On This Last Day of Summer ...

On this last, cool, rainy day of summer, I'm bringing you something comforting to cook while the rain trickles down outside, but will still help you get through the bounty of late summer veggies that you couldn't resist buying at the market this morning.

It's nothing fancy, nothing celebratory, just some stew. But it's not rich, with a heavy gravy and loaded down with the starchy potatoes and and dried legumes of the winter. It's flavourful and summery, with just a hint of spice, perfect to pop into the oven and forget about for an hour while you curl up on the couch with a book, or have a quiet coffee in the late afternoon. It has the beautiful late summer harvest of beef steak tomatoes, so ripe and juicy that didn't need to add a drop of water or stock to this stew, some yellow summer squash, the last of the season, a juicy yellow pepper and some fresh, borloti beans that went wonderfully soft and creamy. Fresh herbs from my balcony garden, that won't last many more weeks, were both cooked into the stew and sprinkled on top, and the whole thing has just a whisper of middle eastern spice -- namely zaatar, cumin and tumeric. I happily ate bowls of this for dinner a few nights in a row, accompanied by tumeric scented brown rice and barley pilaf, but you don't to get that involved. Simple brown rice or white rice would be perfect, as would a chunk of crusty bread, or even some short pasta.

This stew was inspired by a dish I had at a restaurant called Nuba in Vancouver. It was called simply the vegan stew, and was described as a stew of seasonal vegetables with tomatoes, onions and chickpeasm served over brown rice. It had creamy roasted eggplant and zucchini and a delicious, rich spice blend. Nuba was the first place we ate out at in Vancouver, and it was a beautiful treat -- delicious food, relaxed atmosphere, and the excitement that our vacation had just begun.

Our Vancouver trip is long gone, and I've gotten into the groove of teaching again, but every once in a while, I'll indulge in a little daydreaming of times past. This stew is beautiful, rainy day indulgence and the perfect way to good-bye to summer.

Last Day of Summer Stew
inspired by Nuba and Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic
2 large, beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 yellow summer squash, cut into half-moons
1 large yellow pepper, cut into thick strips
1 quart of fresh borloti beans, shelled and rinsed
1 teaspoon of zaatar spice blend
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of ground tumeric
2 large sprigs of fresh thyme
5-6 basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
1 small handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. In an oven-proof pot, or dutch oven, gently heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and some salt and pepper. Let them sweat for about 5 minutes, while you chop the rest of your vegetables.

2. When the onions are soft, add in the zaatar, tumeric and cumin and let the spices toast for about a minutes. Add in your tomatoes and give it a big stir.

3. After about 4 minutes or so, the tomatoes should have released their wonderful juices.  Add the squash, peppers, beans and thyme sprigs.  Pop the lid on and put the whole thing a 375 degree oven for about an hour (but check at the 45 minute mark to see if your beans are tender, or if you need to add liquid).

4. When you're about to serve, sprinkle with the basil and parsley.

Trending: #Cauliflower

Don't get me started on how much twitter is a waste of time. I know. It's ridiculous. But I've braved through report card season with a twitter browser in front of me, refreshing every 5 minutes, and I still made it on time. It's also a great news source depending who you follow. Ahhhh! I've jumped on the twitter wagon and it's hard to jump off.  Help.

In other matters, I've noticed that awhile back, everyone was making cauliflower. 'Tis the season, I suppose, and I joined right in. I made this lovely, bright yellow stew that I've bookmarked for more than a year. The original recipe calls for farrow, which was out of my reach at the time, and so I made do with some Nishiki rice, a medium-grain sushi-type rice. It has a lovely nutty, sweet flavour, and plumps up nicely in the stew, giving it bulk and texture. I also added some fennel, which gave it a lovely, warm fragrance. This is a real meal in a bowl. I added chopped spinach, but any green will do. I also added red lentils because I wanted a nice creamy broth, and they did just the trick -- turned it from soupy to stewy and creamy in minutes. Perfect.

 In my mind, I'd like to make the cauliflower recipes mentioned above really soon -- especially the cauliflower with pasta -- but in reality, I'll probably be eating pureed squash soups and squares of tofu for another little while. In my mind, I'll make a beautiful wild rice and mushroom pot pie, something I've been wanting make for a while, but in reality, I'll probably be making this lentil soup for the 50th time this year. In my mind, I'll get up next Saturday morning and post about an exciting baking adventure I had in the middle of week, but in reality, I may not get to posting until much later.

I hope this soup hold you over during this unsettled time. Be well!

Curried Cauliflower Stew with Brown Rice and Lentils
adapted from Leek Soup
makes a big pot


1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1/4 bulk of fennel, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 hunk of ginger (whatever you can handle!), minced
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of tumeric
1/4 cup of red lentils, rinsed well
1/4 cup of Nishiki rice, rinsed well
4 cups of vegetable stock of water (or a mixture of both)
1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1/2 bunch of spinach, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a big pot, heat the olive oil, and add the onion, carrot, celery, fennel, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, until the veggies are glistening and starting to soften.

2. Add the spices, salt and pepper, and stir well. Cook for about a minute, until things start getting a little sticky at the bottom of the pot. Add the lentils, rice and stock/water, stirring well to pick up all the fragrant bits from the bottom.

3. Simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until the lentils have melted away and the rice is almost all cooked.  Add the cauliflower, cover the pot and cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until the cauliflower is gender.

4. Stir in the spinach, and simmer again for another 5 minutes, to let the liquid reduce a little.

5. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve and be comforted.

Happy Cauliflower!

I Need Colour

This past few days have been a bit grey and gloomy. The autumn chill has definitely set in, but instead of crisp, sunny, sweater weather, we're getting an icy drizzle and overcast skies. I know it comes with the seasons, but sometimes, you need a bit of help to keep a smile on your face. Coffee helps. Celebration adventures with loved ones help a lot. And colourful food -- for sure!



This quinoa dish definitely has many colours, enough to pick you up on a gloomy, drizzly weekend. It's inspired by a quinoa chowder from a book that my nest friend gifted me with for my 30th birthday that just past. It's a book dedicated to quinoa! I already want to make everything. But this was the first recipe that caught my eye. It's a simple stewy dish with lots of colourful vegetables -- yes, there's STILL fresh corn in the market and super ripe peppers if you hurry. And of course, I couldn't pass up this beautiful bunch of rainbow chard. My own chardlings from our balcony box gave me one last little bunch as well.




This dish is easy to put together, very healthy and definitely flavourful. It's comforting when served hot, but as it sits overnight, the quinoa kind of soaks up all the liquid and becomes kind of salad-like. It's also great cold, but feel free to add a splash of water or broth when re-heating to bring it back to it's chill-chasing stewy goodness. Keep warm and dry!

Quinoa Vegetable Stew
adapted from Quinoa: the everyday superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

1 carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cobs of corn, kernals removed
half a small bunch of rainbow chard, stalks diced, leaves cut into ribbons
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 cup of quinoa, rinsed well (I used red)
zest and juice of a lime
2-3 cups of vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste.

1. In a large pot, cook the onions, carrots, celery, pepper and chard stalks for about 5-7 minutes, until fragrant and starting to soften. Season and add the lime zest, cumin and smoked paprika.

2. Mix and cook for a minute or so, so the spices can toast. Add the lime juice and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the corn, quinoa and vegetable broth. Stir well.

3. Bring the stew up to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender.

4. Remove the lid and add the chard leaves. Stir and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy with crusty bread or all by itself.

Getting Ready for Rain

I love sunshine. And I also love rain. I also love snow. I love that we have all four season where I live. It's truly a blessing. Rain gets a bad reputation and I think it's unfair. Sure, I'm guilty of being a bit disappointed when rain gets in the way of bike rides and walks in the market, and I get more than a little annoyed when my shoes fill up with water. But in the end, I know that rain still rocks. It gives us the perfect excuse to stay inside and do nothing but relax and drink warm beverages. It makes the most wonderful soothing sounds that help you sleep in when your weekday alarm clock inside your head won't shut off. And it makes you feel a little less guilty for leaving work early only to go home and crash on the couch with a big bowl of something comforting.



I have to admit that cooking during weekdays is pretty difficult. I'm usually dead on my feet by 4pm and pass out on the streetcar ride home. Weekday dinners have to be quick, or they have to be made ahead and reheated. I'm the type of person that can make a soup or stew on Sunday, stick it in the fridge and heat it up for supper all week. If you are as well, this braised cabbage and carrot dish is perfect for you. I made it yesterday when I saw that the forecast called for 3 straight days of rain during the work week and I knew that I would need to come home to something comforting and quick.

I first made this braised stew-y dish in April, when spring was just moving in -- the time of slushy sidewalks and chilly wintery rain. It really warmed me up then, and I'm betting it will do the same this week. It's a simple braise of fresh market carrots, purple cabbage and Roma beans (though canned will work just fine I'm sure!) all spiced up with crushed fennel seeds and smoked paprika. I originally used these two spices to mimic the flavours of a chorizo sausage -- I love the spices but hate the oily mess the sausage leaves in the vegetables. I'm not sure that it tastes like chorizo, but it's definitely a winning combination. My thyme pots are still going strong, so I also added a big bunch of that, but if you're making this in the dead of winter, which I'm sure I'll do as well, some dried thyme would be just fine. This braise would be great served with crusty bread if that's your thing. I'd prefer it over noodles or macaroni. It would also be the perfect side dish to pork chops or Oktoberfest sausage, but that's getting too complicated for a week night ... I'm such a wimp! Why do I even have a food blog? :)

Braised Cabbage and Carrots with Beans

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 small head of red cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, cut into coins
a big handful of Roma beans, shucked (or half a can of whatever beans you like)
1/2 an onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 cups of water or vegetable broth
4 big springs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, sweat the onions and garlic until fragrant and soft. Turn up the heat and add the dried oregano, fennel seeds, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.

2. Add the cabbage and carrots and give it a good stir. Add the vegetable broth and bay leaf and put the lid of the pot. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, or until the carrots and cabbage are just starting to soften. Add the beans and cook, covered for another 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables and beans are cooked to your liking (I like the cabbage and carrots to still have a bit of bite, and the beans to be creamy but not falling apart).

3. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Stir in the fresh thyme and serve with whatever you like!

A Lobster Tale

Ok, so you know that trick with making iced tea so that summer would last longer? Yeah, I don't think that's going to work, but thanks for helping me out anyway. I've come to accept that fall is coming and I've even psyched myself up to be excited, even if it means work starting again and summer holidays ending. I've realized that as long as my summer memories are vivid in my mind, I can relive them, even after a long day of trying to tame and teach adolescent hormones. This blog is helpful because it means I don't have to dig out USB keys and memory cards to look at pictures -- my memories are just a click away. Whew!



Speaking of summer fun, I recall promising you a lobster tale. I'm already getting giddy remembering the story, so I'm sure that re-telling this tale in this post will solidify it in my mind, thus keeping it in the front of my memory for as long as possible. So here goes; I'm just going to say it. We made lobster bisque in a motel room. Details? Why, of course! Remember that beach lobster that we had on one of the last days in Moncton? Well, we saved the shells and some of the meat, with the idea of making bisque as a last dinner on our vacation. However, we ran into some roadblocks along the way. Our "kitchenette" at the motel was nothing more than a counter with a sink, a microwave and a hot plate. There were a few bowls and a shallow Pyrex glass dish. No pot. Did this put an end to our lobster plans? Nope. My ingeniously culinary partner pressed on. A quick trip to Sobeys for vegetable broth, potatoes, garlic butter, onions and tomatoes and the adventure began. This first part went smoothly. He sweat he veggies and set them aside (inside the ice holder!) and proceeded to pan roast the shells using the pyrex dish and hotplate. The smell was so wonderful. Then, stuff happened. As we were pouring the broth into the roasted shells, we heard a crack. Yup, we overheated that Pyrex dish and it cracked. BUT .. we poured the shells and broth into three bowls and .... yes ... we... microwaved it. A quick strain using a three dollar coffee strainer, a little mix with the veggies and into the microwave it went again. When we heard the final "ding!" we stirred in a little cream, topped it with leftover lobster meat and proceeded to taste. Oh .. my ... god. I would never have thought that it would taste so good. Very lobster-y, al dente potatoes, rich tomato flavour .. it was the perfect adventure to end our vacation.









But that's not it! Did you know that you can buy LIVE lobster at the airport in Moncton and FLY IT HOME? It was ingenious! They packed the lobsters with vaccum sealed frozen veggies and they stayed lively all the way to Toronto. A nice surprise for my family. That very night, we cooked it and the next day we took it over to my parents' where we made a lovely lobster soup/stew. It was wonderful, simple, yet unconventional. Simple veggies get sauteed, just like in the motel, and mixed with a touch of paprika. The lobster shells are roasted in the pan, and get some simmer time with water and broth. When everything gets put back together, it's thickened with rice. Twenty minutes later, you have a rustic, hearty, healthy very lobster-y stew that's rich without needing artery-clogging ingredients. I also have one more recipe to leave you with -- linguine with lobster meat. It's a simple pasta toss -- the sauce kind of coming together with a combination of tomatoes, lemon juice and pasta cooking liquid. It's fresh, tasty, and a lovely way to use up the lobster meat after you've used the shells to make the soup. So, if you ever find yourself indulging in lobster, please try these recipes and seriously consider visiting the east coast of Canada .. although before hand, make sure your "kitchenette" has an actually stove ... oh yeah, and pots and pans would be helpful too!

Lobster Soup/Stew

the shells of 1 medium-sized lobster
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 new potatoes, diced
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
4 cups of vegetable broth
3 cups of water
1 cup of jasmine rice
olive oil, salt and pepper

1. In a large pot, sweat the shallots and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, tomatoes and paprika and cook on medium-low heat until the carrots, celery and potatoes start to soften and the tomatoes start to break down a little. Season with salt and pepper. Remove this mixture to a bowl and set aside.

2. In the same pan, roast the lobster shells in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 7-10 minutes. Add the broth and water and simmer for 15-20 minutes on medium-low heat, covered. Make sure you scrape the brown lobstery bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. Strain the shells and put the liquid back into the pot. Add the reserved vegetable mixture and rice and bring the liquid up to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for another 20 minutes, uncovered until the veggies become tender, and the rice is cooked. Turn off the heat and let stand, covered for another 10 minutes, or until the rice has exploded and the liquid has thickened up nicely.

4. Season to taste, take a bite, and pretend that you're in Moncton.

Lobster Linguine

250 grams of linguine
a handful of grape tomatoes, quartered
1 shallot, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
the juice and zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons of chili powder
the meat from one medium lobster, chopped
a bunch of spinach, roughly chopped
a handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used basil, lemon thyme and parsley)
olive oil, salt and pepper

1. Boil the pasta according to package directions in large pot of salted water. Set aside 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid for later.

2. Cook the shallots and garlic in olive oil until soft and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper and add the chili powder. Cook for about a minute and then add the tomatoes. Cook for another 3 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to release their liquids.

3. Add the pasta, reserved cooking liquid, lemon juice and zest and toss. Add the lobster meat and spinach, and cook for another minute or so, just until the spinach has wilted and turned bright green.

4. Finish with fresh herbs, and more pepper if needed.