April 24, 2009 at 5:50 pm · Filed under Food, Pizza, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, dinner, pizza, Vegetarian, white pizza
There isn’t much to this pizza, what you see it what you get. It is easy to make and is packed full of flavor.
Ingredients
- pizza dough – fresh from a local bakery
- spinach
- zucchini
- hot peppers
- good quaility olive oil
- fresh garlic
- ginger
- fresh pepper / salt
- Roll the dough to desired thinkness and put on baking sheet or pizza stone
- mix the olive oil, crushed garlic and ginger in a bowl and spread it over the dough
- put the toppings on with some fresh pepper and bake at 350 degrees or until the crust starts to turn golden brown (about 10-15 mins)
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April 15, 2009 at 8:18 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged Chinese food, dinner, plantains, recipe, sweet and sour sauce, tofu, Vegetarian
I know fried plantains don’t really “go” with an Asian inspired dish, but they were in the house and perfectly ripe so I used them. The first time i had cooked plantains was when I was in Ecuador and instantly fell in love with them. This dish takes a little time to prepare, but it is definitely worth it.
Ingredients
Sweet and sour sauce
- 1 can of sliced pineapple
- 1 tsp cornstarch or flour diluted in a few tbsp of water
- 1 tbsp of vinegar
- 1 tbsp of sugar
Plantains
- ripe plantains – almost black all around
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp of brown sugar
Everything else
- rice
- vegetables – (use what ever you want) zucchini, yellow pepper, onion, garlic, ginger
- firm tofu
- vegetable oil
Sweet and Sour sauce
- strain the pineapple juice and add to sauce pan and simmer on medium low heat unit it boils
- add vinegar and sugar (add more or less to taste)
- add cornstarch liquid and reduce to low heat and stir constantly until it thickens
- add a few slices of pineapple if you want
Plantains
- melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and add sugar while stirring
- peel the plantain and slice lengthwise and then in to halves
- cook the plantain till they are brown on both sides ( i like then a little crispy)
Veg & Tofu
- cut the tofu into what ever size you desire and fry in a little vegetable oil until golden brown
- sauté veg in a little oil until tender
You can mix it all together and serve with a little hot sauce and soy sauce.
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April 13, 2009 at 8:49 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, dinner, recipe, salad recipe, Vegetarian
This is one of our favorite warm salads to make, its quick and easy and it goes with almost anything. I got this recipe from a friend at work and have been making it weekly ever since. Brussels sprout are definitely one of those over looked vegetables for some reason, but I’m sure this will make you a fan of them.
- a few handfuls of fresh Brussels sprout
- olive oil
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- lemon
- peel off the first layer of the outer leaves and cut in half
- thinly slice the half’s (i try to do it as thin as possible)
- heat up pan to medium and add garlic and oil
- once hot add the sliced Brussels sprouts and sauté for about 3 minutes
- add salt and pepper and a splash of lemon juice
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April 13, 2009 at 8:32 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Indian food, Indian Recipe, recipe, sandwich, Vegetarian
I love Indian food, especially tandoori chicken. I came up with this sandwich after eating at an Indian restaurant recently. You can easily substitute in firm tofu for a veggie version.
- Tandoori spice
- plain yogurt
- onions
- tomatoes
- mayo
- chabada bun
- salt and pepper
- combine tandoori spice and yogurt and mix until all of the tandoori spice is mixed it.
- cover all of the chicken with the mixture and put in the fridge overnight
- grill the chicken and onions
- put it all together with fresh tomatoes and a little salt and pepper.
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April 7, 2009 at 8:48 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, Cilantro Soup, dinner, soup, soup recipe, Vegetarian
Over the past few years I acquired a love for Cilantro, it is definitely my favorite herb. When I first moved to Toronto 4 years ago I couldn’t stand it, one of my good friends would always put piles in her guacamole or burgers, i didn’t get it..now i do. This is something I have always wanted to make, but I was a little apprehensive due to it obscurity and i am the only one who loves it in the house..
- 3 cups of veggie broth
- 1 cup milk
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves of crushed garlic
- a little piece of ginger
- 1 leek
- 2 ribs of celery
- 1 tomato (skinned)
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- salt pepper
- 1 or 2 small potatoes
- olive oil
- heat up oil , garlic, ginger in a pot for a few minutes. add chopped up celery, leeks onion and potatoes and cook until they are a little soft
- add in all of the broth and simmer on medium heat until the potatoes are soft
- add tomatoes and cilantro and cook until the cilantro wilts
- turn off the heat and add milk and blend. i use a hand blender
- put back on the heat and simmer for a few more minutes
- add salt and pepper to taste
- garnish with some fresh cilantro
I just started making soup over the past few years and i am amazed at how easy they are to make. You can pretty much add or take out anything you don’t like or have.
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April 6, 2009 at 7:19 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, dinner, recipe, Vegetarian, Veggie Shepherds Pie
This is kind of a mash up dish that I made because we had a lot of left over cauliflower mash that was made the previous night. I know the ingredients list / recipes might sound a little weird, but it’s delicious.
- mash potatoes
- Yves ground veggie meat
- celery
- carrots
- canned beans (these were left over as well)
- red onions
- garlic
- olive oil
- veggie broth for gravy
- 1 tsp corn starch
Do all of these steps at the same time, it will take up all of the burners on the stove 
The Mash
- boil potatoes until they are almost done then add some cauliflower and continue to boil until soft
- add chopped garlic and mash everything together, add 1/2 cup of veggie broth for the liquid
The Veg
- in a pan add oil and garlic on med heat and sweat onions, carrots and celery until soft. add the beans near the end to heat them up
The gravy
- bring 1 cup of veggie broth to a simmer in a small pan
- in a small bowl add a few tbsp’s of cold broth and add 1 tsp of corn starch and stir
- mix it in to the simmering broth and stir until it thickens a little
The Veggie “Meat”
- add oil to pan and heat up the fake meat. (this stuff doesn’t really need to cook, you just need to heat it up)
- add in a few tbsp of the gravy and mix it in to moisten the meat up
Assembly
- in a baking dish place to veg on the bottom, the meat on the next layer and the potatoes on top.
- broil in oven for 5 mins or until the mash is golden brown
- add more gravy and enjoy!
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April 4, 2009 at 10:01 pm · Filed under Breakfast and Brunch, Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, breakfast, French Toast recipe, recipe, Vegetarian
I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com when i was searching for a breakfast idea for the weekend.
It is easy to prepare and takes about 45-50 minutes to bake.
- 5 cups of bread cubes
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup of milk
- pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp of icing sugar
- a dollop of vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp of butter
- maple syrup
- preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8 x 12 baking dish. make sure to use a good amount of butter or everything will stick once its cooked
- mix eggs, milk, 2 tbsp of icing sugar, dash of cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl
- put bread cubes in the dish, pour mixture over the bread and let it absorb for 5 minutes
- bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and let it sit to cook down a little
- top with the rest of the icing sugar / cinnamon and serve with maple syrup
This recipe was more then enough for 2 people. next time i will only use 4 cups of bread,3 eggs and less milk.
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April 3, 2009 at 7:41 pm · Filed under Food ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, pizza, Vegetarian, welland
During the summer of 2008 my girlfriend and I went to Quebec for a week. We met up with my parents and aunt/uncle in Montreal and tried some delicous french food and an amazing beer called la fin de mond.
When we were in Quebec city we found this littlepizza restaurant near the old town that served up and amazing thin crush pizza. This is my take on a prosciutto and a vegetarian pizza.
- pizza dough – i bought it fresh from a local bakery
- tomato sauce
- crushed garlic
- prosciutto
- red / yellow peppers
- zucchini
- cheddar cheese
- artichokes
- fake pepperoni
- Roll out the dough as thin as you can get it and put corn meal on the one side and place on an upside down cookie sheet
- mix the crushed garlic in some olive oil and spread it over the dough
- spread the tomato sauce evenly and add cheese
- put the rest of the toppings on and bake at 350 degrees or until the crust starts to turn golden brown
there you go, easy as pie..
i like to put the cheese on last, but i think that is a Welland thing because no one else seems to do it
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April 2, 2009 at 8:19 pm · Filed under Food ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, recipe
Last year I was living with a friend who’s parents owned a dairy farm out near London, Ont. Every time he went to visit he would return with a cooler full of various types of beef. There were plenty of steaks , 20 lbs of ground beef and something marked “Roladen”. I remember my mother making a dish called roladen when I was a kid, so I called her up to inquire. This is a typical German dish that takes a lot of time to prepare, but is will worth it. I am sure you can go to the butcher and ask for it by name and they would know what you or talking about, i also think you can use beef or round steak, regardless of what kind you get it needs to be thin.
- 6 slices of beef
- bacon
- dill pickles – sliced
- onions
- yellow mustard
- garlic
- Paprika
- salt and pepper
- tooth picks
- spread mustard evenly on 1 side of the beef
- place a strip of bacon on top of the mustard and the pickle on top of it
- add the sliced onions and roll it up and poke the tooth pick through the meat to make sure it stays closed.
- add oil to a frying pan on med/high heat and fry until all sides are golden brown
- place everything into a baking dish and cover with lots of onions and then tin foil
- get the oven up to 325 degrees and bake for 1 1/2 hours
By they time they are fully cooked, the meat will be extremely tender and everything should fall apart.
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April 1, 2009 at 8:55 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, frittata, spinach, Vegetarian
This is a perfect weekend breakfast frittata, it takes about 5 mins to prepare and 35 mins to cook. I got the ramicans at a kitchen store for $2 each and love them! they are the perfect size for a breakfast or dinner meal. You can add any veg you want to this dish, this is all we had at the time.
- spinach
- goat milk cheese
- peppers
- onions
- black olives
- 2 eggs each
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- Mix eggs, sour cream, onions, peppers and olives in a bowl
- Grease the dish and put enough spinach to cover the bottom of the ramicans and pour the mixture over top. (it doesnt look like much but the eggs will puff up)
- Crumble off the goat milk cheese and poke it into the mixture, add more spinach if you want
- Cook at 350 or until its done to preferance
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March 31, 2009 at 8:13 pm · Filed under Food ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, mateus, Mussels, recipe, Seafood, Toronto
Mussels Dijon with a Mateus Wine Sauce On the weekend I was in Kensington Market and had a craving for seafood. I was less then impressed with the selection most of the stores had, but ended up finding some really nice mussels.
This is a quick and easy recipe that is perfect any time of the year and is easy to make. I wouldn’t mind trying this recipe over an open fire at the cottage or on the BBQ.
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Olive oil
- Sliced onion
- Chunky Tomatoes ( I used a left over can i had in the fridge)
- A bunch of mussels 1lb per person is more than enough
- Wine ( I had Mateus in the fridge)
- Dijon Mustard
-
- On medium add garlic, ginger, onion and oil to Wok or pan, I use a Wok because it is nice and deep
- Add about 1 cup of wine, tomatoes and bring to a simmer
- Add mussels and cook for about 5-10 minutes, occasionally tossing the mussels around in the sauce, Ilike to cover them so they steam a little (I am pretty sure mussels are done when they open up, but I like to cook them a little more, this is personal preference)
- When the mussels are completed cooking, kill the heat and add a few dollops of Dijon Mustard, toss them around covering all the mussels with mustard
- Pick out any that haven’t opened up, these are not safe to eat. Add salt to taste and enjoy
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March 30, 2009 at 8:16 pm · Filed under Food, Vegetarian ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, #restaurants, mateus, risotto, Vegetarian
This is a simple dish to make that will amaze anyone who tries it. My girlfriend had a big bottle of Mateus in the fridge, which is an amazing Portuguese wine. I decided to make a risotto with some of it and to roast up some veg that we had. The risotto took about 30 min to cook down and needs consent attention, this is pretty much the hardest part of the meal.
Risotto
- olive oil
- garlic
- ginger
- onion
- crushed tomatoes – just a few tbs to add colour
- wine – 1 cup
- water – 1 cup or more
- 1 cup of rice
- Add oil, garlic, ginger to medium heat pan, add rice and stir for a few minutes until the rice absorbers the oil a little cooked, turn down to med/low heat
- Combined wine and water together and ladle in about 1/2 cup and stir to reduce
- Continue adding water/wine mixture and stirring contently until all of the liquid is gone and the rise is soft add more water if necessary
Roasted Vegetables
Roast or fry up the veg how every you want. I did them on a griddle, you can pan fry them or roast them in the oven.
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March 30, 2009 at 2:37 am · Filed under Food ·Tagged #cooking, #recipes, #restaurants
Hello Foodies,
This is the first entry to my work in progress blog all about food. I love to cook and create new dishes all of the time. I like experiment with different textures, flavors and colours inspired by all of the options around me in Toronto. Since I met my girlfriend 2 years ago, I have been cooking more and more vegetarian dishes. Everyday I look for new ideas everywhere I go and still use recipes I discovered when traveling throughout Europe and South America a few years ago. I also hope to review local restaurants around Toronto.
If you are reading this, you have a love for food and cooking. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks
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