Mushroom Rice

Move over canned soup! This rice recipe cuts calories while amping up flavor compared to a traditional mushroom soup rice casserole. You’ll put in some extra time for the brown rice - but the nutritional bang for your buck is worth it. Brown rice has nine times more magnesium than white rice, a mineral that more than half of us don’t eat enough of! If you think you don’t like brown rice, you seriously need to try it with mushrooms! Try it for your next pot luck - It’s still great at room temperature and you’ll be a hit!

Photograph by John Chartrand

Ingredients:

• 1lb Sourdough Organic Mushrooms
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 4Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup brown rice. Reduce pot to simmer and cover for 40 minutes. While the rice is cooking start on your mushroom mix. Finely chop the onion. Thinly slice the mushrooms. Crush one clove of garlic. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until translucent and then remove them from pan. Add the additional olive oil to the pan with the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms start to brown. Set mushrooms aside. When rice is cooked drain. Mix in mushrooms and onions. Enjoy!

Spicy Roast Turnips

Turnips are a sometimes forgotten root vegetable. Missing out on the staple status we give carrots and potatoes, causing confusion with rutabagas everywhere, boiled and mashed into tastelessness for family gathering by grandmothers (including my own). So here is a recipe that gives turnips all the love they deserve. Adding a bit of heat increases the blood flow to your digestive system and helps you absorb the nutrients you need. Next time try these instead of roasted potatoes - we promise you won’t miss the potatoes. 

Photo by John Chartrand

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch organic turnips
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• small bunch fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Wash and peel your turnips and remove the tops. Place turnips in ovenproof dish. Cover with olive oil, chili flakes, and thyme and mix to coat. Roast for 1hr stirring occasionally. 

Hot Tip: Cooking on a weeknight? Cube the turnips (rather than leaving them whole) and cut your cooking time in half. You're Welcome. 

Roasted Fennel

Roasting is such a nice way to treat your vegetables, it softens them and brings out their natural sugars. Fennel Bulb, for those of you who haven't tried it, has a liquorice or anise-like flavour. It's also a great two in one vegetable as the delicate tops can be used as an herb to add an extra layer of fennel taste to this recipe or another. 

• 1 Bulb of fennel (tops removed and saved)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using your sharpest chefs knife cut the fennel bulb in half and then into quarters, lengthwise. At the bottom of the bulb there's a bit of concentrated root, kind of like a core; slice it away and discard or save for stock. Slice each quarter of fennel into wedges about 2 cm thick. Lay the fennel on a sheet pan. Scatter the salt, chilli flakes, and cumin over the fennel. Drizzle the olive oil over top. Toss in the over and leave alone for ~1hr. Enjoy!

This fennel recipe goes really well with a pan fried fish. The fennel tops can be chopped (as you would parsley) and sprinkled on top of the fennel and/or fish. Any leftover roasted fennel makes a delicious addition to a winter salad.

Edamame

Yesterday was one of those days; I got home from work hungry and the meal plan for the evening was more slow food style than a 15 minute meal. I needed a snack. Fortunately there is usually a bag of edamame in our freezer reserved just for these occasions. Usually we keep it simple, steam and salt only. Last night, with some inspiration from Bon Appetit, things got a little spicy and very tasty. So with out further delay, here is a recipe for pumping up your edamame into a snack that's so yummy, you'll hardly believe it's good for you!

Grab 1 bag of frozen edamame and open it into your sink (or a bowl) and cover with hot tap water. Take 2 cloves of garlic and smash them leaving the skins on. Put a heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 TBSP of olive oil. Put the smashed garlic in the pan with 2 chillies (fresh or dried). Drain your edamame and dry on a kitchen towel and then add it to the hot pan. Cook the edamame stirring occasionally until the outside gets blackened in places and the garlic looks golden and smells delicious. Dump the edamame into a serving bowl and mix in 1/4 tsp chilli flakes and 1 tsp of sea salt (flaked if you've got it). Enjoy! 

Brussels Sprouts

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! My favourite thing about Christmas (and any holiday really) is planning out all the food I want to make and all the recipes I want to try that year. Seriously, I had my recipes picked out 3 weeks ago. I do realize that this makes me a little crazy. And so, assuming that you might be a little flexible about what you are cooking in a few days, or perhaps in need of a bit of inspiration, here’s a simple recipe to help take your veggies off the back burner (literally!) and put them centre stage. These dressed-up Brussels get really crispy and even a little sweet in the oven; the dressing takes them up a notch from "veggies I roasted" to "vegetable dish." They aren’t your Granny’s brussels sprouts!

Ingredients:

• Brussels Sprouts 1 lb
• Olive Oil 1 Tbsp
• Salt 1/4 tsp
• Chilli Flakes Pinch
• Apple Cider Vinegar 2 Tbsp
• Olive Oil 1 Tbsp
• Pine Nuts 1/8 Cup
• Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400F. Wash your brussels sprouts in cold water. Trim off the ends and remove any bits that look tired. Cut into halves or quarters for larger brussels sprouts. Toss in olive oil with salt and chili flakes. Spread evenly over sheet pan and roast in oven stirring occasionally until the outside is brown and beginning to crisp up (about 20-25 minutes). Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by mixing the olive oil and apple cider vinegar. When the sprouts are done toss them in the dressing while still warm and add your pine nuts and cheese (if using). Serve warm.