Chickpea, yam, and rice salad

Spring is in the air in the Rockies which makes me want to run outside and enjoy the sunshine! It also makes me want to grill meat and serve it with a yummy grainy salad. I'm sure that the recipe below is just a variation on others that I've posted but it was super good so I don't want to forget how to make this version.

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 cup Tru-roots quiona/rice blend 
1/2 large yam, diced into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup crumbled feta

1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the quiona/rice blend according to directions on package. Once the blend is cooked, turn off heat and add cranberries to the rice pot. Cover with lid and set aside for 10 mins.
2. While rice is cooking, boil a pot of water to cook the yams. Cook uncovered for approximately 10-15 mins or until fork tender.
3. In a large bowl, place chickpeas, rice/quiona blend, and cooked yams. Mix gently and set aside.
4. In a glass jar or bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, sugar, and spices together. Pour over the salad and toss to coat.
5. Add chopped pecans and crumbled feta to the salad - stir to combine.
6. Enjoy with some BBQ chicken and a cold mug of your favourite warm weather beverage!

Pork Souvlaki

I'm a little bit obsessed with pork tenderloin lately. Truth be told, I've actually been a huge fan for years but have been on a bit of a tenderloin buying spree these days as it's frequently on sale for $2.99/lb (or sometimes even as low as $2.49/lb!). When it gets to this price, I highly recommend buying as many as you can afford and have room for in your freezer.

I came up with this recipe after I made the pork burgers. The flavours are similar but the meat and meal construction are slightly different (but in a good way!). I would recommend marinating the meat for between 4-8 hours but I'm sure that the flavour would be decent enough if you only had 30 minutes to do the marinade. This is a weeknight supper for sure - it's on the table within 15 minutes of starting it.  Serve with cucumber slices and carrot sticks to round a quick and easy meal.

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp each dried oregano and basil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. After cutting your tenderloin into thin strips, place the meat into a ceramic or glass bowl.
2. Squeeze the juice from the 1/2 lemon over the meat. Add the olive oil and all other spices before tossing to coat.
3. Let meat marinate for 4-8 hours (or whatever amount of time you have).
4. Pre-heat the broiler to high and place the meat on a grill pan or in a cast-iron frying pan.
5. Cook under broiler for 3-4 minutes per side or until internal temperature of the meat has reached 150F.
6. Serve your soulvaki with toppings of your choice. I like pitas with hummus and tzatziki as well as sliced red onion, tomatoes, feta, and avocados. If you are gluten or grain free, you can use lettuce wraps instead of pita shells. Enjoy!

Larabars

I just realized that it's been a very long time since I have posted a shopping tip. I feel bad about this because I've been holding out on you about the amazing deal that you can get when you buy Larabars at Superstore - a box of sixteen costs only $16.00! I'm not all that good at math but even I know that this works out to $1/bar.

There are recipes abound on the internet about making your own Larabars but to be very honest, they all seem like too much effort to me. Plus, given the price of dates, almonds, cashews and coconut, I don't think that you can make your own for less than a $1/bar.

The selection is sometimes limited to just a few flavours and each box of sixteen is its own flavour (rather than the mixed packs that I understand you can buy at Costco). If you haven't tried Larabars yet, they are an awesome snack when you are doing the Whole30 and according to my hubby, they don't freeze when you take them out skiing in the backcountry. And therefore, this makes them very appealing to both of us!

Paleo pancakes

For reasons that aren't entirely clear to me, I'm back doing the Whole30 again. I have a love/hate relationship with this way of eating but at least I have two friends who are joining me this time and they can share in the pain! I started last Saturday and after experiencing some intense 'hanger' for the first few days, I have mostly settled into life without sugar, gluten, dairy, and legumes.

While this way of eating isn't easy, it is a great opportunity to try some new recipes. Lisa, Carrie and I have been busy swapping ideas and sharing recipe reviews. This is my version of the Paleo Pancake that the three of us have been eating most days. There are tons of variations on this (see below) but this is the incarnation that I like best. This recipe was adapted from the Lululemon blog post on Paleo Pancakes.

Ingredients:
1 Banana
1 egg
1 tbsp ground almonds
1/4 tsp vanilla
coconut oil for cooking

Directions:
1. Using a fork, mash the banana in a small bowl. Add vanilla and ground almonds to the banana.
2. Crack an egg into the bowl and stir with a fork until well combined. Set aside for 5 mins.
3. Heat coconut oil in frying fan for 3 minutes (you want the pan to be decently hot).
4. Pour pancake mixture into frying pan and turn heat down slightly. Top pancake with fresh or frozen blueberries and cook for 5-7 mins on one side.
5. Carefully flip pancake and cook for another 3-5 mins.
6. Enjoy with a topping of your choice (butter and maple syrup would be fabulous!) - I'm currently eating these pancakes without any toppings and they are darn good this way.

Makes 1 pancake.

Tips:
1. It takes awhile to cook these pancakes so don't rush them.
2. Carrie and Lisa are making these with one banana, two eggs, and no ground almonds. I personally find this to be too eggy but play around with the recipe until you get to your personal preference.
3. The blueberries are optional but I think they make these pancakes extra yummy!
4. The original recipe calls for shredded coconut but I've yet to try that version. Please try them at home and let me know what you think.

A new breakfast smoothie (plus a new kitchen tip!)

(image from http://www.rosybluhandmade.com)

I've yet to try this but this idea is floating around the internet and I'm keen to try it out. Have you ever tried it?

I'm currently obsessed with smoothies and make one for breakfast most days. This one is my new favourite as it often keeps me full until almost lunchtime. It's similar to the other smoothie that I used to drink but this version is better.

Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp almond butter
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 - 1 1/2 cups almond milk
1 scoop protein powder (optional)

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients together in your blender. Blend on high until smooth. Enjoy!

Pork burgers with feta and tzatziki

Remember when I posted that recipe for Paleo pork balls? Ever since that time, I've thought about making pork burgers with feta and topped with tzatziki. But, for whatever reason, I never got around to making them. And while I do love the pork balls, I've been getting a little bored of them lately as they are in frequent rotation on my 'busy working momma' menu plan. Boredom is the mother of invention in my kitchen and so, enter pork burgers with feta and tzatziki!

I had some idea about how I wanted the burgers to taste and a quick internet search gave me the rest of  the tips that I needed to make my recipe come to life. These burgers would be great if they were cooked on a BBQ but since mine is currently buried in snow, I fried them on the stove and finished them in the oven when they didn't seem to be cooked through in the middle.

I ate my burgers topped with tzatziki plus sliced tomato and cucumber. I've really cut back on the amount of wheat products that I eat and a big bun didn't seem like it would go well with this meal. However, I think that these burgers would be yummy inside pita pockets, thin burger buns, or even butter lettuce. They would also be good with some thinly sliced red onion but I was fresh out. C'est la vie!

Pork burgers with feta and tzatziki (Adapted from TasteofBBQ.com)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork

10 shakes Worchestershire sauce (approx. 2 tsp)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp ground garlic

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Instructions:

1. Place ground pork in a medium-sized bowl. Add all ingredients and mix together with pork. Only combined until just mixed. 

2. Use your hands to form pork mixture first into balls and then into patties. 

3. Make small indentation in the middle of the burger. 

4. If cooking on the stove top, heat pan over medium high heat. Cook patties until golden brown on each side but take care to not flip burgers too frequently. Burgers are cooked when they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. 

5. If using the BBQ, heat it to 400 degrees. Cook patties for approximately 5 mins per side or until cooked to 160 degrees.

6. Topped with tzatziki and serve with tomatoes, red onions, and/or cucumber slices. Enjoy!

Makes 4-5 patties

Baked halibut with pesto sauce

Hey there! Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've done a post...I guess that you could say that life's been a tad busy over these past five months...

We enjoyed the summer of 2013 as a family - Scott and I were both off on parental leave and we spent much of it on holidays. We were away from Canmore for weeks at a time. We visited family in Grande Prairie and on Vancouver Island plus enjoyed lots of camping, climbing, hiking, and mountain biking.

.

Sadly, we had to return to real life by mid-September as both of us needed to get back to work. Being a working momma with two kids has been both challenging and overwhelming at times but we are finally starting to settle into a routine. Scott's new business venture (Windtower Construction) has added a whole new level of busyness to our lives but we're managing. I look forward to a time when things settle down a little but I suspect that this is our new reality.

And since this blog is supposed to be more about food than my family life, I'm finally going to post a new recipe! Our fish order arrived at the end of October and again, I'm thrilled with both the quality and quantity of fish that we received for our $250. I only opted for one piece of halibut which we enjoyed this past Sunday. I searched the internet for a new halibut recipe and came up with the one posted below. It's been modified slightly from the Barefoot in the Kitchen website.

Baked halibut with Pesto Sauce

Ingredients: 

1 large pieces of Halibut (or 2 smaller pieces)
2 tablespoons flaked almonds
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 tbsp pesto
2 tbsp mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grind or chop almonds into medium-sized pieces using coffee mill or large knife.
3. Mix almonds, pesto, mayo, parmesan cheese plus salt and pepper in a small bowl.
4. Place halibut on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread pesto mixture evenly on top of halibut.
4. Bake in oven for 15-20 mins. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Enjoy!