And it’s really as simple as that, quick and easy grilled chicken with a great seasoning combo that effortlessly compliments any number of sides. I got the recipe from the paleo cookbook Well Fed, written by Melissa Joulwan who also … Continue reading
Heres a quick and easy lunch I made after rummaging through my fridge. I eyeballed the measurements as I was using up some leftover coconut milk/peanut sauce; I’m sure you’ll use as much or as little of the ingredients as you want to anyways, it really depends on what you have in your pantry and it’s not a complicated dish.
In a medium pot bring water to a boil then add rice noodles (they are gluten-free), or ramen noodles if that’s what you have on hand. Meanwhile saute garlic in oil until fragrant. Add diced tofu pieces and cook until crispy, about 5-7 mins. Add julienned carrots,onion, and a splash of soy sauce and fish sauce, saute another 2-3 minutes. Next pour spicy peanut sauce and coconut milk into pan, bring to a boil and then simmer until everything mixes and thickens up. Add noodles and make sure they are evenly coated in sauce. Serve garnished with cilantro, green onions, red pepper flakes and lime wedges. The whole process takes about 20 minutes.
Great additions to this dish could include chicken, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, egg, or Thai chili.
Lately I’ve seen couscous take a back seat on the quinoa bandwagon, so I thought it was about time to bring it to the foreground again. Mixing the couscous with arugula and spinach stretched out the ingredients and we were able to get two delicious meals of it.
This was a great meal for a hot summer night, and was even better the next day after the flavours had soaked in. Add some sliced avocado for a little extra umph and put it into a whole wheat pita with humus for lunch the next day. Yummers.
1 cup couscous
1 big clove garlic, minced
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup each of cucumber, red, yellow, and orange peppers, finely chopped
red onion, finely chopped (to your taste)
4-5 depitted olives and a splash of olive juice
a big handful each of arugula and spinach
juice from half a lemon. Garnish with extra lemon slices and/or zest
fresh feta, to your taste.
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Pour 1 cup uncooked couscous into 1 cup salted boiling water. Remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. When cooked, drizzle with olive oil and fluff with a fork.
Chop tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, olives, and onion to similarly sized pieces. Add vegetables to couscous along with minced garlic, parsley, crumbled feta, and the juice from half a lemon. If you’ve bought bottled olives, adding a splash of the juices extends the flavour without having to use a lot of olives.
In a large salad bowl pour two tablespoons olive oil over arugula and spinach. Add couscous and mix. Salt and pepper to taste, garnish with lemon zest or additional lemon wedges.
I had every intention of making my own rosemary/garlic/thyme/lemon chicken, even bought all the ingredients… then I stumbled upon Jackson’s Rotisserie at The Public Market and everything smelt so good and it was all ready to eat … so I caved a bought a pre-made chicken. It was delicious, but next time I will make my own.
Still trying to use up that fresh dill before it goes bad. Here’s a simple salad dressing recipe:
Lemon Dill Dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 salt
1/4 pepper
Whisk together ingredients and serve. I used this over couscous, very yum. To add some colour garnish your salad with grated raw beets, delicious not to mention beets are good for digestion and hinder garlic breath.
I woke up with morning with a raging cold, I hate getting sick! But when I do there are two things that make me feel better: snuggles, and chicken noodle soup. Since no one wanted to snuggle me in my delirious flu-like state I decided to go for the chicken soup instead. While I was making it, however, I ended up creating more of a noodle salad. I think because I have been researching recipes for Sunomono (photos coming later this week!) and Thai glass noodle salad my culinary instincts led me towards creating this dish.
The rice vinegar and cucumbers made this recipe stand out, and cucumbers are so delicious in a stir fry! They resemble zucchini in texture not to mention cucumbers absorb the flavours you cook with, so they are very versatile.
I thew this together based on what I had in my fridge, so you can use any veggies you fancy. I wrote out the “recipe” to give you an idea for a quick lunch.
Chicken Noodle Salad
Serves 1
1 Packet of noodles
1 Chicken bouillon cube
1 Green onion
1 Garlic clove
Stir fry veggies of choice
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Sliced chicken
I wasn’t feeling too hungry to I sliced up about 1/4 of a cucumber, 1/4 of a celery stick and a little red onion for flavour.
In a small pot I added the bouillon cube to 1 1/2 cups of water. When the water boiled I added the noodles and cooked for about 5 minutes, just enough time to start frying my veggies.
I heated a bit of oil in pan to fry up the garlic, green onion, celery, onion, and cucumber. My boyfriend bought a rotisserie chicken and I shaved off a couple of pieces to through in the mix as well. Next I drained the noodles and added them to the veggies. I then added about 1 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar ( it taste so good) and a couple splashes of soy sauce to the mix, stirred to get the noodles evenly coated, and served. I topped with sesame seeds for that authentic touch. This was good hot but would be just as good and maybe better served cold, so next time I’ll make enough to save for lunch the next day as well.
Quick, simple, filling, and had me feeling better in no time. Happy Eating!
It’s my birthday! To celebrate my 25 years and to encourage myself to eat healthy this month I made an easy avocado cucumber salad that is quick to make and really good to eat. I only had my camera with me so the photo quality isn’t the best, so make it yourself and see how yummy it looks.
Quick Cucumber Avocado Salad
1 ripe avocado, halved and then chopped
1 small ripe tomato, chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced or finely chopped
Fresh lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste and lots of Pepper
And that’s about it! combine your ingredients in a bowl to mix before serving, or make it right on the plate as I did. This recipe just sort of evolved as I rummaged through my mom’s fridge picking and choosing what ingredients were available. I served this fresh salad as a side to some reheated rice and the two worked perfectly together. I didn’t use soya sauce but the lemon and tomato juices added lots of flavour to the rice. I love using lemon juice; it’s a great substitute for butter on rice or potatoes and adds a zesty flavour. For the same reason I love using raw garlic, mmmmm. It’s my birthday, so you all have to put up with my garlic breath. Happy Eating!
P.S. Adding a slice of cucumber to your glass of water gives it a refreshing twist. Try it!
Birthday Flowers
