Cooking dinner is literally the LAST thing I feel like doing when I get home from work... finding time to buy groceries is difficult enough, and meal planning has been out the question these last few weeks. When I realized I got bok choy in my Organic Box this week I knew if I didn't make something with it tonight it would probably end up being a good candidate for the garbage a week from now when I find it wilted in the veggie drawer.

This recipe was really easy, I used tofu, but you could absolutely substitute with chicken, beef or prawns....  and here it goes...

Grocery List:
-1 tbsp coconut oil
-1 block extra firm tofu chopped into bite size pieces
-1/2 red onion chopped
-5 green onions chopped
-2 garlic gloves chopped
-1 tbsp ginger
-3 cups bokchoy chopped
-1/4 cup basil leaves chopped

-1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
-1tbsp hoisin sauce
-1/4 cup rice vinegar
-1 tbsp sriracha or hot sauce (optional)
-1/2 cup water

 -1/4 cup water

-1 tsp cornstarch 
Get Cookin...
1)On a medium heat saute tofu in the coconut oil until lightly browned on all sides
2) Add vegetables and saute until softened
3) Combine first 5 sauce ingredients and mix together; add to vegetable mixture and toss to coat
4)Mix together last two ingredients and add to stir fry to thicken
5) Serve over quinoa (or rice) and garnish with salad shoots (optional)
6) Enjoy

 ...xo...CS

In the Kitchen: Happy Belated Cinco de Mayo...

In honour of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I would share this post.... of course I am a day late, but I have had a few other things on my mind and just completely forgot!!

My neighbor is a red seal chef from Mexico, and he knows how to cook up a top notch meal; so when he asked me if I would be interested in a cooking lesson I was totally on board! Victor Hugo worked in Mexico as a chef and when he moved to Canada used his cooking skills as a chef for local YEG favourite Tres Carnales! Now adays he is cooking up a storm at Edmonton's newest food Truck Casa 12 Doce. When we met last week for our first lesson I didn't really know what to expect.... it turned into an afternoon of yummy food and some good laughs.

We started the day off with a visit to a Latin specialty store called Tienda Latina (Argyll Foods);  Carlos the owner took me for a tour and highlighted some of the unique products they carry. With the exception of a few items that are sourced locally, Tienda Latina specializes in importing food products from Central and South America and is sure to have everything you will need for a Mexican inspired meal! On this specific trip I was most intrigued with the assortment of fresh cheeses and spices...  I will definitely be heading back for their fresh tortillas and dried peppers (now that I know how to cook with them!).

When we got back to the house we got our ingredients together and started cooking; Victors wife Laura joined us to help snap pictures take part in the taste testing!! We started out with some home made guacamole and tortilla chips...

 ...and after that I learned how to make fresh sopes and salsas! If you aren't quite sure what a sope is, don't feel ashamed, I didn't either until Victor explained it to me. A sope is very similar to a tortilla but thicker and topped the same way you would top a regular taco.

We managed to make 3 different salsa verde recipes using my magic bullet and fried up some soy sausage as a topping for the sope's....

Finally biting into our delicious creations was the best part of the day, and Ryan was pretty thrilled about the authentic dinner we got to share together that night! Thanks Victor and Laura for spending the afternoon cooking with me, I can't wait to do it again!

...xo...CS

In the Kitchen: Apple Passion Crisp

I received a passion fruit with my Organic Box a while back and wasn't sure what to do with it, it only took one small taste to realize the fruit was way to tart to eat on its own. One of my favourite desserts to make is Apple crisp, this is probably mostly because it is such a simple recipe and takes hardly any time.... I thought I would try throwing the passion fruit in to mix things up a bit and here is how it went...

Grocery List
6 Gala Apples
1 Passion Fruit

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cup water

1 1/4 cups quick oats
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup melted butter

1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2)Peel and cut apples into bite-size pieces, and place in a mixing bowl

3)Cut passion fruit and spoon the pulp into the bowl with the apples
4)Using a spoon stir together until evenly dispersed

5)In a separate smaller bowl, mix the first amount of brown sugar together with the flour, cinnamon and water
6)Pour brown sugar mixture over apples and stir until the apples are evenly coated
7) Place apples in a 2Qt. baking dish, or 2 1Qt. baking dishes (like I did), making sure they cover the bottom of the dish evenly

8)In another medium bowl mix together the last 6 ingredients
9) Crumble oats mixture evenly over apples

10) Place baking dish(es) in oven and let bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on dish size) or until the oat topping has browned and the apples are tender.

11) Remove from oven and let cool,
12) Serve on its own or with my favourite vanilla ice cream!

I ended up freezing the recipe and taking it with me to the lake for our Easter Sunday dessert, I am pretty sure everyone enjoyed this tasty tart treat!


...xo...CS

In the Kitchen: Pumpkin Pine Kale Salad...

Okay people, you may have noticed... and I admit.... I have jumped on the kale bandwagon...... BIG TIME!!! You are probably thinking 'enough kale recipes already' but seriously I can't get enough of this green leaf, so please humour me as I discuss a new recipe I came up with a few weeks back. This salad is seriously delicious (I could eat a whole large bowl of it in a sitting.....), nutritious and oh so easy to make!! So here it goes.... Pumpkin Pine Kale Salad....

Grocery List
6 cups rinsed kale leaves (remove stems and rip into bite size pieces)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil

Dressing: 
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp Dijon mustard (I prefer the seedy kind like Maille Whole Grain Mustard)
1/2 tsp pepper

1)Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2)Place pumpkin seeds and pine nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes (or until lightly browned)
3)Place rinsed and destemmed kale leaves in a large bowl and pour the first amount of olive oil over leaves
4)Lightly massage leaves until they are lightly coated and have slightly softened
5)In a separate small bowl combine the remaining five ingredients
6)Drizzle dressing over kale leaves
7)Top with the baked seeds and nuts and toss until everything is lightly coated
8) Serve and Enjoy....

I can pretty much guarantee this salad will be making lots of appearances at our dinner table in the months ahead....it is also worth noting that this salad keeps well refrigerated over night. Usually I don't find day old salad to be appetizing....AT ALL.... but the kale in this salad doesn't get overly saturated with dressing and maintains its crunch even a day later.

How do you like to eat your kale?! I am overly intrigued with finding new delicious ways to prepare it, so please share!

...xo...CS