Sugar Snap Salad

DSCN3930Ingredients:
sugar snap peas
buttercrunch or leaf lettuce
arugula
green onion
avocado
cucumbers
bacon bits

Throw in a little of everything you’ve got to this summery all-green salad. Wash, dry and tear the greens. Sluice in the onion, cucumbers and avocado. We like to leave the sugar snap peas whole. Others prefer to chop them diagonally. Add bacon bits for extra flavour, if available.

Dressing:
Use a dressing of your choice or, for an Asian flavor, use a little roasted sesame oil with rice vinegar.

 

Miso Soup Recipe

MisoSoup6As winter storms pile up, I reach for my recipes books and fresh ingredients. It’s always a challenge this time of year to find creative uses for seasonal vegetables. For the recipe today, I use as many local veggies as I can, with an added dash of Japanese fish powder, seaweed and organic miso. My husband and I make this tasty soup once or twice a week for breakfast.

Ingredients for a serving for two:
1/2 teaspoon Dashi (Bonito-flavoured fish powder)
2 cups water
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 stick of Wakame (dried Japanese seaweed)
1 chopped carrot or 1/4 small squash
1/4 chopped celeriac or fennel
1 tablespoon organic miso

Add 1/2 teaspoon of Dashi to 2 cups of water. Bring to a low boil. Break the dried Wakame stick into small pieces and soak in a small bowl of water. In a few minutes the pieces will expand in size and take on a soft leaf-like shape. Let them continue to soak while you add the rest of the ingredients, 1 chopped carrot, a handful of celeriac (or fennel) chopped into small cube shaped pieces,  to the boiling pot. Add 1/4 cup of chopped onions and 1/3 the length of a leek, as thinly sluiced rings. For variety and a slightly sweeter taste, we sometimes substitute squash in place of the carrot. Gently boil all ingredients in water for 10 minutes. Add the wakame to the soup and remove from heat. Skim off a little of the steaming water into a bowl. Measure 1 generous tablespoon of organic miso and stir it into the bowl of heated water until it becomes a rich colourful paste. Add this dissolved miso to the soup and you are ready to serve.

DSCN2377

Gluten-free Almond Bread Recipe

AlmondBread

A good gluten-free bread is hard to find. This recipe makes a bread that’s delicious, healthy and easy to prepare. Thanks to our friend Marlie Thornley for sharing this with us. The recipe has been modified slightly from a sample found on Elana’s Pantry.

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup ground flax
1 1/2 cups almond flour
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
5 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp apple cider

Instructions:
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate metal bowl, use a mixer to beat the eggs. Microwave coconut oil for 60 seconds to melt and add to the eggs with honey and cider while mixing. Then add wet to dry ingredients. Pour the dough into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.