Pea and Mint Soup

File this one under "food that looks ugly but tastes good". It's a blended soup made with green peas (fresh or frozen), two small potatoes, and a big handful of fresh mint. My tongue was amazed at the vibrant flavour considering how dull-looking the soup was. The fresh mint was foremost and made me feel as though I was eating summer in a warm bowl. The peas jumped out at me next, with the smooth cream bringing up the rear.

Part of the reason the soup looked so terrible: I left on the skins of the potatoes. They were brown and made the resulting soup have a brownish tinge. I suppose that shows that I care more about the nutrition of my food than the beauty of the pictures. And I definitely care about taste!

Moroccan style peas with yogurt and crunchy bits

A side dish that makes the meal.... I served this little peas and crunchy stuff combination with Persian chicken and saffron rice. It's a Jamie Oliver recipe, adapted, of course. Jamie's original recipe uses fava (lima) beans. But peas are more readily available to me--and to you, I imagine. The peas are paired with mint, lemon, crunchy fried breadcrumbs, and onion, and then served with creamy yogurt as well. Any recipe that turns plain old peas into a delectable dish is worth saving. Try it tonight with your dinner and let me know what you think.

mezze (for the Daring Cooks)

The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.


The two required recipes were pita bread and hummus. Both of them were easy to make and very tasty. The flatbreads were warm, soft, pillowy. The hummus had a lemony zing. The recipes are available from Michele.


I also wanted to make Leon's Sweet Potato Falafel. They would be easier to make if I had planned ahead. The night before when the oven was on for something else I could have roasted the sweet potato and let it cool. Then the same-day prep would be simple.

Sweet Potato Falafel
adapted from Leon: Ingredients and Recipes by Allegra McEvedy

2 medium sweet potatos (about 700 g)
1 1/2 t ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 t garam masala
2 big handfuls (about 30 g) fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 c (120 g) gram (chickpea) flour
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 220 C/425 F. Roast the whole sweet potatos until tender, about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, let cool, then peel.
Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, garam masala, fresh coriander, lemon juice, and gram flour in a bowl. Mash together well.
Put into the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. The mixture should now be somewhat sticky rather than wet. Add more gram flour if necessary to make a slightly sticky mixture. Use spoons or your hands to make balls. Place on a greased baking tray.
Heat the oven to 200 C/400 F. Bake the falafel for 15 minutes until the bases are golden brown.

Finally, to my mezze feast I added Spring Greens, another Leon recipe that adds a great colour to the spread.

Spring Greens
adapted from Leon: Ingredients and Recipes by Allegra McEvedy

1/2 head of cabbage
1 leek, sliced into diagonals and washed
1/2 t caraway seeds
1 c (130 g) fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 T cider or white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
a big handful of mint, chopped
salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, heat 1 c (250 mL) water to boiling. Add the cabbage, leek, and caraway seeds. Cover and simmer for four minutes.
Remove the lid and add the peas. Stir and simmer until the veg are all cooked and the water has mostly evaporated, about five minutes.
Remove from the heat, and finish with the vinegar, oil, mint, salt, and pepper.

Warm Black Cabbage Salad

Sometimes cooking is an utter joy! I feel rapture when I head into the kitchen to turn fresh, aromatic, gleaming ingredients into a tasty, healthy dinner or snack or treat. I love the creativity of chopping, deeply smelling, mixing, and seasoning. A teaspoon to taste with and a nice napkin to eat with. This is what perfect food evenings are made of.

At other times, cooking can seem so utilitarian. We need to eat, so food must be made so that we can put it into our mouths. We are hungry, tired, and I feel uninspired. But I am learning to enjoy the routine cooking as well as the special. When there is no time for fanciful steps or three course dinners, I am finding pleasure in organising a nice meal with an efficient hand. And in the less time, the better, since there is washing up afterwards.

superfood salad

Here's a recipe from the Leon cookbook, which I love. Ant and Kirbie and I enjoyed this salad a few weeks ago when we were eating leftover roast chicken one day. I just happened to have the key items on hand: broccoli, cucumber, seeds (to be toasted) and peas. It was super tasty. I made some aioli to use in the dressing, but messed it up a bit by not reading the instructions through--we were in a hurry!

Below is the original Leon recipe, complete with instructions for marinading the chicken overnight. But I think it's a perfect salad for using up leftover chicken (or any protein item) you have on hand. Also, the recipe calls for very little quinoa. Since you're boiling the water anyway, cook a larger amount and use it to make your lunch salad.

Chicken Superfood Salad
serves 2
from Leon: Ingredients and Recipes

2 T quinoa
1/2 a head of broccoli
300 g chicken thighs, marinated overnight (see below)
2 handfuls of rocket
2 handfuls of baby spinach
2 tomatoes, chopped
120 g frozen peas
1 lemon
2 T extra virgin olive oil
alfalfa sprouts
3 T aioli
2 T toasted seeds (pumpkin, sesame, and pine nuts, for example)
chopped mint and parsley

Cook quinoa according to package directions.
Heat a griddle pan and grill the chicken.
Steam or boil the broccoli.
Pour boiling water over the peas to thaw them, then drain.
Build the salad on two plates: layer leaves, tomatoes, broccoli, peas, the juice of half the lemon, olive oil.
Put the chicken on top, and sprinkle with quinoa, sprouts, aioli, seeds, and herbs. Serve with the other half of the lemon cut as wedges.

Chicken Marinade

Cut each thigh into four portions and marinade overnight with 2 T olive oil, 3 T lemon juice, and 1 or 2 garlic cloves.