} Carrot Top Pesto

Recently, I learned that carrot tops (or leaves, rather) are edible. Who knew! Well, obviously, I was left out in the dark on that one. lol!

And so I discovered that yummy fact on Cuisinette‘s blog, when she decided to do a pesto with it. OH MY! Had to try this asap! So a week later, I went to do the groceries, and to my surprise, there were carrots sold with the leaves as well (kind of a somewhat rare thing to see in regular grocery stores…), so I jumped on the occasion.

Once home, I washed them all up, cut the unleafy parts of the stems, and mixed that all up in the food processor with regular pesto ingredients: parmesan cheese, garlic, nuts (all I had were soya seeds, worked perfect!), lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper. Ah, and I also put in half of what was left of my parsley on the balcony. Autumn is just around the corner, after all, don’t wanna waste it! :)

Conclusion: it is DELICIOUS.

Plus, the green color won’t oxidize like the basil version, so if you like to take some pictures of your food like I do, it’s a winner!

Now, go try it. :P

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} Pimped Miso Soup

* Si vous préfèrez une version française, par ici!

Hum. It seems as if I can’t get away from sea creatures again (and again) this month for the food column… Oh well, live with it. lol! ;)

This is SUCH a quick and easy recipe idea, believe me. I’ve literally made this in 10 minutes (besides pictures). Miso (fermented soybean paste) is very versatile, for soups, but also for marinades and even salad dressings. The classic soup, as you might know, is composed of just water, miso, wakame (seaweeds) and tofu.

Delicious as is, but once in a while I like to make a pimped (aka “deluxe”) version. This is it! :)

Bring water to heat in a pot, and once hot, dissolve your miso in it. You can put in some soya sauce too, if you would like it saltier. Then, add your cubed shrimps and wakame, since they both need to cook a little. Cut a couple of dices of tomatoes and add (this will add some zing! to the overall taste).

Make a little puree out of your fresh ginger (as per your taste), with a fine grate. I find this method to be a more tasteful result in a soup than if it’s minced with a knife. Add a bit of freshly squeezed lime juice (I used a quarter of a lime for one person portion, but go by your preference).

Scoop out your sweet peas from their shell (and if you’re like me, try not to eat them as is meanwhile… lol), and cut your avocado in cubes. Yep, avocado. Agreed, it sounds like a weird ingredient in a soup, but try it! You might just agree with me that it’s great! :)

These two last ingredients are to be added at the end only, when your soup is ready, since they do not need to cook, they just need warming up. There you go! Add a couple of cilantro leaves to top it off once served!

Obviously, feel free to leave out some things or replace if you feel like it. Shrimp could be tofu or scallops (or even salmon?) instead, wakame could be ramen noodles, sweet peas could be thinly sliced mushrooms… Go creative (or just empty that fridge of left over veggies)! :)

Enjoy!

} Butternut & Tuna Casserole

* Si vous préfèrez une version française, par ici!

As per last time, this recipe has fish. You’ve guessed it, I’m not much of a meat eater. My everyday food intake is mostly composed of pretty much anything besides red flesh (at home, that is)… But don’t despair you carnivores! I am bound to cook the thing for you eventually! I think? lol ;)

This recipe can really easily be done without the fish, that said. I’ve done it many times as a veggie dish, too. Very delicious either way!

As for the rice, it can be skipped as well, for those of you avoiding carbs. A nice green salad on the side can be just as good instead.

Let’s get to it!

So, this is another simple recipe! Perhaps more an Autumn idea, but I personally eat squash any time of year.

Cut shallots (or onions) thinly and cook in a pan with a little bit of oil. Once tender, add the pumpkin seed (or pecans, love it for this too) so they’ll grill a little as well. Put aside.

Cut your butternut in small/medium size pieces (I sometimes add some cauliflower too, they go very well together), mix with a little oil, salt & pepper at taste. Spread on a plaque evenly, pop in the oven until cooked.

Meanwhile, grate your Oka cheese. M’k, so, this is a local Quebec cheese, which I love. It has a pretty strong flavor. Obviously, any melting cheese will do, but I suggest going for a flavorful cheese (and avoiding mild ones like mozzarella, for example). You can’t go wrong if it’s tasty! A good 3yr cheddar should do fine if nothing else comes to mind!

Once everything is cooked, gather all cooked ingredients in a casserole, add a can (or two) of tuna, more salt & pepper, mix it up! Add the cheese on top, and back in the oven at broil.

Add on top of rice. I used Calrose sushi rice, because I love it for everything and anything, but I have a feeling that it would be yummy (and pretty) over wild rice…

Aaaand serve! :)

} Salmon & Quinoa Croquettes

My friend (and CSS coder for this site!) Valérie of Rose Flash asked me if I was interested in doing a foodie blog post a month on her blog. Hell yeah I am! :) So, each month, I will be posting it en français over there, and in English here.

Please note that I rarely cook with quantities… Except for deserts obviously, but I rarely bake anyway (besides banana bread. Mmmm!). So the chances of getting precise units from me is very low… I cook by mostly instinct (and sometimes from a recipe research to know more about a basic idea , just like today’s croquettes!), and so I suggest you do it also! Pictures will help you with approximations, and I might drop a quantity or suggestion along the way. Alright, let’s do this! :)

And so… I tried to make salmon and quinoa croquettes, and even tho I’m kinda scared of hot oil in a kitchen, I got thru it pretty calmly. And it was quite delicious!

A few suggestions: I used half water/half broth to cook the (a little less than a cup of) quinoa: it adds flavor! I also suggest fresh herbs, altho if you don’t have any on hand, dried will work too. On the opposite thought, you can use freshly cooked salmon, but I used canned. Tuna could also work, or even chicken, if ever fish is not your thing!

Once you’ve rallied up all your ingredients, get your hands dirty and mix it up! Then, season with salt and pepper and adjust accordingly: add another egg or a little bit of water if it’s too dry, or a little more salmon or quinoa if it’s too wet. Cook a few minutes on each side in hot oil in deep pan, and let rest on paper towel a little after that!

To accompany the croquettes, I made a minced mint and plain yogourt sauce (added a little bit of maple sirup to sweeten everything). It was SO delicious on them crunchy bites!

Also, a little salad with veggies I had on hand (here is carrot, corn and green beans) was a perfect side dish, and so I added some of the sauce to it as vinaigrette.

That’s it! Enjoy! :)

} Spoon Fork Bacon

I love this blog called Spoon Fork Bacon. For it’s photographs (Woah! Gorgeous!) and also for the occasional animated gif’s, too.

And for the recipes of course. Altho I haven’t tried anything yet, all in all, most seem simple enough to be attainable by most people. Recipes are diversified, with a little bit of everything from appetizers to deserts.

And of course, a couple of recipes with bacon, like Salted Caramel and Candied Bacon Ice Cream. Oh yeah.

Nom nom nommmmm! :P