Category: Lunch

A Trio of Tea Sandwiches – The Food Matters Project

Growing squash in straw bales. Nurturing plants from seed. Testing out a new climbing route. Biking with no hands. Cooking with new ingredients. Playing with the settings on my camera. A homestay student. A power drill. An unfamiliar recipe. A yellowed, crinkled, old sewing pattern.

With new things often come unknowns. The possibility of failure, wasted time, doing something wrong. Putting yourself out there can be scary, but it can also be exciting. I’ve been trying to focus on the excitement of new things, to be grateful for those moments when things just work out. Less worry, less disappointment.

It’s not that I have overcome my fears, but somewhere along the way, I’ve let go just enough to feel the fear turn to excitement. I am excited to see what happens next, to see how I react when things fall apart, to explore the ways I can do things differently.

I struggled with this for many years, and often still do. The need to know what’s going to happen next, a fear of failure and the unknown, and a desire to be in control. It’s been a journey, for sure, but I have started to see my life for the experiment that it is. And it’s been much more fun that way. You never know how an experiment is going to turn out, and once you have your results you can plan the next experiment accordingly. Adjusting for errors, discrepancies, uncertainty. Then adjusting again, and again.

This blog is a major ongoing experiment for me. Sometimes I still don’t believe that it’s really happening, that I’m posting recipes and writing on the internet, sometimes even letting on personal details. But I’m continually drawn back to it, and there is something about it that is deeply fulfilling, intimate even. It’s an endless exercise in letting go of expectations, and a constant practice of trying new things.

That is what I am loving so much about the Food Matters Project. Every week a new recipe to try and a fantastic community of people attempting the same thing. Tapping into wells of creativity. Sharing new ideas and helpful tips. Motivating me to continue, inspiring me to want to inspire others.

+ Erin
P 07/02/2012
t Blog, Lunch, Vegan
Capple, basil, beets, caramelized onion, fig jam, goat cheese, grilled, pecan, portobello mushrooms, radish, sandwich, sundried tomatoes, walnut, zucchini
9 4 Comments

Soba Noodle Soup with Miso Seaweed Broth

This is serious soup. For hungry diners, with lots of veggies! It reminds me of the fare at a ramen place we love in the West End… except instead of ramen noodles, healthy buckwheat soba noodles are the star of the show.

Soba is actually the Japanese word for buckwheat, but usually refers to buckwheat noodles. These soba noodles are made with just organic buckwheat flour and sweet potato. What a fantastic combo – and a great gluten-free noodle option!

I found them at my fave grocery store, the East End Food Co-op in Vancouver. This is the first time I’ve seen them there, but I’ll be back for more. This brand, King Soba, carries all sorts of different flavour combinations, and the best part to me – they don’t contain wheat. At our neighbourhood Japanese specialty store, many of the soba noodles contain wheat flour as a binder, but I was looking for something gluten-free. Typically the noodles with a high buckwheat percentage and no wheat or rice flour are harder to find, and more expensive, so you can imagine my excitement at finding these at the Co-op!

+ Erin
P 05/01/2012
t Blog, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Vegan
Cbuckwheat, miso, noode, seaweed, soba, vegetables
9 No Comments

Tomato and Eggplant with Poached Eggs and Greens

Breakfast goodness! With this morning-time food fest being such an important part of the day, it’s a good idea to pack it full of all the veggies you can think of.

Eggplant. Tomato. Greens. Sprouts. Eggs, if you’re into that. You can serve this over grains, too, or some beans. Think of all the breakfasty possibilities!

In fact, without a great stretch of the imagination, you could even make this into lunch.

Or check this out: Dinner.

Woah. Talk about versatility!

+ Erin
P 04/27/2012
t Blog, Breakfast, Cleanse, Gluten-Free, Lunch
Cegg, eggplant, poached, salad, tomato
9 No Comments

Cleanse Day 12 – Asparagus Ribbon Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts

Well here we are. The end of the cleanse. Call me crazy, but I’m not ready for it to be over. It just feels too good to be eating clean again. Eating REAL food. I’ll keep it up.

I actually found the blogging part most challenging. Taking photos of food when I was starving and eager to scarf it all down. Feeling the pressure to cook tasty and attractive meals and write about them every day for nearly two weeks. It was a lot. I feel a little relieved that it’s over… but mostly excited. I really did enjoy chronicling my cleanse. I finally jumped the hurdles, put aside the excuses, and just started the blog – and that feels great. I have so many recipes waiting in the wings, and lots of how-to ideas for things like making your own almond milk and sprouting. I’m looking forward to posting more leisurely, once or twice a week, and seeing how that goes.

I’m also really thrilled to reintroduce fermented foods into my diet, along with a big dose of probiotics. I’m thinking tempeh, homemade sauerkraut and pickles, apple cider vinegar. I really missed vinegar. And I can’t wait to taste maple syrup again… and dates. A squishy, melt in your mouth date. Perhaps dipped in raw chocolate and sandwiched between two pecans. Swoon.

I actually have some concerns that I might be intolerant to some of the foods I was eating over the past couple of weeks. I had a few days with major digestion issues. I won’t elaborate (you’re welcome), but even after cutting out everything I did, I still had some trouble. I have a feeling it might be nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, etc.) because eating huge amounts of them resulted in subsequent tummy upset… but I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been wanting to get a food allergy blood test for a while, and the reactions I had while on the cleanse really bumped it up to a high priority item for me.

Aside from a few digestive issues, the major positives I experienced were high energy levels throughout the day, great sleeps with early morning no-alarm wake-ups, noticeably less-dry skin, and significantly diminished cravings for sweets.

Now back to the topic of real food… do you eat your asparagus raw? If not, you should definitely give it a go! Eating asparagus raw is oh so satisfying. It’s tastes like Spring to me. Fresh. Crisp. Real. YUM!

+ Erin
P 04/23/2012
t Blog, Cleanse, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Salad, Sides, Vegan
Carugula, asparagus, hazelnuts, wild rose
9 No Comments

Cleanse Day 11 – Creamy Butternut Squash Soup and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

Today I had a training session for a Floor Supervisor position at the climbing gym I work at. I was lucky I was able to attend, because I couldn’t belay or climb with my ankle in the shape it’s in. It ended up going really well and I’m super excited to get back on my feet and back onto a wall. Indoor, outdoor, I don’t care. I’m not picky at this point. I just can’t wait til I can climb again.

That said, the training really took it out of me. My ankle has had a rough go of it the past few days and it’s really swollen up quite big. If only I could get out of work and lounge around the house for a few days… I usually feel like that would be a great idea even if I’m not injured.

It’s made cooking elaborate meals a bit tricky also. I need something that has minimal prep time so I can sit with my ankle raised high above my heart, supported by my tower of pillows. Enter leftover squash, roasted after making yesterday’s squash curry – the ideal quick and easy meal starter. Paired with crunchy, tangy, lemon roasted cauliflower? Sigh. Delicious.

You can leave it as is for a hearty lunch, or add fish (if you eat it) for a filling dinner. Non-meat options include tossing the cauliflower with lentils, black beans, or brown rice.

+ Erin
P 04/22/2012
t Blog, Cleanse, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Sides, Vegan
Cbutternut squash, cauliflower, roasted, wild rose
9 3 Comments

Cleanse Day 9 – Sweet Almond Chili Green Beans

A short post today – I have to get off to a family potluck dinner for my Uncle’s birthday… during which my cute, feisty, always right, Chinese grandmother will tell me I need to grow up. Stop playing around. You’re too old for that.

She’s talking about my ankle. I injured it bouldering (rock climbing). I don’t feel too old for rock climbing. I hope I never feel too old to climb things. I should have learned my lesson about telling her I rock climb though. I should have just kept it simple, should have just said I fell. No biggie. Nothing major. Don’t worry about me. I’m all grown up. No playing around here. Just serious grown-up business!

These green beans will make you feel like a grown up. Or a wild, carefree climber… whichever you prefer. Mostly, they’ll just make you happy. Well, they’ll make your tastebuds happy. To me, it’s one and the same.

I ate these beans as a salad for lunch. You can do that too. You can also eat them as a side dish if you dare. Be bold.

+ Erin
P 04/20/2012
t Blog, Cleanse, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Salad, Sides, Vegan
Calmond, braggs, chili, green beans, sauce, thai, wild rose
9 No Comments

Cleanse Day 8 – Coconut Cauliflower Leek Soup and Falafel Revisited

Today I did too much. Too much walking. Too much moving. Too much chasing 6 year olds through a school carnival, swatting away screaming children with my cane.

My ankle has been healing well, but it reminds me – loudly, painfully – when I try to do to much.

Thankfully I have the weirdest craving ever. Plain brown rice. I came home and ate a bowl of plain brown rice. It was oddly, wholly satisfying! The perfect solution to a strong desire to laze.

You probably aren’t too excited for a recipe for that though. So we’ll move on.

Today’s breakfast was a scramble with leftover roasted veggies, potato hash, and broccoli. It was delicious. I feel like I’ve been eating a lot of eggs lately (too many?), so it’s probably back to green smoothies or porridge tomorrow.

Lunch was creamy Coconut Cauliflower Leek Soup and last night’s Falafel revisited in a delightfully light and fresh salad.

+ Erin
P 04/19/2012
t Blog, Cleanse, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Salad, Vegan
Ccauliflower, coconut milk, falafel, leek, wild rose
9 No Comments

Cleanse Day 7 – Chocolate Green Smoothie and Baked Green Falafel with Baba Ganoush

Trying new things in the kitchen is half exciting, half scary. You never know how it’s going to turn out. There are no guarantees.

Those kitchen failures can be devastating. We’ve all been there. Tossing a meal in the trash because it’s downright inedible. Disappointing times.

Sometimes cooking feels more like alchemy than cooking. Combining ingredients in hopes of coming up with gold… and never quite being able to make it happen.

BUT! Stay confident! Stay hopeful!

Get back in the kitchen and experiment. See what tasty places your inspiration will take you when you have the courage to wing it. You’ll develop a keen sense of kitchen intuition (kintuition?) and the rewards are well worth it!

I’ve never made falafel OR baba ganoush, but I can attest to the yum-factor of both. Perhaps it’s foolish to try two new recipes for dinner when you’re already hungry and you have a sprained ankle that makes getting around the kitchen challenging… but I’m up for a challenge (and also slightly foolish).

Thankfully it turned out great! Baking the falafel is a healthier option, and you still end up with a crispy exterior and soft centre. All the herbs give it such a fresh zing of flavour, and using sprouted chickpeas and then wrapping it in cabbage leaves?! Mega delicious. Mega healthy. Mega crunch factor. Top with creamy eggplant-tahini Baba Ganoush. DROOL.

Rewind! First things first, I started the day with a CHOCOLATE GREEN SMOOTHIE. To recreate this delicious breakfast treat, blend up a handful of greens (I used romaine – spinach is great too), a cored pear, 2 tbsp hemp hearts, 1 mega-heaping-might-as-well-call-it-2 tbsps raw cacao powder, 1 tsp maca powder, 2-3 drops stevia, and 2 cups almond milk. How can this be breakfast? Just trust me.

+ Erin
P 04/19/2012
t Blog, Breakfast, Cleanse, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Vegan
Cbaba ganoush, bake, cabbage, chickpeas, chocolate, ciantro, falafel, green smoothie, parsey, raw cacao, tahini, wild rose
9 4 Comments

Cleanse Day 6 – A Scramble, a Salad, and Aloo Gobi

Ahhhh. The halfway point. No major cravings so far, thanks to the toasted coconut flakes I’ve been munching on – the perfect blend of crunchy and sweetness – but I definitely miss mushrooms and vinegar (random?).

This morning I made a breakfast scramble from the leftover hash plus (thanks to a trip to the grocery store) tomatoes and avocado. Yum!

Soup and salad for lunch. Here’s a shot of the salad, the recipe for the soup is coming tomorrow.

Sprouted chickpeas, roasted beets, cabbage, broccoli, arugula, sprouts, and chopped almonds – with a lemon dill sunflower seed dressing.

And then, the highlight meal of this cleanse so far, dinner. Aloo Gobi. Delicious. Sweet. Spicy. Tangy. Drool.

+ Erin
P 04/17/2012
t Blog, Breakfast, Cleanse, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Salad, Vegan
Ccauliflower, curry, egg, potato, wild rose
9 No Comments

Cleanse Day 4 – Lazy Leftovers, Seaweed Roll-Ups

The ankle was a bit of a pain today, swollen and sore, and I didn’t get around to going to the grocery store, so it was a lazy leftover day!

Breakfast – millet porridge again.

Lunch – another salad.

For a snack – rice cakes with smushed avocado, tomatoes, and lemon.

And for dinner – I sauteed up some rice, garlic, sprouted black beans, lentils and chickpeas, cabbage, and celery, splashed some Braggs soy seasoning in there along with some hot water to steam up the mixture a little bit… and then, here comes the fun part:

Roll it up in seaweed! Yum!