Rustic Pasta

Hands down the favourite supper in our house for the past six months..it's amazing! As Jay would say, it's the "most manly vegan meal he's every had"! I've entertained with it...and they've loved it....I've cooked it for my entire family while visiting in Ontario...and they all loved it! It's flavours are so unique, that you just have to try it yourself! Weekends begin in our house on Thursday night....so we find ourselves having this almost every Thursday evening, once the kids are in bed (although Noah gobbles it right up too!), with a nice glass of red wine.

I got this recipe from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet....GREAT book if you haven't taken a peak at it yet...have made almost every recipe in the book...love it:)

I should also add that we usually eat this dish with fresh parmesan on top...cheating a little I know...so it's not entirely vegan when consumed that way:) (But is just tastes SO good!!)

Also...side note...I know the quality of the photo is brutal...sorry:)

Rustic Pasta

1 pkg of long pasta....we use Brown Rice Pasta..always:)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced on diagonal
1/4 cup shoyu or tamari (good quality soya sauce)
1 head of cabbage, thinly sliced (red or green...both taste amazing)
5-6 Tbsp marinara sauce (good quality organic pasta sauce)

Cook package of pasta until just al dente, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the oil, add the onions and cook on medium heat until softened, try not to let them 'fry brown'...about 7 minutes. Then add the garlic and celery, suate for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shoyu, then add the cabbage, saute covered for about 10 minutes or until all the onions and cabbage appear well cooked.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the marinara sauce and toss together. Cook for another minute or two and serve!

Authentic Black Bean Soup

It's a rainy day here in Kelowna...which left our bodies craving some comfort for lunch! This time of year our bodies draw inward looking for nourishment from complex carbohydrates found in whole grains and legumes, squashes and root veggies! These foods provide an abundant fuel source to keep our bodies warm. Make sense? Explains why a crispy cold salad on a snowy December day doesn't taste as good, or satisfy you, as much as a bowl of this soup would! On the flip side...it also explains why we crave that cold crispy salad on a hot July day...and not this soup. So...I took stock of our pantry to see what we had on hand...and realized I had all the ingredients on hand to try this! This soup got thumbs up all around in our house...another hit from SLICE. Next time I'll be making a BIG pot to divide up and stock our freezer with. I'll also plan ahead for that one, and use dried black beans that I either soak the night before, or cook ahead of time...much more flavour to savour!!

Authentic Black Bean Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups of black beans, cooked
1 large sweet potato, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3 cups Vegetable Stock (or Chicken Stock)
1 lime, juiced

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, saute until translucent. Add beans, sweet potato, carrot, tomato, cumin, salt, chili powder and oregano and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until sweet potato is tender. Puree in a blender or with a hand blender. Add lime juice, stir to blend.

Garnish with avacado, jalapeno salsa and your favourite tortilla chips!

This soup is a FULL on meal...we were left feeling very stuffed! Being both vegetarian and vegan, it makes a great, simple, affordable meal to entertain with!

The Great Chili Cook-Off

Okay....so the cooler weather on Friday left Jay and myself in the mood for some chili! You see...Jay's great cooking skills peaked while we were dating, and then disappeared when we got married...I kinda am guilty for taking over the kitchen anyhow! But...he has always held onto the title of making apparently the best chili! I've made it many many times for us...always making lots for the freezer...and he always loves it...but he always reminds me that he makes the best chili! So...we went head to head yesterday....me with my lovely cream cast iron pot filled with yummy Fresh Vegetarian chili...and he with his large stainless steel pot filled with Bison 'Man' chili! Both pots smelled wonderful...in my head his looked disgusting...and in his head, mine looked like it was missing something....the RED MEAT!

Now for the recipes...hmmm...that's kinda a tricky one because we seriously just winged it and added whatever we felt like...but here's a list of what each pot contained....both worth making again! The best part...we have enough in our fridge for the rest of the weekend...and about 8 meals worth in our freezer!! I LOVE that!! (Clearly labeled "Jay's" and "Steph's"...of course!)

Either recipe could have ground turkey or ground beef added or substituted!


Steph's Vegetarian Chili



2 large onions, chopped
1 head of garlic, minced
4 carrots, chopped
3 red peppers, chopped
2 jalapenos, minced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bag of frozen corn
1 bunch of kale or spinach, finely chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 or 4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons crushed chili peppers (more or less, depending on how you like it!)
2 tablespoons cumin

2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
half a bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice and flesh of 1 lime
1 bottle of Corona (optional....but SO worth it!!)

Alright...I think that is everything that made it into the pot! Throw everything in the first section into your large hot, that's already heated with a few dashes of olive oil. Let 'sweat' for a while until all veggies look semi cooked. Add the lime and Corona. Simmer out for a few minutes...add everything else! I think that's it!!




Jack Daniel's Jalapeno & Lime Chili (aka. Jay's Chili)



2 lbs ground xlean bison
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 head of garlic, cut into very large chunks
1/4 cup Jack Daniels (optional...but Jay would say it's essential!)


2 red peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 apple, chopped
4 jalapenos
4 tablespoons crushed chili peppers
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons cumin
lots of lime juice


2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Simmer first section until the meat is cooked throughout. Add second section and let all vegetables cook. Add third section and let simmer until ready to eat! Enjoy with shredded cheese on top and your favourite tortilla chips for scooping! Jay enjoyed some of his leftovers today with cooked brown rice macaroni stirred in....nothing like a little Chili-Mac to warm you up!


Both of us likely would have added some chunks of fresh pineapple to ours, had we had some on hand!

ENJOY....we still are!!

Food-Colouring Free First Birthday!

This is possibly the post that I am most excited about to date! Levi turned ONE last week...and we threw him the most fun birthday party we could think of! The goal was to make it look beautiful...okay...that was MY goal...and to make it 100% healthy for all the little ones attending...and super tasty for all the grown-ups that brought the little ones along! I think it was a success:) I choose the theme about 6 months ago so that I would have time to pick up things here and there that would 'go'...that's very important to one year olds (lol)! The theme was giraffes...inspired by these super cute giraffe stuffies that I was dying to make for all the babies in attendance...and the colour scheme was brown, blue and orange/yellow. Colour schemes are not only important when choosing the decorations...but...also when choosing the food to serve!! Well...atleast in my little world it is!



Oh how I could have gone nuts over the all-blue bin of JellyBelly's at the bulk store...or the Reese's Pieces candies that are perfectly created with my colour scheme in mind....but I didn't:) I knew if I caved for those, which I could picture in my head in beautiful clear vessels lined up on the party table, that I wouldn't be able to blog about this party! So...instead we came up with these yummy alternatives. And no...not all treats were whipped up from scratch! In a perfect world, there would have been oodles for time for that...but part of me also wanted to show my readers that there are very yummy quick alternatives out there...and trust me...these all tasted better than Costco cake!! The adults were drooling over them...and the kids were excited about the recognizable favourites like Annies Bunny Crackers...which so favourably are bright orange!

Let's start with the birthday boy's cake! Levi had not yet had any form of a baked good...so this was a real first treat for him! I took our family's favourite muffin recipe...changed it a little for him...and was happy with the outcome! Levi took his time and savoured every bite...he was in his own little world for about half an hour while he enjoyed his 'cake'. The giraffe sticks were from Michael's...and were a simple way of tying in the giraffe theme! I thought they also kinda resembled the number "1" for a first birthday!

Brown Rice Flour Banana Muffins



2 cups mashed bananas (apple sauce works great too)
2 tbsp honey, agave, or maple syrup (optional...didn't use it for Levi)
1/3 cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour (spelt is great too!)

Mash the bananas, then add sweetener of choice and oil.
Mix in the dry ingredients

*Frozen berries, chocolate chips or any nut make great additions too! Even chunks of apple or pear if you're using apple sauce.

Bake for about 20 minutes. 8-10 minutes for mini-muffins.





Then there came the rest of the cupcakes...a little more decadent than Levi's!



First was the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter...can you ever go wrong with that combination? This one I cheated on a little. The cake was from a mix that we LOVE! It's Pamela's Chocolate Cake. Made with Rice Flour...it's Wheat and Gluten-Free and you would never know! This is seriously the most amazing cake mix we've ever had. The Vanilla is just as fabulous! Look for them on sale at your local Health Food Store and stock up! Anyhow...I baked them according to directions, added a slab of our favourite peanut butter on top...and then topped that with Pamela's Chocolate Frosting! Totally took all short-cuts available on those yummy little things! My favourite part is how home-made they look...wasn't looking for perfection with these guys!



Second was the Vanilla with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sprinkles. The sprinkles were from the Health Food Store...completely natural...gotta love that! The cake part was a simple Organic Vanilla Cake mix...turned out great...super simple...and nice to know the ingredients were decent! Here's the recipe for the Frosting!

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.



And third was the Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting! I used the left over icing from above. I bookmarked this recipe about a year ago...and finally got a chance to try it out! The original recipe made one square cake...however I made them into cupcakes and just baked them a lot less.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar (I used agave)
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an (8-inch) square baking pan with oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until well combined then transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until the cakes pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.



The fruit kabobs were simply pineapple and Okanagan grapes...keeping with the colour theme! Blueberries and mangoes would have been a great addition..but there were no blueberries to be found, and my mangoes didn't get ripe in time! It was interesting to see these kabobs be the first things to go!



The treat station was my favourite part of the afternoon!

Selfishly it contained Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds...I love those...



then some healthy Spelt Pretzels (a great combo with the almonds I might add!)...



some yummy fresh Farmer's Market Kettle Corn! A patient of Jay's owns the booth at the market, so it's always great to find an excuse to support her and her family!



and Noah's request...Annies Cheddar Bunnies!



Party favours for the babies in attendance were loads of fun for me! Made with love...hope they were a hit!



Favours for everyone else were cute boxes filled with Chocolate Gluten Free Animal Cookies! Always a hit!



Beverage choice for the little ones was water or water! For the adults...we offered hot apple cider...locally grown...with the option of a fun shot in it! Great for a fall day:) Not only that, but it made the kitchen smell amazing!



Another snack option sitting in the kitchen for those with no sweet tooth...Garden Vegetable Salsa with possibly the best chips on the market right now. Food Should Taste Good



So that's about it! There are about a dozen other little details that I won't bore you with...and about another dozen ones that never got further than my head...we'll save those for the next party!

Happy Birthday Levi! We love you!

October in the Okanagan

Needed to brag about this one...just a typical OCTOBER day in Kelowna...picking fresh STRAWBERRIES from our garden!!

And people wonder why we love living here:)

Fun Shaped Graham Cracker Cookies!

Okay...so this new healthy recipe was supposed to be a lovely addition to Levi's Giraffe Themed FIRST Birthday Party we hosted on Sunday...but..the whole idea of a giraffe cookie cutter just isn't a good thing I realized very quickly! WAY too long of a neck and too skinny of a tail! After about half a dozen, I gave up! Still needed to use up this wonderful dough that I had made...so I grabbed my TWO boxes of cookie cutters (used to teach Kindergarten...kinda goes with the trade!)..and told Noah to pick out his favourites...and that he did! It was a fun event for both of us! The picture isn't too wonderful, but the cookies taste great...were pretty simple to make, and are now a fun and healthy homemade snack for Noah to look forward to! He loves choosing between trains, airplanes, buses, circles, hands or cars to eat!

Graham Cracker Cookies

2 1/2 Cups Spelt Flour
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Cane Sugar, packed
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Butter, chilled & cubed (sub in Coconut Oil and these are vegan)
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor or mixer combine the first 6 ingredients.
3. Add cubed butter to the mix and pulse/mix until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Add honey and water and continue to mix until it all combines.
5. Remove and shape the dough into a flat disk
6. Roll dough out until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into crackers or shapes.
7. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. Cool and serve

These would freeze really well too!

Garden Vegetable Rose Sauce

Last week was so sunny and warm here, considering it's October! Noah and I headed out to do some yard clean-up...and stumbled upon MANY great finds in our garden still! Take a look...there was even a handful of strawberries...those just didn't last long enough with Noah around to be in the picture!



The rest of the day kinda got away on us...and all of a sudden it was 6:30pm and I found myself realizing I had planned nothing for dinner! That is not like me....I usually am thinking about dinner before I eat breakfast!! So...the boys had already eaten and were about ready for bed...it was only Jay and I that I needed to worry about. Moments like this I usually resort to Black Bean Quesadillas...that's kinda our "go-to" meal...but we were missing a few key ingredients. I took a quick look at this beautiful assortment of veggies and realized they needed to be enjoyed! This is what I came up with!



Eliminate the last step of stirring in the spoonful of cream cheese...and don't garnish your bowl with parmesan...and you've got a beautiful vegan supper!

Garden Vegetable Rose Sauce with Brown Rice Pasta

2 cloves of garlic, minced
Handfuls of fresh tomatoes coarsely chopped...canned would work too
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 large bag of spinach
1 heaping spoonful of cream cheese
handful of fresh basil...or dried basil works too
salt and pepper if desired

Heat up saucepan with a drop or two of olive oil. Add garlic and let cook for a minute or so. Add zucchini and let cook for another minute or two. Add tomatoes until well heated. Add spinach and basil. Cover pan and let spinach cook down. Stir in cream cheese...voila you have rose sauce, minus the heavy cream!

Cook Brown Rice Pasta as directed on bag...spoon over top and add a little parmesan..ENJOY!...oh...and of course it always tastes better with a lovely glass of red wine:)

A very affordable, FAST dinner that you could add some chicken breasts to if desired...and even use for entertaining!

Fluffy Spiced Pancakes

It seems like we've eaten A LOT in our house this past week based on how far behind I am on posting recipes!! So here we go...let's see how many I can get up during the boys' nap time!



Jay treated us to these on Friday morning! (Sorry for the blurry picture!) He taught Noah at a very young age how to say "pancakes, mommy?" in the morning...sounds more like "pass-icks"...which we think is super cute and results in us making them for him everytime! This time Jay took his turn in the kitchen though...gotta love that!

Stumbled upon this recipe in the complimentary magazine that you get at the register in the liqour store...and then made a few healthy changes:)

Great for a fall morning...and extra great with some Almond or Peanut Butter on top and real Maple Syrup! That's how we eat them at our house! Sometimes a sliced banana too! While eating these I thought that some Apple Butter would also taste yummy smeared on top!

Fluffy Spiced Pancakes

3 large eggs, separated
1 3/4 cup almond milk...or milk of choice
1 Tbsp coconut oil..or butter
2 tsp molasses
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Whip the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. In another bowl combine egg yolks, milk, butter and molasses. Beat until blended. Add remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Batter is ready to go!

These would make a great Thanksgiving morning breakfast:) ENJOY!