Hummus is a fantastic potluck bring-along, great for picnics and BBQs, an easy weekday lunch, and a super party appetizer served with rice crackers or baked pita crisps and lots of colourful veggies. It is also ridiculously easy to make. I’m talking two-steps easy (1. ingredients go in food processor 2. Press “go”). Creamy and nutty, with a kick from the garlic and lemon juice, it is a delicious staple of middle eastern cuisine.

It also happens to be virtuous… lots of fibre, protein and healthy fats.

Hummus is a staple in my summertime lunch and snack rotation, usually accompanied by crisp, refreshing veggies like cucumber, celery and red pepper. It is filling but not heavy. Perfect beach food.

Speaking of beach food, last weekend marked the arrival of sunshine and with it, the first major flocking to the beach. It also happened to coincide with my sprained ankle. Sadness. But I was determined.

If you have never seen what getting undressed at the beach with a sprained ankle looks like, let me paint you a picture. Continue Reading »

Beans! Beans! The musical fruit! The more you eat, the more you…

Nevermind. Let me start over.

Clears throat, musters up some maturity.

I had every intention of whipping up something romantic and indulgent – probably warm and chocolately with a pillow of softly whipped cream – to share with you. Then I got a cold, and have stayed firmly planted on the sofa, under a mountain of kleenex and a snoring dog for two days. This is why, two days before Valentine’s day, I am offering you what could contend for the least romantic dish ever, given the potential for… erm… musical… repercussions. Not appropriate for first dates.

That being said, Boston baked beans are one of my most favourite meals in the world. Made with a piece of rich salt pork, lots of molasses, tomatoes and mustard, the beans are slowly cooked to perfection over the course of an entire afternoon. They should absolutely be served with thick slices of oatmeal brown bread to mop up the sweet, smokey sauce. Delicious. But unless you are very familiar and comfortable with your dining companions, you should probably make solo evening plans or at least sit at opposite ends of a long sofa and practice feigned deafness when appropriate. Continue Reading »

You can always tell my favourite recipes in a book by how dirty and beat up a page is. My Aunt, who is a big time foodie and cookbook devourer like yours truly, loves to flip through my embarrassingly bountiful collection of food magazines – stopping here and there asking “what did you cook from this page?”. She laughs and points to the tomato sauce stain, or the flour embedded in the crack when I ask “how did you know I made something from that page?”.

This particular recipe is so well loved that it has become barely legible from it’s dwelling in Vij’s cookbook, Elegant & Inspired Indian Cuisine. Vikram Vij is a something of a legend in this neck of the woods – he is the chef at a self-named Indian restaurant, which has a huge following in Vancouver. His dishes use authentic Indian techniques and ingredients to create an exciting, original take on the cuisine. Absolutely everything I have made from his cookbook has been exceptional. My only minor criticism is sometimes the recipe calls for too much salt – my advice is always to taste your food as you cook and season adequately. You can add more salt, but you’ll sure have a hard time taking it away! Continue Reading »