Tag Archives | black pepper

Fresh Chimichurri Sauce with Avocado Wedges

I am in the land of avocados, grapefruit and sunburns. I don’t even remember what rain feels like and we have been eating the freshest, most delicious produce and absolutely nothing that is reminiscent of our long chilly winter. Our little one felt weather-induced sweat for the first time (infant sweaty hair is the cutest) and the palm trees are waving to us like ‘welcome, we didn’t think you were going to make it this year!’ we weren’t sure either but we did, and does it ever feel good!

Whenever we have a kitchen on a vacation, I try to shoot a blog while we’re there because I find more culinary inspiration on vacation than any other time. So, I literally shot this yesterday while my little slept on her Dad and then we enjoyed it with some fresh grapefruit and then again for dinner drizzled on more avocados with some tomatoes, greens and roasted asparagus. Vacation should always taste this good.

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Roasted Chickpea & Eggplant Tabouli

The other day I put my 8 week old in her carrier in the hopes of shooting this salad. I had it all planned out, she got in, she fell asleep, everything was perfect until I then just walked around my apartment, kissing her head, taking pictures to send my husband (I know. she has her own drop box account…). Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and by the time I got it together she had woken up again and wanted to party. So we did.

Enter my Mother-in-law. She was visiting and wanted nothing more than uninterrupted playtime with her new granddaughter. This blog post (and our lunch) would not have happened without her.

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Roasted Whole Eggplant with Tahini Sauce & Fresh Herbs

Roasted Whole Eggplant with Tahini and Fresh Herbs

I’m a tiny bit Lebanese, (the part that decided my taste buds and arm hair), which is why I think I am so drawn to the flavours of the Middle East. When I am out, I always order the eggplant. It is sometimes overcooked and often a greasy disaster, but when it is right, it is like magic. And unless I’m with my sisters, I usually don’t have to share :)

Roasted Whole Eggplant with Tahini and Fresh Herbs

I also pay attention when I see people making recipes with eggplant that don’t involve deep frying (why is it always deep fried?). These dishes often fall into the Middle Eastern category, an area of the world that knows how to love and respect their eggplant.

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Portobello Mushroom Curry with Fresh Beet & Daikon

Portobello Mushroom Curry

This recipe is based on a legendary dish from one of my favourite places in Vancouver.

Vikram Vij and his wife, Chef Meeru Dhalwala, have a sidekick restaurant to their hugely popular Indian meets the Pacific Northwest restaurant ‘Vij’s’ (a giant lineup away from an exotic and comforting good time). It’s called ‘Rangoli’.

Portobello Mushroom Curry

Every Sunday night, Vikram and Meeru used to come into a French restaurant where I used to work, and request a vegetarian menu. It just happened to be that Sundays were the nights that only the women in the kitchen were working (we used to joke that it was Lileth Fair night). We loved the challenge of putting together something special for them with the ingredients that we had each week, and it became something we looked forward to.

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