All posts tagged: vegetarian

tomato tart with balsamic roasted onions

tomato tart with balsamic roasted onions

Published by Courtney

This time of year, it take almost no time at all to compose a satisfying snack: a few slices of watermelon on the back deck, a juicy peach dribbling down my chin, a handful of blueberries on some homemade yogurt. On the savoury side of things, I’ve definitely been leaning heavily on thick slices of tomatoes from our CSA, a fat pinch of salt, some olive oil and balsamic, simple on some toasted sourdough. For breakfast or lunch I’ll add a poached egg, greens, avocado, goat cheese, maybe some grilled/sauteed veg if I’m feeling ambitious. It doesn’t take much to translate this simple late-summer snack into a meal. I think it’s best to not let things get too complicated flavour-wise or by the number of ingredients. Tomatoes, herbs, and cheese are a timeless trio, especially served up on any kind of carb-y vessel. A little seasoning, some roasted onions, and labneh transform these individual ingredients into a greater whole which totally sings of summer. I know it’s practically September, but there is still lots of …

berry peach galette

berry peach galette with rye crust

Published by Courtney

I’m having some conflicting feelings right now about blog content. My initial hope was that the blog would be a source for seasonal, accessible, vegetable-heavy recipes that leave you feeling happy and satisfied. I also wanted to emphasize cooking because I want to be a better cook and develop the skills to make meals without recipes. I’m finding it somewhat difficult because I definitely have more recipe ideas with regards to breads and pastries, and tend to have more success with these earlier on than I do with savoury recipes. I would also like to put more of my fermenting adventures on here (think: sourdough, kombucha, lacto-fermented veg, etc), and also maybe my foray into natural homemaking things? Tell me your thoughts! Speaking of baking… let me introduce you to this easy galette! I love mid-late summer when the berries and stone fruit collide. My attention is usually drawn to strawberries and raspberries, but we’ve been seriously favouring bloobs this summer, if the stack of blue-ish cardboard pint containers on our kitchen counter is any …

fennel spelt salad strawberry vinaigrette

fennel spelt salad with strawberry black pepper vinaigrette

Published by Courtney

So there’s been a bit of a lapse since my last post.. and as I looked at the published date, I thought, a month? How did that even happen? It doesn’t really feel like we’ve even done much and then I look at my calendar and realize we’re sitting on August’s doorstep. Our summer seems to be flying by with a string of occasional weekends away (day trips to the county, cottaging and camping), dinner and drinks with friends, hanging out with family, and trying to spend time outside while the good weather lasts. I had a list (somewhere) of all the things I wanted us to do this summer. I always feel this burst of motivation to be more sociable and participate in more stuff in the summer, since we spend so much of the year bundled up inside. As we transition from July to August, I’ve been thinking about how these dreamy summer days are fleeting and that we haven’t checked enough things off of my list. Partially because we live in a …

oolong iced tea green iced tea

iced tea, two ways

Published by Courtney

Well it’s officially that time of year when it’s already so hot in the mornings that I’m sweating while drinking my morning tea (TMI?). I love the ritual of making a hot drink in the morning, the smell of earl grey tea (or occasionally, coffee) making my ears perk up, blinking away the sleepiness with each additional sip. But based on the temps outside, it’s time to say kudos to my usual morning tea and oatmeal and find a cooler summer routine.

asparagus nettle shiitake pizza

asparagus, nettle, and shiitake pizza

Published by Courtney

Real talk: this was a spur of the moment post, which is not usually how I roll. I have a few ideas sketched out for this month, but as this week was rolling along I wasn’t feeling motivated to work on any of them. But it just sort of happened organically, one of those situations where what I have in the fridge also happens to be seasonal and also jives with a bookmarked recipe I’ve been meaning to try out. 

vegan raspberry rhubarb buckle cake

raspberry rhubarb buckle

Published by Courtney

Normally this is the time of year when I’m so ready to bust out of my winter cocoon and flip on the extroverted switch. Usually I’m feeling so prepared to go out and socialize after months of hibernating, to host a BBQ, and plan some fun summery adventures. But I haven’t hit that mode yet. For the past while I’ve been more focused on looking inward rather than outward, trying to figure out how to feel healthier and happier.

vegan bagel fattoush with fava beans

everything bagel fattoush with fava beans

Published by Courtney

As a result of our continued eagerness to spend time outside, we grilled our dinner on the deck one night last week, each wrapped in a blanket huddled next to the BBQ. The weather here hasn’t been terribly chilly, but after spending so much time soaking up the sun on vacation I became accustomed to walking around in birks and shorts, no sweaters in sight. I can’t wait to sit on the deck with a cold radler, eat dinner straight off the grill, and relax while the warm sun fades to dusk and my new twinkly patio lights blend in with the starry night.

vegan artichoke penne with leeks and ricotta

artichoke and leek penne with ricotta

Published by Courtney

Seems the April showers are a bit delayed this year, but I really don’t mind. I love the gloomy grey skies, getting to wear big boots and my bright yellow rain jacket, and how fresh all the rain makes the air feel. Plus it definitely helped our garden along: I came back from a week-long family vacation in the Dominican Republic only to discover some giant rhubarb, loads of mint and lemon balm, and some asparagus and garlic sprouting out of the earth!

spring-y filo quiche

Published by Courtney

Well, it seems that spring is finally upon us. The days are slowly getting warmer and longer, and more people are spending time outside. Downtown has been filled with people the past couple weekends, and I’ve noticed a number of people in my neighbourhood outside getting their yards and gardens ready to plant once more. People are so eager to reacquaint themselves with the outdoors, buzzing with the sight of flowers at the market, the promise of BBQ season on the horizon, and to see friends they may have seen infrequently due to extreme hibernation (that would be me).

vegan pistachio olive oil loaf

pistachio date olive oil loaf

Published by Courtney

We have recently been getting into a good stride with meal planning. It’s something we’ve tried off and on for a while but it never really picked up momentum until now. It’s such a game changer, seriously. Even if we don’t follow the plan to a T (cause you know, life happens), it’s still made our lives a heck of a lot easier. I’ve started batch cooking a grain and a pulse/legume/bean/whatever at the beginning of the week, as well as making granola, yogurt, and date energy bites on an as-needed basis. This planning has also streamlined our grocery list and helped to trim our grocery bills and food waste –> double happy dance. It also means my cooking is slowly but steadily improving, and that we are covering a lot of territory in our cookbook collection. Often times we will each grab a couple cookbooks, sit down at the kitchen table, and bookmark a few things we each want that week. This totally prevents a cooking rut: a wide array of spices and a couple different …