Farm fresh

photos by me

This kind of food makes me so happy- colourful, healthy, fresh and straight from the farm to my bowl! After picking up a beautiful assortment of veggies from a local farmer's market earlier in the week I couldn't wait to enjoy them in their purest form. This salad could not be easier to make. I simply chopped up the vegetables and added diced avocado for richness, walnuts for texture and a splash of olive oil and lemon juice to tie it all together. I loved it on its own, but Paul threw the mixture on some bread for a hearty sandwich and tonight I'm tossing it with quinoa for a yummy dinner. Ahh veggies, so versatile!

Fresh farmer's market salad
Serves 4 

1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
4 mini cucumbers, chopped
2 tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
juice of 1/2 lemon
drizzle of olive oil
sea salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

In a large bowl, toss all of the ingredients together and add the olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. Couldn't be easier, right?

xo Robin

P.S. Tomorrow I'm off to Toronto Island for a picnic with friends, do you have any must-try recipe suggestions?

Carrot love

photo by pwisenberg

I tweaked this recipe from an episode of Chef at Home. Michael Smith was trying to come up with a way to get his son Gabe (the cuuutest) to eat carrots, so he decided to make them taste like apple pie. The carrots are simmered in apple cider and cinnamon and finished with raisins and chopped walnuts (my idea!). The result is a sweet and healthy side dish that anyone (even 3-year olds) will love!

Apple pie carrots
Serves 2-4

1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup apple cider or juice
pinch each of cinnamon and salt
one pat of Earth Balance butter
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Simmer the carrots in the cider, butter, cinnamon and salt until just fork-tender. Drain the excess liquid and toss with the nuts and raisins. That's it!

This bird has flown!

photo by me

Okay fine... we're totally driving to New York... In fact, I'm blogging from the car right now (modern technology never fails to impress me). I'm sure you'll agree when I say that every good road trip needs snacks, lots of snacks. So, in addition to the vegan brownies my pal Lindsay packed, and my homemade lentil hummus with veggies, we have a tub full of pasta salad to look forward to! I made this yesterday with the specific goal of using up whatever food we had left in the fridge (I hate to waste), and wound up making penne with sun dried tomatoes, basil and walnuts. I ate more than a few spoonfuls of it when it was hot and man it was yummy! I can't wait to try it cold for dinner en route. Plus, it was super easy and came together in 20 minutes tops (Racheal Ray ain't got nothin' on me!).

Penne with sun dried tomatoes and walnuts
Serves 4

1 package whole wheat penne
1/2 jar sun dried tomatoes, drained not rinsed
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 chili, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup fresh basil, tightly packed
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook penne in boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, celery and chili to the pan and season generously with salt and pepper. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until just soft. Add sun dried tomatoes and stock and simmer for about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine cooked penne, sautéed veggies, basil and walnuts. Toss everything together and serve hot or cold, so delicious!

Well my friends, I'm off to enjoy the rest of this long journey to NYC (car games will be played). I wish you all a wonderful weekend and can't wait to share my adventures with everyone- food, photos, shopping- when I get back!

xo robin katherine