Sunday Cooking Marathon

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  The weather sure has changed in this neck of the woods.  Bye bye summer, hello Fall.  I do love the fall for it’s crisp morning air and all of the changing colors. I especially love the morning dog walks on days like these:

 It also means the start of pumpkin time and I love anything pumpkin, especially pumpkin pie. 

I made some pumpkin tarts with my class this year right before the Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday.  The kids were so stoked…they each got to take home 4 tarts…some didn’t quite make it home as they ate some before going home.  (And I didn’t take any pics…woops).

This week I also stepped up my fitness regime to another level.  I joined a local gym and signed up for 1 month of unlimited Crossfit.  For those who may not be familiar with Crossfit, the definition is as follows: 

Constantly varied, functional movements at high intensity. 

I did a bit of Crossfit over the summer while visiting family in Vancouver and was hooked from day 1, but this was the first week back at it since coming home.  Crossfit is relatively new in my city..and I am so happy that the gym is offering it.  My goal is to get in the best shape of my life, to tone down, get strong and leaner and I know that this is the way for me to get there.  I can’t wait to explore the next part of my fitness journey and see where it takes me. 

Now the title of this post is “Sunday Cooking Marathon”.  That’s right.  I spent about 3 hours today cooking meals for the week.  I am limited in time during the week and sometimes my nutrition lacks when I don’t have the time I’d like to cook the meals I’d like during the week.  So my trainer gave the a tip:  spend a few hours on Sunday cooking your meals for the week.  They are easy to freeze and heat up in the microwave or stovetop during the week.  How smart is she?  Thanks Kaiya!

After figuring out the final details to my meal plan for the upcoming week, I took off to the store to grab the necessities.  And I even found something for the dog today, which he loved instantly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I sit here typing this, my house is beginning to smell of chocolate goodness from the yummy no-grain cocoa granola.  So what is on the menu this week?  Voila!  Take a look and let me know what you think   I think this week is going to rock.

  No-oat Cocoa Granola

Cauliflower Rice for Tuesday’s Salmon dinner (this is a previous pic)

Bacon Mushroom Mooseloaf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paleo friendly Pumpkin Pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Thai Beef and Noodle Soup

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Back soon with more goodies

Bea

Trout and a movie

I promised you my trout recipe, and promises I keep.  I decided to relive my childhood and cook the trout the way my dad used to make it for me when I was younger and we caught trout while camping.  I think it’s been about 7 years since I caught myself a trout that size, so it was going to be another cooking adventure.

But first, my lunch… I still have a bunch of smoked salmon in the fridge and will for another couple of days, so I thought I’d make myself a very simple lunch.

A couple of Rye Wasa crackers, baby carrots, a blob of herbed goat’s cheese and lots of salmon.

A bowl of cantaloupe…probably one of my favourite fruits if it’s ripe.

A small bowl of the Liberté Non-fat plain Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of pure maple syrup. 

And a cup of coffee sweetened with a tad of Agave Syrup and a splash of non-fat milk…in one of my favourite mugs too.  One of my students gave me this for Christmas last year.

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As for the trout…. I stuffed it with some herbed butter, onions, garlic and salt and pepper.  Then I packed him up in the tin foil and placed it on the BBQ over Indirect Heat.  My BBQ has 4 burners, and so I turned two of the burners on medium low heat.  I’d say it took about 20 minutes before the meat was falling off the bones and I could peal away the skin.

For some reason, this reminds me of a cartoon cat that feasted on a fish.  I just pulled the backbone right off the trout and it came off this clean… a great sign that it was done.

While the trout was cooking away, I prepared a quick stir-fry of onions, garlic, red pepper and baby carrots.  Shortly before serving, I added a sprinkle of Cane sugar to caramelize it slightly.  I also made some mashed baby potatoes. 

And voila..my dinner.  I wasn’t able to finish it all, so it was perfect for my lunch the next day.

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Horrible Bosses

We went to go see Horrible Bosses last night.  And I have to say it was pretty good.  It’s basically about 3 friends who have horrible bosses and they conspire to kill them so that their lives are much better.  And yes, their bosses truly are horrible.  The actors were funny:  Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jason Bateman, Donald Sutherland, to name a few.   We laughed for almost the entire movie.   The movie is about 100minutes long.  A good length for a movie. 

 

That’s it for me. I’m off to buy my groceries for the week and pick up cat and dog food.  Back again soon I hope.

Bea

xoxo

Spinach Salad ‘à la smoked salmon’

Thanks to my recent new adventures in hot smoking salmon, I am trying to get inspired with new recipes.  Of course, I really enjoy smoked salmon on it’s own as a snack, or crumbled on a rye cracker with a light cream cheese.

I created this salad for lunch the other day and used some of the fresh smoked salmon that came right off the smoker….hmmmmm… as I type this, everything around me smells of smoked hickory goodness.  This salad is great because not only will you be getting loads of iron, but it’s also a great source of lean protein, healthy fats and veggies.

Aren’t those some pretty colors?

In my salad went……..

• 2 cups of baby organic spinach
• 1/2 apple
• 6 baby carrots
• 1 celeri stick
• 1/2 cup corn
• as much or as little smoked salmon
• fresh dill
• dressing:  1 Tbsp Balsamic Vineger + 2 tsp maple syrup

Drizzle the dressing over the salad and chow down!

I was planning on eating outside when I took this picture.  As you can see, the sun is shining, but the wind is also blowing.  Living by the water makes things a little chilly at times. 

Hope everyone’s day is going well.

What is your favourite way of eating smoked salmon?  Anybody have any inspiration to send my way?

I am going to be freezing a lot of the salmon, but I also want to eat some of it fresh while I can. 

Back soon.  Take care.

Bea

xoxo

Creamy Dill with Salmon and Orzo

Here’s a great recipe that’s a breeze to put together in a snap.  It’s relatively low in fat and Dairy-Free.  You can make this one Gluten-Free if you sub the orzo for a GF pasta or even some good brown and wild rice. 

So I kept aside some of the fresh sockeye salmon that I was smoking, enough to make this great dish.  I didn’t take pictures in the process either.

Ingredients: 

• olive oil
• 1 minced garlic
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• handful of fresh spinach, chopped
• as much or as little Dill as you like ( I added about a handful)
• some fresh salmon
• splash of skim milk (maybe 1/2 cup or so) – sub for a dairy-free milk variety
• 2 tsp of GF flour, such as sorghum or rice
• pinch of salt and pepper
• splash of Worstershire Sauce
• 1/2 cup cooked orzo

Procedure:

Over medium heat, heat oil and sauté the mushrooms and pepper until translucent.  Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir until slightly browned.  Add the milk and mix so avoid clumps.  As it boils, the sauce will thicken.  I can’t exactly remember how much I added, but if the 1/2 cup is too little, add more.

Next add the minced garlic and spinach, as well as the salmon.  I sliced my salmon into strips and this will cook very fast.  Also add your dill, salt and pepper and worstershire sauce.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until your salmon is cooked through.

Drain your orzo and serve the sauce over the orzo.  And ladies and gentlemen, here is the Creamy Dill with Salmon and Orzo.

Bon Appetite !

Have a great weekend everyone.

Bea

xoxo

Some yummy eats

It seems like the month of May is just flying by.  And just under 6 weeks to go before the 2010-2011 school year comes to an end.  I’m looking forward to the summer…spending my days at the beach, biking, hiking, sleeping in, camping and of course lots of walks with the dog.  Until then though, it’s crunch time… track and field, field trips, report cards…ahh..it never ends. 

And what about those Canucks?  I can’t believe we are still in it.  If you haven’t been following the hockey playoffs, our team has made it to the Western Conference Finals.  It’s Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks… and we won game #1.  Only 3 more to go…   I predict Canucks to win this series in 6 games.  One can only hope, right?

On to food.  Not too much description, so I will just show the pictures.  I have been so so busy these days that sadly I did not have the time to be taking pictures during the cooking process.  Plus the camera is out of batteries, so I’ve been pulling out the blackberry to do the job. 

Hope everyone is having a great start to their spring.  Enjoy

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I have made this one before…my Cream of Parsnip Soup with a drizzle of White Truffle oil.  Not on picture is a couple of slices of Toasted Rosemary Baguette and some Earth Balance Butter.

Moose Burgers with brie cheese, truffle drizzled grilled asparagus and fire-roasted bell pepper.

Yummy Turkey Burgers with melted Brie Cheese, spinach, sautéed onions and mushrooms and apple…and of course tender grilled asparagus.

Made on the BBQ…. spinach, a couple slices of Hornby Island Red Pepper Vegetarian Paté, an egg and some brie cheese.  This paté stuff is awesome…it’s vegan, soy-free and dairy-free. 

My power went out the other night, so I made this meal entirely on my BBQ.  In the veggie mix are onions, garlic, orange pepper, red baby potatoes and brussel sprouts.  The salmon fillet was marinated with the West Coast Salmon Rub from the lady behind the Metropolitan Chef.  I highly recommend you pick up some of their rubs.. I've tried most and they are all amazing.

I BBQ some Pork Tenderloin and served it with leftover veggies from the Salmon meal. 

Hope you enjoyed the show…be back soon I hope

Love Bea

xoxo

No excuses

So I really have no excuses for not posting more frequently.  So much going on, I lose track of time and then it’s off to bed.  I will try to get better, so please bare with me.  So for this post, I’ll try to not bore you too much… how about a quick recap of what’s new and the food I’ve eaten.

Food pics first…..

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Chicken tomato bake

First I cooked some boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Then in a casserole dish, layer together:  chicken thighs, onions, spinach, garlic.  Then I added a jar of tomato sauce.  Top off with some grated cheese and stick in a 350F oven for about 35 minutes.  Serve with whole-grain pasta or rice.

Turkey 6 bean spaghetti

Another quick and easy weekday meal.  In a large pot, sauté onions, garlic and carrots.  Then golden in color, add ground turkey.  Cook until no longer pink.  Add a can of beans of your choice (I used a 6 bean mix), a can of diced tomatoes and a jar of tomato sauce (about 475mL).  Cook for about 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened a bit. 

Asian-inspired Stirfry

Slice thinly some pork tenderloin.  In a wok, sauté the pork with 2 Tbsp  green curry and some grated ginger.  Then add stir-fry veggies of your choice.  I used baby bok choy, broccoli, red peppers and mushrooms.  After about 5 minutes, add some fish sauce, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, worstershire sauce and reduced sodium chicken broth.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes.  Then add your pre-soaked rice noodles and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.  Sprinkle with some peanuts before serving.

BBQ Salmon with Mushroom Risotto and garlic veggies

I used my BBQ for the first time this spring to whip up this awesome goodness.  For the salmon, I made a rub of brown sugar, dill, cumin, salt and pepper.  I mixed the rub a bit with some olive oil and then basted the salmon fillet.  It took about 15 minutes on the BBQ, skin side down over low heat.  (The skin was burnt, but the salmon juicy and nice and firm). 

For the Risotto…it actually contains mushrooms, but they were underneath, so you can’t see them.  I added saffron to my risotto to make it nice and yellow. 

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And some other stuff…..

1. I had a follow up appointment with my doctor a little while back and found out I am pretty anaemic, even after taking an iron supplement every day. I eat a lot of iron-rich foods too, so this is a mystery to me and my doctor.  I’m tired of always feeling easily exhausted.  So I was given several referrals, one of which was for a surgeon.  I had an appointment last week and he’s scheduled me for a colonoscopy and gastroscopy.  Not fun, but I do want to get to the bottom of this anaemia.
2. I’ve been training for my 8km adventure relay race. It’s less than 2 weeks away now…May 1st is the big day…eek   I just got the trail route today and am hoping to be able to run/walk it next week to familiarize myself with the route before the event.
3. I won a free week of bootcamp and loved it, so I joined for month.  This is now the second week and I can already feel it.  After the first week, I could barely sit down on the toilet or walk the stairs as my legs were shot.  It hurt to sneeze too… we worked out abs.  Classes are Mon/Wed/Fri.
4. I went to a concert Friday night…. Fefe Dobson came to town and put on an awesome concert. 

Hope everyone is having a great start to their spring.  I’m really looking forward to seeing more sunshine and warmer weather soon. 

With love

Beaglebea

xoxo

Spring Break Part 1

Happy Hump Day everyone.  I can’t believe that it’s already Wednesday late afternoon.  Boy does time fly when you’re having fun.  I just got in a little while ago from spending my day in the Big City… Vancouver, that is.  And it was a pretty good day.  I was looking forward to going since I got to my parent’s house….more on that shortly

So here is a nice recap of my last couple of days……

Monday

I decided to go for a run today.  My grandparents live about 4.5km from my parents, so it’s the perfect distance for a nice jog.  Plus it gave Buster a chance to get in a run too..unfortunately it was raining when I woke up, but a little bit of rain did not deter me from getting out.  It took me about 40 minutes to jog the distance..way slower than I wanted as I have a race to attend in May.  But I also realised that I should probably take it easy since I need my legs and muscles to be in excellent form for my NLS (Lifeguarding) exam Thursday and Sunday. 

By the time I got back home after visiting with my grandparents and helping them with some stuff around their house, it was time to prepare for dinner.  My dad grilled up some salmon and I made a batch of my Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Rice Balls.  The last time I made these, they split in the oven and all the cheese started oozing out.  So this time I pan fried them first and then finished them in the oven.  I also didn’t stuff them quite as much.  And this did the trick…they were perfect.  I also added Saffron to the rice this time. 

Tuesday

This morning my mom and I had to take the puppy to the vet for her next set of shots.  She did really well and was not scared to go.  After we dropped her off at home again, we went out to run some errands and pick up a few things at the stores. I bought these items:

And I helped my mom pick out a brand new Food Processor.  I really like mine, so she got the same one. We convinced the sales clerk to price match since this exact same model was $60 cheaper at Wal-Mart.  But we left the store happy, so all was good. 

I always get excited and cannot wait to try out new appliances when they come home, so can you guess the first thing I made with it?  I’ll give you a hint…they are small, round, raw, yummy..and contain chocolate  

I also came up with a new recipe…. Hot Smoked Salmon and Artichoke Dip.  I remember eating this type of dish at a restaurant in the summertime and it was super delicious.  My parents are going to have company over Saturday night for dinner and were looking for an appetizer to serve, so this is why I thought this dip may be a good idea….and we had to try it out before serving it…hehee…another reason to pull out the new KitchenAid machine   Recipe to follow….

Hope everyone is having a great day.  Gotta run to write another post…next up my Vancouver adventures.

With love,

Bea

xoxo