1 cup quinoa (2 cups cooked), cooked as per package instructions (in chicken or vegetable stock) and cooled
2 cups of frozen sweet corn, blanched in hot water
500 ml can of black beans , rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
For the Dressing:
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 a lemon, or a tbsp of bottled lemon juice
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp of ground cumin
Salt and Black Pepper
Instructions:
Combine all dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add the jalapeno, red onion, green onion, cilantro and let sit while quinoa cooks and cools. Cook the quinoa in chicken or vegetable stock as per the package instructions, and when it is ready cool it by either placing the pot in cold water and frequently string and changing the water out until cool. Another option would be to make extra the day before to have leftovers to make salads like this one, rice or other grain like barley or millet could be used instead of quinoa. Mix all reaming ingredients in the bowl to distribute the dressing evenly throughout the salad.
This salad is best if left to mingle in the fridge overnight, but it’s great right away also. Enjoy!
On warm summer evenings soup may not be the first thing that comes to mind to make for dinner. But this chicken vegetable soup is light, tasty and will actually help cool you down and re-hydrate you after spending a day in the sun. Hot liquids actually work to help your body naturally kick into high gear and start sweating, which helps to lower your body temperature. Cool liquids actually do the opposite and make your body work hard to warm your core back to normal, making you feel hotter than before consuming the cool beverage.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp red chili flakes
3 ribs of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 cup of frozen or fresh corn
2 cups of cooked chicken, leftover from a whole roasted bird
1 litre of home made chicken stock
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp soy sauce
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about five minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic and chili flakes, for about ten seconds. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for about five more minutes, continuing to stir frequently. Add the cooked chicken, stock, Italian seasoning and soy sauce, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes before serving.
Black bean and Corn Salad with Jalapeno Honey Lime Vinaigrette
3 tbsp liquid honey
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and core removed, finely diced
1/2 white onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves, lightly chopped
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 can of black beans rinsed and drained
2 cups of peaches and cream corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 a red pepper, finely diced
1/2 a zucchini, finely diced
In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, lime juice, cider vinegar, salt, pepper and cumin. Stir in the onion, garlic and jalapeno pepper and let sit for ten minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. This will allow the strong nature of these ingredients to mellow out and infuse the dressing with their flavors. Add the olive oil and cilantro before stirring in the beans, corn, red pepper, and zucchini to the salad. Cover and refrigerate for two to four hours, or overnight for best results.
1/2 cup of sugar, honey would be a welcome replacement
5 cups of water
1 cup of ice
1/2 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed (from a plastic lemon is fine)
Bring five cups of water to the boil. In a litre sized heat proof measuring cup (Pyrex ect.), steep the tea and rosemary sprig in four cups of the boiling water for eight minutes. With the remaining boiling water add a 1/2 cup of sugar and dissolve. Once the tea and rosemary have done their work, remove from the liquid being sure to NOT to squeeze the bags of tea to ensure the tea remains crystal clear. Combine the sugar syrup, lemon juice with the tea mixture into a serving pitcher once both have cooled significantly and top up with the ice. You can serve this immediately into glasses filled with ice, or refrigerate until needed. This iced tea is made to withstand the melting ice so use your discretion in adjusting the water level in the recipe. If you don’t like ice, dilute this tea with cold water to your taste!
Having spent nearly a year in Ottawa, I’ve come to really appreciate the mild west coast weather. The weather here comes in intense spells which really messes with my sanity. The bright side of hot summer weather is having the Byward Market full of its delicious bounty. As I’m fully aware, it won’t last forever, the summer is sneaking away from us slowly and the fruits will fade from the market stands. So in light of my pessimism I’ve decided to prepare myself for the sobering realities that are dark frigid winter mornings. I’ve always been interested in canning and preserving, I just haven’t had the time to try my hand at the process. So after I made the last batch of refrigerator jam and tasting the intense flavor of summer in it, I had to get myself in gear. This weekend is the last weekend for prime strawberries in Ottawa, so I purchased 12 pints and made jam.
Strawberry-Vanilla-Lime Jam
Although the vanilla and lime are subtle, they add a little bit of je ne sais quoi to the final product. Hopefully the summer sunshine will shine on me when I open it up in dark days of Winter.
12 pints of Strawberries – 12 cups – washed, hulled and sliced
2 1/2 cups sugar
70 ml lime juice
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 pack of No Sugar Needed Pectin
Start by sterilizing your jars and equipment. I produced eight 250 ml wide mouth jars of jam with this recipe. I’m not going to go over all the nitty-gritty details on how you should go about canning. There are plenty of good websites that can help you out with the process which I will provide at the end of this post.
In a heavy bottom, non reactive pot, mash you strawberries one layer at a time, until all strawberries are mashed. You can determine how chunky you’d like your jam. With a wooden spoon, stir in half a cup of sugar, the pectin, vanilla and lime juice. Turn the heat on high and bring to a rapid boil, until you cannot stir the liquid down. Add the rest of the sugar and continue to stir for three minutes. Turn off the heat remove from the stove, skim off the foam and let rest for five minutes. This step will help the jam set so that the fruit does not float to the top of your jars, it is a purely aesthetic step. Using sanitized jars, funnel and measuring cup, measure the jam into jars leaving 1/4 inch of head room at the top of each jar to allow the processing step to create a vacuum inside the jar. Place the sanitized lids on top of each jar, screw the bands on finger-tip tight and process the jars using the water bath method, with one inch of water covering the jars for 10 minutes(from the time the water begins to boil). Remove processed jars to a wire rack and let cool on the counter for 24 hours. Test the seals to make sure they have created a vacuum by pressing down on the indented lid to make sure it does not pop back (remember the Snapple lids? If it makes that sound put that jar in the refrigerator and use it within three weeks.)
Got it? Easy as pie… You could probably put some of this delicious jam in pie if you want. Or on Ice Cream, in crepes, on toast… or use a spoon and manger!
Now that I’ve got the process down, I’m excited to try some different varieties.
What is your favourite way to use jam? What kinds do you like?
4 cups chopped and slightly mashed strawberries
1 1/2 cups of Sugar
50 ml fresh lime juice
Add sugar to strawberries in a large pot and let macerate for one hour to release the juices. Add the lime juice and bring the mixture to a full boil, stir constantly, until it reaches 220 degrees F. Pour jam into sterile containers, I used a 1 litre jar, and let it cool covered on the counter. Refrigerate for up to three weeks; although I doubt it will last that long!
Next time I make jam I will process it for storage, I just wanted to try a quick jam that can be made in a small batch for immediate consumption.
