Balsamic Vinaigrette

Here’s a fresh and zingy dressing that I’ve been making for years. Simply throw the ingredients into a recycled jar, give it a shake, drizzle onto greens, toss, and serve. The agave syrup tempers the acidity of the balsamic vinegar and lemon, and the garlic gives the dressing an extra “something something” flavorful note. Over the last two years, my intention was to offer easy mains and sides that are healthy, yet substantial. I love to eat, and I certainly don’t want to feel deprived when I finish a meal. This year, I will stay on this path, but also add basics that are like your favorite jeans or t-shirts; recipes that take minutes to prepare, and you want to make them over and over again. Double this recipe. You will no doubt come back for more, and so will your friends.   Balsamic Vinaigrette   1 cup good olive oil 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 2 cloves garlic, minced tablespoon Dijon mustard juice of a lemon tablespoon agave syrup or  honey teaspoon of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Combine all of the ingredients, shake, and serve. Store at room temperature.

Heirloom Tomato and Bread Salad with Arugula and Avocado

Our neighbors Abe and Silver have a wonderfully prolific avocado tree in their garden, bearing fruit even in the wintry month of January. There are so many avocados growing from this tree that Abe drops bags to us each week. I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing better than the purity of a ripe and creamy avocado with a sprinkle of sea salt.

English Breakfast, Veggie Style

Happy New Year everyone! I aimed to get this recipe out to you all yesterday, but after cooking and shooting the photo, I was swept into New Year’s Eve party preparations: Veggie and Turkey pot pies for dinner, and the usual snacky bits for the party. Needless to say, I was rushed off my feet. Our New Years Eve has become an unofficial slumber party. The parents get to hang out, while the kids dance and play together, then off to bed, adults quietly hopeful for an extra hour of sleep. We woke up at different times today, feeling refreshed rather than wobbly, and enjoyed a gloriously warm and sunny morning. My English Breakfast is remarkably easy to make as most of the hard work is already been done for you. Apart from the scrambled tofu (or eggs if you prefer) and sauteed kale, everything else needs just a bit of warming. If you’ve managed to give yourself a hangover (no judgement here. All good in tha ‘hood), this meal requires very little effort and the payback is huge, both nutritionally and taste wise. Of course you can drive to a diner, but there’s something gratifying about cooking with organic ingredients. You’re [...]

Zen Gingerbread Biscuits

Merry Christmas everyone! Jake and I made these gingerbread biscuits yesterday for our Christmas Eve gathering with our neighbors. They’re a bit wonky, but they taste great, and that’s part of the fun when cooking with children. Before we went to bed, Jake left a few biscuits out for Santa by the fireplace. I asked Jake if Santa would like some almond milk to go with his vegan biscuits and he flashed me an, “are you crazy” look. Quite right. Even a 4-year old knows the drill: Santa should have his organic cow’s milk and eat his zen biscuits too.  I’m not much of an icing lover, and the extra sugar doesn’t work for our “Duracell Bunny” son, so I left it out. Feel free to go for icing if you fancy it The biscuits are delicious either plain or iced. No one seemed to notice the lack of icing, and they went down a treat last night. Now I’m off to play with Jake and his new train set. Enjoy the rest of you day Zen Gingerbread Biscuits As with all of my recipes, try to use as many organic ingredients as possible. This insures the highest nutritional value [...]

Vegetable Pot Pie

I’m running around like a crazed banshee this holiday season. The upper half of our house is still a building site, and we’re living downstairs. On top of that, we’ve got house guests coming from London in less than two weeks. That’s right, it’s a ‘lil crazy up in here. Plastic sheeting has been used to tape us off from the worst of the building mess, but today we spent the first half of the day in an all out assault against dust. Who ya gonna call: DUST BUSTERS! Two days a week we are sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning glass, changing bedding, on top of the usual Sunday ritual of laundry and groceries. One more week to go and we’ll be finished! It’s been 4 months of building work and camping out, so I’m feeling a little sorry for myself.. Pardon my “let it all hang out” attitude this week. Ever since I had a Linda McCartney country pie years ago in England, I’ve always wanted to make my own pies, but I have been putting it off for years…..because I have a phobia of making pastry. O.k, it’s certainly low in the Richter scale of dirty laundry, but an admission nevertheless. [...]