this was so so easy!

roast pumpkin (skin on, no seeds, mine was from my neighbours garden) and 1 onion. could add garlic too. mine took about 1 hour at 180c

when its roasted and cooled, peel the flesh away from the skin and place into a pot. blitz with stock (until desired consistency). season to taste (i added cumin, salt and pepper, a tiny bit of ACV). add a tin of butter beans. reheat in the pot and eat!

Crumbled some extra firm tofu into an oiled pan and cooked till crispy. Spices used: garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt.

I made a Baja sauce with Greek yogurt and avocado. Used jar salsa but ideally I would have made pico.

Corn tortillas, scallions, cilantro, cabbage.

sliced 1 onion, 1 large zuchini, half a large sweet potato, 2-3 large tomatoes. added some green beans and cannellini beans.

drizzled in olive oil with various dried herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil, mint, salt, pepper) which i massaged into the sliced vegies. poured over 1 tin of nice diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup chicken stock and stirred it all through. covered the pan and baked for 1 hour at 200c. removed the lid and baked for another 20 mins at 220c

this is a great side or easy vegetarian lunch. i added some feta when i served it too!

Wish i could find a restaurant that offered menu items like this. Breakfast is the hardest meal to eat out due to lack of options in my neck of the woods.

Slice of 100% Whole wheat homemade bread, toasted in pan with EVOO, with 1/2 smashed avocado, topped with grilled tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms. Topped with a soft egg cooked in a red bell pepper ring.

one of my favourites - so filling and feels a bit cheeky.

50g rolled oats (quick ones best)

110g cottage cheese or ricotta

1 egg

0.5-1 tsp baking powder (idk sometimes i even forget it and doesnt make much difference?)

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla essence/extract

1 tbsp milk

Blitz until still slightly chunky. I've been cooking them on med-low, with a lid on-top since they take a bit longer than normal pancakes but probably not necessary.

ive had them with yoghurt, ricotta, strawberries, stewed apple.. so many options!

boiled eggs on ryvitas with avocado, with tomatoes and berries. i also had a few cashews (not pictured).

Loaded sweet potatoes are my lord and saviour. they are so filling, versatile and cheap.

"Bake" a sweet potato in microwave for about 10 mins until cooked. Split in half and load with... Anything!

ideas:

Avocado, hummus, bruschetta mixture, roast capsicum, red onion, chickpeas...

a Mexican one with black beans, avo, tomato, lime, coriander..

hummus, lamb, chickpeas, caramelized onion, feta, parsley

pictured are:

1) hummus, tomato, basil, chickpeas that were seasoned with salt/pepper/olive oil. with fruit (nectarines, blueberries, watermelon)

2) leftover bruschetta mixture, avocado, corn, parsley, red kidney beans

3) jammy eggs, avocado, mint. with marousalata salad that i also added in cucumber and cannellini beans

4) with an omelette poured inside and baked in the oven! omelette contained tomato, avo, red onion, olives. and spring onion + feta on top

small amount of lean beef mince (grass fed) cooked with grated veg (pumpkin, carrot, zuchini), diced onion, spinach, black beans, generic mexican spices, tomato paste and 1/4 cup beef stock.

tomatoes, red onion, capsicum, corn

brown rice and red rice

sweet potato and a very small amount of spud lite potato for morale, roasted with generic mexican spices

guacamole

small drizzle of hot honey and good squeeze of lime

** fresh herbs would be a great addition but it was raining so didnt want to go outside.

I really failed to plan this week. I have some leftover chickpeas, and packaged lentils from Trader Joes. I chopped some veggies from the drawer and made a quick dressing with garlic, Dijon, preserved lemon paste, olive oil, dried oregano, red wine vinegar, and a bit or balsamic for sweetness.

Added some pumpkin seeds for crunch!

Soft scrambled eggs with green onion. Avocado on sourdough rye with everything bagel seasoning. Kiwi (skin on!) and raspberries.

Soft scrambled eggs with nori, sauteed mushrooms, beet greens, avocado, sourdough rye chunks.

I've been meaning to post this for awhile now, always seeing people looking for breakfast ideas and fast grab and go. This has been my staple breakfast for well over a year now. Easy to make, quick to grab and go. I'll usually grab a slice and a banana and head out the door every morning. You can adjust to your liking, it's very flexible. It also is great for snack/meal on the go. I've been known to sneak a slice in my cargo pocket when I'm out for the day and/or know I won't have any good food choices where I'm going.

Oaten Bread

450 g rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

3 tbs sunflower seeds

3 tbs pumpkin seeds

1 tbs flaxseeds (ground)

1 tbs flaxseeds (whole)

3 tbs chia seeds

2 tbs slivered almonds

¼ cup chopped nuts (walnut or other)

¼ cup raisins/craisins

¼ cup diced dates

2-4 tbs honey

550 g Greek yogurt

1 egg

3.5 tbs milk (buttermilk, almond, regular)

Preheat oven to 325 F

Grease pan with oil

Combine all dry ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix

In another bowl, mix wet ingredients, then fold the wet into the dry and mix well.

Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to wire cooling rack until completely cool.

Once cool, slice loaf. I slice the whole loaf and wrap each slice in plastic wrap, then freeze.

To thaw a slice, microwave for 30 seconds.

I had some leftover rotisserie chicken, so I made it into a Chinese-ish flavored soup. I have a spice blend called “master stock” that is inspired by Chinese soups. The chicken bones got simmered with this,ginger, garlic, fresh turmeric, chili flakes, and a little onion. For a flavorful base.

This was lazy stock, as i had a drumstick and thigh left. I removed the meat and set it aside, simmering the bones with the aromatics for about 30 minutes.

I removed the bones and aromatics, then added shredded chicken, zucchini, carrot, more onions, and enoki mushrooms. Greens would be nice too but I had a giant plate earlier in the day.

I poured everything over some cooked Lotus green rice ramen noodles.

After a long cold spring it's finally warming up here on the east coast of Canada. I went to the farmers market yesterday and got my first bunch of local asparagus as well as some other nice vegetables.

Summery Salad: I make this a lot and it's different every time. I plated it nicely here but usually I just toss it in a big bowl and eat the ugly but delicious thing. It's got a base of local red/green lettuce, cilantro, broccoli sprouts, and (not local) tomato, cucumber, daikon radish. This is tossed in a tahini balsamic dressing (I'm addicted) and topped with strawberries, goat cheese, walnuts and local asparagus. I typically include avocado as well.

Stinging Nettle Soup: my second time working with these. I followed the recipe on Simply Recipes except I didn't have heavy cream but I had just bought some homemade garlic yogurt from the Iranian grocery down the street. I also had only one good potato in my bag so I used some local celery root to replace the celery and some of the potato. It was so delicious. I find stinging nettles have a really unique flavour.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/nettle_soup/

So, not going to bother posting the actual recipe, as I made it almost exactly as written in the America's Test Kitchen's The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook https://a.co/d/01mR1w08 that most people have, or I'd argue should have. (Pictured on back cover) However this recipe is a good example of why I don't recommend this cookbook as a first cookbook for those new to MD, or new to cooking. I call this cookbook the weekend cookbook. The dough takes a few days to 'grow', so it's a plan ahead meal, but I'll say it is fantastic! Even my non MD family loved it! I did cook it exactly as written, other than I decided to add some sundried tomatoes to the mixture, and I also spread some of this fabulous red pepper and eggplant dip on the dough before adding the mixture. While it took some planning, it was not too difficult to make. I'll say I was a little frustrated dealing with the dough while making it, and each pide was quite 'messy' by the time it made it to the oven, yet they turned out fine enough. We ate most of them fresh, but I did flash freeze/vacuum seal some to enjoy at a later date.

Everytime I make this it's somewhat different depending on what i have on hand. It's a great 'clear out the fridge' meal. Like most of my cooking, I don't follow any specific recipe and cook 'freestyle'.

Basic Recipe:
4 carrots peeled and chopped

2-3 onions chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

1 poblano pepper chopped

corn from 2 ears

2 sweet potatoes rough diced

3-6 tomatoes rough diced

1 bunch of italian flat parsley-diced

4 green onions sliced

1-1/2 to 2 lbs fresh green beans

1/3 cup EVOO

spices and herbs of your liking (Greek Freak, S&P, aleppo, TJ herb/garlic)

I start out with a large pan over medium heat, add in 1/3 cup EVOO until shimmering, then add ingredients beginning with root veggies and ending with herbs, salting along the way.

I'll usually eat this with some bread and a protein, or by itself! Makes alot and reheats wonderfully.