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 :)

perfect summer side

orzo = love. roasted veg = love. so why not combine them? that's exactly what i did in my roasted vegetable orzo salad. nothing too exciting, but with good, basic flavours. you really can't go wrong. this is a very versatile recipe that can be made with an array of veggies (mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, etc), you can any add fresh herbs and it can be served warm or cold! soooo many options!

what you need:
1 globe eggplant, cut in cubes
1 zucchini, sliced
2 bell peppers of any colour (i used red and yellow)
1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes
1.5 cups orzo (whole wheat if you can)
nice hunk of feta cheese
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt + pepper

step 1:
preheat oven to 400. i like to cut and salt my eggplant for ~30 minutes, but you don't have to. next, go ahead and chop all veggies in bite sized pieces, toss on baking trays with some olive oil and roast till caramelized, approximately 40 minutes, turning once.
step 2:
while your veggies are roasting, cook the orzo according to package instructions, drain, and put into a large bowl. cut your sun dried tomatoes into small pieces, and add to the bowl.
step 3:
once your veggies are done cooking, add them to the bowl along with the orzo. add a squeeze of lemon juice, a little olive oil, salt and pepper and toss.
step 4: 
when ready to serve, crumble some feta cheese over the top, and voila!


makes ~5 servings
i've eaten this alone for dinner, but would be great along with some grilled souvlaki and tzatziki! 

welcome home, sunshine :)

well, well, well.. look who finally has time to get back on the blogging train! that's right, ME! *applauds* i have to admit, not blogging at all last semester was super bad on my part. sorry all! i've been home from school for just about a month now, and holy cow, i don't think i've had a semester that has worn me out so much. my courses were interesting, but they kept me a WAY BUSIER than i would've liked. even more, during all of exam period i literally lived off of perogies, pickles, PB M&M's, garlic bread, blenz coffee mochas and pecan pie... and now i'm fat. university loves ruining my life. ANYWAYS, i'm back and hopefully will have lots of healthy, yummy meals to share! for me, this summer is all about getting healthy, mentally and physically! i eat well, but have neglected my fitness for a crazy amount of time considering i study kinesiology and health and all that fun stuff. time to get back to the old fitness loving eva :) wish me luck!

i leave you with a photo of little phyllo!

[very] belated thanksgiving post

so, yeah, it's been a few months since thanksgiving aaaand i still haven't managed to blog about it. well, that's until now, cause i managed to upload photos over the holidays and decided i might as well get it over and done with. since my school schedule was so ridiculously busy, i couldn't make it home for thanksgiving, so julia and i decided to make our own student version of thanksgiving. i made the white turkey chili, and she made the yum yum treacle tart. we also made some cute little turkey cookies! they're basically a tradition for thanksgiving at home, and since our landlords were nice enough to invite us to their proper thanksgiving dinner, i thought it would be nice to make some for the kiddies.
so, let's get on with things.

thanksgiving recipe #1:
white turkey chili (makes 8 servings)
what you need:
2 packs of lean ground turkey
1 yellow onion
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of celery
1 jalapeno
3 small cans of diced green chilies
2 cans of navy beans (can substitute white kidney beans as well)
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cayenne
6 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp cold water
2 tsp corn starch

step 1:
set a large pot on to medium heat and add in olive oil. dice your onion and celery and add to the pot when hot. let that cook down for ~10 minutes, and then add in crushed garlic. saute until fragrant.
step 2:
add in your ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. add your spices, finely chopped jalapeno, strained navy beans, green chilies (with juice) and chicken broth. let simmer away for ~60 minutes. if it hasn't started to thicken, make a slurry with cold water and corn starch and add to pot. stir, then you're done! easy peasy!


thanksgiving recipe #2:
angelopoulos turkey cookies
what you need:
lots of candy corn (extra for munching)
lots of caramels
box of hershey kisses or neilson golden buds
box of cookies

step 1:
microwave 1 piece of caramel for ~12 seconds, depending on your microwave. this will take a lot of trial and error. immediately squish caramel on top of your kiss/golden bud, then take a candy corn and squish it down on top of the caramel. then, take your cookie and squish it onto the back of the caramel.

yes, i realize that wasn't very precise but this is what it should look like. that's it! i know, this is awkward timing considering thanksgiving was many eons ago, but hey... at least i got around to it, eh?

self-control at its finest

butternut squash is pretty much one of my favourite foods of all time. i have been meaning to make butternut squash soup for almost a year now. i just can never get it to that part... this is where the whole lack of self control comes in. i always end up nibbling on the deliciously sweet and caramelized bits of roasted butternut squash.. and then.. they're all gone and there's no more for soup. every. time. people! this time though, i was committed to it and controlled my nibbling urges. that's because i just had to try out my new awesome kitchen aid immersion blender i got for christmas! even more, i added my second favourite thing in the world: chorizo. OH YEAH I DID! seems like a combo made in heaven, right? naturally sweet squash plus spicy chorizo? salivating. right. now.

because i made this at home during the holidays, chorizo was really easy to find at the thrifty foods by our house. in vancouver however, it took me over a year to find some. every time i went to safeway i would ask and never receive. this year i managed to find some at the IGA so the world is safe again. i now know where to go when i need to fill my chorizo craving.

what you need:
1 large butternut squash
3 celery stalks
1 carrot
1 onion
1 tbsp cumin (or to taste - i added lots)
1/2 cup skim milk or cream
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 chorizo (mexican or spanish works fine)
olive oil and butter for cooking

step 1:
preheat oven to 400 degrees. quarter and scoop out the seeds and icky bits from the squash. roast on a pan with olive oil for ~1 hour or until tender and a bit caramelized. add oil, butter and onion to a big pot and saute until nice and caramelized. then add the chopped carrot and celery and cook down for ~10 minutes. add the cumin.
step 2:
when squash is ready, take the skin off and add chunks into the pan. cook and stir until everything is evenly incorporated. then add the stock and bring to a boil. turn down and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
step 3:
while the soup is simmering, slice your chorizo and brown in a separate pan. let it get nice and crispy. you can also take it out of the casings and crumble it up as another option.
step 4:
take mix off the heat. blend in the pot with an immersion blender, being careful not to scratch the bottom of the pot (in this case a le cruset!). you can also blend small ladelfuls into a regular blender, being careful not to let it explode everywhere. add back to pot.
step 5:
put on low heat add the cream to the mix. depending on how big your squash was, you may need to add more liquid. it's best to start slowly with small amounts as it's harder to add squash back to make the soup thicker.

happy holidays!

happy holidays and happy new year everyone! i hope everyone had a good christmas and enjoyed their time at home! christmas break is over and i'm back in vancouver :(  i thought i'd do a little updating as to what exactly went down during my looong 3.5 week christmas break. i had planned to do some hot yoga during that time... but clearly, making and eating copious amounts of food is such a better option. this is a very photo-filled blog post, so it might take a while to load!

first up and completely unrelated to food... phyllo the puppy looking so cute at christmas time! he's grown so much since we first got him and it's kind of scary. i can see the awkward sheltie stage starting to appear!

now for the real cooking stuff: a shout out to my apprentice, dad. he's my slave and i made him help me with basically everything (cleaning... holding.. lifting). i like to think i've taught him how to be better in the kitchen, but who knows.

the apprentice: seen here with pomegranate macaron shells

next up, the french macarons. i made two flavours: vanilla with pomegranate white chocolate ganache, and pomegranate with a white chocolate ganache. i used a turkish pomegranate syrup to flavour the shell and the ganache because i couldn't find powdered pomegranate.. no surprise there... now, they didn't come out perfectly, but the texture was still ommidy ommidy as it should be! i made the pink pomegranate ones first, and taking the advice from my first batch in the summer (pistachio ones here) i used a proper piping bag and nozzle. they turned out pretty well, i think i mixed the egg whites too much while trying to incorporate the food colouring and syrup in the pink ones. for the vanilla macarons i didn't add any food colouring and was careful to not over beat them, but i may have under beat them.. who knows. they all had their little feet, and all tasted yummy so it's all good!

so pretty!

next, and not quite as exciting, came the macaroons. sometimes i crave these like mad so i just had too. the tin of condensed milk was a bit old and had a weird colour, but i used it anyways.

after that came the himalayan pink salt caramels. it seems everything i have made so far has this weird white or pink colour scheme... and i don't even like pink. meh. anyways, these were super gooey and didn't stick to your mouth! i followed a recipe for nigella lawson's fleur de sel caramels but substituted the pink salt cause we had just bought some. super yum yum!

then we made some gingerbread cookies. christina and i used a new recipe for icing and... well it didn't turn out so well. some were too thick, some too thin, and by the end of it we were too annoyed to try and fix it. so, we decorated our cookies with crappy icing and it glooped everywhere. oh well.

christmas dinner started off with baked brie topped with caramelized onions and shrimp dip for appetizers. we had intended to do a roasted beet, goat's cheese and pecan salad but we were a bit behind on timing, so we left it for the next day. for the main we had turkey with stuffing, sweet yams, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. to go with all this om nomness, we made mulled wine or gluhwein, reminiscent of our holiday trip to germany, belgium and the netherlands a few years back.

for new years, we had vasilopita, a greek cakey-bready thing. i kind of ruined it this year because my curiosity got the best of me and i found the coin by using my physics smarts. as you will notice, the star in the middle is spread out and weird looking due to all my finger pokes. whatever, i still found it! the best way to eat this cake is to heat it up in the microwave, put a big scoop of vanilla icing with it, and mush it up with a fork. sounds gross but it's oh so delicious. i tend to eat a lot of things mushed up like that... awkward...

i also had a chance to use my new immersion blender (from santa) to make a delicious butternut squash soup with spicy chorizo bits. i am going to devote an actual blog post to this so... check back soon!

would you look at that colour!

well, that was a little snippet from my holidays. i hope everyone is settling back into school smoothly and that you all have a great year ahead!

just another way to procrastinate..

well folks, you may have noticed my month long absence from blogging. yes, i've still been cooking but i have had no time at all to do anything fun. that includes blogging. my life has been taken over by stupid school projects, midterms at the end of term (i know. i still don't get it...?), essays and meetings and i have basically have no social life. now, it's exam period and i have all them scrunched together in the first week. my first is tomorrow, a 50% motor behaviour final. oh, right... why am i not studying? cause that's too smart. and procrastinating is way more fun.

basically, i'm here to tell y'all that my blogging will continue to be absent over the christmas break. however, i will be baking and cooking lots of lovely lovely things, so stay tuned for january where i'll catch you up to all of my cooking shenanigans!

happy holidays!

a touch of spice

well folks, this post has been a long time coming. chai. oh, masala chai. words cannot express the love. all i know is that the first time i got a whiff of the spicy tea, my love affair with chai began. for a commercially available chai, celestial seasonings and tazo have to be my favourites. celestial seasonings has some hickory flavour added to it and it sometimes that bothers me. when it does, i just turn to tazo. i am one of those people who prefer their chai heavily spiced, and tazo does just that. plus they source their spices ethically and have several campaigns to give back to the communities where they get their tea. see their super cool website here. you all know that i can rarely resist a non-fat chai latte from starbucks. they use the tazo chai concentrate for their lattes. it doesn't have the same intensity as the teabags, but.. it's so rich and delicious that i'll take it!

spices are so prettttyyyyy

one thing i like about making my own masala chai is that i can adapt it to how i'm feeling at that moment. if i've got a sore throat, i'll generally add more peppercorns, or if i'm wanting something super sweet, i'll add more cinnamon. also, every batch you make comes out slightly different! the key is to play around with spices and see which combinations you like the best :)
the recipe below makes enough for 1 large, moderately spiced mug of chai

what you need:
1 stick of cinnamon
1 inch piece of ginger root
1 star anise
7 cloves
7 whole peppercorns
10 cardamom pods
1 or 2 teabags of plain black tea (or 2 tbsp loose)
2 cups water
1 cup milk
honey or sugar to taste

a cup of chai makes any study session a little more bearable!

step 1:
peel and thinly slice your ginger root. lightly crush your cardamom and cloves (peppercorns too if you want it spicyyy).
step 2: 
add water and milk to a pot with your spices and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and lightly simmer for 10-15 minutes.
step 3:
add in your teabags and let steep for 3-5 minutes, depending on how strong you want it. strain really, really well into a mug and enjoy!

oh, hey, look what mug came in the mail!  : )

i decided to make this juuust as it started to hail/rain outside, perfect timing! i also settled down to watch the movie a touch of spice/politiki kouzina, which also finally came in the mail! it was pretty much a perfectly spiced afternoon. for those of you who haven't heard of/seen the movie, come over right NOW so you can watch it! it's the story about a boy who lives in istanbul, who's grandfather is a spice vendor and teaches him that life and food both need and a touch of spice. cute and funny all in one movie. what else can you ask for?