All posts tagged: foodie

Summer Tomato & Rosemary Focaccia

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One of the best ways to tell that summer is here (other than the heat) is all the fresh garden produce that is available. I’m so happy to see fresh cucumber, zucchini, beans, figs, and my all time favourite: tomatoes! You can’t beat sweet, juicy and incredibly flavourful, summer tomatoes! Whether they are red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green tomatoes, or fancy heirloom tomatoes, you have to gorge yourself on them while they are in season! Plus, since they are so easy to grow and have a high crop yield, they end up being dirt cheap at the grocery stores during the summer! I’m all for that! Tomatoes are an incredibly versatile fruit and can be prepared in many ways. You can simply eat them fresh with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, make them into tomato sauce to serve with pasta, or even dry them out to make sundried tomatoes. The possibilities are literally endless with tomatoes! But no matter which way you prepare them, they will always pair perfectly …

Cedar Plank Salmon

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This Canada Day, I am grilling up the perfect west coast Canadian recipe: Cedar Planked Salmon. On the west coast of Canada, we love to eat fresh, wild salmon. While there are many species of salmon available, my favourite has to be sockeye salmon. It’s deep rich orange flesh is so succulent, full of omegas, and is always juicy– there’s nothing else like it! I picked up my salmon fillets from my favourite seafood store in Victoria, Finest at Sea. They always have a great selection of seafood available and it is always fresh! Not only is their seafood fantastic, I love that they tell you exactly where the seafood was harvested along the coast of B.C.– and even what fishing vessel caught it! Bringing this awareness to the customer is amazing and really makes me appreciate my seafood every time I get it! While I used sockeye salmon in this recipe, you can use whatever variety of salmon you prefer– pink, spring, coho, you name it! Just make sure that it is fresh and …

Easy Cauliflower Gratin

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Cauliflower is all the rage these days and can be seen in everything from rice to pasta to pizza. While I love that this vegetable is so versatile and can be transformed into these low-carb options, my favourite way to eat cauliflower is in this Cauliflower Gratin. Topped with Parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs, and a bit of butter, this dish is sure to satisfy everyone! Plus, now that this cruciferous vegetable has now come into season (and will be around until December!), a great way to celebrate it is at Easter dinner! Just look at all those spring vibes! The Gratin Technique This is by far, the easiest gratin you will ever make. If you have never heard of a gratin before, it is simply a French culinary technique whereby a dish is topped with breadcrumbs and some type of cheese. The breadcrumbs and cheese become crispy when baked and offer a crunchy texture to the dish. Typically, gratins are made with thinly sliced potatoes that become softened during the baking process. Rather than taking …

Quiche Florentine

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No matter what time of day, quiche is always a good idea. You can serve it for breakfast or brunch as a protein-packed way to start the day. You can serve it as a light lunch or dinner with a side salad. Or you can just eat a slice for a snack! No matter what, it will always be satisfying and will taste delicious…especially if you use my recipe for Quiche Florentine! The Meaning of ‘Florentine’ If you have had anything in a ‘Florentine’ style before, you will know that spinach is going to be involved in the recipe. This ‘Florentine’ style comes from France where recipes were served on a bed of spinach. Who knew? Of course, this Quiche Florentine is packed full of spinach (about 8 cups worth) along with some other tasty ingredients including shallots, eggs and cheese. Crust is Necessary One if the beauties of quiche is that you can modify the filling however you please, but ALWAYS make it with a crust! I feel that it’s the proper way to …

Lemon & Herb Salmon Burgers

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As you may have recently seen on my Instagram, I have collaborated with my good friend Liisa (@Essential_oil_health) to give away a few of my favourite essential oils. Not only are essential oils great for diffusing into the air and making your home smell amazing, you can actually use them in cooking (in small amounts of course)! This month, we are giving away a bottles of essential oil from DoTERRA: Lemon and Lime. We thought that these oils would be perfect for spring since they are so uplifting and refreshing, and can be used in tons of recipes, like this one for Lemon & Herb Salmon Burgers! There is not a can of salmon in sight with this recipe—it is made with fresh salmon fillet. I really prefer fresh salmon as opposed to canned salmon since it’s often less pungent and less cat food-y…if you know what I mean. I like to cook with sockeye salmon, but when it is out of season, it can be quite expensive. As an alternative, I like to cook …

Radish Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

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Spring has officially sprung! Now that we have made it through winter and there are nothing but warmer days ahead, there are so many fun activities…and fresh new foods to look forward to! To kick off the spring, I am featuring a recipe with the quintessential veggie of season: the radish. Radishes are incredibly refreshing and light. They are a great alternative to heavy winter veggies that we have been eating for the past 6 months or so. I particularly enjoy the crunchiness and peppery taste of radishes. Plus, radishes come in so many varieties and colours that they are just beautiful to look at! 10/10 refreshing… In this recipe for Radishes with Lemon Vinaigrette, traditional red radishes are thinly sliced and are combined with creamy white beans, chopped dill, and parsley. Everything is tossed together in a beautiful refreshing lemon vinaigrette. This salad gets better over time, but don’t let it sit too long or else the radishes will get mushy… I say 1-2 days tops. But it won’t last that long anyways…it’s that …

Magic Green Sauce

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Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! While people may be out celebrating with pints of green coloured beer, I’m celebrating with something a bit healthier. This Magic Green Sauce is healthy and 100% vegan– and it’s truly magical! So never mind that imaginary pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This Magic Green Sauce is for real and anyone can enjoy it on just about anything! Creamy, fresh and a tad spicy- this Magic Green Sauce is great on anything! The Magical Ingredient(s) The magical ingredient in this Magic Green Sauce is…avocado! Everyone goes head-over-heels for this delectable fruit because it is so creamy. I use that to my advantage in this Magic Green Sauce to make the sauce super smooth. The avocado is also relatively neutral in flavour, so it can hold up to all the flavour that some key herbs are packing. I use the dynamic duo of parsley and cilantro to bring tons of flavour and vibrant green colour to this sauce. A little bit of jalapeño and garlic adds a nice …

A Guide to Asian Sauces (Part 1): Soy Sauce & Spicy Sauces

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I have been cooking and experimenting with a lot of Asian dishes lately, and I’ve been getting lots of questions on the different types of ingredients I use (especially via my Instagram). While I think that Asian dishes are made best by using the freshest, local and seasonal ingredients, I think that sauces play a huge component in making an Asian dish truly delicious! So I’m giving you the “sauce” this week on the blog– focusing on Soy Sauce and Spicy Asian sauces! There are tons more Asian sauces that I also want to mention, so look out for part 2 of this mini informative series next week! Keep reading below to learn about some staple Asian ingredients you should have in your pantry, how they’re made, what they taste like, and what to cook with them! The most beautiful family portrait <3 Soy Sauces Background: Soy sauce is probably the most widely recognized Asian sauce in the world. Its salty flavour makes it an extremely versatile sauce that can be used in a variety …

Chocolate Ganache Tart

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Love is sweet. Love is salty. Love is this Chocolate Ganache Tart. If there is one thing that I must have every Valentine’s Day, it’s got to be a chocolate dessert. And when I say chocolate dessert, I mean pure chocolate. No chocolate covered fruit or anything like that– chocolate must be the star! This year, I would have to say that I hit it out of the park with this sinfully rich Chocolate Ganache Tart! This tart is so decadent (thanks to two kinds of chocolate and some whipping cream) that you only need to eat a small slice to get that chocolate fix. This is great since this tart can be shared amongst a large group of people, or enjoyed over the course of a few days by you and your loved one! 😉 Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate There are two basic elements to this Chocolate Ganache Tart. First is the chocolate tart base that gets its chocolate flavour from unsweetened cocoa powder. The second (and arguably the most impressive) is the …

Homemade Hot Chocolate

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If you’re fed up with all snow and the cold weather we have been having lately, a cup of Homemade Hot Chocolate is just what you need. Rather than buying a pre-made hot chocolate mix that is full of preservatives and unnecessary ingredients, I encourage you to make your own. Not only is it super easy, you likely have all the ingredients in your pantry! Pantry Staples & Fancy Additions Simply combine some unsweetened cocoa powder, granulated white sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a pot of warm milk and you will have a rich and creamy hot chocolate in under 10 minutes! You can use whatever milk you like, but my favourite is 2% milk from our local BC dairy farmers! While this is a basic recipe, you can also go all out and add whatever toppings you like. I like to keep it pretty simple with whipped cream and maybe a sprinkle of chocolate chips. But if you want to take it up a notch you can add chocolate shavings, a cinnamon stick, …