All posts tagged: Healthy

Peach Picking: Summer’s Delightful Fruits & A Recipe Or Two

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Summer’s are just about the perfect time to head out to the Niagara region. While wine sipping and patio hopping are pretty much amongst fun activities to do, one of my favorite ways to spend time around this region is fruit picking. Fruit picking and vegetable farms are open through the summer across Ontario and are a great source of locally grown produce. We were out and about last weekend and whilst it was a scorching hot day here in Toronto, we arrived fairly early in the morning at The Parkway Orchards located in the Niagara region. As luck would have it, we did manage to pick some wonderful peaches that morning. They are located on 15000 Niagara Parkway on the way to Niagara on The Lake. Ideally it would be best to call them a day in advance to check on timings and availability of fruit for picking. The farm charges a small entry fee of $4 per head and a minimum $6 deposit per basket which is deducted from the fruit purchase. I …

Hello Summer

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Sometimes Simplicity Is The Ultimate Sophistication- Clare Boothe Luce Summer is the perfect time to pack in some fresh flavours and ingredients into your cooking. I love the flavours in these recipes as they are a great way to move over to lighter and brighter meals. It’s most certainly time for quick and easy cooking and these recipes here will get done in less than 30 minutes from start to table. Also a great way to use wonderful seasonal produce and locally grown vegetables and fruits. These recipes lend a sense of vibrancy to the palate and ignite one’s taste buds. From fresh Asparagus, Beets, Cilantro, Eggplants, Zucchini, Oyster Mushrooms and Watermelons, here are some of my absolute fav recipes that I often toss together. Now you could serve these up as sides or they work great as mains and appetizers too. Either way’s they make a meal complete. The roundup of recipes here celebrate summer and are primarily vegetarian , some vegan and mostly gluten free. They are easy to put together and accompany …

Quinoa Burgers

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Meatless Mondays just got even better with these ridiculously easy and delicious Quinoa Burgers. Yes I get it, I’m probably giving way too much importance to Quinoa of late. The fact is, I now substitute Quinoa for rice most often, and now hooked and a diehard Quinoa fan. As a result, I almost always have leftover Quinoa in the refrigerator and looking for creative ways of using it before it heads to the bin. Leftovers always make for interesting innovations in my kitchen and the Quinoa quite often gets turned into a spicy Curried Quinoa or Potato Quinoa Patties. The burgers worked out very flavourful and packed with clean  and wholesome ingredients. Last week I gave the Quinoa Burgers a try and they sure turned out great. Best part is they freeze well too for the weeks ahead when you need a vegetarian fix. Of late I seem to be going Vegan almost three to four times a week and quite enjoying it. Well, I do cook Meat and chicken for the family, however quite …

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread: Easy Spelt Loaf

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  The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight… Bread Making is one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world’s sweetest smells… there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel. that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.” M.F.K.Fisher, The Art Of Eating   And I couldn’t agree more.  I absolutely love bread making. For me the entire process is one of the most satisfying experiences in my kitchen. Right from kneading the dough (which I must admit I love doing with my hands) to knocking it down,letting it rest and baking it.Gentle bread aromas wafting through the house as I wait impatiently for my loaf to turn into that wonderful golden brown. A perfectly made loaf for me is a euphoric sense of accomplishment and gratification.Now it’s another story how antsy one gets …

Oven Grilled Chicken with Potatoes and Vegetables

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How’s the summer treating you? Kind and cool I hope….While I prefer the heat over cold wintry days any day, the summer month’s here in Mumbai have been sweltering hot.Perhaps most of you would agree that the last thing on one’s mind is cooking in the heat. Well the dear son is here on his holidays from Montreal and  yes I’ve been pampering him with his favourite meals.He often hear’s me complain about the heat and of course the eternal debate on what to cook for dinner!  I for one have been trying to simply meal times at home. At least the dinner’s. A couple of posts ago I wrote about focussing on easy and fuss free cooking ideas.This dinner idea is just that.A oven grilled boneless chicken accompanied with the starchy goodness of some Hasselback Potatoes and a healthful serving of  pan charred Zucchini and carrots. Well balanced,nutritious and gets done in just about 30 minutes.Yes that’s my new kitchen mantra.Well for the summer’s at least. So how’s that for an ultra quick and …