Tag Archives: berries
Mardi Gras AKA Pancake Tuesday
It’s Foodie Tuesday!
Image via unodedos.com
It’s Mardi Gras, also known as Fat, Paczki and Pancake Tuesday. So in celebration, we’re all about pancakes today. From big fluffy buttermilk flapjacks to fancy-pants versions, pancakes are always a treat, especially on breakfast for dinner days!
Vegan Oat Banana Pancakes with Berries
Image and recipe via Calm Mind Busy Body
These Vegan Oat Banana pancakes via Calm Mind Busy Body look pretty great all dressed with berries. As someone who doesn’t tolerate milk well, I am always looking for great dairy free recipes and will be adding this to my recipes to try.
Peach Poppyseed Pancakes
Image via Andreas Trottmandorff via Chatelaine
My sister-in-law introduced me to these unbelievably tasty and pretty pancakes with peach slices baked in and dotted with poppy seeds. Click here for the recipe from Chatelaine.
Cottage Cheese and Apple Pancakes
Image via Tastebook
This is an old brunch favourite in our house. Great if you’re looking for something a little different and super simple, these Cottage Cheese and Apple Pancakes are really lovely. The recipe is originally from the Moosewood Cookbook (the original one), which is probably my most used cookbook, full of wonderful vegetarian staples.
Recipe
4 eggs, separated (use all or as many of the yolks as you’d like)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup grated Granny Smith apple (about 1 large apple)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
1. Beat the egg whites until stiff
2. Combine all other ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Fold in egg whites.
3. Heat butter in skillet on medium high. Drop batter into pan and fry on both sides will golden brown and firm.
4. Serve immediately with maple syrup, fresh berries, and/or fruit compote!
Happy Pancake Tuesday!
Wild Love for Wild Blueberries
It’s Foodie Tuesday!
My son's first taste of wild blueberries last summer. They were a hit of course.
It’s wild blueberry season! And really there’s no crop I look forward to more than wild blueberries (my father-in-law’s rainbow chard and raspberries are second if I’m going to the trouble of ranking).
The Science
Wild blueberries have a distinctive flavour, packing more punch in a smaller size and way, way more nutritional value.
- Blueberries – cultivated and wild – are one of the most antioxidant rich foods on the planet
- The wild variety has more of the antioxidant powerful anthocyanin than their cultivated cousins
- Wild blueberries also demonstrate greater antioxidant capacity per serving over the cultivated variety
- The blue in blueberries is caused by phytochemicals which nutrition researchers say help ward off diseases associated with aging – cancers, heart disease, dementia, loss of eye sight
- And at 45 calories per serving they contain more nutrition than virtually any other food.
Of course you can just eat them as they are or dress them up with cream, but below find a recipe for blueberry sauce and the many ways you can use it.
Wild Blueberry Sauce
Smoky Brie with Wild Blueberry Sauce from Chatelaine
Mini Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce by Kitchen Crush
Grilled Pork with a Silky Smooth Blueberry Sauce by Zesty Chef
Vanilla Ricotta Ice Cream with Blueberry Sauce by Adventures in Shaw
Over ice cream, on waffles or pancakes, warmed as a syrup or baked with brie, a wild blueberry sauce is delicious, decadent and dead simple. Click on the links below each photo for the recipe of the gorgeous food pictured. Or try my wild blueberry sauce recipe for your next brunch:
- 2 cups wild blueberries
- 1/4- 1/2 granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 2 tsp cornstarch
In a saucepan add water and cornstarch to dissolve, add remaining ingredients cooking over medium heat until it thickens and blueberries burst, about 10 minutes.
Bon Appetit!
Perfect Picnic Potluck
It’s Foodie Tuesday!
It’s the time of year for impromptu picnics and BBQs. Wondering what to bring to the next potluck shindig? Try one of these delicious recipes!
3 Bean Salad
This is hardy and tasty, pretty and healthy. You can mix it up in less than 15 minutes and it only gets better as it sits. Plus as a side dish goes it’s pretty versatile, going well with a burger or egg sandwhich. Who could ask for more?
Recipe
3 cans of beans – I usually use red kidney beans, chick peas, and romano beans
1 small purple onion minced
1 yellow and 1 orange pepper, diced
1/3 cup minced parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing
¼ cup each olive oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar (I typically use less sugar, so be sure to taste as you go). Stir vigorously till emulsified.
Mix all ingredients together. Best to chill for a couple hours before serving as the falvours really intensify. Serves 10.
Mixed Berry Fruit Salad
If there was a food that epitomized summer for me it’s a bowl full of berries. My mum always says they look like sparkling jewels. And how wonderful that these beautiful and delicious berries are possibly the healthiest foods on earth (especially organically grown ones)? Ice cream, whipped cream or a rich chocolate something also pair stupendously. But really the berries will be enough, you’ll see.
1 lb strawberries, halved
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberries
1 sliced mango and/or a three sliced kiwis are optional but add beautiful colour and flavour too.
Wash and pick over berries, discarding any that are bruised or off. Mix together in a large salad bowl with a generous sprinkle of sugar (1-2 tablespoons). If possible chill until serving. Serves 6 as berries alone, more if you’re serving ice cream or brownies with them too!
Tuna Nicoise Sandwich
Okay tuna nicoise is a bit of a loose term here, but this is sure how to fancy up the lowly tuna sandwich. Make sure to use a nice crusty bread – a third of a baguette makes a perfect sandwich.
Ha! Local bakery didn't have my baguettes today. No matter a nice multigrain works too
Recipe
2 baguettes
3 cans of tuna packed in water, well drained
3 stalks of celery, washed and finely minced
1/3 cup minced fresh chives
1/3 cup mayonnaise or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Top with:
Sliced boiled egg (this recipe serves 6)
Any combination of Boston lettuce, pea shoots, cucumber, tomato
Mix tuna salad, top with egg and other fixings. My preference is always to prepare tuna salad and sliced sandwich toppings in advance but have folks assemble their own sandwich. (I for one hate soggy bread and these tend to fall apart given how jam-packed they are.) Makes 6 sandwiches.
Bon Appetit!
