Food

Bet you’ve never considered making breakfast or Sunday brunch on the grill. Consider cooking your egg-soaked bread over flames as a way to coax even more flavour out of brag-worthy French toast. You can also use slices of brioche bread and whatever fruit happens to be in season. Of course, nobody could fault you for topping it all off with a drizzle of maple syrup. If you want it dairy free, you can use dairy alternatives such as oat milk and coconut yogurt.

With so many different dietary preferences, it can be a bit of a challenge to meet the protein requirements at the dinner table. That’s why we adopted a mixed grill for the main dish in our holiday menu. We embraced organic firm tofu for the vegans, organic chicken rather than a full-sized turkey, and pasture-raised pork tenderloin rather than ham to create three mains starring one delicious marinade.

"You’ll be dreaming of this molten caramel skillet cake with sweet cinnamon, dates, vanilla, and pecans long after your camping trip is over."

This warm and satisfying dish pays homage to slow-cooked North African tagines, but comes together in no time, combining sweet apricots with savoury and tender vegetables, legumes, and chicken. As with the black quinoa and lentil pilaf, the spices can be premixed at home if you’re heading out of town, making for efficient packing without sacrificing flavour. Using a fresh lemon (which doesn’t need to be refrigerated) also means you won’t need to lug a bottle of lemon juice along. Feel free to add other vegetables such as sweet potato, squash, parsnips, turnip, or cauliflower, or swap in dried figs, dates, or prunes for apricots. Any type of olives will work––e.g. green, purple, or black––and though you don’t need an entire jar for the recipe, you can serve the rest as an appetizer or snack. You can use dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, drained, and simmered in water until tender, or you can use canned, which saves time. Be sure to drain and rinse canned chickpeas thoroughly in water before using to significantly reduce the sodium content.  

Sushi is a fast-growing favourite among kids today, but it isn’t always budget friendly. Surprisingly, it’s quite simple to make at home and easy to customize so there’s something for everyone. Adding beets to the sushi rice during the cooking process adds a fun natural pink colour that your kids will love. This is also a fun meal for getting your kiddos in the kitchen and involved in meal prep. This finger food is great for trips to the beach or a casual dinner on a busy night. It works perfectly in school lunches or as a great on-the-go snack. You can fill these sushi rolls with all your kids’ favourite vegetables and proteins. Don’t forget to make some for yourself!

The culinary art of steaming foods in parchment paper, en papillote in French parlance, is the ideal cooking method when preparing meals for one. Just toss your ingredients in the packet and revel in the ultra-juicy meat and perfectly tender vegetables. For a ta-da presentation you can enjoy all to yourself, serve this at the table still wrapped in the parchment paper. Consider serving with a side of quinoa or freekeh.

Under wraps

• Cut your paper into a 15 x 18 in (38 x 46 cm) long piece.
• Fold in half crosswise so that a crease runs down the middle.
• Create a paper heart by drawing a half heart with the centre of the heart on the crease, then cut out the shape.
• Open the heart and layer ingredients on half of the sheet, close to the centre fold. Don’t forget to leave at least a 1 in (2.5 cm) border around the edges to allow for folding.
• Starting at the top of the heart, fold edges of parchment together, sealing edges with tight 1/4 in (0.6 cm) folds.
• Twist end tip of packet to secure ingredients, and tuck it underneath.

There’s a bit of work with this recipe, but it’s well worth it. “Falagers” is the nickname we gave to falafels made from legumes soaked in lager beer before cooking. Making them from scratch is a bit of a give-and-take game. Too wet, add flour. Too dry, they’ll need an egg white. It’s all about a feeling and making sure the mixture holds together while still staying moist. Once baked, there’s plenty more yum when served with a smoky garlic tomato beer sauce.

Tips

• Baked falafels can be stored in the refrigerator for a day or frozen for longer-term storage. To serve, heat in 350 F (180 C) oven until piping hot. Serve with Smoky Tomato Sauce.
• Want a heartier serving? Shape into burger-sized patties and, once baked, tuck into a toasted bun, pita bread, or lettuce wrap with avocado slices, creamy hummus, and Smoky Tomato Sauce.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would turn down a still-warm doughnut, and even fewer who would turn down one of these. These banana pumpkin doughnuts are baked, and lighter in texture than your typical fried indulgence, but they don’t compromise on taste. Crowned with a simple chocolate glaze and a shower of pumpkin seeds (a nod to what’s in them), you can have these doughnuts made and on the table in about an hour.

Fragrant flavours of cinnamon, coriander, and cumin lend a warm spiciness to these meatball skewers made from ground turkey. Serve them on their own as part of a larger meal, or take them a step further by adding some grilled veggies and wrapping them in a pita for a portable handheld meal.

Hokkaido scallops have a meaty texture and sweet flavour that make them particularly suitable for this raw preparation in which the lime juice does the “cooking.” Classic Mexican flavours of red onion, cilantro, and just a dash of heat from serrano pepper make this a fresh and scrumptious way to get a party started.

Wait, isn’t mousse all about egg whites? Turns out, aquafaba––the viscous liquid left over after cooking chickpeas––fluffs up pretty well, too. And no, it doesn’t make the mousse taste like chickpeas. Plus, you don’t need to worry about using unpasteurized eggs, and it’s vegan-friendly. To reduce the sugar content, skip the praline and simply toast the pecans. 

Gluten-free millet replaces traditional wheat couscous in this healthy side. Turmeric, a potent anti-inflammatory spice, provides the luxurious, golden hue.

Quark is a very low fat, high protein cheese, and the process for making it is very simple. You can whip it up at home using just one ingredient: non-homogenized buttermilk.

What in the world is quark?

Lamb is a cross-cultural meat. Globally, it’s the second most popular animal protein after goat. During Christmas, it’s the Middle Eastern choice of entrée for a celebratory meal. We’ve paired it with truffle-scented whipped potatoes for a delicious twist. Preorder boneless lamb loin from your local butcher, allowing for a minimum of 24 hours. Know your source. Look for locally raised, organic, grass-fed lamb raised humanely and for optimal quality.

Make-ahead tips

• Cook and whip potatoes ahead. Refrigerate or freeze. To reheat, place in metal bowl over large pot of simmering water. Stir to thaw, then when piping hot, whip with whisk to return texture to creamy, whipped potatoes.
• Sauté mushrooms; stir in olives. Cool and store in tightly covered container overnight. Warm in reduced stock before serving.
• If serving with beets, roast unpeeled beets a day ahead and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to serve, peel, cut into wedges, and reheat (uncovered) in oven alongside lamb.

The trick to these plant-based sausages is rolling them in rice paper wrappers before steaming and grilling them. The rice paper creates a translucent coating similar to sausage casing, but without pork. These are best served with grainy German mustard (preferably stone-ground) and sauerkraut (look for unpasteurized versions or make your own), but they’re also great sliced into pieces and cooked into a tomato-based barbecue sauce with curry powder—a traditional currywurst!

Being one of the world’s most expensive spices, saffron is an indulgence. However, a little bit goes a long way, as this tagine’s judicious application of the spice will show you.

Breakfast meet dessert. Dessert meet breakfast. This decadent tasting, yet still nutritious, way to kick off your day is a celebration of all things chocolate and a perfect excuse to dust off that waffle maker. Consider topping with dollops of thick yogurt and fresh berries. Batter using egg whites is best made shortly before making the waffles, but extras can be chilled for up to one day. Not all cacao powder is created equal. Your best buy for health benefits is “natural” or “raw” cacao powder over “Dutch processed” (often spelled “cocoa”), which uses alkalization to mellow out the flavour but also damages precious antioxidants. No buttermilk in the fridge?  A quick fix is to stir 1 Tbsp (15 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice or distilled white vinegar into each cup of regular milk and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. When it’s ready, milk will be slightly thickened, and you’ll see small curdled bits. You can also mix 3/4 cup (180 mL) plain yogurt or sour cream with 1/4 cup (60 mL) water to thin, then use as you would buttermilk. No oat flour in the larder?  If you have rolled oats on hand but no oat flour, you’re in luck. You can whiz up oat flour by blending rolled oats in a food processor or high-powered blender until a fine powder forms. A single cup (scooped and levelled) of old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats yields just over 1 cup (250 mL) oat flour.  

This lightened-up version of the comforting Italian dish calls for wild mushrooms instead of heaps of cream, butter, and cheese. The mushrooms add a gourmet touch without extra weight for your holiday packing or your waistline. Whichever mushrooms and herbs you use, the trick to exceptional risotto is to stir slowly and continuously after each addition of broth, which helps release the starch and gives the dish its creamy nature, with or without cheese. Mushroom miscellany Look for dried chanterelles or morels, or blends that include more budget-friendly porcini or oyster mushrooms. Feel free to add fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms—even sliced button mushrooms are a toothsome treat, though fresh chanterelles would be wonderfully indulgent. Simply sauté them in olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and minced tarragon, cook gently for 5 to 8 minutes, until tender, and serve on top of risotto. Broth pointers  Homemade vegetable or chicken broth is best since the broth is one of the strongest flavours in this dish, but you can also use commercial vegetable broth or quality bouillon cubes or powder. The soaking liquid of the dried mushrooms is essentially a quick mushroom broth, which reduces the amount of additional broth required. And, if you want to travel extra light, use dried herbs instead of fresh. If the rice isn’t tender after 20 minutes, increase the heat slightly. If you’re running out of broth, the heat is too high. But don’t worry, you can add a little extra water or wine to stretch the remaining broth if needed.

This dairy-free cheese has a deliciously salty and savoury taste with a rich, buttery texture from walnuts. The walnuts also give it a distinct but ever-so-mild flavour that makes it unlike any other cheese. Even if you’re not a fan of walnuts, I encourage you to buy some high-quality raw walnuts from the refrigerated section in your local health food store. Walnuts also offer high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which your body needs to protect your brain, maintain a healthy immune system, balance moods, and reduce pain and inflammation in your body. Walnuts are also a good source of vitamins B6 and E as well as minerals like magnesium and potassium. This recipe takes only about 10 minutes of actual preparation time, but the flavours are superb when the walnuts are allowed to culture for a day. Of course, you can culture it for less time if you simply can’t wait to enjoy your next batch. It is delicious on its own, or you can cut it into disks and serve it with your favourite crackers, grapes, or figs. Alternatively, spread it on freshly toasted bread, and savour the rich flavour as it slowly melts from the warmth. Mmmm.

Choosing cheese moulds

• 2 cup (472 mL) Pyrex bowl for small blocks of cheese
• 1 quart (952 mL) for medium to large blocks of cheese

Holiday celebrations have expanded in many different ways. What was once a traditional full-sized bird that had cooks up for hours to prepare—only to fall into a slump after serving—has now morphed into offerings beyond the heavy dinner. Christmas brunch is becoming a popular attraction at various restaurants, and their formal offerings are anything but the big bird.

Easy roasted beetroots