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Dino Kale & Blueberries Smoothie

April 12, 2015 by Ariel 1 Comment

I only tasted Dino kale for the first time this year, in California, although I had kind of a “crush” on this adorable plant the second I saw a photo of it in one of the many seed nursery magazines coming to my old place.

From my past experience with the regular curled leaves version, growing kale is a lot of fun because it is easy to take care of and it will grow back years after years! Living in colder climate? that’s all right, Kale love chilly nights and some of them will even be fully happy with a little bit of snow. If you give it a big enough pot, you can easily grow it on your balcony, in the middle of the city. It will add joy to your landscape and feed you deliciousness for a really big part of the year.

Dino kale, when cooked, will remain sort of crunchy and can be easily replace any other types of kale/lettuce/spinach in your favourite dishes. Today, we’re featuring this incredible green in a morning smoothie to start your day the right way!

Bon matin! *^_^*

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Marinated Cauliflower with Graines a Roussir & Preserved Lemon

June 8, 2014 by Ariel 1 Comment

Marinated Cauliflower with Graines a Roussir & Preserved Lemon

Prep time

1 hour 15 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

Author: ZestyAndSpicy.com

Recipe type: Appetizer

Ingredients

3 cups of small cauliflower florets
¼ cup of green olives (about 10), finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 preserved lemon, chopped
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander leaves
½ teaspoon of powdered graines a roussir
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

- Prep the cauliflower and keep only the florets. Measure about 3 cups of florets, steam them for 10 minutes.
- Mix all the other ingredients in a big salad bowl and then mix in your steamed cauliflower.
- Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sweet Potato, Spinach, Broccoli Risotto

May 8, 2014 by Ariel 1 Comment

I hope you’ll enjoy this fun vegan and gluten free risotto, perfect for a busy week night and a next day lunch! 🙂

Sweet Potato, Spinach, Broccoli Risotto

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: ZestyandSpicy.com

Ingredients

4 cups of hot water
½ cup of Glutenberg/Chartier maple beer **
1½ cup of shredded sweet potatoes
1 cup of finely chopped spinach
¾ cup of finely chopped broccoli
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of Arborio rice
2 big fresh garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
¼ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper
Garnish idea:
Finely chopped basic leaves
** The recipe calls for ½ cup because that's all I have left in my fridge but you could easily add one full cup of beer (and or white dry wine if you can find this beer anywhere) and remove ½ cup out of the water quantity.

Instructions

- In a flat bottom pan, on the stove top, at MEDIUM/HIGH heat - Start by adding the tablespoon of olive oil with the garlic. Wait till it start sizzling, then add your raw, uncooked Arborio rice and stir well to make sure the all little grains of rice are well covered with the oil and garlic. Keep stirring non stop for an extra 1 to 2 minutes while making sure that nothing is sticking at the bottom of the pan. If it does, lower the heat a bit.
- Pour the beer and keep stirring while all the rice absorb the precious liquid.
- Start adding your water, add the first cup, keep stirring constantly, add the veggies all in one shot and keep adding the rest of the water ½ cup at the time. The whole process should be about 15-20 minutes maybe less.
- Never stop stirring while everything get's absorb and when you're getting close to the end of your water and the texture is getting nice and creamy, start lowering your heat to MEDIUM/LOW.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast, add the salt and pepper and you're done!

La Fabrique… in images

April 13, 2014 by Ariel 1 Comment

That’s one of my new favorite hot spots in Montreal these days. Max and I discovered the restaurant in last December, for his birthday, and since then, we keep inviting all our friends over there because the food and the ambiance is seriously amazing. The staff is also very sweet and their homemade fermented pickles are to die for!!! …they serve them before every dinner, free of charge.

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Graines a Roussir

April 12, 2014 by Ariel 3 Comments

Here’s an easy recipe for an amazing and versatile spice blend that comes from the Caribbean! My step dad has a lot of family in Guadeloupe and this is where I was exposed to the delicious French Caribbean cuisine. I’m a sucker for a good chicken colombo and I always have some roucou in my fridge.

The only name I know for this blend is in French and it’s called: graines à roussir. If I was to give you a quick French course, the word “graines” means seeds and “roussir” means burn lightly, roast, turn brown.. you get the idea? I guess the best way to translate this would be: seeds to burn lightly.

That’s what you will want to do with these before either use them whole or in powder form, grill them gently on the stove top till they start smelling good and make sure not to burn them.

I usually make a bunch in advance, roast the pack, process it to powder and keep the powder for easier use. Although I’m sure doing it right on the spot is a much better option if you want maximum flavour.

Personally, I enjoy the simplicity of always having some already grounded in a small container. Mainly used as rubs for red meats, chicken or fish but you can also use them for a ton of other things like sauces and even bread!

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Green Spinach Pesto

April 1, 2014 by Ariel 3 Comments

Here’s a fun and “jazzed up” pesto recipe made with fresh baby spinach, hemp seeds, arugula, coriander, Parmesan and more! The first time I made this, it was to go with some homemade raviolis stuffed with light ricotta and feta cheese and ohhhhhh! …I made a lot of happy tummy that night.

To make the pasta sauce, I stretched a few tablespoons of this pesto with coconut milk and a tab more garlic (I’m obsessed with garlic so taste before adding more) and just like that, I had made an flavorful and creamy sauce. Later that week, I used it for grilling some juicy steaks and even made a dip for the meat! Both experiences were very welcomed by everybody who had the chance to taste it and now it’s your turn to try 🙂

Hope you like it!

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Basil Tea Cookies (Gluten Free)

January 31, 2014 by Ariel 5 Comments

Just the perfect butter cookie texture with the delicious aroma and flavor of the basil. For everybody who had an over flow of fresh basil last summer and made my recipe for BASIL SUGAR, this is the recipe I told you so much about. These gluten free butter cookies are just out of this world and even Max who usually the type of guy who’s gonna go for the big double chocolate cookies with a ton of fat and calories beg for these ones…

Give them a try and you’ll see 😉

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Cauliflower & Watercress Soup (Vegan)

December 2, 2013 by Ariel 2 Comments

I’ve been asked to post more vegetarian and vegan recipes on twitter…. I wont lie, I sometime find it constraining to create vegan approved recipes but I try to look at it as a challenge. Now since I love challenges, this is actually pretty fun and this vegan cauliflower & watercress soup is of the deliciousness that I have been able to create up to date 🙂

In this recipe, I used a Lipton onion soup pouch because I find that it’s adding a fun new dimension to the taste but you really don’t have to add it in there 🙂 What really makes this coup special is the grounded fenugreek seeds because they are giving you the impression of chicken broth without any being in there 🙂

Anyways, enough chatting and more tasting! …I hope you’ll enjoy this healthy recipe 🙂

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“Red Pesto” Chicken & Quinoa Soup!

August 28, 2013 by Ariel Leave a Comment

Ok so on Monday we made “red pesto” chicken and we were left with a decent amount of delicious chicken and left over juices with tomatoes from the pan. For everybody who have kept all the juices and tomatoes, like I advised on Monday, here’s what we are going to do with them. Now the juices have been in the fridge for a day or two, time to get it out and use it to make a delicious and filling soup that will for sure please everybody and save you some precious time in the kitchen.

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Strawberries, Kale & Feta Salad

June 1, 2013 by Ariel 5 Comments

I had such an AMAZING tapas night with my cousin yesterday. Because of our night, I’m able to present you a much healthier recipe (compare to my last one) on this sunny Saturday that we invented after a day at the farmer’s market. We walked around for hours looking at all the gorgeous flowers, organic fruit stands and biologic butcher shops at the Marché Jean-Talon that I even got a mini sunburn on my shoulders… ouch! ..but it was worth it.

After buying all the ingredients needed for the night, we went back to her place and had fun creating a few new recipes that I will be sharing in this blog in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned for all that deliciousness 😉 hehe

Since we are young, my cousin and I have always been cooking together. I remember this one year, when my mom was still living in Paris and I lived one year at my grand parents house in the middle of the woods, she was often coming back home with me after school to cook and invent recipes. I guess I can say that we have an incredible “kitchen chemistry” and we are both passionate with cooking because we always end up creating delicious meals and it’s definitely our way to socialize and have fun when we are together.

She’s been living in Montreal for a few years now but we are both extremely busy and I unfortunately don’t see her as often I would want to. Before yesterday, our last “cook off” was a YEAR ago!!! Pretty bad right? I know we’re awful….

And it’s not even because we don’t like to spend time together (pretty much the opposite) but like I’ve said, I’m super busy with my business and she’s a full time student doing her master degree while working many hours a week. I wish our schedule was more flexible so we could do this more often but at least the internet is there to keep in touch. Last night we made the promise to see each other more often.. let’s hope we’re able to make it this time! We always have so much fun and look at the delicious goodies we are preparing!! Please keep your fingers crossed for me so we see each other more often. 😛

We really hope you will enjoy this simple, yet flavorful summer salad. Are you planning a picnic or a BBQ with your friends and family? This salad be the next hit at your next event, who knows 🙂 Try it out and let me know!

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