Thai it up

Good morning! Just a quick recipe today as I'm running late for school. What can I say about this soup? It's simple to prepare, makes enough for leftovers, and is just really damn tasty!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Thai corn and cilantro soup
Serves 4-6 

1 tbsp veggie oil
1 tbsp chopped hot pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp ginger
6 cups veggie stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups corn
1 can coconut milk
1/2 package tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
3/4 cups fresh cilantro, chopped

Begin by heating the oil on medium heat and cook the onions, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper until just soft (about 5 minutes).

Add veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in the soy sauce, corn, tofu, coconut milk and 1/2 cup of cilantro (save the rest for garnish).

Allow soup to simmer on low heat for at least 15 minutes (longer= more flavour) before serving. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Garnish with the remaining cilantro and enjoy!

A real picnic

Photo by me

I made this recipe a while back as a contribution to One Green Planet, but it was too pretty not to share with you all. I wanted to make a colourful potato salad that seemed both classic and innovative. I used multi-coloured sweet potatoes from our local farmer's market and added sweet corn, bell peppers, onions, jalapeno and cilantro. This pretty little dish has both a spicy bite from a touch of cayenne and a burst of freshness from its simple lime dressing. Summer picnic food at its best!

Spicy sweet potato salad (Serves 6-8 as a side dish)

Salad ingredients:

• 1 lb. sweet potatoes (multicolored if available), peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups cooked corn (fresh or frozen)
• 4 scallions, trimmed and sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped for garnish
• Dressing Ingredients
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes in the vegetable oil, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Bake on an aluminum foil-lined sheet for 20-25 minutes, turning once. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add the cooked corn, scallions, bell pepper and jalapeno and toss to combine.

To prepare the simple citrus dressing, simply whisk together of all the ingredients.

Add the potatoes and dressing to the bowl and toss everything together. Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy!

Summer lovin'

photo by me

Hello everyone, it's great to be back to the blogosphere! New York was amazing, I really did not want to leave. I'm so excited to share some of the great photos we took while we there... coming soon I promise! But for now, here's a yummy little dish that has become a standard in my house. I know, I know, the ingredients are not quite in season, but come on, it's so delicious I couldn't resist! My mum has been making a black bean and corn salad like this for years, so I basically took her recipe and added fresh tomatoes and thick slices of ripe avocado, mmm.

Black bean and corn salad
Serves 4

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn (fresh if possible)
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, sliced

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 1/2 limes
zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine salad all of salad ingredients, reserving avocado. Whisk together dressing ingredients and toss to coat. Top with sliced avocado and serve. That's it- supa easy.

Simply sunny

photo by me

You can probably tell by now that I love colourful food! And yes... that's a carrot-shaped bowl, I love those too. This is a typical weekday lunch for me- I often scrounge up whatever veggies we have on hand and combine them into some sort of salad. This recipe really needs no explanation, what you see i what you get: chickpeas, corn, chilis, green onions and bell peppers, all coated in a fresh lemony dressing. Easy peasy!

Easy corn and chickpea salad
Serves 2

1 cup chickpeas
1 cup corn (fresh is preferred, but alas, it's winter)
2 hot chilis, sliced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped

Lemon dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 squirt mustard
1 squirt maple syrup

I'm sure you can all take it from here, but allow me: combine the salad ingredients in a bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients, mix it all up, eat! This dish is great on its own but can also be enjoyed over a bed of baby spinach (my lunch yesterday) or warmed up in a whole grain tortilla (Paul's dinner yesterday- he added cheese too). Nothing too crazy or creative here, just a happy little salad to brighten up your Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone xo