Almond, Date and Vanilla Smoothie
That Almond, Date and Vanilla Smoothie has this beautiful and delicate flavor to it, it’s not overly sweet and has a really smooth, rich and creamy texture.
Want.
Pasta with Swiss Chard & Mushrooms in White Wine Cream Sauce
You may know by now, I never follow recipes unless I’m baking. I created this recipe tonight, and the ingredients literally came together as I went. I was going to do an oil/butter based sauce, and ended up with a cream based one by the time I was done. It turned out amazing, which is why it made it here. I’m completely guessing on the measurements, but it seems pretty good to me. 
1/2 box linguine
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced fine
1/8-1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 bunch Swiss Chard, chopped
Handful of white button or crimini mushrooms
1/2 cup - 1 cup fresh grated parmesan reggiano
Pinch of paprika
Salt and pepper
Start by cooking your pasta per the box directions in nicely salted water.
Get a wok or deep pan on medium heat and as the 1 tbsp of the butter is melting, throw in the garlic, swiss chard, and mushrooms all at once. Salt and pepper. Cover, and stir every minute or so until everything is wilted and cooked.
Do not let your garlic burn—I hate burnt garlic.
Add the wine and reduce liquid by almost 90%.
Add the cream, parmesan, paprika and stir until thickened. I ended up adding a tiny bit of corn starch mixed into water for a quicker thickening, mainly because I was impatient and hungry.
I like to add a little butter to pasta sauces right at the end. So, do that with the other 1 tbsp left over here.
Toss pasta in sauce, top with a little more parm, and enjoy!
Matt’s portion is waiting on the stove top for him, and he’ll be lucky if it’s still there when he gets home.
I wish I didn’t already know what I was making for dinner. This will be on next week’s meal plan for sure!
Beet & Black Bean Veggie Burgers
These veggie burgers are so delicious! I’ve made lots of different versions of veggie burgers and I think this is my favorite way to do it. If you’ve never made your own veggie burgers before, you’ll be surprised how easy it is. They’re much more flavorful than the ones you get in the frozen food aisle. These have a lot more nutrition too because of all the fresh vegetables. This recipe makes about 4-6 burgers. They can be cooked and the leftovers frozen for future use.
This is the first time I added minced beets into the burger mixture and I love the sweetness and rich flavor it adds. Chop all the ingredients into very small dice for best results.
Cook 1/2 cup brown rice in plenty of salted water with 2 small or 1 large beets. Remove the beets when they are fork tender. Once the rice is cooked, (about 45 minutes), drain and set aside.
Saute 1 small, finely chopped, sweet onion in a bit of olive oil. Chop the cooked beets and add those to the skillet, sauté for a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with a splash of apple cider vinegar.
Rinse and drain 1 can of black beans, mash with a fork or potato masher. Grate 1 large carrot. Mix the sautéed veggies & mashed black beans with 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 cup cooked rice, 1 or 2 smashed and chopped garlic clove, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, celery salt and pepper, pinch of cumin, 1/4 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, chopped parsley, 1 tblsp olive oil, 1 tblsp flour and 1 scrambled egg.
Heat a cast iron skillet to medium high, add a bit of olive oil spray. Form the burgers into patties and cook on both sides, letting a crust develop for best texture. Add cheddar cheese if you like and cover to melt. Serve on whole wheat buns with sliced onions, tomatoes, avocado and dijon mustard. Delicious!
Soba Noodle Salad with Salmon & Asparagus
It’s been 30°C in Kelowna the past few days, so this cold noodle salad was a nice treat on a super hot evening.
No leftovers here. Too good to save.
Thank you Bon Appetite.
Garlic Soba Noodles with Crispy Tofu Fingers
Other than adding in some mushrooms that I wanted to get out of my fridge before heading out of town this weekend, I didn’t change too much of Heidi’s recipe. This is a keeper.
Enjoy!
Poached Eggs on Toast with Avocado & Parmesan (Taken with instagram)
Chicken Fried Oyster Sandwich
We first tried Chicken Fried Oysters downtown Vancouver at a food truck called Fresh | Local | Wild. That was a year ago, and we haven’t stopped talking about it. 
This place was dynamite, and tonight, we recreated this sandwich.
Soak fresh-frozen or fresh oysters in a buttermilk bath for as little as 30 minutes, but up to overnight. (Easy homemade buttermilk: 1 tbsp vinegar, top up with milk to total of 1 cup).
Flour, salt, pepper, paprika. Mix.
Throw the dripping buttermilked oysters in the flour mixture and gently coat.
Drop into hot canola for about 3-5 minutes until they are just passed golden brown and crispy.
Mayo, sriracha, fresh garlic. Mix.
Make yummy sandwich.
Eat.
