Blueberry Blast: A Mid-morning Snack

Blueberries, so fat and juicy, fresh from the sun-filled garden patch make a wonderful pick-me-up in the middle of a busy morning. This sweet-tart parfait combines plain yoghurt, sour cream, and maple syrup with blueberries, a spritz of lemon juice, and a sprig of mint. Easy to make in individual serving dishes.

You'll need: Plain yoghurt; sour cream; maple syrup; blueberries; fresh lemon, sprig of mint for garnishing.

Method: Place 2 tablespoons of plain yoghurt in the bottom of each individual serving dish.

Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to each dish.

Drizzle yoghurt and sour cream with 1- 2 teaspoons maple syrup and add 2 tablespoons of fresh blueberries.

Spritz with a little lemon juice, and gently blend berries, yoghurt, sour cream and maple syrup together. 

Garnish with a few blueberries, a lemon wedge and a sprig of mint. This delicious parfait also makes a wonderful light summer dessert. 

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Broccoli-Pineapple Gazpacho with Roasted Red Pepper Noodles

A refreshing chilled soup to beat the summer heat. This gazpacho is made in the early morning when the kitchen is still a cool place to be, and chilled until serving time. Sprouted sunflower seeds and fresh water are whirled in the blender to make a high-energy nut milk. Broccoli florets, lightly steamed, and cooled are mixed with sunflower seed 'broth', fresh pineapple chunks and a hot red pepper. The gazpacho has a smooth texture and a sweet, piquant flavour. At mealtime, roasted red pepper noodles, sliced black olives, fresh-snipped garden chives, and a sprinkling of hemp hearts add a special touch to each delicious bowl of summer-fresh soup.

You'll need: For the gazpacho--1 large head of broccoli; 1 cup of fresh pineapple chunks; 1/2 cup soaked and lightly sprouted sunflower seeds; 3 cups fresh water; 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce; 1 small hot red pepper; For the noodles--1 large or 2 small sweet red peppers; few grains Himalayan salt crystals; 1/2 cup stale bread, torn into pieces; 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 tablespoon olive oil. For the Garnish--1 tablespoon hemp hearts; 5-6 large pitted black olives, thinly sliced; fresh chives, to taste.

Method: 

Soak 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds in fresh water for 2 hours. Drain and let sprout in fridge overnight.

Wash and seed sweet pepper. Cut into thin strips and place skin-side up on a baking sheet. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of salt crystals. Grill until skin is wrinkled and beginning to blacked. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Peel off skin and chill pepper slices. 

Cut hot red pepper into medium-size pieces.

Wash broccoli, break florets into pieces and lightly steam broccoli. When tender-crisp, rinse with cold water, and set aside to cool. 

Remove skin from pineapple, and cut into chunks.  Place sunflower seeds and 3 cups of fresh water in the blender, and process for 1 -2 minutes, or until 'milky'. Add 1 cup cooked broccoli, 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks, 1 teaspoon tamari, and hot red pepper. Blend until the texture suits your taste, either velvety smooth, roughly chunky, or anywhere in between. Chill blender jar full of soup in refrigerator until just before serving. Peel and finely chop garlic cloves, and add to olive oil. Place stale bread pieces in a small bowl and drizzle with garlic/oil mixture. Set aside to marinade.

To Serve:

Remove soup from fridge, add garlic/oil bread, and blend for a few seconds to combine ingredients. Pour soup into individual bowls, stirring a portion of sweet red pepper noodles into each serving. Top each portion with a generous helping of hemp hearts. Float black olive slices on top of gazpacho, snip fresh chives over soup and serve. An excellent light summer supper. Serves 4 -6 people.

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Soup Haiku

Tender ripe veggies

marry fresh herbs and nut milk—

blender gazpacho

Basil and Black Olive Stuffed Tomatoes

These delicious little tidbits make a tasty appetizer. They are an unusual side dish, or can be part of a main meal when served with a whole grain. Each small tomato is hollowed out and filled with a mixture of roasted pine nuts, shallots, black olives and spicy basil. Not only can they be oven-baked, but they also also shine as an addition to BBQ fare. This version is vegan, with nutritional yeast adding extra flavour and an increased vitamin profile. 

You'll need: 10 - 12 firm, small tomatoes; 2 tablespoons pine nuts; 2 tablespoons chopped black olives; 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil,; 2 small shallots; 1 tablespoon finely diced ginger root; 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast; 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; light sprinkle of sea salt. Slice of fresh lemon.

Method: 
Lightly toast pine nuts, and cool. Set aside one nut for each tomato.

To Make Tomato Cups and Caps: 
Wash tomatoes and remove any stem pieces. Carefully slice each tomato about 1/8 from top. Scoop out flesh and seeds from fruit; turn cups upside down to drain. Reserve pulp for another use (soup, salsa, cooking with whole grains, etc.) Set caps aside. 

To Make Stuffing: 
Dice shallots, and ginger root.  Pit black olives. Coarsely chop black olives, toasted pine nuts, and basil leaves.

Mix ingredients together. Add cayenne pepper and salt. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and mix lightly. Fill each tomato cup with a generous portion of filling. 

Place in a baking dish. Drizzle stuffed tomatoes with olive oil, and replace tomato caps. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until tomatoes are tender and juicy. Place on serving platter. Top each tomato cap with a pine nut, and spritz with lemon juice.

Serve with a whole grain, rice or pasta. These stuffed tomatoes were accompanied by millet cooked with the reserved tomato pulp, basil, and chives. Soaked sunflower seeds are stirred into the cooked grain for a delightful crunch, and an energy boost.
Alternately, chill stuffed tomatoes and serve as a finger food. 

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Exra Easy Ginger-Mint Carrot Soup

Delicious Chilled Summer Summer Soup

Looking for an easy, refreshing summer recipe to perk up appetites jaded by the heat and sun? Try this delicious, healthy dish whose every spoonful says, "Mmm, good". Carrots, fresh mint, ginger and lemon flavours combine in a refreshing cold summer soup that's bound to set your taste-buds tingling and your tummy rumbling. Creamy in texture, it is a snap to make in the blender and contains a powerhouse nutritional profile. The sunflower seed-carrot base is easy to digest. A bowl, or big mug with a straw, is bursting with energy to sustain your activities. 

You'll need:  6 - 8 medium carrots; 3-4 sprigs fresh mint; 2 tablespoons chopped ginger root; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice; 3/4 cup soaked sunflower seeds; 4 cups filtered water; sea salt.

Sweet carrots, zesty ginger and cooling mint

Method: Soak sunflower seeds in fresh water for 2 hours. Drain. Scrub, slice and lightly steam carrots. Cool. Set a few mint sprigs aside for garnish. Place carrots, sunflower seeds, chopped ginger root, lemon juice, mint leaves and water in blender.

Chilled Ginger-Mint Carrot Soup ready to serve

Blend until thick and creamy (about 60 seconds).

Serve at room temperature, or chill slightly.

To Serve: Pour into bowls. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint, and a light sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt. Or alternately, serve in a large mug or pint glass with a straw.

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Summer Salad

This easy summer salad combines the juicy sweet-tart taste of pineapple and the rich nutty flavour of avocado in an intriguing dressing.  With  the sharp bite of Dijon mustard and the tingling zing of garden-fresh mint, the creamy dressing is delightfully 'summery' in taste. Ripe black olives with their pungent, rich saltiness, and chewy soaked almond seeds add texture and an extra touch of exotic flavour. Nippy ginger root and lemon juice add their special zest. Crisp curly leaf lettuce is a good choice of green, and is substantial enough to compliment the other ingredients.

You'll need: 2 Tablespoons olive oil; 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; few grains Himalayan salt; 1 tablespoon chopped ginger root; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint; 1 teaspoon chopped chives; 1 avocado, cubed; 1/2 cup diced pineapple; 1/4 cup black olives, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped soaked almonds; 1 cup lettuce or mixed greens.

The Dressing: In a large bowl, whisk olive oil and lemon juice together until thick and creamy. Add Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, salt and blend well.  Stir in chopped ginger root, mint and chives.

Pit the avocado, score each half of the fruit in a grid, and scoop gently into bowl, Coat lightly with dressing.

Slice pineapple rounds, cut off peel, core and dice into bite-size pieces. Add to salad bowl and combine.

Soak almonds in fresh water overnight in fridge. Drain well. Coarsely chop and add to bowl.

Add black olives to salad and lightly mix with other ingredients. I've used black Moroccan olive with the pits in for maximum flavour. (Be sure to alert diners if you use whole unpitted olives, and provide a small side-plate or dish for collecting pits.)

Wash and pat dry lettuce.  Tear into bite-size pieces and add to salad on top of other ingredients. Refrigerate until needed. Just before serving, toss lettuce in. This salad makes a lovely starter to a lunch or dinner, or served with fresh bread or crackers can stand alone at the dining table as a balanced and tasty meal. 

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The Tropical Taste of a Summer Salad

Summer Soups: Gingered Basil and Strawberry-Mango

5 Varieties of Flavourful Basil

Our rooftop herb garden is growing lush and prolific. With a wonderful crop of late spring basil varieties ready for harvest, we decided to make a flavourful and fun chilled soup to enjoy this sunny afternoon. We've used local sun-ripened strawberries, a juicy mango, spicy ginger root and rich almond milk to create a creamy soup base. Fresh basil leaves from cinnamon, lime, Italian, Spicy, and purple cultivars are added to the mix, and everything is blended into a fine summer soup.

Ready for Blending

You'll Need: 1 cup strawberries; 1 mango, pitted and coarsely chopped; 1/4 cup chopped ginger root; 3 cups almond milk; 1 cup basil leaves (one or more varieties) 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; few grains Himalayan salt.

To Make: Wash and hull strawberries; pit and coarsely chop mango; chop ginger root. Put in blender with 3 cups almond milk. Set a few small basil leaves aside for garnish. Add 1 cup fresh basil leaves. Sprinkle in salt and cayenne.

Summer Soup: ready to serve in seconds

Blend at medium speed until smooth (20-30 seconds)

A spicy, refreshing energy soup for a warm afternoon.

Pour into serving bowls and garnish with fresh basil leaves. A small portion, served in a juice glass, makes an excellent alternative 'starter' to a more formal summer meal.

A Blender Full of Spicy Summer Soup

Grilled Chive-Mushrooms

A first spring harvest of slender green spears... chives from the garden were the catalyst for this delicious dish. These chive-marinaded mushrooms are grilled along with heirloom cherry tomatoes and garnished with salted cashews. Deceptively easy to prepare, the vegetables are bursting with fresh flavour whether oven-roasted or cooked on the BBQ.
You'll Need: 1 bunch of chives (1/4 cup finely chopped chives) 1-2 chive flowers; a squirt of fresh lemon juice; 8-10 baby Portabello mushrooms, 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon agave (or other sweetener) sea salt and cayenne pepper to taste, cherry tomatoes. juice. Lettuce, and salted cashews for garnish.

 In a large bowl, whisk 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon agave, salt, cayenne pepper together.  Chop chives into very fine pieces, and add to marinade in the bowl. 
Separate the chive blossoms into individual petals, sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside. 

Wipe the mushroom carefully with a damp cloth, or rinse under running water and pat dry. 

Snap stems from mushroom caps and place both stems and caps in the marinade, mixing well to make certain mushroom pieces are well-coated and caps are filled with chive mixture. Let mushrooms marinade in chive oil for at least 1/2 hour. They can be  refrigerated in the marinade overnight.
Remove mushrooms from the marinade. Diced the stems into very small pieces and return to bowl and mix with remainder of chive marinade. Fill the mushroom caps with the chive/stem mix. Place under grill in oven, or on BBQ and cook until tender and juicy.

When mushrooms are about 5 minutes from completion, add the cherry tomatoes to the grill. 

Coarsely chop roasted salted cashews and garnish the cooked mushrooms with a dusting of the crunchy nuts. Sprinkle chive flowers over top.


Serve on a bed of butter lettuce with grill heirloom cherry tomatoes.