La Panthère Verte (Montréal, QC)

66, rue St-Viateur Ouest
Montréal, Québec
website

Elle had been raving about the falafels at La Panthère Verte, so when the opportunity came to purchase a Groupon ($10 for $20 worth of food), I jumped at it. Not only is La Panthère Verte a vegan restaurant, but it's also very environmentally conscious. They try to minimize trash, and even have a bin for organic waste (since moving to Montréal, I really have missed my green bin for organic waste).

Elle and I each got a boules dorées sandwich ($5.99); the golden balls allude to Yemen style falafels. The pita is stuffed with crispy falafels, cabbage and sprouts - all of it drizzled with tahini sauce. The pita seemed a bit thick to me but Elle thought they were made in house, so that's forgivable.

For one of the sandwiches, we shared a platter (I think it was $9.99) that was served with a variety of salads available on that day. We both agreed that our favourite was the sweet potato salad but I also really liked the quinoa, that was also topped with tahini sauce.

This is a great spot for a vegan meal, or really any meal. I would go there in a second for more falafels. Conveniently, they've opened up a second location on Mackay Street downdown.

Squash Lasagna

I check out the blog Lake Jane every day for design, fashion, and food posts. I ♥ it. Best of all, Marie-Ève is based in Montréal. While I was salivating over the pictures of "squash cream", my sister Elle was making plans to actually make this recipe.

Squash Lasagna - Serves 4
From Lake Jane.

Homemade Pasta
From Joy of Cooking: All about Pasta & Noodles.
The quantities were reduced to about two servings of pasta, but this was still a bit too much pasta for the lasagna.

▪ 1-½ all purpose flour
▪ 2 eggs
▪ ¼ tsp salt (optional)
▪ ¼ tsp extra-virgin olive oil
▪ water, as needed

Pour flour onto a clean counter (or a big bowl), shaping into a mound and make a well in the center.
Add to the well, the eggs, salt and olive oil.
Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, drawing in some flour as you go, until the eggs are mixed and slightly thickened.
Using the fingertips of one hand, gradually incorporate the flour into the eggs and blend everything into a smooth, not too stiff dough.
If the dough feels too dry and crumbly, add water as needed.
Knead the dough until satiny and very elastic, 5-10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 2 pieces and wrap the pieces loosely in plastic.
Shape one of the pieces into a flat rectangular piece.
Adjusting to the widest opening, pass the dough through the rollers, turning the handle to roll it through.
Fold the sheet in two, sprinkle lightly with flour and pass the pasta through the same rollers a second time.
Repeat folding the pasta in two and rolling 3-4 times, sprinkling with flour if the pasta gets sticky.
Reduce the spacing between the rollers to the next level and pass the sheet of dough through the rollers.
Continue reducing the space between the rollers by one notch at a time; if the sheet of dough gets too long, cut the pasta sheet in half, to make it easier to roll.
Roll the pasta sheet until you reach the thinnest setting.
Cut the pasta sheet into pieces that will fit the baking dish you'll be using.
Cook enough pasta sheets in boiling, salted water to make 3 or 4 layers (don't lay them on top of each other or they will stick). If there is too much pasta, it can be frozen for future use.
Set aside for lasagna.

These pics are from the fresh egg pasta post.

Brown Butter and Crispy Sage
▪ 2 tbsp of butter
▪ 12 or so fresh sage leaves

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
As soon as it starts to turn a tan color, drop the sage leaves in and fry in the brown butter.
Remove the pan from the heat as soon as your butter is a beautiful nutty color and you smell the sage. Place the sage leaves on a paper towel and save the butter.

Squash Cream
We couldn't find butternut squash so used an acorn squash with yummy results. After making the squash filling (or "squash cream" as Lake Jane refers to it), we had to sample it and were instantly addicted to the creaminess!

▪ 1-½ acorn squash (or butternut squash like the original recipe), roasted
▪ olive oil
▪ salt and pepper, to taste
▪ Grated fresh Parmesan
▪ Brown butter
▪ 2 Tbsp of milk (because we didn't have cream, but cream would make it better!)

Cut the acorn squash in two, and take out the seeds.
Slice the squash into crescent shape pieces and place them on a baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the squash slices are cooked through.
Once the pieces of squash are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, and place the roasted squash in a food processor.
Add the Parmesan, brown butter and milk in the food processor, and blend together.
Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

 Ingredients for the squash cream (oops forgot to take a pic of the actual squash cream!)

Walnut Crumble
▪ ¼ cup of roughly chopped walnuts▪ 1 clove of garlic
▪ salt

In a food processor, pulse the walnuts, coarse salt and garlic forming a crumble.
Set aside.

Ricotta Filling
▪ 1 cup of ricotta
▪ salt and pepper

Season the ricotta with salt and pepper to taste.

Putting the lasagna together
▪ Olive oil
▪ Cooked homemade pasta sheets (or store-bought lasagna sheets)
▪ Squash Cream
▪ Ricotta filling
▪ Walnut crumble
▪ Crispy sage leaves
▪ Parmesan, grated

Drizzle olive oil at the bottom of a baking dish.
Cover the bottom the dish with cooked pasta sheets.
Spread the squash cream over the pasta.
Spoon some ricotta filling on top.
Sprinkle the walnut crumble and add a few sages leaves (you can crumble them to cover more surface).
Repeat the layers 3 or 4 times.
At the very top, add more grated Parmesan for good measure!

This was a winning recipe! Not only did it taste as good as it looked on Lake Jane's blog, but it's so original; it's nothing like any recipe I've had. I love that it uses squash in a non-traditional way. I will definitely be making this dish again and again! I think it would totally win over any guest.

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Parmesan

My latest obsession, meaning I've had this new dish every week for the past 3 weeks, is roasted broccoli. I already love broccoli, but this recipe has helped me re-discover this vegetable. It has also replaced my go to broccoli recipe, broccoli with garlic (another Ina Garten recipe). Roasting gives the broccoli a different texture; there's more of a chewiness (instead of the hard crunch when sauteed) and the caramelized edges provide a new dimension. Adding Parmesan and salt makes it a nice savoury side dish.



Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Parmesan
This recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa. I skip the lemon juice and it's still good. I did have pine nuts when I served this dish to guests (and it is a great addition!), but on an every day basis, I skip that also.
From Ina Garten.

* 1 brunch broccoli
* olive oil
* salt and pepper, to taste
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 2-3 Tbsp grated Parmesan

Slice off the florets and cut up into smaller sections.
Wash under water and dry well - by laying the florets on a dish towel.
Spread the florets on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Drizzle olive oil over the florets.
Season with salt and pepper.
Roast the florets in the oven for 15 minutes at 350F.
Add the garlic and sprinkle with Parmesan; roast for another 5-10 minutes.
Serve as a yummy and healthy side dish.
Tada!


Well-dried florets to be roasted.

This recipe is so easy. The trick to getting the best texture is making sure the florets are dry. Either dry the florets after washing, or even prep the broccoli on the previous night to allow it to dry out. Be ready to become obsessed!


Roasted broccoli.

More broccoli recipes:
* Broccoli with Garlic
* Stir Fried Broccoli on Pan Fried Cantonese Noodles

Kindfood (Burlington, ON)

399 John St.
Burlington, Ontario
905.637.2700
website

My colleague K and I went to check out Kindfood, a vegan restaurant in Burlington. Kindfood serves strictly vegan and organic food. Their motto is "Good food ain't cheap and cheap food ain't good."



After seating ourselves, we went to order by checking out the chalkboard. I was disappointed to hear that they had run out of the Morrocan Quinoa Salad. Instead, I decided to try out the OMG Grilled Cheeze ($8.95), while K ordered a bowl of tomato and garbanzo soup (I think).


OMG Grilled Cheeze ($8.95).
The Grilled Cheeze, served with a salad, is made up of Daiya cheese, which is mainly made of cassava. I had heard that the Grilled Cheeze was very good but I'm not sure I believed it. I have to admit that I thought it was very satisfying and it would definitely hit the spot if I had a grilled cheese craving. The Daiya cheese even oozed and stretched like real cheese!

I had a taste of K's soup and it was very good too. I really enjoyed the spicing that ensured the soup was not bland.


Grilled cheeze and soup.

K and I decided to bring cupcakes ($3.50 each I think) back to the office. After K got a dulce de leche, I spotted half-price day old cupcakes and got the red velvet and grasshopper mint ones. We weren't sure if it was the specific flavours but the day old cupcakes seemed on the drier side. I think I would stick to the freshly made ones next time. The icing was really good.


Vegan cupcakes.

Clearly based on this blog, I am not a vegan or a vegetarian. However, I do think that most people eat too much meat. I am definitely not averse to eating less meat, or dairy, sometimes. Kindfood is a great way to introduce vegan foods to those who are not familiar with it.

Magical Breakfast Cream

I've been enjoying Magical Breakfast Cream (or MBC) as my daily breakfast for a year now, from the French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. I don't usually follow fad diets but I'm always on the lookout for good and healthy recipes. I really love this recipe because it really includes all that you need nutritionally in one bowl. It's a great start to my day!



Magical Breakfast Cream
Adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano. I realized typing this that I don't follow the quantities and suspect I have more yogurt and honey than the quantities below. Of course, ingredients can be improved to taste: different fruit, different oil. One of the suggestions in the book is to sweeten with mandarin juice. I would buy fresh mandarins and squeeze the juice out. It was good but rather tedious so I add honey instead.

* ⅓ cup Greek yogurt, any type will do but I like how thick it is
* 1 tsp flax oil
* 1 tsp honey
* 2 Tbsp cereal, ground (I like to use Grain Shop High Fibre Crisp)
* 1 Tbsp nuts, ground (I use a mix: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts)
* handful of blueberries
* half a banana, peeled and sliced

Scoop the yogurt into a bowl.
Add the flax oil and honey, and mix.
Add the cereal and nuts, and mix again.
Top with blueberries and banana.
Tada!


Yogurt with honey and flax oil, then cereal and nuts.

This recipe made me start having flax oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acid. It has to be refrigerated and ingesting 1-2 tsp a day is recommended.



Clearly, I like this recipe so much that I've been having it regularly for a year. Even on weekends when I allows myself to splurge on breakfast, sometimes I just want to have MBC. My perfect spoonful is having some blueberries and banana, and the crunch of nuts.

White Beans and Mushroom Salad

After having dinner at her friend M's, my sister raved about a white bean and mushroom salad, served with steak. Her instructions were sauté mushrooms, with a lot of onion, mix with white beans and grilled veggies, and toss with a Dijon dressing; serve with steak. I decided to skip the steak and make a healthy and very filling salad.



White Beans and Mushroom Salad

Dressing
Honestly, I throw in whatever looks good for a dressing and adjust to taste. I cheat and rarely follow the 3:1 oil to vinegar usually recommended.

* 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
* 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
* salt, to taste
* freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together.

Salad
* oil
* small onion, sliced thinly
* 2-3 good handful of mushrooms of your choice, sliced
* thyme, dry or fresh
* salt, to taste
* freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* dried chili flakes, optional
* 1 can white (cannellini) beans
* grilled veggies of your choice, such as peppers or zucchini

In a hot pan, heat oil.
Add onion and cook for 1 minute.
Add mushrooms and sauté.
Add thyme and season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
Meanwhile, rinse and drain white beans.
Place beans in a bowl.
Once mushrooms are cooked through and dry, add mushrooms and grilled veggies to the bowl of beans.
Pour the dressing and mix well.
Refrigerate or serve hot.
Tada!


White beans and mushrooms. Grilled Zucchini.

I find that allowing the components to sit in the dressing really help add flavour to the salad. I am happy eating this salad as lunch for a whole week. I like eating it at room temperature so take it out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit. I love the creamy beans, with the mushrooms and grilled zucchini. Tasty eating with no guilt!



For mushroom lovers, more mushroom posts:
* Bacon & Parmesan stuffed Mushrooms
* Chicken and Mushroom Orzo
* Fried Polenta and Mushrooms
* Goat Cheese stuffed Mushrooms
* Mushroom Crusted Tilapia
* Mushroom Pita Pizza
* Mushroom Ravioli
* Mushroom Soup
* Potato Mushroom Bruschetta
* Red & White Quinoa Mushroom Risotto
* Spinach and Mushroom Cannelloni

Trứng Chiên Củ Cải Muối (Vietnamese Omelette with Pickled Daikon)

As mentioned in my previous post, I asked my mom to have trứng chiên củ cải muối (Vietnamese omelette with pickled daikon). I remember having this dish growing up with rice. As it's just an omelette, it's quite easy; I just wasn't sure where to buy the ingredients. Pickled daikon (củ cải muối) can be purchased at Asian grocery stores, in sealed plastic. It is often served with bánh tét for Vietnamese New Year, after being soaked in fish sauce.



Trứng chiên củ cải muối (Vietnamese Omelette with Pickled Daikon)
Củ cải muối is salty so this dish does not need added salt.

* oil
* small onion, sliced
* ⅓ cup dried salted radish (or pickled daikon) - or more if you'd like
* 3 eggs, beaten
* freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large pan.
Add the onion slices and salted radish.
Meanwhile, season the beaten eggs with black pepper.
Once the onions have softened, add the beaten eggs.
Turn over your omelette, once the bottom is cooked.
Tada!


Củ cải muối (pickled daikon) is purchased bagged and not refrigerated but I did refrigerate it once I opened the bag.


Cooking the omelette.

Củ cải muối (pickled daikon) has a distinctly salty and a bit sweet taste. It also has a crunch that combines well with the crunch of the onions. For someone who loves salt like me, this has been my go to recipe for a quick and easy dinner for the past few weeks.


Trứng Chiên Củ Cải Muối (Vietnamese Omelette with Pickled Daikon).

Sautéed Pea Shoots

My mom came to visit for a long weekend a couple of weeks ago. She always asks if there is something I'd like her to make. In the laziness and heat of the summer, I just wanted something simple and easy. So my request was rice with sautéed pea shoots and omelette with pickled daikon (recipe to come on the next post).



Sautéed Pea Shoots
If you can't find pea shoots, you can replace with any other green, such as spinach.

* oil
* garlic, minced
* pea shoots, hard stems removed
* salt

Heat oil in a pan to medium-high heat.
Add the garlic.
After about 30 seconds, add the pea shoots.
Season with salt to taste.
Cook until the shoots are wilted, for just a few minutes.
Tada!


Picked over pea shoots and sautéeing the shoots.



Calling this a recipe seens a bit of an exaggeration. Vietnamese enjoy a variety of greens just simply sautéed like this, served with rice.

Bún Tàu Chay (Vegetarian Mung Bean Noodle)

I have yet again neglected my little food blog. No excuses, but I do have a few posts planned. I have been making this vegetarian mung bean noodle (bún tàu = Chinese noodles, which refers to mung bean noodles and chay = vegetarian) dish fairly regularly recently. This is my mother's go-to dish during Lent, when we abstain from eating meat on Fridays. This is actually a vegan dish as it contains no meat products!

I love the combination of the savoury soy ingredients: fermented bean curd and fried gluten. Fermented bean curd, soft salty cubes of soy found in jars, is often used in Asian cuisine; we often have it in plain congee. My sister loves my mom's chicken marinated in fermented bean curd. Fried gluten, which comes in cans, is used to make faux/mock meat in Asian cuisine. Mung bean noodles (or cellophane noodles), another Asian ingredient, are made out of the starch of... mung beans, what else?

Bún Tàu Chay (Vegetarian Mung Bean Noodle) - Serves 4
One of the reasons it took me a long time to write this post, was that I wanted to figure out how to best cook the noodles. I've tried soaking them and they get too soggy so you just want to rinse them and have them a bit wet. You can add any vegetables you prefer. Mushrooms would be a great addition! Fermented bean curd is quite salty, so you probably won't need to add salt.

* oil
* ¼ or so of a napa cabbage, sliced ½" thick
* 3 or 4 small bundles of mung bean noodles (I like to buy mung bean noodles in a package of small little bundles)
* 6 cubes of fermented bean curd, or to taste
* cooked/thawed frozen vegetables of your choice (I sauteed some green beans, corn and carrots beforehand)
* 1 can of fried gluten, drained (I don't rinse it because I like the flavouring)

Heat up oil in a large pan.
Add the napa cabbage and cook for a few minutes; it will release some liquid.

Quickly rinse the mung bean noodles and add to the cabbage.

Mash the fermented bean curd so it becomes a thick paste, adding a bit of water if needed.

Pour the bean curd paste on the noodles and cabbage, and mix.

Once the cabbage is cooked, add the vegetables and fried gluten.
Taste and season to taste, adding salt or more bean curd.
Tada!

From top left clockwise: (1) jar of fermented bean curd and can of fried gluten (2) cubes of fermented bean curd (3) mung bean noodles and (4) straining the fried gluten.

When you have excessively eaten meat, this is a great dish to get back to eating healthy and light! It has quickly become a new savoury favourite dish for dinner.

Another mung bean noodle recipe:
* Vietnamese Chicken Bean Thread Noodle Soup

BBQ Kale Chips

I'm not very proud of my special ability of downing a whole (large) bag of potato chips. I've mentioned before that my weakness is salt. I get a pretty strong craving for salt daily, hence my love for chips. However, I have tried to cut back for 2011. No more large bag of chips for me! So I was really excited to try this kale chip recipe from one of my favourite lifestyle blog Sterling Style.



BBQ Kale Chips
Adapted from My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow, via Sterling Style.
I first tried this with salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. I then went looking for Cajun seasoning but could only found a spicy mesquite. I very much prefer the mesquite to salt.

* a bunch of kale
* olive oil
* spicy mesquite seasoning, seasoning of your choice or simply just salt

Thoroughly clean the kale leaves.
Dry the leaves - I used a salad spinner.
Cut the leaves off from the thick stem.
Tear the leaves in small 1-2" pieces.
Place the kale pieces in a large bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil, while mixing the leaves so they get coated evenly.
Season lightly with your choice of seasoning or salt. (Do this carefully. I over-salted my first two attempts. It may seem like a lot of kale but they shrink down to nothing.)
Spread on two parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes or so at 375F (I switch the baking sheets halfway through), or until the leaves are dried out and crunchy - if you leave them too long, they become brown and slightly bitter.
Tada!



The kale chips did a great job of satisfying my craving for salt. The kale gets a really crunchy texture too. Kale has a pretty distinctive taste and I wasn't sure I was going to get past it. These kale chips have really grown on me and are addictive! I now have a new ability: eating a whole bag of kale chips!


Crunch and saltiness without the guilt!

Another healthy snack:
* Roasted Chickpeas