elvis cookies; fit for a king

These cookies are like fluffy banana pillows laced with peanut butter, chocolate and oats. They are light and are not too sweet.

I had a bag of peanut butter easter eggs in the pantry (which the easter bunny delivered a little early to the discovery of my daughter who knows that shiny packaged candy store treats don’t come home with me often) and some over ripe bananas on the counter, the combo was obvious and the elvis cookie was born! Apparently the king loved PB & banana sandwiches and therefore every time I combines these things I think he deserves some props!

I remember back when I was opening my second bakery, testing endlessly vegan banana cookie recipes, none of them really hit the mark. Bananas by nature make for fluffy-cake-y baked goods… so if you like a crunchy flat cookie, this recipe might be more to your liking with an extra 1/2 cup of butter added to make them more flat, and spread-y with a crisp bottom. I however like the occasional muffin top style of cookie, and this one I would make again for sure. Mmmabey even with some nuts thrown in for good measure!

Start by creaming

1/2 cup of butter

1/3 cup of almond butter (or peanut butter)

1/2 cup dark cane sugar

1/2 cup light cane sugar

2 eggs

2 over ripe bananas

splash of vanilla

Slowly add

2 1/4 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 tsp bs

1 tsp bp

pinch sea salt

1.5 cup of chopped up chocolate peanut butter cups

Chill dough for 20 minutes then portion and top with a piece of peanut butter cup and bake on baking sheet at 375º 12-15 minutes.

spelt butterscotch brownies

My most favorite sister-in-law in the whole wide world spent the last week visiting us, and we celebrated her 30^th Birthday early (a couple times), and her birthday treat request was for chocolate brownies! They had brought with them a bottle of scotch so making real butterscotch brownies seemed only natural! This recipe was adapted from the Joy of Cooking Butterscotch Blondies. These brownies were pretty over the top! Filled with huge chocolate chunks, pecans, almonds, hemp seeds, and of course butterscotch sauce to die for. Next time I might just serve the butterscotch with spoons, straight up!

In a small pot melt and simmer:

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup dark cane sugar

1/3 cup cane sugar

until bubbly and deep and silky

Add 1 Tbsp Vanilla

and 2 Tbsp scotch

remove from heat and allow to cool and thicken

In a bowl sift together

1 cup spelt flour

1/4 tsp bp

1/8 tsp bs

pinch of fine sea salt

once the butterscotch is cool (if you can stop your self from eating it all) wisk in

2 eggs

1 tbsp  brown rice syrup

Add sauce to flour mix and bring together

Now add your chunks of goodness:

1 did 1 cup of chopped nuts (almond & pecan)

1/2 cup hemp seeds (hearts)

1 cup chunks of dark chocolate

bake in a small 8”prepared square pan  for 20-28 minutes at 350º

roasted banana buckwheat coffee cake with hemp streusel crunch

I hope you find this recipe as easy and divine as it truly is. Don’t get hung up on the roasting, the sifting, or the 1/2’s and 1/3’s… lots of baking recipes that read as complex are actually just a series of simple steps you can do while your waiting for peaks to stiff, or the oven to come to temp, etc. Also sifting flour is an easy way to get lovely fluffy cakes and muffins. and stopping to scrap your mixer bowl and incorporating ingredient slowly while balancing wet and dry is the best way to get results which will make you happy every time.

About 5 years ago I made some roasted banana and nut spring rolls (which I should revisit as they were unreal) It turned out though that I ran out of spring roll wrappers and had a couple cups of roasted banana nut puree left over which I whipped into a banana bread. Once I did that, there was no going back for me, I have never made banana bread again without first roasting the bananas. What a delicious way to add a deep complex flavor to a baked goodie!

Enough though about all of that, lets talk about this lovely buckwheat cake! This recipe is adapted from a cinnamon streusel coffee cake recipe I love from the Art & Soul of Baking. My variation (as usual) is made with ancient grains and almond butter laced with the caramel wisps of fresh dates and a hint of cocoa. Lots of people think they don’t like dates, but in a loaf like this, the soft flesh of the dates turn magically into little layers of sweet caramel waves. Bring on the date haters… they too will love this!

Start by peeling 2-3 overripe organic bananas, left whole and set in the prepared pan you will use to bake the loaf / cake in. This recipe will fit into a standard loaf pan but I used a nice 8×8 square pan instead. Set your oven to 350º and let the bananas come to temp in the oven and roast while your getting everything else ready. They should be bubbling and browning when they are ready to go (about 15-20 minutes)

In a mixer cream:

1/3 lb of butter

1/2 cup of almond butter

add 5 fresh seeded dates

Once combined scrap down the sided of the bowl and add:

1 cup of organic cane sugar

and 4 eggs (one at a time, scraping bowl once)

1 tbsp vanilla (the real deal)

In a separate bowl sift together:

2 cups of spelt flour

1 cup buckwheat flour

2 tbsp pure cocoa powder

2 tsp bp

1/2 tsp bs

pinch of fine sea salt

In a smaller bowl make the streusel by combining:

1/2 cup of course dark cane sugar

1 tsp cocoa

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup of hemp hearts

a tiny pinch of fine sea salt

Remove your bananas from oven and add them into your mixer along with 1/3 of the flour mix. Once combined add 1/2 cup of organic yogurt and another 1/3 of your flour, scrap your bowl down and add the final portion of flour along with another 1/2 cup of yogurt.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into your hot pan, then sprinkle half of the streusel mix over the top, pour the rest of the batter in and cover with the rest of the streusels mixture.

Bake the loaf for 55-60 or a small cake for 40-45 minutes; these would bake off as mini loafs of muffins in 20-25 minutes.

enjoy

mason jar miso hemp dressing

This is a yummy new addition to my miso collection of successful experiments! And I have fallen head over heals in love with this wonderful new cold pressed organic hemp oil I have in abundance, making this dressing a delicious combination of  two perfectly pairing superfoods!

I love to make dressings in mason jars which makes for an easy way to measure, shake, serve and store it.

Start with 1 generous Tbsp of miso and mix into 2 Tbsp of hemp oil using a small whisk or the back of a spoon, until well blended. Add 2 Tbsp of lime or lemon juice, and 1 tsp of honey or maple syrup. S+P, and one toe of garlic minced. Shake well and douse your greens in this nutty rich dressing. This fab dressing keeps well in the fridge for a while, so you can scale up the recipe to make a larger batch easily.

simple split pea chaat masala soup

A savory and warm split pea soup with smoky cumin and masala spices: vegan, vegetarian, gluten and wheat free.

Why is it I always forget how much I adore pea soup until it reaches my mouth? I fall in love all over again every time I taste it. I think I have only made pea soup once before but today was the day for batch number 2.

This soup took very little input it just bubbled away most of the afternoon smelling fabulous.

mega omega rice bowl

It truly doesn’t get much easier or tastier than this super brain food quick dish. A gluten free and dairy free rice bowl with fresh lake fish, hemp seeds and hemp oil makes for a omega packed snack, that would travel well for lunch or make a lovely dinner served with a big green salad.

You’ll Need

1.5 cups of left over honey lime lake fish (but you could use any cooked fish)

2 cups cooked brown basmati rice

1/2 cup frozen garden peas

1 green onion, thinly sliced

S+P, rice wine vinegar, braggs, nutritional yeast, hemp oil, & hemp seeds.

In a hot skillet add a splash of oil and start warming cooked rice, along with the frozen peas over medium heat. When the rice is warm add left over fish and about 1/4 cup of warm water and a good splash each of Braggs and rice  vinegar. Stir everything up and season with S+P. Cover pan with lid and remove from heat. Let sit for 2 minutes then dish and finish with finely sliced onion, a sprinkle of both hemp seeds and nutritional yeast , and a hearty drizzle of hemp oil.

Thanks it. dig in and enjoy.

Buckwheat Butterscotch Cookies

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Mmm I found an inquiry on chow looking for help with a butterscotch cookie recipe, which really inspired me because the cookie looked just like my great grandmothers gingerbread chew cookie, which everyone loves!

I decided to give it a whirl, although never one for sticking to any recipe, I made it gluten free and broke out the buckwheat again. The test was a great success and I am pretty happy with the texture of this all buckwheat cookie as well as the deep brown butter sugar flavour. My old vintage oven runs really hot… so next time I will bake these at 275º for a few extra minutes instead of the 350º the original recipe calls for. I love the idea of starting a cookie with a bubbling butterscotch base! mmm

Wheat / Gluten Free rich dark deep sugar cookies.

180g unsalted butter, browned in skillet until nutty and golden

1 3/4 cups dark brown organic cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 tablespoon pure vanilla

2 1/2 cups buckwheat flour sifted along with:

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Sugar For Dredging

1/4 cup vanilla cane sugar with a pinch of Himalayan sea salt.

Start by browning your butter in a small cast iron skillet on medium heat, until golden and nutty smelling. Mix hot butter and sugar in stand mixer for 5 minutes until well combined and gooey and ridiculously yummy smelling. Add eggs one at a time and combine well before then next egg. Scape sides and beat everything for another 2 minutes, along with salt and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together buckwheat, bs, and bp. Slowly add flour to wet mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Mix until everything is well combined then allow dough to cool slightly in fridge for about 10 minutes.

Using a mechanical ice cream scoop portion your cookies and drop them into a large bowl with the sugar dredging mix, gently toss dough balls until covered then position on a silpat sheet. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes, or until lightly cracked and golden. This batch yielded 30 x 1 oz cookies.

Honey Lime Lake Fish Tacos

I was thrilled the other day when our friend dropped of some beautiful fresh Dolly Varden fish steaks, from a successful day on the lake. I decided to whip us some  fish tacos for dinner last night and I am happy to share the simple steps I took to get these beautiful fish steaks on the table. These tacos aren’t your traditional fish tacos, but they are a really nice spin on the old stand by.

Punk Rocker Chocolate Drops

I couldn’t decide what to call these fabulously chocolate-y  vegan cookies, but I found the inspirational starting point for this recipe at the post punk kitchen, thus my Punk Rocker Chocolate  title. I tweaked this recipe a bit by taking out the standard wheat flour and replacing it with a blend of Buckwheat /Hemp and Kamut (I posted this as a WF/GF recipe because brown rice flour would be ideal in place of Kamut to keep this GF, however I just ran out and my partner is OK with ancient wheat grains, new discovery on the allergy front… yeah!)

I have a small confession to make… I actually HATE cookies. I know you are thinking no one on the planet hates cookies, and I know this is a true fact, because back in my city life I owned two cookie companies, and I did pretty well catering to the cookie cravings of the rest of the planet. Ok so now you’ll understand that after a decade of  making millions of cookies I don’t actually eat them, crave them, or enjoy them almost ever. Well this morning something happened… the universe has shifted, because I actually ate 3 of these! 3!

This speaks volumes at just how wicked these babies are!

YOU’LL NEED

2 cups organic (gluten free if applicable) Oats

1/2 + 1/3 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup kamut flour (or Rice flour for GF cookies)

1/3 cup hemp flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of sea salt

1 cup organic cane sugar

1/2 cup hemp seeds

2/3 cup chocolate almond milk (you could use regular)

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp pure vanilla

1 cup fair trade dark chocolate chips.

Portion cookies and bake on baking parchment at 350º for  12-16 minutes.(depending on how big you make the cookies) I used a 1 oz mechanical ice cream scoop and yielded 30 super stellar cookies!

cha cha cha chia!

 

Amazing Vegan Gluten Free Super Power Squares!

Packed full of energy and essential fatty acids these are not only the most requested recipe I have, they are a personal favourite! I have made a raw variation of this snack too, which I am happy to share if anyone requests it.

YOU’LL NEED

1 1/2 cups crispy brown rice cereal

1/2 cup raw sliced almonds

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

2 tablespoons whole chia seeds

1/4 cup flax seed

1 cup dried Medjool dates (about 6 ounces), pitted

1/4 cup natural smooth unsalted almond butter

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

1/2 teaspoonsea salt

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla

1 Tbsp pure cocoa powder

Toast cereal and nuts and seeds in oven for about 15 minutes (until aromatic and lightly browned) and then allow to cool for a few minutes before  pulsing the  mixture in a food processor  about 5 (1-second) pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl; set aside.

Place dates in the food processor and process until finely chopped and a ball forms, about 15 seconds; set aside.

Place almond butter, rice syrup, salt, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until mixture is combined and runs like slow-moving lava, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, immediately add dates and cocoa powder, and, using a wooden spoon, stir, smashing down on the dates, until well combined and no streaks of cocoa remain. Pour / spoon hot syrup over cereal mixture and stir, pressing as you do, until evenly combined. (This takes some muscle and time, about 5 minutes.) Transfer to the prepared baking pan and, using your hands, spread and firmly press the mixture into the pan. Let cool completely.

Remove the date-seed slab from the pan. Cut it in desired size bars and keep in an air tight container or you can freeze them.

* I have a sweet little vintage flower  biscuit cast iron pan I often use to form these, in which case I call them chia flower power!

 

Ginger Pear Chocolate Buckwheat Loafs

That had to grab your attention!

These little darlings would be super stellar baked straight up with any old flour, however I wanted to crack open the bag of Organic Buckwheat Flour I got when I visited Annie’s Flour Mill out in Abbostford over Thanksgiving, so I took a pear loaf recipe I scratched down a while ago and tweaked it into this divine little creation.

You’ll need:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup of organic cane sugar

2 fresh eggs

1/2” of grated fresh ginger (or 1Tbsp of ground ginger)

1 cup of Kamut or Spelt Flour if you can tolerate ancient wheat if not use rice flour to make it GF

1/2 cup of Buckwheat flour

2 tbsp pure cocoa powder

1 Tbsp baking powder (non aluminum)

a pinch of sea salt

1/3 cup of yogurt, (or soured raw milk, or sour cream)

1/2 cup of of premium dark chocolate chunks

1/2 cup of dried pear chopped up small (or fresh finely diced pear)

1/4 cup organic candied ginger finely diced.

In a mixer cream butter, sugar until well mixed then add eggs, and fresh or ground ginger. Beat until smooth, scrapping down the bowl as needed.

In a bowl sift flours, bp, cocoa add sea salt together. Add 1/2 of flour blend into the mixer, once incorporated add yogurt, followed by the balance of the flour. Now add candied ginger, chocolate chunks and pear, Stop mixing as soon as everything is incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350º for 60 minutes for 1 large loaf or 25 minutes if you use a mini loaf pan.

These are so very lovely

 

Cosmic Collision Cookies

This is what happens when you dump all the seeds you have in the pantry in to a giant bowl and lace them with chocolate, molasses, coconut and spelt, a cosmic cookie collision of flavour and texture! I make a version of these best selling cookies at the cafe and they have become a valley favourite! Funny too because the gal who originated this recipe now lives in this very valley, as the storey goes… she created the cosmic cookie recipe for Planet Organic, which got published (without her knowledge I hear), the recipe ended up in the hands of a vegan baker friend of mine, who shared a version on her blog, I made it at the cafe, and now make a little different version at home. So here is my homespun cosmic cookie.

This cookie is vegan and uses spelt flour (however I have used kamut and barley flour both successfully as a variation)

mix in HUGE bowl

3/4 cup  oil

1 cups rice / almond / hemp or soy milk

1/4 cup molasses

1 cup cane sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp salt

add dry:

2 cups spelt flour

2.5 cups oats

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup flax seed

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup dried fruit (raisins or currants, or cranberries)

Mix everything together, portion with a scoop or by hand and bake at 350º for 15-18 minutes. So quick and easy to make the beaming approval and gushing praise will make you feel almost like you  cheated!

Savory Vegetable Leftover Noodle Soup

Savory Vegetable Leftover Noodle Soup: Vegan, Wheat & Gluten Free

My favorite gluten free noodles are quinoa hands down! They have a great tooth and the best thing about them is they don’t get all soggy, or mushy and overcooked. They don’t turn the water into slime like rice noodles do, they are just more like wheat noodles than any of the many GF noodles I have tried.

2 nights a go I made some quinoa elbow noodles with a simple garlic pesto dressing, they were great but I had a lot of leftovers as we have had visitors this week and I always cook to much when feeding a crowd, so I decided to add the left over noodles to a hearty veggie soup. All day I simmered some carrots, onions, garlic, leek and corn in a rich vegetable broth I had frozen down earlier. I seasoned the stock with dried lemon rind and a little kelp powder, along with some apple cider vinegar and lots of peppery chili’s. After the soup was seasoned perfectly, I added the now room temp left over pesto noodle to the broth and simmered it for 10 minutes before serving.

The soup was a huge hit… even in a very un-veggie friendly crowd!

I am baking up a storm right now… more great wheat free dairy free dessert and snack recipes around the corner!

Sunday Noodle Salad

Simple, punchy and fresh this vegan gluten free lunch won over my whole family even the picky little one (who actually made the dressing for this)

If I had tempeh or tofu I would have grilled it up like this earlier recipe for orange glazed tempeh and added that as well, but this simple lunch is  great straight up with any combination of veggies you have kicking around!

I used rice vermicelli noodles and I think I finally have a reliable way of cooking them without being disappointed, as has happened all to many times. So here is what you’ll need to make 4 portions:

Sticky Ginger Tofu, with Swiss Chard and Cashews

Sticky Ginger Tofu, with Swiss Chard and Cashews: Wheat & Gluten Free, Vegetarian & Vegan.

This dish makes a wonderful meal with a nice grain like quinoa or brown rice. It takes only minutes to make and is packed with vitamins and flavor. Also it is some of the only local fresh veggies I can get these days, So i try to cook with Kale and Chard as much as possible.

Divine Hemp Chocolate Brownie

Divine Hemp Chocolate Brownies: Gluten Free, Lactose free, High Protein, Ultra gooey.

Yum, the other day I was totally inspired by this cocoa-ee brownie recipe I found online here and I gave it a whirl at the cafe, and it turned out pretty darn good… I wanted to make it a little more chewy and I really wanted to use my great new Organic hemp flour… So I gave it a SOLE kick at home and it turned out just right! Super dense, really rich and the dates I added injected a caramel sauce like element which threaded it’s way through the whole brownie. When I remake this I will use a dark chocolate, cut into little chunks and sprinkled on the top rather than the milk chocolate bits I had in hand… alternatively a boozy chocolate gnache would be elevate this brownie to white tablecloth dessert!

The only dairy in these brownies came from our sweet little hens.

In a mixer bring together;

2 fresh eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 tsp sea salt

9 whole dates, pitted and torn into quarters

2 Tbsp each: unsulphured molasses, honey, and brown rice syrup

1/2 cup of almond butter

1/2 cup of organic hemp flour

1/2 cup pure cocoa power

1/2 cup of chocolate pieces (I just cut up a chocolate bar)

1 tsp baking power

Combine everything together and pour into a prepared small square pan.

Sprinkle the top with organic hemp seeds and more pieces from your chocolate bar.

Bake at 325º for 20-25 minutes. Don’t worry about pulling a toothpick clean, the inside will set as it cools. Just make sure the top is firm-ish

dig in while they are warm.. its so worth burning your fingers for!

 

Goat Cheese Please!

Gluten Free Penne with creamy goat cheese, peas and pesto. Our plates were licked clean all round, poor dog didn’t even get a crack at them!

This was really quick to throw together:

Start by boiling salt water to cook about 2.5 cups of organic corn penne. Once the pasta is cooked drain and quickly add 2/3 cup of frozen peas (from the garden), a dollop of butter (we used goat butter and it is really really nice, it adds just a little of that goat cheesey taste) 2 tbsp of goat cheese, S+P, and 2-3 Tbsp of pesto (I have found a pretty good locally made organic pesto that will cover me while there is no fresh basil to be had… but this summer I vow to make and freeze a whack of pesto’s while the basil and arugula are fresh and abundant) That is it, stir and serve. This delicious dish takes about 16 minutes from start to finish. Enjoy.

 

 

Goats & Torts

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Slow Stewed Goat Tacos; I was trying to come up with a witty title for this recipe; bah bah black beans, goat-ita’s, chimichangoat… you get the picture, and while I realize that it may be unlikely you have goat meat in your freezer, I wanted to share this easy, meaty Mexican dish which is great for strong and gamey meats; ground lamb, venison, or elk would all be nice slowly stewed in this blend of beer and chillis. Goat is one of my favorite meats, I adore a good Caribbean goat curry with roti, and would maybe give a toe for a firy Indian goat vindalo, seriously. This was my first time cooking goat and I was really thrilled to be given a few bundles of goat meat from some new and lovely friends who are in their first year of goat keeping and very recently they learned how to pack the gents neatly into brown paper. They now have two Nubian girls left who are sweet as pie (with another hopefully on the way) and of course milk and cheese to follow…

Lushious Little Spelt Carrot Loafs

Mmm these little carrot loafs are my take on the Rebar Carrot Cake Recipe, and of course carrot cake wouldn’t be complete with out creamy cream-cheese frosting.

Chedda’ Chive & Chili lock down

I confess. It’s true. I am guilty as charged! This recipe is neither healthy, nor easy, nor local (per say), nor is it allergen friendly. What it is however is kickin’ and cheesy and wrapped in gooey organic goodness. I found a recipe online somewhere for Apple Walnut Cinnamon roll cupcakes, and I made a version of these at work the other day, and while working with the dough I kinda fell in love with it’s silky elastic-y body. And so in another effort to make interesting lunch treats for my daughter I decided to make a savory take on the sweet buns.

This is defiantly more of a Sunday afternoon recipe than an after work ordeal. It takes time and love and a few cups of tea before you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but somehow when you get there it’s all worth it. 

Rock ‘n Veggie Rolls

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This is a real crowd pleaser, they look like way more effort than they are, and once you make them yourself, I am certain you won’t buy the “asian appetizer sampler” from M&M ever again!

Start by browning both sides of firm tofu slices about 1/4” thick you will need three of them, season with S+P and brown in a blend of canola oil and sesame oil, set aside to cool a little. Add to the hot pan: 1 jalenpeno diced, 2 garlic cloves minced, 2” ginger knob finely grated and 1/4 of a red onion finely minced. Get these guys all browning and then add: 3 julienne carrots (sliced finely lengthwise). Reduce heat.  You want the carrot to get just tender… not cooked through, about 1-2 minutes only. Add equal parts about 1-2 tbsp each: soy sauce, rice vinegar, sweet chili sauce, and just a splash of sesame oil and coat mixture evenly. Turn off the heat, but leave your pan on the element and add two big handfuls of bean sprouts, 3 green onions diced, and your browned tofu now sliced like the carrots. Mix everything together and place in a bowl. Add a little cilantro chopped and a small handful of fresh spinich finely chopped. Toss everything and set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate until your almost ready to serve the spring rolls. Before using strain the juices from your filling.

shitaki soba noodles * return of the mushrooms!

Ok, so maybe you are thinking.. again with the tofu and mushrooms? enough all ready.

But in all honesty this recipe is truly an amazing combination of flavors, and it takes about 12 minutes to make. I am sure you could easily add chicken and cashews instead of mushrooms and tofu and it would be just as wonderful.

In this recipe I used 3 of my favorite ingredients: Soba king rice noodles (the pumpkin flavored ones) SilverKing Tofu (firm) and fresh local mushrooms (I used shitaki tonight)

Chantrelles & Moma Cows

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The garden is finally frosting and getting ready for a long winters rest. I have lots of work to do to clean up the beds and do some due diligence work to keep spring couch grass at bay. The garlic is getting planted tomorrow in a deep dark bed of soil from my first Kootenay compost pile! Currently I am drowning in grapes so I am going to attempt a batch of grape juice tomorrow, I had hoped to dry some and make raisins except the grapes I am flush with right now are seeded and after removing seeds from a few I decided juice would be more fun to make.

While I write this I am drinking the most delicious cup of tea ever, made with creamy delicious milk from the glowing mommy cow you see above. It doesn’t get much closer to your local food source than a gift of fresh milk 😉

Last night I whipped up a small batch of yellow pickled beets, which are sure to be my last pickles of the year.I couldn’t resist buying 10 lbs from a no spray farm we visited in Chilliwak last week, they were $2 a bag! I really love the recipe I am using for pickling beets which includes vinegar, apple cider vinegar, honey and cinnamon sticks, yum!

Mia came home from school today with a lovely little selection of Chanterelle mushrooms, as her class did a mushroom walk with the same biologist who taught our excursion 2 weeks ago.  So I did an Asian inspired stir fry of Chanterelles with tofu and pumpkin seeds on a bed of brown basmati rice for dinner tonight that was pretty divine if I do say so. (recipe below)