Rudolph the red nose reindeer cupcakes

My youngest brother Gabriel loves Christmas, we always make extra special recipes like decadent hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon, vanilla bean and nutmeg then we put on a Christmas movie and bake something fun. This Summer my parents and Gabriel moved back to the UK so I really miss having him around. I was thinking about him this week as we would usually be cooking up something new so instead I decided to put up our favorite Christmas recipe.

A bun in the oven

Well its been a little while since my last post and the reason is that I have been busy cooking up a…..baby!

Vegetable Lasagna

This lasagna is perfect to cook up on the weekend! it’s full of flavor, layered with robust tomato sauce and creamy white sauce, it’s also packed full of healthy vegetables. Me and Chris are trying to make one night a week meat and fish free which I’m enjoying, it really gets you trying new dishes and changing up old ones. My parents are vegetarian and I was growing up and I think now that I eat meat I tend to make it the main ingredient in most dishes which I would like to change as I used to be more creative with vegetarian food.

I think veggies are even better in this dish than beef, because you get so much flavour and it’s isn’t overly heavy like meat lasagna can be! I chose egg-plant, mushroom, courgettes, pepper and onions for my red sauce and in the white sauce I used garlic, broccoli and spinach. All of those vegetables unlike beef are low in calories, fat and cholesterol free, they are also full of vitamins, they help prevent heart disease and they all have major cancer fighting benefits!

The white sauce is rich, creamy and the broccoli and spinach are amazing in it, I was tempted to just eat it straight from the pan. You could also use either sauce recipe over spaghetti if you wanted to try them separately.

For the red I cubed the vegetables, that way they don’t go mushy and are easier to eat than big slices of vegetables. My cousin is a very picky eater, she always takes the onions and peppers out of her food, but she ate every bit which was a triumph.

Although it isn’t the prettiest looking dish it is the best lasagna I have had so do give it a go, It comes out bubbling and the smell is gorgeous!  I made 2 medium-sized lasagna’s with this recipe but it will make one large one it just depends on the size of dish that you have. This is a great one to make on a sunday because although it takes a bit of time you will have plenty for during the week or you can freeze some for a quick dinner one night.

Ingredients:

• 1 courgette cubed
• 1 small egg-plant cubed
• 10 white mushrooms peeled and cubed
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 red pepper cubed
• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic
• 2 cups of white sauce
• 1 jar of homemade or store-bought spaghetti sauce
• 1 pack of gluten-free lasagna sheets
• 1 cup of shredded daiya mozzarella shreds
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

White Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 4 tablespoons of Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
• 2 tablespoon of white rice flour
• 2 tablespoon of cornstarch mix
• 2 1/2 teaspoon of crushed garlic
• pepper

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 350° and bring a large pot of water to the boil, while you are waiting for that, cube all of your Veggies except the broccoli and spinach. Add your sheets of lasagna to the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Fry all of the cubed veggies over a medium heat with some olive oil for about 8 minutes or until tender, you may need to use two pans. In a separate smaller pan boil the broccoli head and cook for about 3 minutes, in a microwave safe bowl cook the spinach in a little water for 1 – 2 minutes.

In a small sauce pan add 1 1/2 cups of almond milk and bring to a simmer, with the remaining 1/2 cup mix together with the cornstarch until fully combined. Add the rice flour, garlic and butter and stir untill smooth then add in the cornstarch mixture and bring to the boil. When thickened sprinkle in some pepper. Drain and chop the spinach and broccoli then add to the white sauce, give it all a good stir and remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta and lay out flat, add the sauce to the fried veggies and mix untill fully covered. save a little to put on the base of the pasta dish about 1/4 cup.

Add the saved tomato sauce to the bottom of your dish and spread out cover with a layer of lasagna sheets, you may need to slice some to get them to fit, then add a layer off the tomato vegetable sauce and then a layer of the white sauce and then a thin layer of the mozza shreds and repeat until finished. Place in the oven and bake for approx 45 minutes or until bubbling and hot.

Cashew Chicken with Rice Noodles

On Wednesdays I like to cook up something quick and easy but really tasty! It is that part of the week when you just want to either put your feet up and relax or get out and do something fun. So the mid-week meal series I will bring you, will have you enjoying your evenings without spending too much time cooking or cleaning!

This dish is easy, fresh and with rice noodles taking just 1 minute to cook you will have plenty of time to relax. Because the weather is so nice right now I really like being able to cook up something quickly without comprimising on health or taste

This dish is not as strong as a take out, the chicken broth is light not greasy and it is fragrant without being over powering. It was delicious!

We had this then went for a walk on the sea wall in Vancouver which was so pretty

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 sliced chicken breast
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 large fresh jalapeno chilli
• 2″ cube of ginger
• 2 celery stalks sliced
• 5 sliced mushrooms
• 1 sliced red pepper
• 1 large bunch of spring onions, ends trimmed and sliced in half
• 325 ml of chicken stock
• 1 table-spoon of corn starch
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1 table-spoon of gluten-free soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
•  1/2 cup of cashew nuts
• sesame oil
• 8 oz Rice Noodles

Directions:

Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to a pan and over a medium heat brown your chicken. Blend the ginger, garlic and chilli with a little sesame oil until it forms a smooth paste. Add mushrooms, pepper and celery to chicken and cook for 2 minutes then add the garlic paste and spring onions cook for a further 2 minutes reduce the heat to medium low and add in the fish sauce, soy sauce and vinegar. In a jug make up the chicken stock, mix a little cold water with the cornstarch then add you your chicken stock, pour the chicken stock into your pan along with the cashew nuts and simmer for 3-4 minutes. In a bowl pour boiling water over your rice noodles and leave to soak for 1-2 mins. Drain and add to your cashew chicken toss to cover the noodles throughly then serve.

Happy Birthday Julia Child! My Boeuf Bourguignon

In honor of the great and wonderful Julia Child’s 100th Birthday! I have done my take on her Boeuf Bourguignon recipe.

This is also in keeping with my easy Wednesday meal series so as you will see, although it takes a long time to cook you don’t have to do much, most of the work is done the night before and it is well worth the wait!

I went to a local farmers market with my mum and picked up most of the ingredients from there including these amazing organic short ribs. If you are in Vancouver you should check out the Green Market at the shipyards, they have some great stalls, live music and delicious food.

Julia explains that Bourguignon means burgundy which is how the dish got its name, from cooking it in red wine. She suggests using a full-bodied wine like a Chianti (I don’t know about you but after silence of the lambs that word always gives me chills).

Chris went to Chile recently for work and brought me back a lovely bottle which was perfect in this dish. It’s a good job he only brought one bottle or i would be a full-blown wino by now.

I love this dish because you can pop it in the slow cooker in the morning and when you get home from work it is perfect and ready to eat.

The sauce it is in is beautiful and rich and the beef is so soft and tender it just falls of the bone.

Serves 2:

Ingredients:

• 4 Short ribs
• Olive oil
• 3 Shallots
• 5 small carrots
• 1 1/2 cups of red wine
•  1 1/2 cups of beef stock
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 250 grams of crimini mushrooms halved
• Carrots
• New potatoes
• salt and pepper

Directions

Add oil to a pan on a medium high heat, you want it hot but do not let the oil darken. Pat your Short ribs dry with kitchen paper then add to the pan and brown on all sides, this will take about 5 mins. If you are making more than 4 ribs brown in batches do not over crowd the pan or it will steam it instead.

When the ribs are nice and brown place them in a dish to rest, now you want to get all of the flavour from the pan by deglazing it, you do this by adding your red wine to the pan and allow it to simmer, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the flavour at the bottom of your pan. Add in your chopped shallots, chopped carrots, crushed garlic, bay leaves and thyme then simmer for a few more mins.

Remove from heat and cover your ribs with the sauce, allow to cool then cover and refrigerate over night. The next morning place your ribs and sauce in a slow cooker, add your tomato paste, beef stock, mushrooms and leave to cook away on a low heat all day (5-8 hours)

When you get home from work skim the fat from the top of the dish and taste the sauce, add in some salt and pepper to taste and any more garlic or tomato paste if you think it needs it, i found it to be just right with the quantities above. Boil some new potatoes and carrots and serve! Hope you enjoy it!!

Spicy Baked Eggs

On Wednesdays I like to cook up something quick and easy but really tasty! It is that part of the week when you just want to either put your feet up and relax or get out and do something fun. So the mid-week meal series I will bring you will have you enjoying your evenings without spending too much time cooking or cleaning!

This one isn’t fancy but it is healthy, tasty and very easy, I am a big fan of breakfast food for dinner or any time of the day for that matter! I also love Jalapeno’s with my eggs, something that Chris finds quite funny but the two go so well together plus I can justify the spice by making these for dinner, although I will still eat them at 8am as well!

These are delicious when you dip in a big slice of crusty gluten-free bread, the subtle heat and tomato is gorgeous with the creamy egg! lovely for a light summer super. You could also add in some cooked drained spinach if you liked or top with some daiya and if you don’t fancy the spice herbs work well also. I had these 2 nights in a row I loved them that much.

Ingredients:

• 400 mls of chopped tomatoes
• 4 eggs
• 10 pickled jalapeno slices, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of Cajun spice (or cayenne pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon of basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pre heat your oven to 400°, mix together the chopped tomatoes, jalapeno, spices, herbs, salt and pepper then put into a large oven proof dish or split between 2 or 4 smaller ones. Carefully crack the eggs into your sauce being careful not to break the yolks. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, give it a few extra if you like your yolk solid, serve and enjoy!

Thai Prawn Curry

On Wednesdays I like to cook up something quick and easy but really tasty! It is that part of the week when you just want to either put your feet up and relax or get out and do something fun. So the mid-week meal series I will bring you will have you enjoying your evenings without spending too much time cooking or cleaning!

I love Thai food, it’s fragrant, spicy and coconut milk is delicious! I used to be put off because of the high fat content but they have found that coconut milk contains the good kind of saturated fat (kind of like how you get good cholesterol) So this is my version of a Thai prawn curry, it’s really tasty and I serve it over rice noodles which are quick and easy.

I have tried it with and without the laksa paste but adding it gives the dish a lovely rich flavor.

You can also add what ever veggies you like I’ve done it with sweetcorn and more peppers, mushrooms would also work nicely.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of prawns (large or small)
• 1 packet of gluten-free laksa paste
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/4 green chilli
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bunch of coriander
• 2cm piece of ginger
• 1/2 red pepper chopped
• 400mls coconut milk
• bean sprouts
• rice noodles

Saute the onion and laksa paste in a little oil for 2 minutes, add the prawns and saute for a further 3 minutes. Blend the chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander with a tablespoon of coconut milk. Add the chopped pepper, coconut milk and blended spices to the prawns. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for ten mins. While your curry is simmering bring a pot of water to the boil then add your rice noodles, cook for 1 minute and drain. Serve the rice noodles covered in your curry and topped with bean sprouts.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Banana Bread

I didn’t have banana bread until I moved to Canada, it’s really popular here! But I love it and I no longer throw away browning or bruised bananas because that is when they are perfect for baking with!

If you don’t feel like cooking then chop your bananas into chunks, put in a zip lock and pop in the freezer! Then when you are craving a bit of ice cream simply blend the Frozen banana with what ever you flavor you like, caramel sauce, chocolate chips, frozen mango or just the banana! and that’s it, you will have really creamy soft serve ice cream that is healthy!

This banana bread was amazing! lovely and moist, the cinnamon and walnuts give it a nice warm spice! You can have it as a snack or for breakfast. we went on a kayak trip and a slice of this really kept me going.

Bananas are great for lowering blood pressure, reducing depression and cancer prevention. They are also high in potassium, B6, Fiber and vitamin C. Walnuts contain the most vitamins, antioxidants and minerals of all nuts and can help reduce your chances of stroke, heart disease and cancer.  Cinnamon is a little power house which reduces pain, inflammation and has been linked to helping lots of conditions and Hemp protein contains all of the amino acids our body’s can’t produce. So now you can enjoy this very tasty treat knowing that it also has lots of benefits!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of white rice flour
• 1 1/3 cups of potato starch
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of Xanthium gum
• 3 1/2 table spoons of Hemp protein (good for endo)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3/4 cups of dairy free butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 cup of mashed bananas
• 2 tablespoons of plain coconut yogurt
• 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts

Chocolate topping:

• 1/4 cup of coconut oil melted
• 1/2 plus 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of coconut milk powder

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350° and grease a loaf tin approx 8″x 4″x 3″ (but what ever size you have will work just fill it 3/4 of the way). Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy, then add your egg and continue to whisk. In a seperate bowl add all of the dry ingredients together then slowly add into your wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Add in the mashed banana and yogurt, then fold in the chopped walnuts.

Pour the batter into your loaf tin and bake for 55 mins or until a skewer comes out clean then place on a cooling rack. Put your coconut oil in a bowl and microwave this will take around 1 min but cook until it is liquid, stir in 1/4 cup of agave syrup, the coconut milk powder vanilla extract and the cocoa powder. Stir for a few mins until it is nice and thick and free of lumps, place in the fridge for 5 mins to firm it up slightly. When the banana bread is completely cooled spread chocolate topping onto it and serve. Keep wrapped in cling film and it will last for around 3 days.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

On Wednesdays I like to cook up something quick and easy but really tasty! It is that part of the week when you just want to either put your feet up and relax or get out and do something fun. So the mid-week meal series I will bring you will have you enjoying your evenings without spending too much time cooking or cleaning!

We are still getting some rainy days now and again in Vancouver, I have my friend visiting from the UK and after spending a lovely hot weekend in Osoyoos for Chris’s Birthday we came back to a very rainy Monday! But it was actually nice after all the sun and salads to be able to cook up something comforting! We made a few  different soups and pesto and olive bread! Those recipes will follow when it gets a bit chillier!

This is a nice hearty soup that is really easy to make, it’s also handy if you have any left over turkey or chicken which will make it even quicker. Be sure you use wild rice as it gives the dish a lovely rich nutty flavour and it’s really good for you. Wild rice has more fiber, protein and iron and less fat than brown rice, it is also high in vitamin B and contains all of the essential amino acids.

Ingredients:

• 3 leeks sliced
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 14 green beans, trimmed
• 6 white mushrooms, sliced
• 450 grams Turkey Breast Fillets chopped
• 1 tablespoon of Thyme finely chopped
• 946 mls of chicken stock
• 1/2 wild rice
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions:

Saute the leeks in a tablespoon of olive oil on a medium low heat for 5 mins, add the garlic, mushrooms and rice then simmer for a further 2 minutes. Add the stock and remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 40 mins covered. Serve and enjoy!

Cheese & Jalapeño Corn Muffins

I love pickled Jalapenos! I have them in breakfast burritos, nachos, grilled cheese sandwiches but my absolute favorite is in these corn muffins. They are really light, slightly sweet with a kick of heat and are lovely served warm with a little bit of DF butter spread on them. So if like me you’re a Jalapeño fan you have to give these a go.

You can double or triple the amounts of white rice flour, tapioca starch and chickpea flour to make a good all-purpose muffin flour, store it in an air tight container in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of white rice flour
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour
• 2/3 cup of cornmeal
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 3 tablespoons of chopped pickled jalapeno
• 1/2 cup of cheddar daiya 
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cups of canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups of Dairy Free butter milk (pour 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk into a jug then take out 1 1/2 tablespoons and replace it with 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar)

Directions:

Add together your coconut milk and vinegar and let sit for 10 mins to make your dairy free butter milk. Preheat your oven to 375°F, in a bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and oil. In another bowl combine the flours, potato starch, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth but be careful not to over mix. Fold in the jalapeno and Daiya then pour into muffin cases if you like top some with a little extra daiya and bake for 20 – 25 mins.