portobello love

i'm really starting to fall for a mushroom called potobello. you may know i've been sneaking mushrooms into my diet for a while now, and one day i decided to give these babies a go! haven't looked back since. one of my favourite ways to eat these is to stuff them - you can pretty much throw anything on them and they'll still be delicious! they're quick, easy and perfect for a meatless monday meal.

om nom nom!

what you need:
3 portobello mushrooms
1/2 a yellow onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
large handful of spinach (i added loads cause i love spinach!)
1 red pepper
small-ish chunk of feta
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
salt and pepper

step 1:
preheat oven to 400 C. start with the filling: bring a pan to medium heat, add in your olive oil. dice the onion and saute until translucent, then add the crushed garlic. then add your chopped red pepper, sun dried tomatoes and spinach and saute until wilted.
step 2:
while the filling is cooking, prep the mushroom caps. use a fork to scrape the gills off, and cut off the stem (feel free to finely shop the stem and add to the mix!) place on a baking sheet lined with foil, and bake for ~10 minutes.
step 3:
when your filling is done, take the mushrooms out of the oven. fill them with the mix and place them back into the oven until done, ~ 10 more minutes. serve!

these are veggie stuffed portobellos, you can easily add quinoa or meat (sausage works well) to the mix as well! so versatile :)

cauliflower mash

I'M THE WORST BLOGGER IN THE WORLD. yes, yes. i have teased you. i keep saying i'm back and ready to blog and i cook all this awesome food, forget to take photos, and then never blog about it. i know. i'm so lame. anyways, back to it.
        first off (and most related to food), i've started thinking i may be sensitive to gluten. YES, yes you read that right. this pasta and bread loving chick is possibly semi-allergic to that little protein called gluten *cries*. so, i'm trying a short-term elimination/low carb diet to see how things go. things so far are all good, but man, it's hard to get rid of gluten! it's in a surprising amount of food items, and not all of them are just starches! (think: soy sauce, flavoured drinks, sauces: gravies, salad dressing, condiments, marinades... oh my!)

cauliflower mashed potatoes - seriously better than the real thing!

       part of this experiment meant upping my veggie intake and creating foods that have a similar texture to my much missed carbs. first on the list was cauliflower mash - i've seen this loads of places and thought i should give it a go! it turned out SO WELL - maybe even better than real mashed potatoes! it is a bit of work but this recipe makes a big batch so it will last you quite a while!

you will need:
1 large head of cauliflower
1 tbsp margarine
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic (if you want a garlic mash, leave out if you would like plain)
1/2 cup skim milk

step 1:
bring a large pot of water to the boil. cut up your cauliflower into chunks, place in the pot and cook until tender, approximately 5 minutes.
step 2:
strain the cauliflower and transfer to a food processor, add the margarine, paprika, salt and pepper and garlic if desired. while pulsing, slowly add in your skim milk until mix is smooth. you may need to add more depending on the size of cauliflower. DONE! that's it, easy peasy :)

eva's awesome salsa!

everyone in my life knows that i'm super picky with my salsa and like it to be authentic and NOT CHUNKY. i hate a chunky salsa. making your own salsa is SO EASY i don't know why i didn't think of it sooner! not only that, this way i can adjust chunky-ness and the spiciness! this recipe makes a LOT of servings, like, and entire blender of servings. i also am on the fence about cilantro so only added a very small amount to appease my family, so if you like it, double or triple the amount i added!

what you need:
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (low-sodium is good, even better is using fresh tomatoes: 8 or 9 depending on the size)
1 4oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
1 jalapeno (i suggest adding a few chunks at a time, spiciness in raw japalenos varies quite a bit!)
1/4 yellow onion
4 cloves of garlic
10 cilantro leaves
juice of 1-2 limes
1.5 tsp cumin
salt and pepper

step 1:
drain both cans of tomatoes of their liquid. i finely diced my cilantro prior to putting it in the food processor (due to loathing it), you can just add it straight in if you like. add onion, garlic, jalapeno, and the 28 oz tin of tomatoes and pulse a few times till combined.
step 2: 
add the 4 oz can of tomatoes, lime juice, salt and pepper, and cumin and pulse until all combined. taste, and make any adjustments necessary.



and thats it! serve with chips, use as dressing in taco salad or on top of eggs in the morning :)

worst greek alive

 ok. i have this thing i need to get off my chest: am possibly the worst greek ever. i don't speak the language (unless greeklish counts, i'm pretty fluent in that), i only really like the traditional music, i don't go to church that often, i let feta cheese go mouldy, and i hate (HATE) olives. the latter is especially bad considering my relatives make a living by actually farming olives in delphi. it's in my blood. oh, i must really be offending my ancestors. when i visited them in 2004 i was forced to have some (i didn't want to be offensive) and i just couldn't keep a straight face. it was just such a strong flavour! ick! but i really love greek cuisine. so, i have to make some modifications. two awesome greek dishes, dakos and horiatiki both have olives. i feel like i'm massacring part of my history, but i gotta take the olives out.

olive trees in the valley below delphi, town of itea in the distance

anyways, let's start with dakos (ντάκος). it's a traditional cretan meze or appetizer, kind of like a greek version of bruschetta, with a rusk, cheese, tomatoes, and greek olive oil and oregano (plus an olive on top but as mentioned above, i leave them out). i went to crete for the first time ever last summer, and i had the most amazing time of my life. i hiked the 18km samaria gorge in keds that weren't broken in, swam in the crystal clear waters of elafonissi, thwarted masses of stupid tourists at the palace of knossos, made friends with fishies at the cretan aquarium and felt odd peace at the arkadi monastery, where thousands gave their lives in the cretan revolt against the ottomans. after seeing so much of crete, i've decided you can't know greece without knowing crete and you can't go to greece without going to crete either. it's a very unique place, the dialect is so so strange, and the history is so different from the mainland. i love that island. i think the city of chania is one of my favourite places in greece, at least the old part of town. streets lined with cute shops, octopus drying in the sun, the old venetian lighthouse in the harbour, awesome naval museum and of course, the crazy restaurateurs complimenting you just so you eat at their place... anyways.. that was a bit of a ramble.

monastery of arkadi, town of loutro - only accessible by boat and the cute and noble kri-kri

dakos is one of cretes signature dishes, and i love love love it. simple, delicious, and it only takes 2 minutes to make. that's my kind of food!

what you need:
cretan rusks (you can find them at any greek or mediterranean grocer, if not you can use melba toast)
hunk of crumbled myzithra or feta cheese
1 tomato
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp greek oregano
step 1:
if you are using the cretan rusks, sprinkle a bit of water on top. this makes it easier to tear into pieces. remove the skin off of the tomato. you can cut it into really small pieces, or grate it into a bowl. spread the tomato with the liquid onto the rusk.
step 2: 
add the cheese, oil and oregano on top of the tomato and enjoy!

 now for the horiatiki (xωριάτικη). for those of you that know what it is hooray! if you don't recognize the name, thats ok, because you most certainly will in english. the classic greek salad. i didn't go one day without eating it while in greece - it's the perfect mix of veggies to relieve you from the heat of the day (umm 45 helloo, not so fun). the really important thing for horiatiki is that you have really, really good quality feta. go to the greek grocer, and get 100g of the greek feta. it'll only set you back about 2 bucks. totally worth it. if they have a good selection they will probs give you pieces of each to try. i always ask for that!

what you need:
1/2 a cucumber, skin off
2 vine ripe tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
extra virgin olive oil
dried greek oregano
red wine vinegar
slice of good feta cheese
step 1: 
cut all veggies into bit sized pieces and put in a bowl. mix together oil and vinegar (a 3:1 ratio is classic, but i like mine with more zing so i put more vinegar)
step 2: 
pour dressing on top of veggies and toss. top with feta and a sprinkle of oregano.

no feta? but it's so important! nope. i let it go mouldy  : (

Καλή όρεξη!
kali orexi!

a hot mess

as i mentioned earlier in my dad recently came over to vancouver to visit, and we defs hit up costco, where i bought a big pack of skinless and boneless chicken thighs! finally, i don't have to live off tofu for the rest of the year! now, i know chicken thighs have a bit more fat than chicken breast, but i like them better because they don't dry out as easily, plus they are less expensive! the difference between breast and thigh is the fibre type of the muscle. i could go on a huge rant about muscle types but i'll try and keep it as simple as possible (that's hard for an HKinner who likes muscles...) and just for your knowledge, there are tons of subcategories for fibre types, these are just the basics!

different muscle fibres: dark spots are type I; light spots type II

so, to start. chicken thighs are dark meat, and are made up of type I or slow-twitch muscle fibres. this fibre type is special because of its resistance to fatigue, which is important for basic movements (think: posture, walking etc). they also contain more myoglobin than type II fibres. these proteins provide a more efficient way of oxygen transportation, which, as you can imagine, is important for muscles that are constantly in use.
on the other hand, chicken breasts are white meat, and are made up of type II or fast-twitch muscle fibres. these fibres fatigue quickly, but can exert more force and energy than type I. and... that's all i have to say about them because they're just kind of boring.

in my books, dark is better. it's got more iron (3x as much as raw spinach), zinc, riboflavin, niacin and thiamin than white meat. plus, the little bit extra fat content in dark meat really just makes is juicy, and furthermore contain omega -3 and -6 fatty acids.

anyways, i made some hot honey brushed chicken thighs, and they were sooooo good! the recipe below was enough for my dinner and lunch the next day. so, this chicken is super spicy, and also super messy. i ended up with the powder mixture all over the kitchen table.. i guess my tossing skills aren't quite there yet? needless to say, i will definitely be making this one again!

what you will need:
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed chili flakes
1 skinless, boneless chicken thigh
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp chicken broth (or cider vinegar)
1/2 zucchini
1 cup frozen green beans
2 tsp olive oil

step 1:
pre-heat oven to 375. combine the first 5 ingredients into a small bowl and stir. cut up your chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces, cleaning off any extra fat. plop the chicken pieces into the bowl and toss, ensuring they are completely covered.
step 2:
chop up the zucchini and place into a cooking dish with 1 tsp olive oil and place in oven. take another cooking dish and cover the bottom with 1 tsp olive oil. place in chicken and put in the oven as well. combine honey and broth (or cider vinegar) into a little dish.
step 3:
after 3 minutes, flip chicken over. after another 3 minutes, take chicken out and brush them with honey-broth mixture then put them back in. repeat in 1 minute intervals until mix is gone, then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan. add in the cup of frozen green beans into pan.
step 4:
when chicken is crispy and the beans and zucchini are cooked, take out and plate. enjoy!

spicy and slightly messy dinner

earl of sandwich

oh yes my dear friends, it has finally arrived. national sandwhich day. it is the anniversary of john montagu's birthday - the 4th earl of sandwhich (coolest title ever). so apparently, instead of interrupting a 24-hour gambler bender, the 18th century british nobleman instructed his servants to serve his lunch meat between 2 pieces of bread, allowing him to eat with one hand. the world has never looked back.

the most important part of a sandwich, in my opinion, is the bread. i like mine 100% whole grain, possibly with some flax or sunflower seeds. my favourite, favourite, favourite bread is made by silver hills bakery. they have 9 different types of bread, including the big 16, mack's flax (my fave), little big bread and marvelous multi. instead of grinding their grains (a process which takes out most of the nutrition) they sprout their grains for 36 hours and then add them to the mix of other ingredients.

mmmmm, silver hills bread  : )

when you buy bread, you better read the label properly - companies are trying to trick you into thinking their product is 'healthy' when it's not. one day i went to the grocery store and was in a rush, i just picked up a loaf of bread that said whole grain. when i took it home and looked at the ingredients, i was sad. "enriched flour" doesn't count as whole grain in my books. here are some tips when looking for real whole grain bread.

leave it on the shelf if it says:
- made with whole grains
it doesn't mention how much whole grain is in the bread. they could've only put in a pinch! unless it says 100%, you won't get the potential benefits.
- multigrain/whole grain
this doesn't tell you anything about the grains being whole or refined. while you're getting 40 different grains, it doesn't help if they are all processed.

so, key points. when shopping for bread, look for the words 100% whole grain/wheat, and stay away from any kind with flour that is "enriched", "bleached", "unbleached", "semolina" and "rice". it must say whole wheat flour and it must be the first ingredient.

wow. that was a long rant about bread. anyways, back to sandwich day. today is a day where i sit down and enjoy a most righteous sandwhich. well, today i didn't quite have time to be so creative, so i settled for one of my faves.

my sandwich for sandwich day

what you need:
2 pieces of your favourite whole wheat bread
1/4 red pepper, sliced thinly
1 tbsp homemade hummous (recipe soon, i swear!)
1/4 avocado, mushed
2 leaves of romaine lettuce
handful of sprouts

step 1:
smear hummous onto once piece of bread, and the mushed up avocado onto the other.
step 2: 
lay the red pepper, sprouts and lettuce ontop of the hummous. take piece of bread with avocado and put on top. eat.

goodbye, national sandwich day. perhaps next year i will have time to honour you by making a more creative sandwich. until next year.

all the fanciest dijon ketchups

yummmyyyyy

ok folks, i finally have some time to write you about this kind of epic meal i made last week. it was really easy and didn't take long, plus it was pretty healthy. i will definitely be making this again! i had some unused chicken from when i made the pomegranate-baslamic chicken, so i wanted to use it. this is what i made! 

curried honey dijon chicken with ginger and soy roasted veggies

what you need:

       chicken:

1 chicken breast cut up into small pieces (i only used 4 pieces)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 dup dijon mustard (ok - i cheated here. i had grainy mustard so i used that instead)

1 tsp curry powder (i definitely used more!)

1/2 tsp cumin

sprinkle of crushed pepper flakes

       veggies:

any vegetables you like (i used 1/2 red pepper and 1/2 a zucchini - leftover from the night before)

1/2 onion chopped

1 tbsp ginger

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

step 1:

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. mix together mustard, honey, curry and pepper flakes into a bowl. put chicken into a freezer bag and pour in mixture. marinade for ~30 minutes in the fridge (but the longer the better).

step 2:

while waiting for your marinade and oven, roughly chop up your veggies and add them to a dish. add crushed garlic and ginger,  soy sauce and onion to the dish and mix with your hands. put into the oven.

step 3:

take chicken out of the fridge and lay it on a greased baking dish. pour out the marinade into the dish as well. bake for about 15 minutes, then flip the chicken over and cook for another few minutes. at this point, check your veg. stir them around for a bit and put them back in the oven.

step 4:

when the juices start to brown, add about 1 to 1 1/2 cup of water or chicken broth to the pan. this will create a nice sauce to go with your dish. [note: i only added like, 1 tbsp of water and thought it would be enough. it wasn't. add lots!]

step 5:

after a few minutes more of cooking the chicken, take it out as well as the veggies. plate it up and enjoy!

so, that's it! not a terribly interesting recipe or blog post, but i am trying to procrastinate from working on the sport psychology case study due thursday... i should really go and do it!