recipe #22 - Spicy Peanut Coconut Broccoli Soup

My goal for January was to eat more vegetables and eat less carbs. This meant lots of cauliflower rice and soups. At one point I had 4 different kinds of soup in my freezer. This soup I'm posting about came to me when I realized I had to do something with my leftover coconut milk, spicy peanut sauce and broccoli that was about to go bad.  Thus I decided to mix it all up and was delighted by what I ended up creating.

Spicy Peanut Coconut Broccoli Soup *sorry again for the instagram shot*

Ingredients:

-1 box of vegetable stock
-1 onion; diced
-2 cans of white beans
-1 head of broccoli; stems included
-1 tbsp olive oil
-3 or 4 cloves garlic; minced
-1/2 can coconut milk; half of this was already mixed into a peanut sauce
-1 or 2 tbsp peanut butter; to taste
-1 tbsp sriracha
-1/2 tsp ginger; minced
-1 tsp sesame oil

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat, add onions, broccoli and garlic until onions are soften.
2. Add vegetable stock and beans. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes covered until broccoli is cooked. Mix together in a separate bowl, coconut milk, peanut butter, sriracha, ginger and sesame oil.
3. Remove from heat, stir in coconut milk mixture, and then use an immersion blender until well blended.

Enjoy!

-mjb

Goodbye 2012 - Hello 2013

Another year is done and I'm maybe a bit wiser.  I think I'm beginning to understand myself a bit more, accept myself the way that I am and be alright with that.

I am excited for 2013 to start because I feel luck has begun to change. I'm making 2013 a traveling year and so far I'm pretty sure I will go to New York City and spend a night in Montreal in a five start hotel which I'm stoked about. 

For this blog I am hoping to post more. I have a few blog ideas kicking around this old brain of mine. The first one will be about a 3 week meal plan that I'm starting Jan 2nd. I have enjoyed this holiday season with all the wonderful meals (check out my instagram for proof), but it's time to get back to basics.

I'm going to be eating low carbs and increase my vegetable intake. My freezer has already been prepped with 3 different kinds of soup and enough cauliflower rice to last for the month. I'm going to try to incorporate a bit of a Freezer, Fridge & Pantry challenge into this. I literally have 8 cans of chickpeas in my pantry.

see you in 2013

-mjb

30 Things before I turn 30 - recap

So it's official as of 10:05 I am now thirty years old here is my recap of my 30 day challenge to myself.

30 Flirty and Thriving

1. Build a snowman - We only got one snowfall and I attempted to make one, it fell apart, so it wasn't for lack of trying
2. Order a drink I've never tried - perhaps an old fashioned - I have yet to do this
3. Complete another Freezer, Fridge & Pantry Challenge - I failed on this one
4. Blog a recipe completely from scratch (I have two in my head I've been wanting to test out for awhile) - why hello there!
5. Complete a project off of my craft diy pinterest board I did this one!
6. Order a croque monsieur (I've always wanted to try this sandwich and have never ordered it) To be honest it was a 'faux croque monsieur' but it was the same ingredients
7. Have my second standard driving lesson from my dad - He was away up until the last few days so I consider this not my fault
8. Record a song; Sabotage by the Beastie Boys - totally my fault!
9. Take a full roll of film whether it be with  my 35mm or my 2 1/4 - fail
10. Clean up my balcony
11. Wear something from my closet that has not been worn before
12. Bring a bag to the Salvation Army
13. Watch a classic movie that you have never seen before
14. Do something out of your comfort zone
15. Go watch the sunset down by the river
16. Go to a Target (in full disclosure I'm going to the States next weekend on a shopping trip so this one is pretty much going to happen, but I have always wanted to go)
17. Go somewhere you never have been (not counting the States trip)
18. Get some of the clutter out of my apartment (kind of the same as 12, but I already do have a bag ready to go)
19.  Have pancakes for dinner - Did this on monday!
20. Go back to Sidedoor for fish tacos (I have literally been craving them since August) BAM did this yesterday for a friends birthday
21. Have a super nintendo afternoon
22. Finish all the Breaking Bad on Netflix - OMG the end of season 4
23. Brown Bag it to work for at least two weeks if not the full 4 weeks
24. Watch one of my dvds I've never watched (I have at least 5 I've never seen if not more) - I've had the classic Rudolph on dvd for years and I finally cracked it open
25. Sign up for a Starbucks card and start working my way to a gold card - I've made it to my green card
26. Make a recipe out of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook that I haven't made yet (it's one of my favourite cookbooks) - total fail
27. Eat more quinoa, hemp seeds and chia seeds
28. Finish all the frozen fish in your freezer - fail
29. Eat vegetarian 2 nights a week
30. Cut down on soda

I think I did a pretty good job at accomplishing most of my personal challenge.

-mjb
 

recipe #21 - Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

I'm a little over half way through my 30 things before I turn 30 challenge and while I've completed 10 off my list. I now bring you number 4; a recipe from scratch.  This recipe has been in my head for a few months and I finally decided to make it.

Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Quesadillas witih Lime Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:

Quesadilla:
 -1 cooked sweet potato; mashed
-1 can of black beans; drained
-1 package of goat cheese; mine was PC's and 140g
-1 package of tortillas; I used whole wheat because I couldn't find authentic corn ones
-1 tbsp cumin
-1 tsp olive oil

Yogurt Sauce:
-1/4 cup yogurt
-1 to 2 tsp of fresh lime juice
-a few drops of hot sauce *optional, mine was a peach vidalia*

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Poke holes in sweet potato, cook in microwave for 5 minutes; flip over midway through. Scrape out sweet potato once cooked and mash it up.
3. Meanwhile while the potato is cooking, drain beans, mix in a medium size bowl with cumin. Add olive oil to a pan, add bean mixture and cook for 5 minutes. You could at this point mash a few of the beans together, I prefer mine whole.
4. Once both the potato and beans are cooked, line a cookie sheet with tinfoil. Add tortillas (I made 4 at once), add beans, potato and sprinkle with goat cheese, fold over to make quesadilla shape. Bake until the top of the tortillas are browned. 
5. While quesadillas are in the oven baking, you can mix the yogurt sauce ingredients together and whisk until combined. 
6. I ended up using the rest of the mixture throughout the week, but if you were having a large party you could make them in shifts for a delicious appetizer.

-mjb

30 things before I turn 30 - 30 day challenge

In lieu of my upcoming 30th birthday on December 6th. I have decided to give myself a 30 day challenge to complete before I turn 30.  Here's a list below that I intend to complete with photographic evidence starting on November 6th.  I haven't been decided how I will update this on my blog; either posting as I go, a weekly round-up or in a big wrap up.

1. Build a snowman
2. Order a drink I've never tried - perhaps an old fashioned
3. Complete another Freezer, Fridge & Pantry Challenge
4. Blog a recipe completely from scratch (I have two in my head I've been wanting to test out for awhile)
5. Complete a project off of my craft diy pinterest board
6. Order a croque monsieur (I've always wanted to try this sandwich and have never ordered it)
7. Have my second standard driving lesson from my dad
8. Record a song; Sabotage by the Beastie Boys
9. Take a full roll of film whether it be with  my 35mm or my 2 1/4
10. Clean up my balcony
11. Wear something from my closet that has not been worn before
12. Bring a bag to the Salvation Army
13. Watch a classic movie that you have never seen before
14. Do something out of your comfort zone
15. Go watch the sunset down by the river
16. Go to a Target (in full disclosure I'm going to the States next weekend on a shopping trip so this one is pretty much going to happen, but I have always wanted to go)
17. Go somewhere you never have been (not counting the States trip)
18. Get some of the clutter out of my apartment (kind of the same as 12, but I already do have a bag ready to go)
19.  Have pancakes for dinner
20. Go back to Sidedoor for fish tacos (I have literally been craving them since August)
21. Have a super nintendo afternoon
22. Finish all the Breaking Bad on Netflix
23. Brown Bag it to work for at least two weeks if not the full 4 weeks
24. Watch one of my dvds I've never watched (I have at least 5 I've never seen if not more)
25. Sign up for a Starbucks card and start working my way to a gold card
26. Make a recipe out of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook that I haven't made yet (it's one of my favourite cookbooks)
27. Eat more quinoa, hemp seeds and chia seeds
28. Finish all the frozen fish in your freezer
29. Eat vegetarian 2 nights a week
30. Cut down on soda

So there it is. I know near the end it's not as exciting, but it's hard to think of 30 things to finish. Wish me luck!

-mjb

recipe #20 - baby spinach pesto

I don't know about you, but I hate throwing food out. I'm always drawn to the pre-packaged baby spinach containers at the grocery store but as a house of one, i find it hard to finish them without throwing half of it out. Cut to the following week and I buy another one, and throw half away once again; it's a vicious cycle. When I noticed mine starting to go bad this morning I realized I had to do something, thus baby spinach pesto was born.

Baby Spinach Pesto *my apologies for the instagram photo - my camera is charging*

Ingredients:

-2 cups of baby spinach *easily adaptable to how much baby spinach you have*
-2 cloves of garlic; sliced
-1/4 tsp of basil
-1 1/2 tbsp pine nuts *easily adaptable to whatever nut you may have on hand since pine nuts are crazy expensive i just happened to have a few lying around*
-1/8 cup olive oil
-1/4 cup parmesan
-a pinch of herbamare *or salt, i just prefer to use herbamare*

1. Put everything in food processor and pulse until blended. I added a bit extra olive oil until it was a sauce-type consistency.

Voila! Congratulations you didn't end up having to throw out half a container of baby spinach. I plan on using mine as a pizza sauce later on tonight. How about you?

-mjb

recipe #19 - Chia Seed Preserves

To say I've become a bit obsessed with chia seeds would be an understatement. Not only have I been making my own chocolate chia seed pudding for breakfast at work for a few weeks now (recipe to come, once I take a proper photograph of it and not a silly instagram), but I have also been adding them into everything under the sun; sauces, salads, etc. They are chock full of health benefits including fiber and omega 3 to name a few.  When I saw that Oh She Glows had made a jam recipe, I knew I had to make my own or three, peach, peach-raspberry and blueberry.

1. Peach 2. Peach-Raspberry 3. Blueberry

Here's my adaptation for peach preserve:

Ingredients:

-3 cups pealed and cut up peach pieces
-2 tbsp honey
-2 tbsp chia seeds

1. In a medium pot, add peaches and honey, bring to a boil at a low heat level.
2. Once boiling, turn down the heat and mash up the fruit for around five minutes.
3. Stir in chia seeds and let it thicken for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Remove from heat and let cool; add to jar/container. It lasts in the fridge for around a week.

*For peach-raspberry/blueberry preserve:

I used the same recipe as above, however I used maple syrup instead of honey.

I've been enjoying mine with oatmeal in the morning. It makes it taste like pie filling. Other uses on waffles/pancakes/chia seed pudding/toast/etc.

-mjb