one of my favourite snacks – grab a head of kale and break up into “chip” size pieces… then rinse, sprinkle on oil of your choice {i stick with EVOO, but coconut oil is great, too!} and then smother in nutritional yeast. i use a bag and shake it up really well, then add more on top just before baking in the oven @ 350 degrees until crisp…
they don’t last long… and they are great on top of salads, soups, or just as they are!
i guess they’re actually purple potatoes – but, i sort of enhanced the colour just a tad to represent july 4th a little more 😉 Continue reading
hey gang.
i’m taking vacation this week – beginning wednesday. i am beyond ready for some time off, i just really hope i can easily make it through the next two days at work…
i wanted to share this recipe from last year, it was such a hit! it’s just a basic sugar cookie with a basic frosting and some fruit. super festive though… and yummmmmmy! i think i’m going to take the week off from blogging, as well… i just need to disconnect and get out in nature and rest and relax… i’ll be back next week. i hope you enjoy the holiday and these cookies!! 🙂
———
{from the archives}
this is not exactly up my typical healthy recipe alley – but if you’re going to go for it, GO FOR IT!
festive holiday sugar cookies…
i think they turned out pretty cute… oh, and delicious. Continue reading
their season is ending soon… so grab ’em while you still can!
i look forward to them every year! i just love love love ’em! and i love how they keep for a good long time in the fridge!
i do lots of things with english peas…
i haven’t yet tried to pulverize them in a vitamix smoothie, though… but oh boy i just thought of this – i bet it would make a great spread with some garlic and hummus… mm mm, i may have to try that!
what do you like to do with your english peas?
do you know how to pick out a good watermelon?! … one that’s guaranteed to be ripe, juicy, and flavourful?!
well, for one thing – to guarantee the flavour and ripeness, it’s important to begin with quality.
i always opt for organic food {especially produce} when i can… organic produce is grown with more care, handled with more care, and therefore just plain tastes better… in my humble {and generally RIGHT} opinion 🙂
this sticker tells us that not only is this watermelon organic, but it’s fair trade. which {happily} means the farmers that grew this watermelon are paid a FAIR WAGE for their product and services. this is extremely important to me also because i’m a collective thinker – i am grateful for that farmer who took time to grow this beautiful fruit for me to enjoy. and i want him/her to get paid what they are worth for doing that service. fair trade kind of cuts out the middle man, if you will. you can read more about fair trade products here. Continue reading
nom nom, don’t you just love cherries?!
they are so fabulous for so many reasons!! …
good for your heart… {among other things like gout and blood clots}
loaded with antioxidants… Continue reading
that’s a mouthful, and a really long title for a blog…but that is essentially what is in this dish, and to leave out any part just seamed wrong. those are all amazing and wonderful things and when you put them all together you get this incredible dish :
super healthy, keeps well in the fridge, easy to make, delicious… cute. 🙂
i mean, seriously though – it’s cute… sure – it’s pasta, but it’s cute. 😛
i’ve mentioned this pasta before – i love it for a bunch of reasons, including the fact that it is non-gmo, organic, and gluten-free. Continue reading
in case you’re wondering : sui generis
have you ever seen or even better, eaten one of these beauties?! this is the lovely cherimoya {pronounced “cher-uh-moi-uh”}…
i love how she is shaped like a heart… and yes, i totally think this particular fruit is a “she” – i don’t always feel that way, but i did about the cherimoya… what a unique and interesting and wonderful treat this was! and she was definitely a lady!
when one first brings a cherimoya home, it’s a totally different colour than in this foto… that is to say, if it hasn’t ripened yet. this particular fruit in the above foto is fully ripe. typically when you buy them from the store, they are more on the green side… it takes 2 or 3 days to have it ripen up at home… it almost becomes like an avocado when ready to eat.
beauty comes in all colours, shapes, and sizes…
they aren’t exactly cheap, weighing in at easily $5-$6 for one fruit… but my goodness, is it worth it! Continue reading
the temps were absolutely perfect last week – 70-80 degrees during the day and cool nights that require only a light sweater, but flip flops are comfortable. the smell of the grill lingers in the air, the frangrance from the various blooms waft from every angle, the sun is warm, the air is warm, the days are long… and that means i take lots of little walks.
here’s a few shake-it app inspired fotos i snapped last week while wandering around my ‘hood…
devouring the best pastrami sammy EVER – from masterpiece delicatessen in the highlands… my new favourite spot!!
my neighbourhood kind of reminds me of new york…
enjoying my first latte in about a year… {half caff, only – definitely iced!} Continue reading
why are artichokes so amazing?!?!?!?!!!!!!
and beautiful?!?!?!?!!!!!!
i bought a handful of these little purple ones the other day… Continue reading
sooooo – my stats have suddenly started dropping lately. i don’t really want to focus on it too much, but i find it odd that out of nowhere, i’m getting less and less “likes” when for a good while there i was getting more and more and people were finding and following my blog… i just find it odd… any insight you all may have is appreciated.
meanwhile, i’m going to keep writing amazing blogs. i love doing it for me, but i also do this as i hope to inspire others to try new foods and recipes and to create their own! food is fun.
this blog is about another specialty cheese that i discovered at whole foods market a couple weeks ago called balsamic bellavitano. it is one of the most delicious cheeses i’ve ever had – and i’ve tried a lot of cheeses! this is a reserve cheese with a little nuttiness and hints of fruit in the flavour. i love how they wrap it in special paper…
… just makes it so fun to open up 🙂 Continue reading
it’s artichoke season!!!
and thank goodness for that!!!! i wrote a blog or two about them last spring… i just love these beautiful babies. although they do take an awful lot of work to prepare for such a little amount of actual flesh… it’s SO worth it – the scrumptiousness waiting inside doesn’t quite compare to any other…
it got me thinking about how artichokes are kind of like us, like humans…
i know you may be chuckling thinking how the heck can i be like a green pokey vegetable?! well… the way i see it –
an artichoke looks like a flower.
just like us 🙂 Continue reading
a co-worker suggested i try this recipe when i said, “what should i do with the delicious english peas i bought today?”
it’s a pretty basic recipe – with a special ingredient of cinnamon… which i must admit, i don’t really ever use in my cooking – unless a recipe specifically calls for it. i don’t keep in the pantry or anything… although, i am really wanting an organic spice rack – should anyone be wondering what to randomly gift me 🙂
what i love about this recipe is the simplicity – and i was surprised at how nicely the cinnamon complimented the overall dish. the key is always adding a little at a time… the rice also brought the dish together – i used simple jasmine rice for this dish. i like the texture and flavour.
ingredients :
– organic authentic san marzano tomatoes {canned}
– fresh garlic
– olive oil
– ground cinnamon
– basmati or jasmine rice Continue reading
this post is probably going to sound like a sales pitch or something – whatever! i love love love my vitamix!
a hefty pricetag, i agree – but oh oh OH so worth it!!
i use mine every day, and i find new ways to use it and it never gets old… Continue reading
i *just had to* snap a foto of these two parsnips that grew together like this…
they came apart, but went right back together.
one of the coolest things i’ve seen produce do, yet!!!!
LOVE!
happy {meatless} monday everyone!
these are SO SO SO SO SO GOOD! i planned on just eating a few and saving some for lunch the next day, but i ended up devouring the whole batch in under 5 minutes! so delicious!
i’ve introduced you to kaniwa a few times now… and this is one of my new favourite things to do with it!
i am all about texture – i love it in both food and foto. kaniwa has plenty of texture and the most fun little crunch. you know how quinoa has that little “pop” kind of crunch going on?! – well kaniwa is like that but it’s much smaller and it’s just so fun to eat! i also love belgian endive for that reason – fun to eat and TEXTURE! so, when i combined the two in this recipe, my taste buds and senses were dancing because it was just so completely delicious and enjoyable! and healthy and simple and easy and all of those things i like to promote here at food and foto dot com!
so without further ado, here is a recipe that’s great as an hors d’oeuvres, snack, light dinner, fun brunch… or blog-worthy dish 😉
another amazing item i will have to blog about again soon – english peas. there are only a few other produce items that make me think of spring like english peas do. i’m trying to encourage it to hurry and get here – we are due for more snow this week, blast! i know we need the moisture, but i just wanna wear flip flops and t-shirts already!
i digress –
ingredients {makes about 8-10 “boats”}:
– 1 medium-sized belgian endive
– 1/4 cup tomato, chopped
– handful of fresh english peas, shelled
– 1 cup kaniwa {you do not need to rinse it}
– about 2 tablespoons honey {preferably local}
– pat of your favourite butter {or substitute} Continue reading
as we know, i’m all about DIY in the kitchen.
between skyrocketing food prices and the need for healthy, organic, fresh food – i have to find a balance so that i can still continue eating well, but also still afford to pay rent 😉 – and honestly, owning a vitamix has helped tremendously in that arena. even though it was a steep investment initially – it’s actually helping me save money by making a lot of things at home!
for example, this homemade applesauce. i did make some once a while back with my potato latkes. but i hadn’t tried it with the vitamix, yet.
applesauce isn’t something i just go out and buy. in fact, i’m not actually much of a fan of apples. i love the flavour and i love apple juice, but i just have never been one to eat handheld fruits. i’m more apt to eat grapes, mangos, berries, and bite-size typed fruits. it’s just one of those idiosyncrasies of mine… i’ll eat apple slices with some nut butter, that’s more my style 😉 oorrrrr, this delicious applesauce…
and whoa – was it easy to make!
step 1. buy some apples.
i opted for honeycrisp because they were on sale and approaching the end of their season… plus, these were super cute and smaller than most. have you noticed how BIG apples are getting lately?! it’s just not natural… i’m like “i can’t eat that in one sitting!” haha. these honeycrisps were perfectly-sized and came in a 3-pound bag. Continue reading
have you ever had a champagne mango?
not quite the same as your common mango, which are typically more oval-shaped with green and red hues to the skin. champagne mangos start off green, but are yellow when ripe…
the champagne mango is shaped almost like a tear-drop or in some ways to me it is shaped more like a nut…
fun with shapes… 😉
champagne mangos originate from mexico… and they are just heavenly. Continue reading
i just love seasonal produce. i love looking forward to something…
we are so spoiled – especially in the US – to get food whenever we want it… including produce. and it baffles me when people complain about the taste of blueberries in january.
anyway – this is one piece of amazing produce that you can only get your hands on at select markets for about a month or so out of the year, usually beginning mid to late february. they are called sumo citrus. and they are completely out of this world!!
i know what you’re thinking… “that looks kind of like a clementine, i’ve had clementines… i love them!” well, i love them, too. but this is not a clementine or a cutie or a tangerine or anything you’ve ever had that’s orange… unless, of course… you HAVE had one… 😉 {have you?!}
it’s the most amazing piece of citrus i have ever eaten. for real. Continue reading
have you ever seen this amazing vegetable?!?!
if you have spotted it before in the produce department, you may not have even known it was edible…
it kind of looks like something that grows on mars, right?! 😉
considered part of the broccoli family, romanesco is somewhat of a misnomer, because it’s actually part of the cauliflower family and should be cooked as such… Continue reading
food & foto 