Food

This tart is a showstopper. Smooth and creamy cashew cream is paired with the bright tang of cranberry compote for an unforgettable finish to any festive meal. Cranberries, skin on, are very high in beneficial bioactive plant compounds and antioxidants. 

Bake up omelettes inside bell peppers for a healthy, tasty, and quick end-of-day meal. If you’re cooking for a smaller crowd, this recipe is easily halved. Finish everything off with a scattering of chives and/or hot sauce. If steering clear of dairy, you can stir in nondairy milk and shredded vegan cheese. 

This version of turmeric tea leans heavily on the ginger, and its flavour is strong, spicy, and soothing. Using whole turmeric versus powder will give you more curcumin, the active component of turmeric with healthy anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin is not easily absorbed by the body, but adding pepper and fats such as olive and coconut oil increases the body’s ability to absorb it.

Savoury and meaty, sturgeon pairs perfectly with the bold flavours of this recipe. Fresh curry leaves have nothing to do with the powder that shares their name and are worth seeking out. An edible herb with a unique citrus aroma and a lightly bitter taste, curry leaves elevate this dish from delicious to sublime.

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This fusion of Korean and Japanese flavours is jumpy with attention grabbers: fiery kimchi, nutty soba, and crispy veggies. And the duo of seared tofu and edamame offers up plenty of plant-based protein to give the dish staying power. If serving leftovers, simply reheat the tofu mixture and rinse the cooked soba under hot water until soft again.

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Jerk is a style of Jamaican cooking that involves a super-hot spice mixture and (usually) meat. But what’s a guy or gal to do if you want that same fiery flavor without the environmental problems that often accompany meat production? Well, bring on the jackfruits! This fruit, when marinated and shredded, mimics the taste and texture of pulled pork. So this recipe offers a real culinary mash-up of ingredients—tropical fruit with Caribbean meat spices in a Mexican tortilla. You’ll never think of fruit the same way again!      

Your slow cooker can be employed beyond making soups and stews. In this recipe, it’s a burbling cauldron for an autumnal spiced whole grain breakfast. Waking up to the aroma of pumpkin pie may even make you a morning person.

No slow cooker?

Healthy eating can be tricky come the holidays: temptation is everywhere. Give your host the gift of an easy, filling, and nutritionally satisfying meal with this delicious soup jar.

Tips

• Take the time to pick through your lentils, as occasionally you may find small stones.
• Jazz up this soup with additional vegetables or proteins. Chopped carrot, chopped celery, baby spinach, or shredded chicken added during the cooking process will add body and richness, making for a more filling meal.

Vegetarians and carnivores will unite over this loaf. Cranberries provide an unexpected pop of sweetness, while cooking the lentils in broth instead of water adds another layer of flavour. Liquid smoke, a condensed smoke in water and not an artificial flavour, is a way to infuse meat-free loaves with hot-off-the-grill smoky flavour.

When the classic cherished flavours of pizza meet pasta you have a recipe for a lunch that will garner you praise from your school-bound tykes. To up the nutritional ante, consider serving the pasta mixture on a bed of spinach.

Frittatas are ideal for leftovers, but slipping a slice between two pieces of whole grain bread makes it portable and a great way to break out of the turkey and cheese sandwich rut. Frittatas are highly customizable based on preferred tastes or what you have in your crisper that needs to be used up. For example, you could use cooked shredded sweet potato or red bell pepper instead of broccoli.

Bored with basic chicken? It may seem counterintuitive, but simmering chicken alongside berries produces tender meat that is further enhanced by a complex sweet sauce that’s sure to become a family favourite.

Sometimes the best way to spend a Sunday is making an incredible pot of homemade chili to serve with fresh bread. With each day that goes by throughout the week, the flavors meld, becoming better and better. This recipe requires a bit of effort, but it’s really worth it.

Bean there, done that

Up in smoke

The cornerstone of Mexican cuisine and famously complex, mole sauce typically takes days to prepare. This recipe cuts down on the prep and cooking time significantly, yet still yields a deeply flavourful, chocolate-kissed sauce that perfectly complements roasted butternut squash, earthy black beans, and zesty pickled onion.

Look for whole grain farro, which leaves the germ and bran intact, for this satisfying porridge that’s sure to kickstart your day. While the cooking time is longer than for pearled or semi-pearled varieties, you’ll get more nutrition. Take the time to enjoy the delicate scent of cardamom and ginger wafting through your kitchen as you prepare this.

If breakfast oatmeal is your jam, you’ll happily spoon up this oat-infused hearty chili. It comes together quickly enough to add to your weeknight dinner routine, but soaking the steel-cut oats ahead of time is key to having them cook more efficiently. Toppings run the gamut of avocado, sour cream, broken tortilla chips, cilantro, or grated cheddar. 

The sunny side of these mini-sized egg cakes? They offer up a savoury way to work more protein and vegetables into snack time. Serve at room temperature or warm in the microwave. When grated, sweet potato cooks in a flash to quickly infuse these baby frittatas with lofty amounts of immune-enhancing beta carotene. 

Both black cod and turbot have incredibly tender, buttery texture and rich flavour that pairs perfectly with miso and maple. The main differences are that turbot is usually less expensive and it’s thinner, so it cooks a little quicker. Both are usually sustainable and come from Canada or the US. 

Now that kimchi has hit the mainstream, it’s time to work its umami-fiery crunch into more of your cooking repertoire, including this punchy salsa that adorns a plant-based tempeh filling that brings even more umami oomph to the table. Served in fresh-tasting lettuce leaves, the whole dish is a riot of appetizing colour. For taco night, you can also scoop everything into warmed corn tortillas.

In April, we’re coming to the end of the season for Belgian endives, but if you haven’t already indulged, it’s a great time to take advantage of this bounty. Braising is a delicious way to cook this slightly bitter leaf, also called witloof or chicory. In this dish, its slight bitterness is perfectly complemented by the sweet braising liquid of orange, honey, and mustard before being given a dash of licorice flavour with a sprinkling of tarragon.  

Bracing horseradish, beets, lemon, and yogurt are my preferred pairing with gravlax, all working to cut its richness for an immensely satisfying picnic meal. When you shake your salad jar or toss it all up in a bowl to serve family style, the flavours weave together, creating something brand new.

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Also called alaria and resembling pappardelle pasta noodles when rehydrated, lightly vegetal wakame is what you’re most likely to finding floating in miso soup, but it can also be the starring green in a riff on pesto. Slather the seaweed pesto between meaty slabs of tofu and you’ve got a hearty vegan main dish. The briny pesto can also be dolloped on grain bowls, grilled steak, or cooked fish.

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