - budding(?), but (sigh) its snowing again and winter seems to be hanging around for a little while longer. We've had a few glorious days under a warm spring sun - its so energizing to feel the heat on your face and everyone seems to come alive after the long winter months. I'm looking forward to many days like this in the near future, and making these spring rolls was my sort of raindance to bring some sunshine into a very grey day. Today is very grey - so I made spring rolls and cut some old jeans into shorts . Spring - I'm ready for you!

These spring rolls make a great appetizer - you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge, but I find they are best served within a few hours of being made. I used the vegetables I had here in the house, so feel free to do the same - avocado, peppers or sprouts would all be really nice in here too. The most important part is to cut the ingredients into slices that are all relatively the same length to make the assembly easier. Working with rice paper rolls can be a bit tricky, but after the first few I really got the hang of it, so don't worry if you mess up the first ones, they will still taste delicious!

Crunchy Sesame Spring Rolls with Tahini Coconut Dip
Makes 10 fresh and crunchy rolls. Vegan & Gluten Free.

Ingredients

Rolls

• 200g firm tofu or tempeh
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 english cucumber
• 1 cup spinach
• Handful fresh mint, basil and cilantro leaves (about 10 each)
• 10 circular rice paper rolls
• A few cups of boiling water

Sauce

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 gloves garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Slice the tofu into long, thin rectangular pieces, this will end up being the same length you will cut everything else to and determines the length of the rolls.
3. Poor the melted coconut oil on a plate and the sesame seeds on another plate. Take one piece of tofu and dip both sides lightly in the oil, then coat in sesame seeds and place on the baking sheet. Repeat for all pieces and bake in the oven until the seeds are browning, about 20 minutes. You can put them under the broiler for a few minutes on both sides if you want them really crispy
4. While the tofu is baking, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut the carrots and cucumber in thin strips (julienne) and tear the spinach into small pieces. Set aside.
5. Make the sauce - place all the ingredients in a small blender and blend until smooth. Start with 1/3 of cup of coconut milk and add more until you get the consistency you want. Mine was thin enough for easy dipping but thick enough to stick to the rolls - I used just less than 1/2 cup in the end. Put the sauce in the fridge while you make the rolls.
6. Once the tofu is brown and crispy, remove from the oven and let cool.
7. Put a full pot of water on to boil and lay out all your ingredients for easy assembly
8. Poor the boiling water in a large bowl wide enough to dip your rice paper into and bring to the assemble area
9. Take one rice paper roll and dip it quickly in the hot water while rotating it so the whole thing gets wet but never on one side too long. Its ok if the paper is still a little firm, it continues to soften as you work with it.
10. Lay the wet paper on a plate, place a mint leaf, basil leaf and a bit of cilantro in the middle of the paper. Top the herbs with a piece of tofu, then the carrots and cucumber and finally the spinach on top of all that. Fold the edge of the paper closest to you over all the fillings, then fold in the sides of the paper - then roll it up by rolling it away from you. Repeat for each roll. At any point you can dip your fingers in the water to help the rice paper stick together at the corners and creases.
11. Keep store in the fridge in a tupperware until ready to serve. Dip and enjoy!