I’ll be the first to admit that I love vegetables. Meals aren’t complete without them. But I also have something else to admit, they’re not always tasty when served plain. Sure you can pick up a fruit, like an apple and savor its natural sweetness. Sometimes you can do this with a few veggies, like carrots and celery… but have you ever scooped up a handful of brussels sprouts and popped them into your mouth like a bag of Skittles?

Nope, I’ve never done that. In fact, the last time I had brussels sprouts was about 15 years ago! I was scarred by the little green veggies, probably because they were served plain, without even a sprinkle of salt. Padma’s recipe for Brussels Sprouts Stir Fry is far from boring, though. What caught my attention was how colorful her veggie dish came out, seasoned with a peanut garlic spice mix and roasted red pepper, among other flavorful ingredients.

So if you’re thinking about introducing the family to a new veggie, such as brussels sprouts, make sure you follow in Padma’s footsteps; make a dish that’s deliciously appealing and aromatic. It wasn’t until just a year ago that Padma, from Padma’s Kitchen, introduced her family to brussels sprouts, and now they’re a family favorite — looking at her recipe, I can see why :)!

Nothing like the sound (and even smell!) of a grill firing up to remind us all that Spring is finally here and Summer’s just around the corner. Now’s the perfect time to start collecting recipes for the up and coming cook-out season we all look forward to when the days are long and it’s still light out at 6 pm. Jaime has a Shrimp Skewers recipe that she promises makes the best grilled shrimp she’s ever had.

What makes it so tempting? This time the secret’s in the marinade. Some of the classic ingredients you’ll find in your favorite barbecue sauce go into making this an olive oil marinade that would make anything from chicken to beef taste delicious. What ingredients are we talking about? Cumin, garlic and chili powder, red pepper flakes, pepper sauce, and… here’s something different, honey — it provides just the right amount of sweetness.

When I saw these Shrimp Skewers on Jaime’s blog Burnt Toast, I new this was a recipe I was going to have to try. You don’t pass up a recipe like this one because it practically makes itself. Jaime says you can throw everything into one bowl, then let the shrimp marinade… sounds so easy! The only thing easier would be inhaling the shrimp skewers, one right after another :). Just make sure to let them cool after you’ve taken them off the grill before you chow down!

Sometimes the simple desserts we’ve loved since childhood aren’t that simple to make! Oh, of course, a dessert like Jessie’s Creamy Chocolate Fudge is easy to eat…but I’ve made fudge before and I know that making the perfect batch of creamy fudge can be a challenge.

Cookbooks might offer us a pretty good recipe, but when you’re making candy or fudge, you need a photo tutorial to guide you along the way. You’ll want to know at what point to add the cream, what exactly a ’simmer’ or ‘low boil’ really means, and even what the fudge looks like when it’s ready.

Jessie from The Hungry Mouse has a photo tutorial for her Creamy Chocolate Fudge that will literally make your mouth water. Not only are the photos easy to understand, but I had to convince myself they were just pictures and not the real thing ;).

Creamy Chocolate Fudge

3 cups sugar
8 Tbls. butter
1 cup light cream
pinch of salt
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped roughly
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
a little more butter to coat the pan

Makes about 1.5 lbs. of fudge

Creamy Chocolate Fudge: Prep the pan & chocolate
Generously butter an 8 inch x 8 inch glass pan. Set it aside.

Roughly chop the chocolate up. I usually use my serrated bread knife to do this. It works really well.

Creamy Chocolate Fudge: Melt the ingredients
Combine the sugar, butter, salt, and chocolate in a medium-sized pan.

Pour in the cream.

Give it a good stir to break the sugar up and mix the ingredients together.

Set it on the stove over medium heat. Stir constantly as your ingredients begin to melt. Keep stirring until the mixture boils.

The ingredients should melt together completely before the mixture starts to boil. Keep stirring.

Creamy Chocolate Fudge: Boil the mixture to soft-ball stage

When the mixture begins to boil around the edges, stop stirring. Leave the heat on medium.

Clip your candy thermometer to the inside of the pot. (Be sure that it’s not touching the bottom of the pot.)

Cook the fudge like this for about 10 minutes, without stirring.

It will come to a rolling boil and should stay there.

Boil like this until the mixture reaches soft-ball stage on your candy thermometer. This will take about 10 minutes or so.

Creamy Chocolate Fudge: Cool and beat the fudge
When it reaches soft-ball stage, it should look about like this. Remove the pan from heat.

Let it sit until it cools to about 120 degrees.

It will have a slight skin on it as it cools. That’s just fine.

When the fudge has cooled to 120 degrees, tranfer it to the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if you’re using a hand-held mixer).

Beat it for a few minutes. It will start to thicken and begin to lose its gloss.

When the mixture starts to thicken, toss in the vanilla extract.

Keep beating the fudge until it loses its gloss completely.

Wait…loses its gloss? What do you mean?

Don’t stop beating the fudge until it looks about like this:

Creamy Chocolate Fudge: Cool the fudge completely in the pan

Turn the beaten fudge out into your prepared, buttered pan.

With your hands (or the back of a wooden spoon), pat the fudge down to spread it out. You want to make it as compact as you can, and smoosh any air pockets out of it.

You want the surface to be fairly flat and even, like this. Don’t make yourself nuts. The main reason to make it even is to make it easier to cut pieces that are the same size.

Cool completely in the pan, uncovered. When the fudge is cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a cool place.

Enjoy!

I don’t usually come across a recipe that can literally be prepared in a handful of minutes, in the microwave! That’s right, you don’t even have to think about boiling water to make this Cream Cheese Corn with Jalapenos side dish, a recipe that was passed on to Debi from her sister in law. Debi mentions that she especially likes to make it around the holidays, when something’s cooking or simmering on nearly every burner.

This recipe caught my eye because it brought to mind creamed corn. But in this recipe, the creaminess comes from something other than heavy cream; Debi cleverly used cream cheese. The original recipe called for 2 sticks of butter, but Debi, from Dejamo’s Distracted, said that over the years, her family has been able to cut-back on the butter. They later realized it isn’t even necessary. What a discovery!

If you’re worried about this being a side dish that’s too spicy to serve to the kiddos, rest assured; Debi only used 1 jalapeno. Milk products also complement spicy foods nicely, because they have a ‘cooling’ effect. But if you’re sensitive to the kick, you can cut back on the amount of jalapenos used and not add the seeds. Whatever you decide to do, you’ll be glad you put this recipe to use! It comes together very quickly!

I admit, I reach for a bowl of cereal and milk almost every morning. Mostly because when I roll out of bed, I’m usually to lazy or cold to think about making anything else! (My brain needs more time to wake up, that’s my excuse. ;) But it seems Lyn from Beautiful Vegan isn’t going to let me make anymore excuses…just look at her yummy breakfast menu featured below!

You’ll find everything from fresh fruity smoothies (that you can even enjoy as a snack!) to chocolate pudding! Ah, yes — finally, chocolate for breakfast! Plus, the best part? You don’t have to slave away in the kitchen while you’re still rubbing away the sleepies that Mr. Sand Man left behind; these delicious breakfast and snack foods are also very easy to eat, as you can see!

Let’s see what other sweet and savory (but healthy!) foods Lyn puts on her breakfast menu! Even if you like taking it easy on the weekends, try whipping up one of her recipes tomorrow morning!

Please note: T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon and c = cup

Here is a great way of avoiding all the health problems associated with dairy, whether you are allergic, asthmatic, vegan or simply don’t like the taste of cow’s milk.
You can use raw, unsalted cashews or almonds for this recipe.

Make Your Own Almond or Cashew Milk!

1/2 c *soaked almonds (or if you are using cashews they do not need to be soaked) *Soak almonds in a bowl of water overnight or at least for a few hours.
3 or 4 T raw agave nectar (or raw sugar)
4 c water
3/4 t sea salt
1 t vanilla extract (optional)

1. Put the ingredients in a blender for a couple of minutes and…
2. pour it through a sieve if it is made with almonds- (you don’t need to filter the cashew milk because the cashew are soft and turn into cream easily). Use a sieve with larger holes at first to catch the bigger pieces of nuts and then pour it through a finer one so it will be smooth.

Use this milk as a replacement for any recipe that calls for cow’s milk, or chill it and drink as is. I love it so much. I make milk shakes by adding bananas, ice, cinnamon and clove powder to the blender. My son has it on his cereal in the mornings and we also love making hot chocolate with it.

Coconut Porridge with Fresh Blueberries

1c coconut (shredded, unsweetened)
1 c rolled oats
1 1/2 c water
1/2 t sea salt

1. Bring water to almost boiling, add the ingredients and turn off the heat.
2. Stir for about a minute and cover with a lid for another minute.
Serve with almond or cashew milk and brown sugar (or agave nectar). We added blueberries in this one! It’s a very quick breakfast that has a lot of protein (coconut) and B6 (oats), antioxidants (blueberries), among other nutrients. This is definately one of my favorite things, and it just happens to be one of the simplest too (I’m pretty lazy in the morning!).

Vegan Cranberry Pancakes with Cinnamon

This is what we had for brunch today! I’m finally posting the recipe for these beautiful vegan cranberry cinnamon pancakes…
It’s extremely simple and the taste is out of this world! I like my pancakes more like crepes because my Mom used to make them that way in Quebec when I was growing up; but simply add less water if you like them fluffier.

2 c unbleached flour
3 T custard powder (most custard powders are vegan before you add the cow)
1/2 t sea salt
2 1/2 c water (add less if you like them fluffier- I enjoy them more crape-like)
1 T apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar if you don’t have apple)
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar (optional if you like them fluffier- and yes it’s vegan)
1 t vanilla extract
1 t cinnamon
dried cranberries

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk.
2. Heat up a pan on medium to low heat with a little coconut oil (or sunflower or vegetable oil).
3. use a ladle to pour the batter into the pan in medium-sized pancakes.
4. As one side is frying sprinkle dried cranberries over it.
5. flip it over when the right time comes (you will know because small holes will start to form on the surface).
6. Flip the beautiful pancake onto a plate and drizzle it with REAL maple syrup and powder it with a little cinnamon. (do not use false syrups- it’s a crime).

Recipe makes about 8 medium-sized pancakes. Love it!!

How to Make a Healthy Breakfast that Rocks!

This is what I had for breakfast and it’s my son’s favorite at the moment.
How do you make it?

1c fresh or frozen fruit (I use frozen mixed berries because it’s winter in Canada and the fresh berries are not local)
1/4 c rolled oats or granola
1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 T agave nectar (or maple syrup)
3 T water
a handful of raw, unsalted almonds

1. Put the berries in a small pot on low heat with the agave nectar or maple syrup.
2. Stir it until the juices start coming out (a couple of minutes)
3. Stir in the coconut, rolled oats and water.
4. Serve and top with chopped raw almonds.

Easy as pie! (OK easier than pie). It has a wonderful flavour and texture so try it yourself. Your kids will love it and the sugar content is minimal. You don’t really have to cook it, especially if the berries are fresh. You just want the juices to come out to mix with the coconut and oats, so you can simply press them with a fork instead of heating it if you want to have a raw dish and keep all the enzymes. This recipe serves 1, so adjust it with the number of people you are making it for.

A Creamy and (Way Better) Alternative to Yogurt!

This is something you can whip up before work! If you visit my site you can see the frozen cousin of this one. Either one will make a great breakfast and it’s raw, vegan and has no processed sugars added! You will impress the pants off anyone who tries it. If you have a very powerful blender like the vitamix then you can skip the food processor and do it all together- otherwise do it like this:

In a blender mix:
1 1/2 c ‘raw’, unsalted cashews
1 c water
1 t vanilla extract or a small bit of scraped vanilla bean
1/4 c agave nectar
1/2 t sea salt

In a food processor mix:
4 c frozen (or fresh) berries of any kind
3 T fresh lime juice

then add what was in your blender to the food processor until it becomes smooth.

That’s it! You can use it for a breakfast, snack or desert. I added some shredded apple and blueberries- awesome!

My Raw Vegan Chocolate Pudding!!!

Chocolate pudding for breakfast?? Why not when you don’t have to feel guilty because it’s actually good for you!? You’re going to freak out when I tell you that it takes only 3 minutes to prepare…
In a blender mix:
1 avocado (pitted and peeled of course) -should be a ripe one
3 heaping T of raw cocoa powder (you can use normal cocoa powder if you don’t have raw)- *make sure it’s fair trade though!
1/3 c raw agave nectar
1/2 t sea salt
2 t vanilla extract (or the scrapings from a vanilla bean pod)
1/2 c water (or more depending if your blender wants more water to work or not)-sometimes it needs quite a bit more.

Make sure it’s really creamy, use a spatula to get the pieces of avocado that get missed. And that’s it. I know it sounds weird to make chocolate pudding with avocado, but it turns out creamy and absolutely delicious! My son’s friends (who are not vegan) love it and ask me to make it when they are over. It can be used for a breakfast, snack or formal desert. Just add berries (especially strawberries) or use it as a fondu with cut up bananas and other goodies. this recipe serves 2 big bowls.

Make something special this weekend to celebrate the holiday or invite friends over for a good meal. Special doesn’t necessarily mean purchasing a Wagyu steak you can only enjoy once! (Though they are delicious!) Consider using up the ground beef (or turkey) to make something more memorable than burgers or meatballs. Though I am a fan of both, I’ve recently been on the lookout for more ground meat recipes.

Ground meat can be quite affordable. But you don’t have to cut down on flavor while you’re cutting down on cost, especially with Suzanne’s Tourtierre. It’s a hearty meat pie that includes unique spices like nutmeg and cloves, she also adds ground pork for added yumminess. I don’t think a meat pie ever looked this good, especially with the pie crust leaf cut-outs she decorated the top of the pie with.

Though Suzanne reveals that she’s quite the creative and domestic goddess on her blog Blueberry Cottage, you don’t have to be to make her Tourtierre. This meal comes together easier than you might think, especially when you follow Suzanne’s recipe and use a prepared pie crust. The hardest part is waiting for it to finish baking — how can it not be, with all of the fragrant spices that make her Tourtierre a remarkable French-Canadian meat pie?

After a long week of eating plain old chicken and rice with a side of vegetables, I start craving something with real flavor. Sometimes a hearty stew will satisfy the craving, but other times I’m on the lookout for something a bit more exotic. Going out to eat isn’t always an option, and on a tight budget, I need to make sure what I’m making is flavorful but not expensive. Let’s face it, the tastiest ingredients, like saffron threads or real cinnamon, for instance, aren’t always the cheapest.

So if I don’t want to cut back on the spices, how do I make an affordable but unique dish at home? Cut back on the meat or replace it altogether. This might sound like a challenge, but, I promise, if you combine tofu with a delicious assortment of colorful and nutritious vegetables, you’ll definitely fill up! Chadani’s Thai Red Curry is the recipe to use if you’re new to vegetarian cooking.

Inspired by a memorable meal at a restaurant, Chadani cooked up a red curry dish that’s sweet and savory. It’s creamy, but you won’t find an ounce of heavy cream or butter in her dish. Instead, you’ll taste the warm tropical flavors of coconut milk mingling with aromatic ingredients, like ginger and chilies. I know what you’re thinking: Sure, I’ll be saving on money, but how about time? Well, guess what? You can make this in about a half hour! No excuses, let’s get cooking! For more flavorful recipes, check out Chadani’s blog, Chai’s Corner.

Eggs were the spotlight food in this month’s Key Ingredient newsletter! They’re an amazing protein-packed breakfast (or lunch or dinner) food that are also a real bargain, especially when you compare the health benefits to the low cost. One of my favorite ways to eat eggs is in an omelet!

With Easter just a few days away, I know you’ll be glad we’re sharing Sophia’s tutorial on how to make a Super Decker Omelet, as originally seen on her blog Burp and Slurp! Now you don’t need to worry about what you’re going to do with the leftover egg yolks and egg whites from your Easter egg coloring project.

Think of a burger with two patties, but with this delicious meal, you’re getting 5 omelets stacked on top of each other and filled with Sophia’s savory Cilantro Coconut Spread. What a delectable combination of fresh Spring flavors!

Sophia’s Sea Food Salad Filling!

* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 small red onion, diced
* 1/4 cup green bell peppers, diced
* 1/4 cup shitake mushroom, diced
* 1 small tomato, diced
* 5 sticks imitation crabmeat, chopped
* 1-2 stalks green onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoon cilantro-coconut spread
* 2-3 tablespoon cream cheese
* salt & pepper

I first stir-fried the garlic, red onions, peppers, and mushrooms with salt and pepper in a skillet until they became soft:

Then I just dumped them into a bowl with the crabmeat, tomato, and green onion, and topped off with a dollop of the cilantro-coconut spread and cream cheese…

My lovely jar of leftover cilantro-coconut spread…


Cilantro-coconut spread
* 1/2 cup cilantro
* 1/3 cup fresh grated coconut
* 1/4 small green bell pepper
* a few pieces of pineapple
* a small wedge of mango
* lime juice from 1 small lime
* 1 tsp each sweetener, salt
* pinch of garam marsala

I just dumped all the ingredients into my Magic Bullet and blended away until smooth. This made a pretty big quantity, and I stored some away into an empty jam jar

And here they are all mixed up together. Colorful, eh?

As I set the seafood salad aside to absorb each other’s flavors, I got to work making the egg mixture for the omelet:

This is a mix of 6 eggs and about 1/4 cup plain yogurt.

Now comes the fun part…Making the layers of omelet! Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourself for a personal step-by-step tutorial of making…

Sophia’s Super-Decker Omelet

I first heat up a skillet over LOW heat and ladled about 1/2 cup of the egg mixture in…

I had to keep swirling the pan around so that the egg spread and cooked evenly. Once the egg was slightly set, I spread 1/3 of the filling onto one side of the omelet:

And then flipped half the side over like this:

Next I ladled in another 1/4 cup of the egg mixture…

And spooned in more filling on the cooked side of the omelet…

And so on and so forth. I repeated this process about 2 more times to make 3 layers of filling and 5 layers of egg. The result:

Onions and garlic sizzling and sauteing on the stove with olive oil or a few tablespoons of butter. Delicious root or mixed vegetables swimming in a thick and hearty gravy that could be drizzled on mashed potatoes later, that is, if there are any leftovers. Ah, and who can forget about the savory smell of these amazing ingredients simmering together on the stovetop or…the crock pot?

Beef and Vegetable Stew: A true classic; savory comfort food at its best. Even if you aren’t a fan of carrots and potatoes, you can still make a stew that’s hearty and filling. Take Crista’s Beef and Vegetable Stew, for instance. She uses mushrooms, green beans and even zucchini to give her stew a tasty twist.

And what gives stews their hearty texture anyway? Crista from Crista’s Kitchen Creations adds corn starch to her stew. But if your pantry isn’t stocked with corn starch, think about using flour as a substitute. Crista’s Beef and Vegetable Stew is the definition of a tasty one-pot meal!

Yum! Yummmmm! There aren’t enough Ms for this one! When chocolate meets fruit, it’s truly a match made in heaven for my sweet tooth!

This is a dessert bar Suzie from Essentially Healthy Food came up with for an event called The Royal Foodie Joust. Participants are asked to come up with a recipe using 3 ingredients; the ingredients at the time were honey, black pepper, and coffee — what a combo! I don’t know that I could’ve come up with something this delicious and dazzling to the eye, just look at how this Panforte Dipped in Chocolate literally glimmers! That would be the dried apricots and figs combined with dark muscovado sugar.

Packed with flavorful spices, fruits and nuts in every bite, it’s hard to believe there’s more to this unique and tasty treat, but the coffee is in there. Suzie cleverly chose to use coffee liqueur, a great match for the dark chocolate drizzle that completes her delectable panforte.