Food

These burgers have an addictively crispy outside and are soft and chewy inside, with plenty of protein from cooked black beans. You can use commercial gluten-free panko or bread crumbs or make your own by grinding a few pieces of bread in a food processor. You can also replace panko with bought or homemade almond meal. To make it yourself, simply grind whole peeled almonds or almond slivers to a coarse powder. This makes a big batch of burgers, so freeze any ungrilled patties on plates or baking sheets so they don’t stick together and then transfer them to freezer-safe containers. To cook from frozen,  bake for 30 minutes at 375 F (190 C) then broil for a few minutes on each side to crisp exterior.

With savoury, crumbled tempeh and a rich tomato sauce, this could quickly become your go-to plant-based pasta sauce. If you’re using wine, pick something good enough to drink with dinner, whatever that means to you.

This one-pan dish is the perfect combination of caramelized vegetables, tender lentils, and juicy pomegranate seeds, all drizzled with an addictive lemon sauce. You can use canned, drained lentils instead of dried, but if you start boiling dried lentils before you chop the vegetables, it’ll take about the same amount of time as using canned in the end. Feel free to punch up the vinaigrette with 1/2 tsp (2 mL) minced fresh ginger, garlic, or Dijon mustard. Time-saving and big-batch baking Freeze any leftovers or double the recipe and freeze in a freezer-safe, oven-safe casserole dish. To reheat, bake from frozen in preheated 375 F (190 C) oven for about 30 minutes, until hot. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Shopping local If COVID-19 has taught us anything about food security, it’s that buying local matters. Buying local means being less dependent on imports. More money stays in the local economy and can be directed into public services, including hospitals and schools, via taxes. And on the environmental side, while Canada has plenty of large-scale monocrop farms, by supporting small-scale organic farms you’ll help encourage biodiversity, improve soil quality, and put your money where your mouth is by supporting a model of sustainable agriculture for future generations.

This recipe skips the MSG often found in restaurant pho and uses a traditional and punchy dipping bowl of kaffir lime, salt, and pepper instead. You can dip pieces of chicken before slurping mouthfuls of noodles followed by spoonfuls of warming broth, so that the tail end of lemony, salty chicken flavour seasons each mouthful.

Chicken noodle soup is already pretty kid-friendly, but some children can be turned off by green or bitter things such as parsley, green onions, or celery. That means you might not want to give them a giant bowl of refined carbohydrates. That’s why this recipe calls for konjac noodles, which are noodles made from a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, flavourless, and fibrous tuber that picky eaters probably won’t mind (or notice). If your kids don’t happen to mind green, feel free to substitute zucchini noodles and add all the parsley, chives, green onions, and broccoli you like! While you’ll get more nutrients out of making a homemade broth, this recipe calls for store-bought quality broth or homemade broth made in advance to save time and labour—which we know is important when there are ravenous children involved! Look for konjac noodles at your local health food store or Asian market, where they’re often less expensive and sometimes called shirataki noodles. Not all brands are created equal, though, so look for a package that contains more konjac than soy, brown rice, or tapioca flour. Feel free, of course, to substitute traditional pasta in fun shapes like farfalline, stellette, or alphabet. If you can’t find konjac, you can use peeled zucchini that you spiralize or grate into noodles instead. Zucchini gives a faint green tinge to the noodles even when peeled, though—even when peeled before spiralizing—so if you’re avoiding green and expect quizzical stares from youngsters, try a mix of zucchini and whole grain pasta broken into pieces of about the same size as the zucchini noodles. If using whole grain pasta, boil it in a separate pot so the broth doesn’t absorb all the starch and become cloudy. If using zucchini, only grate or spiralize down to the seeds, which are mostly water and will become mushy and dilute your broth. The cores make for a juicy snack for the chef!

This classic chicken noodle soup calls for a whole chicken slowly simmered with celery, carrots, and onions to create a naturally sweet broth. The trick to a clear broth is to keep the pot below a rolling boil, so the fat won’t emulsify even after the nutrient-rich collagen in the bones has melted into the liquid. The lower heat also helps retain more nutrients and flavour enzymes, which means a more delicious and healthy soup. But don’t worry if your soup gets cloudy—it’s still plenty good for you!

Budget broth

This luxurious soup skips the time-consuming broth-making step and uses poached chicken breasts in quality stock instead. That way the clean flavours of fennel and leeks caramelized and deglazed in vermouth shine through—with a swirl of silky spinach added at the end to contribute a nutritional punch. Don’t skip the marinated fennel with white wine vinegar garnish. It’s a crunchy, sweet-and-sour topping that can be made up to a week in advance and gets better after at least a day of marinating. It will last for up to a month in the fridge and is also great in salads, tacos, du Puy lentils, or as a snack with crackers. You can also make this recipe with a whole chicken and follow the method in alive’s Traditional Chicken Noodle Soup.

The humble parsnip gets an upgrade with this colourful fall-inspired salad.

Impress your guests with salmon, smoked urban style at home. Enjoy it with fresh-from-the-oven baked bannock and homemade aioli or on top of a crisp salad.

This make-ahead version of chicken soup is just what the doctor ordered. The dried spices and noodles make for the perfect Mason jar care package for a sick friend in need. Feel free to swap in or out any dried spices you’d like. Add a gift tag with instructions for the giftee to simmer the contents of the jar in 3 cups (750 mL) boiling water until noodles are soft, and you’ll be all set. To make the soup more substantial and satisfying, you can suggest adding diced chicken or vegetables to the broth and a dash of lemon juice. Otherwise, they can just enjoy the slurpable noodles in their stomach-soothing broth.   Pass da pasta   This recipe calls for egg noodles because they cook quickly without leaching too much starch into the broth, which would end up muting the broth’s flavour. You can also use quick-cooking ramen or buckwheat soba, or any spiral-shaped pasta, which look best in the gifted Mason jar.   Lemon aid   Dried lemon peel adds flavour without adding sodium. If you know your giftee will make the soup right away, add a few strips of freshly peeled lemon zest instead. Or give them a lemon along with the Mason jar, so they can add some zest and fresh juice themselves (and save the rest of the lemon for tea with ginger and honey).   Look for bouillon powder without MSG or other preservatives. Better yet, look for powdered bone broth, which will give the purest chicken flavour along with collagen, amino acids, healthy fat, and an array of minerals, just like a homemade chicken broth.  

Here’s a nutritional upgrade of the iconic cold- and flu-fighter soup that offers a fiery Asian twist. The searing serrano chili pepper is a smaller and more potent version of the jalapeno. If you want your soup to pack more of a punch, include more serrano seeds.

Fruit buckles are a quintessential old-fashioned favourite. We’ve produced a more rustic version of the old classic using oats and oat flour but with all the familiar flavours. Cut the buckle into squares and top with a generous scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream or alternative.

The fusion of sweet, salty, and tart is an explosion of the senses. When prolific blackberries are in season, there is an unlimited collection of dessert recipes. We’ve taken this to a new level by marrying it with a salad and studding it with crumbled feta and toasted pine nuts. Sweet. Savoury. Nutty. Yummy!

This delightful tart is filled to the brim with “bumbleberries.” Not to mislead, though: there is no such thing as a bumbleberry. It’s actually a mixture of fruits and berries that some suggest originated in the Maritimes. In our version, we’ve combined blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. But any mixture will do. Enjoy this summertime treat!

This refreshing take on salsa has just the right ingredients to make it delicious served with any dish. We’ve developed it for crusted chicken, but it’s equally delicious tumbled over cedar-planked salmon, pan-fried paneer, or on thick grilled slices of butternut squash.

Stay frosty  To achieve a frosted look, garnish the tart with fresh fruit and place it in freezer for 5 minutes. Once removed and exposed to room temperature, the fruit will achieve a delectable frosty look.  

The flavorite  Grilling vegetables is as simple as adding a little bit of oil and some flavorings to your favorite veggie mixture. Even simpler, use flavored oils, available at many specialty shops, to add major wow factor.

SMOKE SHOW

Cottage cheese, large flaked oatmeal, and eggs blended together is the simplest trio for fluffy golden cakes. Top with a glossy berry compote. This is such an easy recipe—and a great start to any summer day!

Meaty king oyster mushrooms make this dish a win-win for meat eaters and plant eaters. The mushrooms have long, thick stems that you slice into thick strips, skewer, then roast to make satay. Yes! A creamy, gingery peanut sauce brings it all together.

Savory, smoky BBQ sauce has a slew of uses in plant-based cooking. Spread it on sandwiches instead of ketchup or slather it on your favorite plants toward the end of grilling. Most BBQ sauces start with a base of ketchup, but we’re not crazy about the corn syrup in ketchup. We use tomato paste as a base and build up the flavors from there.

Get a roll of paper towels and dive in. Sticky, spicy BBQ sauce, creamy sriracha mayo, crunchy slaw, and sour pickles … this little sandwich has got it going on. And the jackfruit: If you haven’t tried it yet, get ready for one of the chewiest, most satisfying plant foods out there. It falls apart in shreds just like you want it to in a sloppy, saucy sandwich.

This recipe will certainly turn some heads with the look, smoky smell, and amazing flavor of a proper Texas BBQ! You can tweak the seitan by adding some blended tofu or blended beans into the wet mixture; this will give the brisket a less crumbly texture.