Easy Pea-sy

So i'm moving to a new place on Friday, and with today being Monday (and me being a procrastinator) it's crunch time. Today I went all out and packed almost my entire kitchen!

Then I realized it was dinner time.

Luckily I hadn't touched the pots and pans yet, and I had some leftover rice from a few nights ago stashed in my fridge. I also found some canned pineapple in there. Heated up in a pan with some frozen green things (peas and edamame) I had dinner in less than 5 mins!

This was beyond easy to make- (I literally just threw whatever looked edible in a pan and heated it up) but it turned out so good. It may not be fancy, but it redeems it's self by being just so damn easy. It's one of those things that may not sound or look amazing, but tastes amazing. I just love when that happens.

Cleanin' out the Apartment Rice

(warning: these measurements could be all out of whack as I never pay attention to measurements. use your discretion.)

1/2 cup of left over rice (this wouldn't work with fresh rice)

1/3 cup of canned crushed pineapple, with juice (seperated)

1 tbsp crushed garlic (mine was from a jar...sshhh)

1/4 cup of frozen peas

1/4 cup of edamame

1 tbsp of green curry paste

1 tbsp of pesto

1-2 tsp lemon or lime juice

splash of soy sauce

and to taste:

hot chili sauce (or red pepper flakes)

ground black pepper

Heat up your pan with oil or a non stick spray (what I used). Add the rice and garlic and sautee a min or so. Next add the pineapple juice and stir. Add the peas and edamame after about a min. Keep stirring. Add the curry paste, pesto, lime, and soy sauce. Add the pineapple chunks. Keep stiring until all the pineapple juice is absorbed. Add some chili sauce or siracha to taste. (Which is really what makes this dish, in my humble opinion!)

Fish-Free Pad Thai

Where has this recipe been all my life?!

I have always loved pad thai but usually feel guilty about eating it, as one of the main ingredients in most pad thai dishes is fish sauce. So when out for thai food, I usually just advert my thoughts and pretend I don't know there's fish sauce in pad thai.

That and eating the occasional poutine is the only "bad vegetarian" things I do. (Shhh! Don't tell Peta!)

But this recipe is fish sauce free and delicious! I'd like to keep experimenting with it to get it perfect, but for now this does the trick!

Pad Thai sauce

2-3 tbsp tamarind paste

1/4 cup hot water

3 tbsp soy sauce

1-2 tsp chili sauce

2-3 tbsp brown sugar

1-2 tsp crushed garlic + ginger

1-2 tsp lime juice

Whisk all ingredients together.

Fry up soaked rice noodles in a heated pan with a tablespoon of oil. Once all the noodles are heated add the sauce. Top with whatever fixins' strike your fancy: steamed vegetables, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, fried tofu, egg, etc.

Summer in a bowl

One of the things I really appreciate about summer is the effect it has on my appetite. I find that in the summer months I start craving crisp, cool, fresh, fruits and veg. All my favorites are widely available in the summer and are even pretty affordable . 

The only downside is that summer also increases my cravings for ice cream... but then again I have been known to walk around in the harsh winter nights of Alberta, clutching a marble slab in hand just because it's too damn good to pass up. (Luckily Vancouver winters are much tamer then  what I was used to when I lived in Edmonton...) So I guess I can't really blame summer for that one.

But I digress.

So I stocked up on produce last night and put all my findings into a bowl today and delcared it a salad. Even though today I realized I forgot to buy lettuce last night. (Luckily I had bok choy- the leaves worked nicely in place of lettuce.) Crisp, cool, fresh, and filling it hit the spot-now that the heat has returned to Vancouver, and  just so happen to live in the worlds hottest apt. (S/E facing with all windows. It's like a greenhouse.) 

I look forward to many more of these salads for the rest of the season.

I just used whatever was on sale/looked yummy from last night's grocery haul but almost any mix of fruit and veg would yield  lovely results. 

I used:

1/2 ataulfo mango (or whatever mango you can get your hands on)

1/4 green bell pepper

1/4 red bell pepper

1/3 red onion

3-4 stalks baby bok choy. 

1-2 tbsp fresh cilantro or herb of your choice

1 tbsp lemon or lime juice (zest would be a good idea if you are using fresh fruit to get your juice)

few drops of extra virgin olive oil

dash of salt and pepper

red chili flakes to taste

nuts to garnish

dice your veg and toss with the rest of your ingredients. that's it. really. 

i tossed some chopped walnuts and pecans in there for some crunch and protein. almonds would be a good choice to as they could play off the fruity hints in this salad. 

also i imagine some crumbled goat cheese joining the party next time.