Vegetarian Burritos

I've been doing some reading lately on diets and health related issues. I'm no where near done studying the topic but my initial foray into the topic has me fasting from meat.

According to a lot of what I have read, enjoying a meat-based diet just isn't great for your health. From what I understand eating this way can not only contribute to but cause some cases of cancer, dementia, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. As I said, I'm not done studying and am by no means an expert...this is just what I have understood from the scientific, cultural, and even biblical readings I have consumed so far.

Now I love meat, but if it truly isn't so great for me, the question becomes: "who do I love more?" So I'm watching my meat consumption for now.

I found this great recipe for Vegetarian Burritos and tried them out yesterday on myself and my snowshoeing partner. It was yummy, filling, and sustained us during our afternoon hike.

The Cookless Cook

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I had a fellow foodie friend visit last night. The plan was we would cook together. Well...he cooked and I simmered.

Here I am this foodie who can cook and has started writing about what she cooks and her relationship with food and all I did all night was simmer. That's right. My contribution was a boxed risotto that had to simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile he prepared not only a Torta di ricotta e cioccolata but a Roasted Red Pepper Artichoke Bruschetta!! Both were amazing as usual.

I've come to embrace that I don't cook well with others. I'm useless. Constantly asking what I can do and when they finally give me a task, suddenly forgetting every skill I have and even cut the bread wrong. Paper thin ciabatta bread anyone? Seriously?

All the years I have known this friend he has never tasted my cooking. He only knows...or should I say believes...I can cook because he trusts me. Shrug. I am usually trustworthy. ;)

Yogurt

 This weekend I made yogurt and it turned out perfectly!

I first came to appreciate yogurt during my first trip to Greece. It was offered every morning in the hotels we stayed at with hard boiled eggs and muslex for breakfast. Not liking the runny version at home I wasn't hopeful but gave it a try. Zing! Nothing like home. This yogurt was thick, creamy and a tangy delight. I was heartsick for it when I came back.

Now those who know me, know I like my ingredients to have as little processing as possible so I try to make what I can myself. I also prefer to make it instead of buying it.

It started with different types of breads. Then Zenny's Granola recipe which, try as I might, never tasted as good as hers did. She was the cook at the guest house I stayed at when I was in the Philippines. Some of it is that I'm sure our ingredients here in Canada are just not as fresh as what she had to work with so the flavors don't pop quite the same. But still. I've recently lost the recipe so am emailing to see if I can get another copy.

So what better to go with homemade granola than homemade yogurt. And lucky me, I got a yogurt maker for Christmas! It turned out just how I remembered it in Greece! Bliss!

Hmmmm I'm craving tzatziki and tandoori now too. Giggle.

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

I recently watched the movie It's Complicated. A movie highly recommended by two friends of mine and surprisingly suave to a sad heart. Oh the giggles I had watching that movie. :)

The movie is about a divorced couple reigniting a spark and the consequences of that. I imagine all of us who have had broken relationships have day dreamed about reigniting that spark.

Finding comfort in the ending, relating to the chef character, being inspired by the dishes prepared in the movie, and fortuitously getting an ice cream maker in my recent breakup: I decided to make the Honey Lavender ice cream.

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So I searched blogs to find a recipe. I didn't think I would find lavender easily and settled on Honey ice cream.

Who knew eggs were in ice cream? Okay, so you did. But I didn't. I found a honey recipe that didn't have eggs. Obviously eggs are good in ice cream, I love ice cream. But I just couldn't bring myself to use them and decided to go with a Honey Ice Cream recipe on serving-ice-cream.com.

Milk, honey, and vanilla I had in my pantry. While getting whipping cream I recalled that I did indeed have lavender as well. I purchased at a local summer farmer's market with intentions of making scones and never did. Sweet!

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I began my search again for Honey Lavender Ice Cream. Wow the blog posts with cooking inspired from this movie! I'm not alone. All of the recipes I found however still had eggs, so I decided to go with the Honey recipe and add some dried lavender to that.

The result: YUM! Sweet, rich, and breath-taking like a mint. Score! I would however take the suggestion of a recipe on epicurious.com and boil the lavender with the milk, cream, and honey and strain this mixture before putting it in the freezing bowl next time.

Shrug: live and learn. It is still divine and I am proudly eating it.

Mediterranean Pasta

The first week night of the year and I decided to go with something full in flavors and pretty simple to make out of staples from my pantry. I'm a sucker for one pot cooking and this pasta dish had everything I was craving.

Tartness of artichoke hearts, sweetness of roasted red peppers, salty kalamata olives, chicken, garlic, oregano and whole wheat penne. Sounds like delicious music to me.

And yes, those are staples in my pantry. I fell in love with the Mediterranean people, food, wine, and culture during my visits and believe one should have cupboards filled with what you love. Giggle.

You can get the artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers in bulk jars at Costco. They store nicely in the fridge once opened. Score!

The only thing missing was a glass of red wine and conversation.