Brrr!

Well it's October. Don't ask me how it happened, I haven't a clue.  It's summer, everyone is warm and happy, you look away for one second and BAM! cold, damp, fall swoops in to put an end to sundress season.   Wasn't it only last weekend that I was sweating my butt off hiking through Gatineau Park on a beautiful 25 degree day?  Yep.  That was definitely only 8 days ago.  Regardless of what evil trickery brought it about, it's here now, and we're just going to have to deal with it. Autumn has arrived, and that means it's time to bust out the jackets and scarves, and it's also time to start making soup.

Lookout view over Gatineau park, Sept. 25 - the leaves just starting to turn

The really great thing about autumn (or as I like to call it "soup season") is that the fall harvest brings a bounty of produce to the local farmers markets.  So many soup possibilities await!  All of the produce in this warming, immune-system-boosting soup can be found at the farmers markets now.  You can make this in two ways: soup or stew.  I'll tell you how I made the soup, then what you can do differently to make it a stew instead!

Vegan Groundnut Soup 
Makes about 2 big meal-sized servings, or 4 small "on the side with a sandwich" sized servings

1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ground ginger
1 red pepper, chopped
4 plum tomatoes, diced
1-2 sweet potatoes, cubed (1-2 cm cubes)
Enough vegetable broth to just cover the vegetables
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 cup peanut butter (all-natural preferred)

In a large pot, saute onions with a bit of oil for a few minutes until they soften.  Add in garlic and ginger and saute for one minute.  Add the tomatoes and red peppers and saute until tomatoes start to break down.

Add remaining ingredients making sure to only put as much vegetable broth in as is needed to cook the sweet potatoes - you can add more liquid later, but it's more difficult to take it away.  Bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potatoes are cooked.

Using a hand blender, pulse soup to form a thick, creamy base while still leaving lots of chunks of vegetables. Alternatively, you can remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup and puree in a blender, then return it to the remaining soup.  Add more liquid if needed to reach desired soup density.

Stew form: Chop vegetables into larger chunks, do not puree at the end, and serve over rice.  Top with chopped peanuts and cilantro.  You may also add beans, tofu, or faux chicken to this stew if it pleases you.

Going green

This summer, while living in Kingston, I regularly frequented their fantastic farmer's market. While at one of the booths I overheard one of the farmers describing tomatillos.  As the name would suggest, they belong to the tomato family, and are closely related to ground cherries.  Like ground cherries, they're wrapped in a beautiful papery husk that remind me of paper lanterns.   They taste a bit like tomatoes, but a little more tart and I found them a bit sweeter.  I love experimenting with new ingredients, but to be honest, I bought these because they're so darn pretty.

Tomatillos are a staple in Mexican cooking, particularly in Salsa verde, so naturally, that's what we made with them!  In fact, we had a whole mexi night, and made fajitas with homemade whole wheat flour tortillas!  I don't remember which website I got the tortilla recipe from, but they're all more or less the same. The rolling of the tortillas was a bit time consuming, but otherwise, it was really easy!  A quick cook in a hot, dry pan, and bam!  Fresh, homemade tortillas!

The salsa verde was a sweet, fresh and tangy alternative to my usual homemade salsa.  I made this a long time ago so I can't tell you how much I used of what, but just wing it!  That's what I did!

Salsa Verde

-Tomatillos
-Onion
-Jalapenos
-Fresh cilantro (don't be shy!)
-Fresh lime juice
-Sugar
-Garlic

Combine ingredients in a food processor (or chop the heck out of it!) so that everything is chopped finely but still has enough chunkiness to give the salsa some body.  That's how I like it at least.  

For whom the Bhel tolls

Back in November I visited Burnaby, B.C. (that's British Columbia, not Before Christ for any Americans who may be reading this). While I was there I ate at a terrific Indian restaurant, the Bombay Bhel. I've had Indian food many times before, but this time I had something I'd never tried before. It's an appetizer called "bhel poori" (or bhel puri as it's sometimes written). Not technically a salad, but a "chaat". A chaat is a savoury snack usually consisting of crunchy bits, chutneys and cilantro. There are many variations on this theme, as I've come to learn. Bhel poori is essentially puffed rice, sev (crunchy noodle shaped bits made of chickpea flour), onion, tomato, cilantro, and tamarind chutney. A quick internet search reveals that no two recipes are exactly the same but those basic ingredients seem to be the standards that define this dish.

As I've said, bhel poori is a chaat, not a salad. But what is a salad, really? We cannot define it based on its ingredients, since a caesar salad, bean salad, and potato salad hardly share any of the same ingredients, and yet, we all know them to be salad. The word salad comes from the Latin word salata meaning "salty". Merriam-Webster defines a salad as:

1 : any of various usually cold dishes: as a : raw greens (as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing b : small pieces of food (as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin

This definition, particularly part b, suits my concept of salad quite nicely. Let's think back to bhel poori: Usually cold? check. Small pieces of food? check. Mixed with a dressing? Hmmm... what constitutes a dressing? Merriam-Webster tells me that a dressing is "a sauce for adding to a dish". Well, I'd say that chutney counts as a sauce for adding to a dish. Thus, I deem that bhel poori meets the criteria qualifying it to be a salad, and thus, a valid entry in the Salad Challenge!

The recipe I more or less followed is found (ironically) at No Recipes. Funny that one should find recipes on a blog entitled No Recipes, but I'm not one to judge. It's actually an excellent blog with beautiful photography, I suggest you give it a browse.

The unfortunate thing about bhel poori is that proper ingredients are not always easy to find. The local superstore only carried mango chutney, and I couldn't find any sev. I did find a snack mix called "Jaffna mix" at the local bulk barn, and it did list the main ingredient as chick pea flour, so one can only assume that the little noodle-like sticks in this snack mix is indeed sev. I did come across the occasional bhel poori recipe that called for mango, so I thought the mango chutney would suffice, especially given the loose definition the dish has to begin with. With that, I give you my very own take on bhel poori.

Ash's Bhel Poori

Serves 1

1 small potato, cooked & coarsely mashed

1/2 roma tomato, chopped

2 tbsp red onion, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup puffed rice

1/4 cup Jaffna mix

2 tbsp mango chutney (or enough to coat all the ingredients)

Mix all ingredients together and serve immediately. This recipe won't keep (the rice & sev will go all soggy). I really liked this recipe, it was quick and easy, but I would really like to try it again with tamarind chutney (this seems to be pretty important and I get the feeling that without it I'm sort of missing the mark a bit). Maybe I'll try to hunt some down in Ottawa sometime, cause I doubt I'll find it anywhere in Brockville.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 18 Salads left: 34

Turmeric and Coriander and Cumin, Oh My!

Last night I attempted to introduce my cat, Skrabble, to my friend Brett's cat, Lily, in a hope that they would become the best of friends and have an outrageously adorable play date. This didn't occur. They generally just growled at each other and avoided each other for the majority of the evening, punctuated with the occasional screaming encounter.

You may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with food? Be patient, all will be revealed to you at the proper time. Lucky for you, that time is now. While over at Brett's place for kitty party (aka kitty growl-fest) I made a curry and onion bahjis for us for dinner. I decided to use this as inspiration for this week's Salad Challenge. The onion bhajis got me thinking about these battered fried onion bits that they put on the veggie burgers over at Darcy McGee's, a chain of pubs in the Ottawa area. Not only are these the best veggie burgers I've ever had, but atop their already fantastic burger, they put a grilled portobello cap and onions that have been battered in a curry-spiced batter, then deep fried. SO GOOD. Seriously, if you're in Ottawa you HAVE to go to one of these pubs and get their veggie burger. They also have some very good beer on tap - I recommend Erdinger.

Ok, I'm getting off topic again. The point is, I was thinking to myself that these crispy onions would make a super tasty salad topping. And so the idea for Bahji salad was born! These crispy fried onions would be an excellent topping for salads of all kinds, veggie burgers, sandwiches, portobello or tofu steaks. They're basically just delicious.

Crispy Bahji Bits

1 onion, cut in half, then thinly sliced

1 tbsp water

2 tsp cornstarch

3 tbsp chickpea flour

1/2 tsp each turmeric, coriander, cumin and chili powder

cayenne pepper to taste

olive oil

Mix cornstarch and water together. Add onions and toss to coat. In a tupperware container mix chickpea flour and spices. Add the onions to the container, put the lid on, and shake to coat.

Heat about a half centimeter of oil in a pan or pot over medium heat (I like pots cause they contain the oil splatter better). Put in only as many onions as the pot/pan will hold in a single layer. Fry until onions are crispy, turning once so that both sides are browned. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Bahji's are often served with Cucumber Raita for dipping. Raita is usually made with yogurt, but I replaced yogurt with soft silken tofu, and it turned out pretty well, but I think it still needs improvement. I used the raita I made as a salad dressing, and constructed my salad with baby spinach, grated carrot, sliced cucumber, raita, and of course, topped it all with a generous helping of bahji bits!

I rounded out dinner tonight with this Rice & Lentil Pilaf which was SO delicious (I used kale in place of dandelion greens), and Sweet Potato Falafel from my favourite vegan food blog, FatFree Vegan Kitchen. Also, totally delish. All in all, this was a kickass meal, even if I do say so myself!

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 13 Salads left: 39

Blue Days Salad

I'm sure it's not surprising that this week's Salad Challenge recipe is based on my last entry on the Blue Days Diet. As a review the blue day diet includes: tryptophan (to boost serotonin), spiciness (to release endorphins), B vitamins (increase energy & elevate mood), carbohydrates (increase tryptophan uptake), and chocolate (cause it's awesome).

Ok, so this salad doesn't have chocolate. I couldn't come up with a way to do that, so i'll just have to make some hot cocoa later. Since I was eating this salad with a stir-fry that I served over quinoa, I figured that satisfied the carb requirement, and really, when are we ever lacking in opportunities to incorporate more carbs in our diet? So lets focus on the other three, tryptophan, B vitamins, and heat.

As I already mentioned, I was making a stir fry for dinner, so I decided to go with an asian influence in this salad. This salad features crimini mushrooms, which have nearly all of the different B vitamins as well as being an excellent source of tryptophan; cucumber, miso, sesame seeds and the baby greens are all sources of tryptophan as well. The dressing contains a good dose of cayenne pepper which will warm your tongue and get those endorphins flowing.

Crimini Mushroom Salad with Spicy Miso Dressing

Makes 1 salad

Dark leafy greens

4 or 5 crimini mushrooms, sliced

soy sauce

cucumber, sliced

sesame seeds

Dressing:

1 tsp miso paste

1 tsp oil (use sesame oil if you have it)

1 tsp rice vinegar

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1/2 tsp water

Saute mushrooms with a bit of soy sauce until well cooked. Set aside.

Whisk together dressing recipes. If you're not partial to spicy food start with a little and add more until it suits your tastes. You may want to add more or less water depending on how thick you want the dressing to be.

Drizzle dressing on top of greenery, cucumbers, and mushrooms, and top with sesame seeds.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 10 Salads left: 42

Blue Days Diet

The Brothers Gibb once asked "How can you mend a broken heart?". I don't have the answer to this age-old, disco question, but I have been told that time heals all wounds. The problem with that is that you're probably going to feel pretty darn miserable in the meantime. The good news is that food can help take the edge off. Think of it like nature's morphine.

You're stressed, had a rough week at work, or just had your heart broken, and what do you do? You reach for a bar of chocolate or your favourite starch-filled comfort food. Why do we do this?, you might ask. Well you're in luck, because I'm about to tell you!

Many people are emotional eaters, and there's good reason for it. Foods have the power to elevate your mood by releasing endorphines, and increasing serotonin, among other methods. Deficiencies in certain nutrients can also cause depression symptoms. Here is a breakdown of important mood foods.

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is an amino acid that our body uses to synthesize serotonin. When serotonin levels are low, we become depressed, lose focus, and disrupted sleep patterns. Many anti-depressants act on serotonin levels, such as the ever-popular SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) such as Prozak. But you don't need drugs to increase your serotonin, all you need is more dietary tryptophan. Many of you know that turkey is high in tryptophan, but there are many excellent sources as well.

Vegan sources of tryptophan (for a complete list go here):

• Mushrooms
• Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, mustard greens, swiss chard)
• Soy (beans, tofu, tamari, miso)
• Lentils & Beans (Kidney, black, pinto, navy etc)
• Cauliflower, cucumber, celery, peppers, eggplant
• Seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower) and Nuts (walnuts, cashews, almonds)
• Whole grains (oats, buckwheat, rye, bulgur)

Endorphins

The word "endorphine" comes from the words endogenous morphine, suggesting that it is a morphine-like substance that is produced by the body. They are natural pain relievers that are released when we experience pain and danger, but they are also released by good things such as exercise and orgasms, which is why people tend to feel so great after exercising (the so-called "runner's high"). Essentially, they are released when we experience excitement, good or bad. Eating spicy food is also known to cause the release of endorphins. Who needs morphine when all you need is a hot pepper?

B vitamins

There are 8 B vitamins (oddly named 1,2,3,5,6,7,9,12) but are frequently known by other names: thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and folic acid (B9). Many of them are known to have effects on mood, energy levels and cognitive function. They are also important for supporting metabolism. Unlike many nutrients, B vitamins can be harder to obtain in a vegan diet. Good sources of B vitamins include:

• Bananas
• Lentils & beans
• Chili peppers
• Potatoes

Vitamin B12 is the only one that can not be found in plant based foods. Nutritional Yeast is a good vegan source of B12, can be easily added to soups and sauces, and is easy to find (locate it at Bulk Barn in the spices section).

Chocolate

Perhaps the best known go-to mood enhancer is chocolate. It's not just that it makes us feel better by virtue of it's luscious deliciousness, it boasts a laundry list of natural mood boosting chemicals. Chocolate contains tryptophan, theobromine (a stimulant similar to caffeine), anandamide (a cannabinoid- aka similar effects as cannabis), and phenylethlyamine (a neurotransmitter that is a precursor to amphetamine). It's no wonder chocolate makes us feel better.

Carbs

Think about our favourite comfort foods - bread, pasta, potatoes - all carb heavy foods. Why is that? It's because carbs affect our tryptophan and serotonin. When we eat sugar and carbs, blood sugar rises, triggering the release of insulin, which lowers blood levels of all amino acids except tryptophan. When tryptophan outnumbers the other amino acids, it enters the brain more quickly, where it is converted to serotonin, and ultimately making us feel better (for more details check out this site). When we binge, we're self-medicating. Try to self-medicate with healthy carbs such as fruits, whole grains, and potatoes.

Sunlight

Ok, so sunlight isn't a food, I know, but it can still play an important role in our mood. I'm sure you're all familiar with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) aka the winter blues. Those of us who live in the snowy north have probably felt its effects as the days grow shorter and we spend more time indoors. Tanning releases endorphins, which is why it feels so good to lay out in the sun, or why people become addicted to tanning booths, causing us to engage in these cancer-causing activities against our better judgement. Sun exposure also affects our melatonin and serotonin levels, causing us to sleep better and feel happier. Best of all, sunshine is free and totally vegan. So when the weather permits, get out and enjoy the sunshine, but be smart about it, and wear sunscreen.

More Thai Peanutty Goodness

My spicy Thai peanut dressing from last night put me in mind of spicy peanut dipping sauce, and my favourite thing to dip in that sauce is Thai fresh rolls (aka summer rolls). They are crunchy, fresh (as the name

suggests), snazzy looking and super easy. If you want to wow a date or dinner party, whip up some of these babies. They can be made up to a day ahead if you store them covered with a damp cloth (don't use terrycloth, the little loops and fluffs will stick to the wrappers), but they're such a snap to make, I would just get all my veggies sliced ahead of time and assemble right before serving.

The other great thing is that fresh rolls are easy to make only as much as you want at the time, with one exception - the noodles. Fresh rolls usually contain rice noodles, which usually come in bundles fit to feed a family of four, and are impossible to separate into smaller bunches without getting dry noodles in every corner of your kitchen, only to linger there and poke your bare feet for weeks afterward even though you've swept the floor several times. I may be speaking from experience. An excellent option is to plan your meals around noodles. The cooked noodles store well in the fridge and you can use them the next day for a noodley stir-fry, or in a delicious soup like the one I made tonight with my fresh rolls.

Thai Fresh Rolls

Makes as many as you want!

-slivered veggies such as peppers, carrots, cucumber, green onion, sprouts, avocado

-cooked & cooled rice noodles

-rice papers

Cook your noodles according to the package directions. When they're cooked, pour them out into a colander and rinse well with cold water til the noodles are totally cold. Slice all your veggies and have them ready. If you're using avocado, brush them with a little lemon juice to keep them from browning.

Fill a large bowl with the hottest water that will come out of your tap. Dip a rice paper sheet in the hot water, count 3 steamboats and take it out. It will still be firm, but don't worry it will continue to soften while you're assembling your roll. Line your toppings up neatly in the middle, leaving enough room on the ends and sides for proper rolling. Start bundling by folding over the two ends, then fold over one side, then roll up burrito style. It should be a pretty tight bundle, but if you roll it too tight the rice paper will tear.

*Alternatively you can skip the noodles and it can be rolled up in lettuce or other flexible leafy green leaf for a truly raw dish.*

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

This will make enough for about 4 rolls

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 clove garlic minced

Hot sauce or chili flakes (optional)

1-2 tbsp water to give desired sauce consistency

Stir ferociously til well blended and smooth.

The soup I made with this meal has pretty typical Asian elements and would go well with any type of meal, or all by itself as a quick lunch. The nori sheets in this recipe impart the flavour of the sea, as soups from Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and the like often are made with fish broth or other fish/seafood flavourings. You can leave it out if you're not partial to the flavour of nori. This soup is also very adaptable - you can add any number of vegetables you want. I think shredded carrot, peppers, and sprouts would be wonderful additions. Tiny cubes of tofu would also be great in this soup, and make it a more complete meal. I've given you the basics, and my personal favourite way of preparing it, it is now yours to personalize.

Super Easy Asian Noodle Soup

Makes 1 big bowl

4 or 5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional)

1 strip* toasted nori, broken into small pieces

1 green onion, sliced

1 baby bok choy, chopped

handful of cooked rice noodles*

In a hot pot, saute shiitakes, garlic, and ginger with soy sauce for a few minutes. Add vegetable broth, chili flakes and nori. *Nori is often perforated into about 6 or 8 strips, use only one of these strips, NOT a whole sheet. Let the broth simmer for about 5 minutes to let the flavours mingle. Remove from heat and add onion, bok choy and rice noodles. *If you happen to have single serving rice noodle "nests" add them in a few minutes before removing from heat. Serve in a big bowl.

Thai me up and make it hot

The winning ice sculpture at this year's international ice carving competition at Winterlude

I've been distracted this week by statistics homework, winterlude, and a kickass show featuring two fantastic Canadian bands, the Sadies and Young Rival. With all this fun, I almost forgot about my salad of the week! This does not bode well seeing as how I almost dropped the ball only 6 weeks in.

That being said, I did make a delicious salad tonight. As the title suggests, it is inspired by Thai cuisine. The things I love about Thai food? Peanutty goodness, ginger, and heat. This salad has all of those elements. My goal for this dish was to take a spicy peanut sauce stir-fry and turn it into a salad. I think I succeeded.

The salad dressing has fresh grated ginger in it. A few years ago I learned a really great tip for ginger from Rachel Ray on her "30 minute meals" show. I'm not really a big fan of hers, (I think she's a little over the top) but she makes some good food. She suggested peeling the ginger root and putting them in a ziplock baggy in the freezer. When you need some just pull it out and grate from frozen. I tried it and I can tell you it makes grating ginger SO much easier. Give it a try, you'll never go back.

Week 6: Thai Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Makes 1 salad

Greenery of choice

Sliced red bell peppers

snow peas

sliced green onion

cucumber

unsalted peanuts

dressing:

1 tsp peanut butter

1 tsp soy sauce*

1/2 tsp seasoned rice vinegar

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

*To make this gluten free make sure you're using gluten-free soy sauce or tamari

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Assemble salad, top with dressing, peanuts, and a squirt of fresh lime juice. I think sliced avocado would be an excellent addition to this salad, but unfortunately, I have recently learned that I may have an oral allergy to avocado and was told by my allergist to avoid it. So sad.

Salad Challenge Countdown

Salads made: 6 Salads left: 46

A hot cure for the cold

September is back to school season. While this makes many people think of school supplies and a new fall wardrobe, this time of year makes me think of sniffley-nosed freshmen and all the germs they are sharing. I am the furthest thing from a germaphobe and I almost never get sick, but I still like to fill my diet with immunity boosting ingredients just in case.

It is common knowledge that vitamin C plays an important role in maintaining immune function, but did you also know that carotenoids, specifically beta-carotene, is just as important. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant, and it is also broken down in our digestive system into vitamin A. Though most well known for its role in vision, vitamin A helps us stay healthy in a number of ways. It boosts white blood cell function, increases antibody response, and most importantly, maintains healthy epithelial and mucosal tissues that serve as the bodies first line of defense against would-be intruders.

The red pepper is your best friend during cold season, and that's because one cup packs in a whole day's intake of vitamin A, and a whopping three times the amount of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

Factoid: Cooking destroys a lot of vitamin C. After 10-20 minutes of cooking, as little as 1/3 of the vitamin C found in the raw fruit may be left. So when cooking with vitamin C rich foods, look for ones, like red peppers, with 3 times more than you need!

A diet full of carotenoids and vitamin C can reduce your risk of cancer, and will certainly reduce your risk of colds. Carotenoids are typically found in orangey fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, red and orange peppers, squash, tomatoes and mangoes, but it is also found in some unexpected places like spinach and collard greens. Try to make these foods a part of your daily life to keep you healthy.

Maybe you've done your best and already come down with the sniffles, or like me, ragweed season is still dragging on and your sinuses are more congested than the Gardiner Expressway during rush hour. That's why I've added a little bit of heat to today's cold-busting recipe. Capsaicin is the chemical in peppers responsible for their heat. Ever noticed how eating spicy foods cause your nose to run? That's because capsaicin stimulates the mucous membranes in your sinuses, which relieves congestion faster than any medicine on the market. In fact there are now a number of capsaicin based decongestant sprays now available. To top it all off, capsaicin can also reduce inflammation, and is a thermogenic, meaning it will cause your body to burn off more calories. All good reasons to spring for a little extra spice.

And as if those weren't good enough reasons, what is better than soup during cold and flu season?

Immunity Soup

1 large sweet potato

1 red bell pepper

1 medium hot pepper (I used the "Crimson Hot" variety)

1/2 an onion

1 clove of garlic

2-3 cups vegetable broth

Update: Add 1/4 cup of red lentils to give this soup a protein boost!

Chop all the veggies and combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft (about a half hour). Puree and serve topped with fresh ground pepper.

P.S. All the produce in this recipe is currently in season in Ontario, so find a roadside stand or farmers market and go local!

Good things grow in Ontario

One of the best things about living in Southern Ontario is the produce. Unless you're after citrus fruits or mangos, southern Ontario is the place to be. From the beginning of May when asparagus season hits, til the fall when apples and squash abound, the roadsides of Ontario southwest of Toronto are littered with produce stands. And nothing beats fresh, local produce, except of course for fresh, local produce purchased straight from the farmer's driveway. Sadly, I have no car to go out and collect my bounty directly from the producer, but luckily for me, farmers markets are also quite popular and provide one stop shopping for all ones fruit and vegetable needs.

Want to know what's growing in Ontario? Check out Foodland Ontario's website and you'll see that, in the words of DJ Laura C Chord, there's more up here than hockey and beer!

If you ask me - and since you're reading my blog I'll assume you did - happiness is a ripe peach. Could there be a more perfect fruit? Sweet, soft, pleasing to the eye. There really is nothing more heavenly than biting into a fresh peach, juice running down your hand, sugary and sweet, an explosion of flavour on your tongue that transports you to a more lovely place, making you forget for just a moment all your troubles and cares. Alright, so maybe that was a little melodramatic, but I really am passionate about produce. And peaches are king - truly nature's candy. The only downfall of the peach is that they really don't keep very long. I have chronic eyes-bigger-than-stomach-itis, and always find myself with a 2L basket of peaches, feverishly trying to use them all up, for allowing peaches to spoil is a sin greater than any other.

Normally I would just gorge myself on peaches until they were all gone, but this time, inspired by my food blog, I decided to actually do something with them. Now don't get me wrong, peaches are perfect as they are, but they could lend their transcendent deliciousness to other dishes. Having just purchased a bunch of cilantro for my El Salvador inspired blog post, I decided to try my hand at some peach salsa. As luck would have it, there was a terrific recipe on Foodland Ontario's website. I, of course, replaced the parsley with cilantro, and the results were to die for. Easy, fresh, delicious. Highly recommended.

That recipe only used 3 peaches, which hardly made a dent in my basket, so I decided to try my hand at some peach chutney. I LOVE chutneys. I consulted a number of chutney recipes online, and came up with this modified version of a number of them. Many of the recipes made a very large quantity of chutney, and used a large quantity of peaches. I don't need that much chutney, have nowhere to store it, do not have any canning jars, and quite frankly wanted some peaches left over for myself!

The Non-Canner's Easy Hot Peach Chutney
(makes about 1 1/2 cups or so)

1/2 smallish yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
1 tsp hot pepper flakes (add more or less to taste)
a few dashes of salt & pepper
6-7 peaches, cored, peeled, diced
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

In a sauce pan, saute onions and spices in a bit of oil until onion softens. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced, peach chunks get nice and soft, and it gets a chutney-like consistency. This should take about 40 minutes. Allow to cool and store in the fridge.