A Veggie-Q for my QT!

Being a vegetarian does not mean that you can’t enjoy summer parties, potlucks and BBQ’s. You just need to get a little creative and have fun with it. So this past weekend was my fiances birthday. He  wanted a low key night, a dinner in with some family and close friends. Of course what this means, is that I am making dinner! Which is no problem of course, I  love providing delicious goodies, especially things that everyone can enjoy! Not everyone who was coming was a vegetarian, but that didn’t matter, my mom took care of some chicken for the group, and I handled the rest!

Make sure that when you are in this situation, you find out what all your hunny’s favourites are – and go from there (hopefully you know them already!). Luckily everything that Ryan loves, are things that everyone could enjoy – and they also make great compliments to the main meal.

So we started off with some yummy appetizers,  There was a  home made guacamole, parsley-hummus, along with an organic store bought salsa – lots of spelt flatbread and organic corn chips for dipping. Then we had a selection of side dishes – Ryan’s favourites include (quinoa tabule,  pasta salad, yam fries and “caesar” salad) and the main meal for us was Organic Sunshine Burgers (which  are truly scrumptious) simple ingredients and are so easy to enjoy at a summer-Q with or without a bun!

Of course the night was topped of with Ryan’s all time favourite – a tender Chocolate Cake – made from spelt flour (all vegan and sweetened with maple syrup) crowned by an almond butter, cocoa icing – this is his number one request on a annual (or more like weekly) basis! So I paired this with coconut-mint (from my garden) cacao ice cream (the colour green in the ice cream is actually from Ormus Super Greens). No one even questioned why the ice cream was so bright green! I may even post this recipe too since it was soooo fantastic!

So there you have it, an amazing, wholesome meal that everyone can enjoy – lots of variety, flavour and texture. You want to keep your crowd happy, but most importantly you want to make your CUTIE smile on his birthday!

If you are in need of some delicious summer recipes – there are still a few spots open in this weeks SENSATIONAL SUMMER RECIPES CLASS on Wednesday night!

The Dips – post enjoyment!

I meant to take this picture before they were all devoured!

Quinoa Tabule – a perfect summer recipe!

Brown Rice Pasta Salad with Garden Snow Peas!

My Delicious Plate of Goodness!

Vegan Caesar on left and Sunshine Burger on right- under the guac and hummus

My Award- Winning Vegan Chocolate Cake!

Vegan – Mint Cacao Coconut Ice Cream

Chocolate Cake with Mint-Cacao Ice Cream

Me and my QT (Ryan)

Mint-Cacao Coconut Ice Cream

2 cans of organic coconut milk

1/4 cup vanilla rice milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp fresh stevia leaves (only the fresh leaves or else leave it out!)

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves (or you can use a few drops of peppermint oil)

1-2 tbsp Ormus Super Greens (it has a minty flavour)

1/4 cup cacao nibs

Place all the ingredients except the cacao nibs in a blender and blend until smooth, creamy, and green.

If you have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture in and begin to churn, adding the cacao nibs after a few minutes.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, freeze the mixture in a large bowl for about an hour, then remove and stir in cacao (so they don’t all sink to the bottom).

Then continue to freeze for another hour or two (depending on the consistency you like).

ENJOY!!

If you are in need of some delicious summer recipes – there are still a few spots open in this weeks SENSATIONAL SUMMER RECIPES CLASS on Wednesday night!

Please share what veggie dishes you like to make in the summer for special events and occasions!

Tapas and Mezes…create a cultural experience in one meal!

Tapas is the name of a wide variety of appetizers predominately in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold or warm. In North America and the UK, tapas have evolved into an entire cuisine – and can be the beginning stages of any cuisine or made into a full meal.

Mezes or mezze is the term used in the Eastern Mediterranean (Persian, Greek, Arabic and Turkish influence) They are a selection of appetizers or small dishes often served with a beverage, like anise-flavored liqueurs or different wines.

In essence both are similar in nature, however, they originate from two different places. They have also been called: small plates, mini salads or even side plates. But there is an associated authenticity and cultural flare when you call them Tapas or Mezes…

So in my Moroccan Flavours cooking class, the participants created a sampling a three little salads that were the “appetizers” of the well rounded Moroccan meal. Actually, the true appetizer or starter recipe was a smokey eggplant dip with wilted spinach and spelt lavash, but let’s not complicate things.

The whole point of what I am getting at, is that it can be extremely simple to prepare a few different small little salads, which together can create the beginning of delicious meal.

It may seem like a lot of work to prepare three different salads, but if you think of it this way, now you have three different salads to choose from and if you really don’t like one at least you’ve got two more to munch on!

At the very least the goal is to have a small sampling of different flavours that compliment each other and taste great together!

Since the theme of the night was Moroccan…the flavours of cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, fennel, lemon and mint were the inspiration of most of the recipes.

But you can do this with any combination of flavours with any variety of spices and ingredients of choice. Whether your palate is Indian, Asian, Spanish, French – you can really have a lot of fun with Tapas!

So here is some insight to what you see above and you will see that it is fairly simple and quite fun to create a cultural experience in just three little recipes!

Zesty Citrus Mint Salad

Ingredients:

4 oranges, supreme and cut in half
4 grapefruits, supremed and cut in half
½ bunch of mint, chopped finely

For the Dressing
½ cup olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 orange, juiced
5 mint leaves

1. Supreme the oranges and grapefruits and then cut each slice in half.
2. Strain the chopped slices over a mesh colander and place in a large bowl.
3. Finely chop the mint and combine with orange and grapefruit slices.
4. In a separate jar or bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, orange zest, a few mint leaves and orange juice.
5. Allow dressing to infuse overnight or for 2-3 hours.
6. Pour the marinade over the oranges and grapefruit, discarding the mint leaves.

Speckled Lemon and Fennel Salad

Ingredients

2 heads of fennel, thinly sliced
1 preserved lemon, finely minced and diced or zest of one lemon
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon sea salt

1. Using a mandolin, slice fennel into fine slices
2. Dice the preserved lemon and combine with fennel
3. In a separate bowl mix together, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, sea salt and black sesame seeds
1. Pour dressing over fennel and allow to sit for 2-3 hours in refrigerator

Beet Cumin Salad

Ingredients:

2medium beets
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp ground cumin
½ cup olive oil

1. Boil beets a medium saucepan for 30 minutes.
2. Remove beets from boiling water (reserve beet juice), allow cooling and gently removing the skins.
3. Using a mandolin, slice beets into long strips (about ½ inch thick).
4. In the pot with reserved beet juice, heat and combine apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, garlic, cloves, cinnamon sticks, fennel seeds and sea salt allow to come to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Allow beet juice mixture to cool and then pour mixture over beets and let it sit absorbing the liquid for a few hours or overnight.
6. Place cumin powder into a jar with olive oil, shake a few times with lid sealed and allow oil to infuse for a few hours.
7. Remove beets from juice and place into a large bowl and stir in cumin oil and chopped parsley.
8. Serve and enjoy.

This recipe can also be done with Raw Beets and the dressing can be amended by infusing the other herbs in the oil with the cumin for several hours and then combining it with apple cider and agave nectar.