vegetables

(Cauliflower) Temaki: Fast and Easy Sushi Hand Rolls

 

Sushi, while delicious, can take a long time to make – not so great for a crowd or hungry family. Temaki, sushi hand rolls, is an easy and fast way to serve sushi. Temaki is especially suited to cauliflower sushi because they don’t need to hold themselves together, just roll up and eat!

Temaki: Easy Sushi for a Crowd

Slovak food is delicious but tends toward the heavy side: sausages, potatoes, various breads. It’s comfort food at it’s most cozy. (I recently started a Pinterest board of Slovak Food which is perfect as the weather cools, go join it now, or even better, just follow me on Pinterest!)

When I was pregnant with my first, I remember craving the Japanese comfort foods of my childhood, like miso soup, soba noodles, and sushi. I distinctly remember a night in January when all I wanted was watermelon and soba, but neither were to be found.

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Zucchini Pizza Frittata

This frittata is layered with zucchini, or courgettes, along with pizza like tastes – tomato, basil, oregano, and garlic. This dish is one of two ways my kids will eat zucchini, and it’s so simple to throw together.

Zucchini Pizza Frittata

My brother-in-law and his family have been put through the wringer this past year, and it looks like they may be starting the journey all over again. Last year, just after Easter, their five year old youngest son was diagnosed with leukemia. He was in the hospital for six straight weeks before he could come home to visit, my sister in law coming home for a visit once a week. Thus began over a year of hospital stays, chemotherapy, low immune system, and a host of other concerns. My nephew lost weight, lost his hair, but retained water due to the cortisone. They just finished the third intensive block of chemo, and are currently down to weekly checkups.

Cancer puts a strain on the whole family. The worries, the fears. Dad and four other children had to learn to get by without mom holding the fort together. There’s an overarching cloud of concern, running through all aspects of life.
But recently their next youngest son, 12, has been exhibiting some health problems. A couple check ups showed something wasn’t quite right, but it could be this or it could be that. His mom worried about cancer, but what are the chances, right? Well, it looks like he does have cancer, in the lymph system. They are currently doing tests to determine exactly what it is and how to proceed.

Bobette, my sister in law, said that she has been sustained by prayers these last few days. They would appreciate any prayers you could offer for them.

It’s sadly ironic. They live in Austria, the country that hates nuclear power, where everything is available as organic. Gaming is in the foothills of the Alps with clean air and pure water. She avoids plastic and cooks real food. Neither parent smokes, the kids play outside. No cell phones allowed. Why, why two kids with cancer??

Which got me thinking about one of the arguments against universal health care in the States, basically, “I don’t want to have to pay for slobs who don’t take care of themselves.” In other words, why should I, who takes care of myself, pay for the health problems of those who smoke/drink/do drugs/eat unhealthy food/are promiscuous/don’t exercise/etc. Click to continue reading

Bacon n’ Egg Salad with Probiotic Avocado Dressing

The classic combination of bacon and eggs combine to make a light summer meal salad. Topped off with an avocado dressing, it could be for breakfast or any other meal. The kids polished this off quickly!

Bacon n Eggs Chopped Salad with Probiotic Avocado Dressing

Is any woman, young or old, immune to a negative perception of their own body at some point? I exclude men, not because they don’t have issues with body image, but because I know little of their body-self relationship; not only have I not talked to many men about this subject, I’m inclined to think they speak less of it in general.

There is, of course, always the question of weight, but body image involves issues like uneven ears, large foreheads, or knobby knees. As a teenager I would have had nose surgery in a second, now the idea is abhorrent to me (although I am convinced it did grow before the rest of me).

But our views about ourselves are not always based on reality. For example, as a teen I always considered myself chubby, even though I was quite active in sports. I don’t really know if I was or not, to be honest, I haven’t looked at pictures from that age in an eon. I was rather laid back about it though and contented myself with dabbing fat off of pizza. Fortunately, I was never tempted to throw up or starve myself. After my first child, I could fit into a pair of shorts from high school and considered myself a skinny minny. Same size, different perspective.  Click to continue reading

Creamy Eggplant Chicken Zucchini Noodles (Dairy Free)

Eggplant, or aubergine, forms the creamy base for this dairy free pasta sauce but you’d never guess it! Paired with chicken and topped with zucchini noodles, or zoodles, this makes a filling and delicious meal.

Creamy Chicken Zucchini Noodle Sauce (Dairy Free)

Living with four children in an apartment, as is our current situation, is far from my ideal. I eagerly look forward to having a yard someday. There are, however, positives to most circumstances.

The other day I was in the kitchen and the shouts of children outside brought a smile to my face. It reminded me of the good ol’ days before technology, you know, the ones when kids walked barefoot to school uphill both ways after milking cows in the morning.  Click to continue reading

Fermented Radish Tops

Fermented Radish Tops

In honour of Mother’s Day on Sunday, I thought I’d take the opportunity to brag pay tribute to my own mother, particularly as pertains to my food philosophy and thus this blog.

Our childhood was a bit unusual; my sister recently described our Easter celebrations. Think Laura Ingalls Wilder – we were Little House in the Big Woods set the 20th century. Click to continue reading

Chocolate Sweet Potato Pie with Strawberry Gelée

Chocolate Sweet Potato Pie with Strawberry Gelée

I’m going to let you in on a little secret – I like chocolate, but I don’t DIE for chocolate. I would rather have fruit with cream. Having said that, I did eat a large number of homemade dark chocolate clusters this weekend.

Dark chocolate is much better; milk chocolate is too sweet and tastes like wax. (Them’s fightin’ words 🙂 ) Click to continue reading

Asian Cucumber and Radish Salad with Wasabi

Asian Cucumber and Radish Salad

As the weather turns to spring and gets warmer, I start making more salads.

One of my favourites is this simple salad with cucumber and radish – it’s light, crispy, and ridiculously easy to put together. After I made this yesterday, my girls were asking me to make it again today. Click to continue reading

Our Family Favourite Ferment: Cauliflower

Our Family Favourite Ferment: Cauliflower
I realize that I have a proportionately high number of recipes with cauliflower, like Garlicky Cauliflower Medallions and Bibimbap. In those recipes cauliflower is a substitute (flour, rice); in this recipe, cauliflower shines as itself. Click to continue reading

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