Good things come in small packages

I love pizza. I love it's versatility. I love how easy it is to make. I love that it can be big or small, round or square, on dough, buns, tortillas, or pitas. I love that you can change the sauce, the toppings, the cheese. Barbecued or baked. Spicy or sweet. Fancy or casual. Classic or exotic.  

Love, love, love. 

These little pizza's were baked on mini pitas (leftover from my mini turkey burgers) . Instead of pizza sauce I used tikka masala (sauce from an Indian dish). I kept the topping simple - red pepper and green onion - and topped it all off with extra old cheddar cheese. 

I'm coconut for you

Coconut shrimp have been popping up all over the place lately - magazines, restaurants, websites, cookbooks. I had a bag of shrimp in my freezer that needed to be put to good use so I gave it a try!

I must say, the process was much easier than I expected.

Bowl #1 - Whole wheat flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and chilli powder (use whatever spices or herbs you like)
Bowl # 2 - 1 egg white, whisked well
Bowl # 3 - Shredded coconut

Remove the shell from each shrimp. Roll each shrimp in the bowls (in order, 1-2-3!)  and place on a pan or a wire rack. Pop 'em in the oven at 425˚C for 5 minutes, flip and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Badda-bing-badda-boom you've got yourself some coconut shrimp!

I needed something sweet and spicy for dipping so I combined honey with some home made pepper sauce. Fast, easy, and delicious.

            

While this was a super fun dish to make, I must admit that it was kind of random to have for dinner. I'm guessing that it would be a hit at a potluck or as an appetizer at a dinner party!

Give it a try, have some fun & enjoy!
R.

A Frittata Brunch

In my humble opinion, Sunday morning and delicious brunch go hand-in-hand. Last week I purchased a round, glass baking dish and I've been dying to make a frittata with it ever since!  Today was the day! I must warn you now, this isn't your average veggie frittata. This frittata is jam packed with vegetables. At one point I was a little worried that there wouldn't be enough room for the egg mixture but everything worked out just perfectly.  


I'll post the recipe and photo below, but first a few notes on frittata making: 

1. You don't really need a recipe - any fresh or frozen vegetables you have on hand will do perfectly fine!
2. While I'm excited to use my new round baking dish, it's certainly not a requirement. You can use any sort of dish that will hold in a liquid egg mixture. In the past I have used a frying pan. Just be careful not to grab the hot handle once you've taken it out of the oven - I've done this WAY too often! Wrap a towel around the handle to remind yourself that it is hot!
3. I don't  normally measure spices. I sprinkle them on my food until it feels just right! Now, I realize that this isn't optimal for those who don't understand the impact of a certain spice/herb in a dish. For those of you who are less comfortable with spices I will try my best to estimate. Also, I am inclined to make my food spicy. If this isn't for you, go ahead and use your own favourite spices - oregano, basil, cilantro, dill - all would be great choices for this type of dish.
4. If the top of your frittata is browned before all of the egg has cooked, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil and return to the oven. This should prevent the frittata from burning.

Vegetable Frittata: 
Ingredients: 

Red Pepper	1
Spinach	1 package (about 4 or 5 cups)
Yellow Zucchini	1
Leek	1
Green Onion	2
Mushrooms	2 (because that's all I had!)
Garlic, minced	2 cloves

Eggs	6
Milk	about 1/4 cup (60 mL)
Feta Cheese	about 1/4 cup (60 mL)

Black Pepper, ground

Chili Powder	1 Tbsp (estimate)
Cayenne Pepper	1/2 tsp (estimate)
Red Chilli Flakes	1 tsp (estimate)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375°C.
Heat oil on medium-high. Add vegetables & heat until cooked, stirring frequently.
Place cooked veggies in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
Whisk together eggs, milk, and spices.
Pour egg mixture over vegetables.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the egg has turned from liquid to solid and the top is slightly browned.

Serve & enjoy!

Jammin' is a thing of the past

Jam.

It adds sweet flavour to our breakfast, lunch, dessert, and snack. It also adds extra, unnecessary sugar to our body, and unfortunately for me, a little extra cushion on my hips! 

Growing up I was (and still am) a big fan of PB&J sandwiches. However, over the years I've learned how to make this classic, quick and dirty lunch a nutritious everyday option. 

Follow these 3 easy steps to makeover your PB&J: 

Step 1: Swap your white bread for some tasty whole grain bread. 

Step 2: Scrap the processed peanut butter and replace with a natural nut butter (almond, peanut, hazelnut, cashew, etc.). Natural butters have no added sugar, salt, preservatives, or oils - just nuts ground up into a smooth (or chunky!) butter. 

Step 3: Toss the jam and replace it with fresh, sweet fruit. I like to slice strawberries and peaches and place them on top of the nut butter. You can also use other fresh or frozen fruit - the options are endless! The taste and texture are much more enjoyable than jam, plus it provides more fibre and less processed sugar. yay! 

My afternoon snack

Beet cake.

I have three things to say about this video: 

1) Please watch it. 

2) What a beautiful way to pass along a recipe. Watching this makes me want to throw on an apron, turn on some relaxing music with a solid beat, and make a beautiful mess in the kitchen. 

2) Beet cake with dark chocolate?!?! Delicious. Genius. Yum. I need to try this asap. 

Has anyone ever made a cake with beets in it before? I want to learn more! 

Time for a smile

Hats off to my dad who sent me this in an email the other day...I laughed out loud immediately. Nothing like a corny food joke to make a day better!

Beet soup et al.

I was so delighted with my delicious purchases this morning that I decided to take a photo to share!  August is my favourite time of year for fresh vegetables and fruit - there is so much to choose from! When possible I buy local (or at least Canadian) grub. 

I must admit, sometimes my excitement of fresh, colourful food gets the best of me and I end up buying too much to feed just one person...looks like i'll be practicing my sharing skills this week! beet soup anyone? turkey burgers? zucchini fries? peach cobbler?  What to do with all this food! 

With that in mind, I got cooking! 

I used fresh beets, carrots, potato, lemon, onion, greek yogurt and garlic to make this oh so girly soup! Eating a bowl of hot pink soup is sure to make you feel good. 

(the background dish is zucchini fries and tzatziki)

Inspired by a coworker and a recipe I saw in a healthy cooking magazine I decided to try my game at homemade turkey burgers. Now, these just aren't any turkey burgers - these babies feature the delightful flavours of grated apple, onion and curry powder. Topped with homemade tzatziki and a sweet nectarine slice - delicious! 

I love a good day of cooking! Plus a fridge full of homemade food is a great way to start off the work week!

Wishing you a delicious week,
R.

savour life's most beautiful things

And so is the launch of 'it's a savoury life'.

I'm not entirely sure what this blog will consist of but I'm pretty sure it will be mainly based on taking the time to savour two of life's most beautiful things:

those moments that make you smile, laugh, think...

and delicious, wholesome food.

i'm looking forward to this little project!