the second time aRound

i had some leftover brown rice in my fridge and a last minute lunch guest the other day. what to do? my friend phyllis always talked about these southern italian rice balls that her mom would make with leftover risotto. my rice was certainly not risotto, but with a little help of parmesan, rosemary, parsley, an egg and some breadcrumbs, i ended up making these delicious rice patties. i served them with some roasted veggies and a simple tomato-cucumber salad. both, my guest and i were satisfied with the results! i bet phyllis would be too...

savory brown rice patties
1.5 cups of brown rice, cooked
2T parmesan
0.5 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2T parsley, chopped
1 T rosemary, chopped
1 egg
1-2T spelt flour (add in batches to get the rice mix to not be too sticky)
salt and pepper to taste
0.25 cups of breadcrumbs (whole wheat or spelt)

mix all the ingredients together, except for the breadcrumbs. form the patties (about 2 inches in diameter and 0.5 inch thick). roll the patties in the breadcrumbs.
heat 2 T of olive or canola oil in a heavy skillet or a pan, fry the patties for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden.

turn on the HEAT!

in the mood for something spicy? well, i was! my friends jenn and chris made this wonderful lime-cilantro tofu with pickled tomato salsa dish for me some time ago and i wanted to recreate it for marc oliver ... poor guy, his taste buds got a little assaulted by the heat in this recipe! but unlike so many overly spicy dishes in which the heat mutes the other flavours, this one still retains all the wonderful aromas of coriander, cumin and lime. so if you like spice, this one is for you. of course it can be easily adapted for your less heat loving friends by reducing the amount of cayenne this recipe calls for.

here is the recipe for the salsa ... courtesy of mattbites.com (with some modifications). as for the tofu, it was marinated in lime, chopped cilantro, crushed coriander seeds and some oil. after a couple of hours of this tasty bath, you can grill or bake it. yum!

pickled tomato salsa

1 clam shell cherry tomatoes (i like the yellow/red mix)
0.5 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced or 0.5 red onion, diced
2 Serrano chiles, with seeds, chopped
0.5 Cup white vinegar
2 T brown sugar
2 t salt
4 t freshly grated ginger
1 T minced garlic
2 t coriander seeds (crushed in a mortar)
2 t cracked black peppercorns
2 t ground cumin
1 t cayenne
0.5 t turmeric
0.25 Cup extra virgin olive oil

1. in a large bowl, toss tomatoes with scallions and chilies.
2. in a medium saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. add brown sugar and salt, and cook until dissolved, about 1 minute. remove from heat and reserve.
3. measure ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cracked peppercorns, cumin, cayenne and turmeric onto a plate and place near stove. in another medium saucepan, heat oil over moderate heat until just smoking. add spices and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until aromas are released, about 2 minutes. remove from heat and stir in vinegar mixture. immediately pour over reserved tomato mixture. stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or several days.
4. before serving, remove tomatoes from juices, roughly chop, and return to pickling liquid.

savory rustic tarts, two ways

i've been waiting for the heatwave to end just so that i could turn the oven on to make these lovely buckwheat tarts. so simple and rustic! i was inspired by a tomato tart that my friend laura brought over a couple of weeks ago. but rather than bake it in a tart shell, i opted for a more free-form presentation. it saves time and looks great too! the dough for these is made with a combination of buckwheat and spelt flours and you can fill them with anything, really. mine, for instance, were filled with (1) thin potato slices, roasted garlic, caramelized onion, rosemary, capers and parmesan cheese and (2) feta, tomatoes, artichokes and arugula. they take about an hour and 15 min to make but are well worth the effort.



buckwheat-spelt tart dough

this dough recipe is a modified version of the galette dough from Veganomicon (see my apricot galette post). i mixed in some buckwheat flour since it works so well with their savory fillings.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup veggie margarine
1/2 cup water
1 T cider vinegar
1 T salt

mix the flours together; cut the margarine into the flour in 3 batches; mix until the flour/margarine mixture becomes crumbly (i usually use my hands here).
add the cider vinegar to the water; add the water-vinegar mixture to the flour in batches until the ingredients are fully incorporated; kneed the dough until a ball forms and it stays when pinched (you may have to add a little more flour or water, depending on consistency).
refrigerate the dough for 30mins (or longer, but then you must leave it out for 10 or so min until it is easy to manipulate again). flatten it out, roll out into a free form shape (mine were rounded).

this makes enough dough for 1 large tart or 2 medium size ones. serves 4.

potato rosemary tart
1-2 small potatoes
0.5 onions (white or red)
0.3 cup grated parmesan
1 sprig rosemary
4 cloves garlic
1T capers
1T olive oil

slice the potatoes thinly, slice the onions; toss both with olive oil, place on a baking sheet or in a heavy cast iron skillet (with the unpeeled cloves of garlic on top) and bake at 425F until golden (about 10-15 min). peel the roasted garlic.

feta tomato tart
2 ripe tomatoes
0.5 cup bulgarian feta
handful of arugula
2-3 artichoke hearts (in water), quartered
1T pine nuts
some parmesan

slice the tomatoes, place in a colander (in the sink or over a bowl) and sprinkle with some salt - let stand to get the excess moisture out. crumble the feta, quarter the artichoke hearts.

now, assemble...

place your rolled out dough on a greased baking sheet; layer your chosen ingredients on the dough, leaving an inch or so on all sides (for the crusty, folded over edge). i start with the cheese and then place all ingredients on top of each other ending with the herbs, some cracked black pepper, sea salt and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, pine nuts... fold over to create a finished edge - its fine if the edge is uneven here, it gives it that rustic look!

bake for 25-30mins or until golden.
delicious, hot or cold!

eating out

i set out to eat out as much as possible this summer... not by going out to eat, but rather by taking every opportunity to picnic. picnic foods are easy and take no time to prepare so that you can enjoy warm summer nights while nibbling and catching up with friends. here are a few photos from this summer's outings.

mid-week in queen e park: blackcurrant iced tea, minty chickpea salad, grilled veggie/lentil salad, crudites, etc.



canada day beach picnic - lots of easy and tasty goodies: grainy/lentil salads, pesto potato salad, humus, mango salsa, crackers, olives, crudites and goats cheese.



sunday night at the mount pleasant community park: soba noodle salad, lentil artichoke dip, crudites, pita, good cold beer.



beacon hill picnic: well, we didn't make these, but take-out picnics are permitted too! delicious napolitan-style pizzas courtesy of prima strada in victoria, bc.



the chief hiking snacks: fruit, seedy bread, nut butters, nutella.

gourmet camping

i've been so busy camping, road tripping and swimming in the ocean that i have neglected my blog duties... this post has no recipes, but it does have some inspiring photos to prove that you CAN eat well while camping. my friend laura and i made it our mission to bring delicious and nutritious food on our last getaway to keats island, bc. here are a few pics!

summer salad: romaine, avocado, red bell peppers and hand picked blackberries

we drizzled this salad with some homemade balsamic vinaigrette that we brought along and sprinkled nuts and seeds on top (for additional nutrition and tasty crunch).



laura's jamaican coconut quinoa pilaf

my friend laura created a camp-stove friendly version of her favourite jamaican rice pilaf by making it with quinoa (which cooks much faster than rice and has lots of protein in addition to its good carb content). seasoned with ginger, allspice, garlic and studded with yam and smoked tofu pieces, this pilaf was a delicious one-pot meal and only took about 20 min to make. along with our salad and pernod anise/water coctails, it was the perfect end of day meal.



all into the pot...



add the coconut milk... and simmer...



voila!