Happy Miso

Barbecue season is upon us. We had our first barbecue last weekend, and then near the end of the week, the weather got chilly again and we immediately hid under a blanket of soup. So hopefully I'll write about my barbecue adventures next week if the temperatures behave.

This weekend, I'm peaking out from below the sand to share a very simple recipe using one of my new discoveries this past month -- miso. I've always loved ordering miso soup at restaurants, but I've never actually bought a tub of miso -- too intimidated by the intensity of the paste and the fear that I won't use it up (like what happened to my kimchi ...). Anyway, when I spotted this recipe for body nourishing wraps over at Good Things Grow, we broke down and bought some miso. The recipe included a carrot miso paste that totally blew me away. I've made this recipe many times since, and loved every bite.

Today, I'll leave you with a simple miso soup, sans seaweed but boosted with lots of ginger, shallots, scallions, tofu, baby spinach and mushrooms. We shared a bowl for a perfect mid-afternoon snack, but it would be totally awesome as a meal for one, and would be even awesomer and more substantial if you added some soba noodles, udon or vermicelli. Think of it as a base. Now go get some miso!

Happy Miso
makes one bowl perfect for sharing

1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of shallots, minced
1/2 teaspoon of ginger, minced
2 teaspoons of organic white miso paste (add more of less to taste)
2 cups of vegetable broth of water
4 small dried chinese mushrooms, rehydrated in water for about 30 minutes, then sliced
a small chunk of tofu (I used a silken, extra firm) cut into small cubes
1 large handful of baby spinach
1 small green scallion, chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a small pot, sweat the shallots and ginger in the olive oil over low heat, until things start to get soft and fragrant, but not brown -- about 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms.

2. Add the miso paste and a splash of the broth and mix until the miso has kind of combined with the liquid. Add the rest of the broth and stir well.  Let your soup simmer for about 5-7 minutes over low heat.

3. Add the tofu and spinach, mix well, and let it summer for another 5ish minutes.

4. Serve immediately and garnish with the scallion and a good grinding of black pepper.

Back to the Whirlwind: A quick little supper

March Break = Finished. This year, I didn't make a list of to-dos ... I just did! Brunches, coffees, programming, writing, adventuring, baking. I usually love lists, but they felt a bit constricting this year, so I just played it by ear. And it was a truly relaxing and productive week. Score on all fronts!

Today, it's back to the whirlwind of the classroom, and that bowl of cereal is just to tempting to call supper, so I'm presenting you with a beautiful, quick and healthy supper dish that's satisfying and easy to prepare: Mushroomy veggie bowl. It's inspired by a veggie steamed bun that I bought for a snack one day at the dim sum stand at T&T.  It's a simple saute of shredded cabbage, carrots, spinach, ginger, tofu and Chinese mushrooms seasoned with splashes of soy and toasted sesame oil. Very classic and very simple. The first night, I had this mixture over brown rice veggie spirals, and I had leftovers over brown rice with an extra drizzle of dark soy. Delicious bowls both ways. Nix the tofu and replace with left over chicken breast if you're feeling carnivorous, or use chickpeas as your protein bump instead. Either way, keep it simple -- that's what we're going for here.

For this recipe, I used dried Chinese mushrooms that I re-hydrated in water about 30 minutes before I started cooking. They have a really intense mushroomy flavour that gives this dish a real body. I'm sure fresh mushrooms would work well too -- especially ones like shitakes or king oysters -- although if you go that route, the mushroomyness will be a lot tamer.



I have another bowl coming up later this month.  They never get tiring around these parts and are a welcome distraction from the cereal box.

Mushroomy Veggie Bowl
feeds two hungry people

2 servings of dried pasta or
1 cup of brown rice + 2 cups of water

4-5 dried Chinese mushrooms
2 cups of shredded savoy or napa cabbage (about 5-6 leaves worth)
1 large carrot, finely diced or shredded
1/ 2 package (about 3-4 ounces) of firm tofu, but into cubes
a handful of baby spinach or chopped spinach
an inch bit of ginger finely chopped
a big splash each of dark and light soya sauce
1/4-1/2 cup of water or vegetable stock
a big grind of black pepper
1 tiny drizzle of toasted sesame oil

1. Put your dried mushrooms in a bowl of water. Let them sit while your prep everything else.

2.  Cook your pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. OR: Put 1 cup of brown rice and 2 cups of water in a small pot. Bring to boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is nice and tender.

3. While your rice or pasta is cooking and your mushrooms are soaking, prep your vegetables. Heat a bit of oil in a saucepan and saute the ginger for about 1 minute or so, or until it starts to get fragrant and a tiny bit brown.

4. Add the carrots and cabbage and stir well. Your mushrooms should be ready! Squeeze out the excess water, slice them up and toss them in with the carrots and cabbage. Add your tofu now too.  Add 1/4 cup of water or vegetable stock along with the soy and black pepper.

5. Mix well and cook for about 4 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add in the spinach, and mix well. Cook for another minute or so, and then drizzle over the toasted sesame oil.

6. Serve over your pasta and rice.

Vegan Bolognese

I meant to post this recipe last Sunday, but I was sleepy. It was a sleepy Sunday. It was hazy and warm outside and I didn't feel like doing much more than take naps and drink more coffee. Then it got really warm. I mean, unseasonably 26 degree sunshine warm and you all have probably been busting out summer recipes like cucumber and yogurt salad, grilled pizzas, gazpachos and cool guacamole dips. I didn't want to disrupt that at all.



But it's rainy and coolish today, and the forecast calls for single digit temperatures when the work week begins again, so I figured this nice, comforting bolognese would be appropriate for this weekend. It's really easy, pretty quick to prepare once you get all the chopping out of the way, and it's something that just gets better as it sits. So if you make it for supper tonight, it will taste just as good if not even better when you reheat it on Monday when the 5 (feels like -1) degree weather may be giving you the chills.



It's cold weather food, but still hints of spring, with all the nice veggies and tomatoeyness. It's more than a vegetarian tomato sauce for pasta. It's got meaty ingredients like cremini mushrooms, red lentils, kidney beans and chickpeas. The original recipe called for crumble tempeh -- I've never worked with tempeh and didn't have it around, but I'm sure it would have been great in place of the beans. The Italianeque herbs -- dried basil, oregano and crushed fennel really make a difference. I know a lot of people frown upon dried herbs, but they totally made a difference in the sauce and tasted great. I'm sure fresh herbs would be wonderful if you were making this in the middle of the summer when they're plentiful, but for now, dried is fine for me.

I loved eating this up over quick-cooking spinach flavoured Chinese noodles, but the obvious choice would probably be pasta. I've also had it over red rice and quinoa -- both excellent carbs to pair with this chunky stew-like sauce. I'm sure it's nothing like a traditional bolognese, but it's vegan, hearty and satisfying. You can feel good eating it, and I think we need a bit of that, especially during this time of the year.

Vegan Bolognese
adapted from What Would Cathy Eat?
serves lots!

olive oil for sauteeing
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1 handful of cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 each of dried basil and oregano
1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 can of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup of red lentils, rinsed
1/2 each cup of cook chickpeas and red kidney beans
1 small bunch of spinach, chopped

1. In a large pots, saute the onions, celery, bell pepper and carrots in olive oil over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for another minute or so.

2. Add the fennel, basil, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper and give it a good mix. Add in the tomato paste and stir. Cook until the tomato paste just starts sticking to the bottom of the pot -- about another 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaf and lentils and mix well. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until the lentils have softened.

4. Add the chickpeas, kidney beans and spinach and mix well. Turn off the heat and let the sauce stand, covered for about 5 minutes.

5. Serve over pasta! Don't forget to remove the bay leaf!

Winter Spring Spring Winter

Here in Toronto, we're not sure whether it's still winter, or it's the beginning of spring. Since putting away my big Colombia winter jacket, I've been stubborn and called this week of minus double digit temperatures, wind chill factors and even a day of blowing snow that lasted from 8am - 8pm -- yup, I've called it spring. I've refused to bring my big jacket back out and have fooled myself by adding another thermal layer and pretending that it's spring.

The truth is, that I got through this every year. The end of March and the beginning of April has always been full of weather surprises: warm and sunny one day, wet and rainy the next, and icy and windy the week after. It's a mesh of the two seasons together, and -- shhhhh don't tell -- I kinda like it that way. It's kinda like what this supper was -- a mesh of warm, earthy, winter flavours, with fresh spring ones that wake up of your taste buds and comfort you at the same time.



The other night, we made another really easy, tasty and satisfying supper from our latest edition of Vegetarian Times. It was a simple meal of bulgur cooked in broth, flavoured with garlic, shallots, mushrooms and tomatoes, with the added springyness of baby bok choy and fresh thyme. I haven't really cooked with bulgur much, but I found that in this dish, it was perfect -- nutty and hearty and quick to cook, pairing perfectly with the wintery, earthy mushrooms and shallots. The bite from the tomatoes and fresh taste of greens was a comforting reminder that spring is on its way .. for sure.

You could totally up the protein factor of this supper my added tofu, chicken or even chickpeas. I think next time I'll add a bit of lemon zest and squeeze of juice at the end to perk things up a bit more. Chopped fresh parsley would be a great addition as well.

Bulgur with Veggies
adapted from Vegetarian Times

4 small bok choy
2 teaspoon of olive oil
2 cups of cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of grape of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 shallots, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup of fine bulgur
2.5 cups of vegetable stock (feel free to use part water)
1 spring of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1. Blanch the bok choy in boiling, salted water for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and roughy chop. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes or until nice and brown. Remove and set aside.

3. Add the tomatoes to the skillet, cut-side down and cook for 2 minutes, until brown. Remove and set aside.

4. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the skillet. Saute the shallots and garlic for about 2-3 minutes. Add the bulgur and toss to coat. Add broth thyme spring, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then cover. Reduce the heat of medium-low and simmer for about 7-8 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the bulgur is cooked.

5. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and bok boy back into the skillet and toss until everything is mixed together. Serve immediately.









Coffee Update! (Final One!)

We're finished!!! We sampled the good stuff at 24 different, independent cafes in Toronto. Sadly, our journey is over, but we have plans to make our own list of indy cafes to visit this summer.

The Mascot - mocha, cappuccino and americano enjoyed after a yummy lunch of ethiopian food and followed by a lovely, sunny walk in Parkdale.

The One - We saved the best for last -- one of my all time favourite coffee hangouts: cinnamon-spiked drip coffee, cappuccino and americano, enjoyed with cookies and a vegan chocolate cherry bar and the company of our favourite barista

Homey and Hearty Lentil Casserole

Winter has definitely arrived. Never mind this waiting for December 21 when it becomes official. It's here. My many layers of clothing, silly-looking but warm hat and puffy man jacket already make it official. And although I love winter, and snow hikes and blustery days spent inside baking and winter walks during those deceptively chilly but sunny days, I have to admit that I don't like the cold. It seeps into my bones and plants a chill that is so hard to get rid of that I feel like either staying under a hot shower for hours or putting on three sweaters and never leaving the house. A colleague at work this week mentioned that for the holidays, he was taking his family to visit friends north of Thunder Bay, where they would go ice fishing, soak in a hot tub and then roll around in the snow in an "authentic Canadian tradition." (I won't even GO there with how loaded those words are!) I was cold for the whole morning thinking about this. Some Canadian, eh?

So how do I take away the cold? Coffee helps. Lots of coffee and tea in never-ending quantities and merino wool socks on my feet ... and a nice, homey, hearty and healthy meal, like this lentil and walnut casserole. We got the idea to make this dish when we saw it on a menu at a restaurant. Although we didn't order it, it stayed in our minds and we had to try to create it in our kitchen. I can't say enough good things about this casserole. It's definitely flavourful and tasty -- my Mom even thought there was meat in it! And it's completely vegetarian, very healthy and the perfect meal to cook and enjoy on a cold winter day. It's creamy without cream, filling but not heavy and has just enough spark from the dried and fresh herbs to take comfort food to a new level. It does take some time prepare and will take up several pots and pans in the kitchen, but if you've got a whole afternoon of warming up to do like we did, it shouldn't be a problem. Just put your favourite CD on, pour yourself another cup of tea, and dive into this recipe.

Lentil Walnut Casserole
adapted from Food.com

3/4 cup of dried red lentil, rinsed thoroughly
1.5 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 a sweet onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, minced
a handful of chopped cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of oats
1 egg
1 teaspoon of honey mustard
a splash each of Worcestershire sauce and dark soy
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed (or use 1/2 teaspoon of dried)
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh sage (or used 1/2 teaspoon of dried)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup of grated mozzarella cheese

1. Cook the lentils in the vegetable broth for about 15-20 minutes, or until all the liquid is gone and the lentils are tender but have not yet disintegrated. Set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the mushrooms in a splash of olive oil until they start to get nice and brown. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, combine the lentils and mushrooms with the rest of the ingredients except the cheese, and give it a nice big stir. Pour this mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle the cheese on top.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, then turn on the broiler and bake for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese gets brown and bubbly.

5. Remove from the oven and serve with a green salad or steamed vegetables.