Curried Red Lentil Dhal

Curried Red Lentil Dhal

Made this recipe off a red lentil dhal recipe of Michael Smith's. It is easy, delicious, and healthy. What a great way to make lentils. If you eat it with some basmati rice, it is a full meal with everything that your body needs. Eat it with some cilantro and chopped red onion for some freshness and crunch!

ingredients:

1 cup red lentils
3 cups water
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup butter

1 onion

handful of cilantro
1 tbsp spoon brown sugar (optional)

1/2 tsp of salt
basmati rice

directions:

1. Cook basmati rice in a pot, or rice cooker. Follow the directions on the package of your rice. Mine is usually 1 part rice, 2 parts water, a little salt, and 8-10 minutes simmering.

2. Put butter into a medium sized pot, and melt it down. Toss in one chopped onion and cook the onion down so it starts to caramelize. This will help add sweetness to your dhal. Stir in your spices (cumin, curry powder, cayenne, etc) in with your onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. This will reinvigorate your spices. Add the lentils, water and ginger to the pot. Add brown sugar if you like a touch of sweetness, but don't add it if you want to make it a little healthier.

3. Bring the pot to a full boil, and then reduce heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes until lentils are soft.

4. Spoon lentils over rice. Garnish with cilantro and red onion if you wish.

Warm Chicken and Pineapple Salad

Warm Chicken and Pineapple Salad

This was inspired by a Michael Smith recipe. It was delicious. I cooked all the elements in a cast iron pan, as I don't have a grill. Chicken breast, pineapple, orange bell pepper, red onion, snap peas, cilantro... with some oil and a bit of salt. Fantastic. All that great caramelized flavour is what it's all about.

ingredients:

chicken breast (or thigh would work)
fresh pineapple (sliced)
orange peppers
red onion

cilantro

directions:

1. Cut a whole pineapple in slices, or buy pineapple sliced into rings. Chop your pepper into fairly sizable chunks, as we will grill or fry it, and de-seed. Cut red onion into thick slices, maybe 1 inch thick.

2. Take the chicken, pineapple, peppers, and red onion and grill all at the same time. Or do them in a cast iron pan if you don't have a grill. Flip them all so they cook on both sides. They will all cook at different rates. The onion and peppers should get done first. While the pineapple and chicken will take longer.

3. Once everything is off, and a little cooled down, chop them into smaller bit size pieces. Almost like a stir-fry. And mix together in a bowl. Add in some chopped cilantro and toss. This recipe doesn't even need any dressing because the juices from everything should be enough. You could add a little salt or pepper maybe if you choose. But I like the freshness of just these grilled veggies and fruit complemented with the chicken.

Coconut Milk French Toast with Homemade Brioche Bread

Coconut Milk French Toast

I had always wanted to try French Toast with coconut milk, and you know what? It was so good! I also made the brioche bread specifically for making the french toast. Of course you could use any bread, and store bought bread might work even better. I was just taking the time to experiment.

ingredients:

4 pieces of bread
1 can coconut milk
3 eggs
1/4 tsp cinnamon or nut meg
1 tsp of sugar
maple syrup

directions:

1. Break 3 eggs and add to a bowl or flat pan that is a little deep. The wider the dish the better because you are eventually gonna sit the bread in it. But you can still do all the mixing in a bowl. Add 1 can of coconut milk. Then add your spices (cinammon and nut meg to your liking), 1 tsp of sugar. And then beat the mixture well so it all combines.

2. Dip in bread and cover the bread and let it soak up the egg mixture. If the bread is thicker and denser it may need to sit for a while to soak it up. If it's softer and not to thick, it may not have to sit for more than a minute.

3. Fry eggy bread in a frying pan with your choice of grease. So that it doesn't stick. Maybe a few minutes each side. Depends how hot your pan is. But peel up the bread to see how it's doing and flip when you get a brown golden crust.

4. Top with maple syrup. And if you really want to kick it up a notch, top with some chopped pecans as well.

Orange Spicy Ribs with Brussels Sprouts and Potato Salad

Orange Spicy Ribs with Brussels Sprouts and Potato Salad

This rib recipe is great because it doesn't require a BBQ or Grill. So for those who live in an apartment, or don't have access to either of those things you can make these in the oven! The high heat of 500 degrees helps break them down and make them extra tender. And all of the water in the dish will help to keep them moist. Just broil them with sauce after to get the char and colour you will want.

ingredients:

1 rack of pork ribs
3 inch piece of ginger

4 tablespoons canola oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup soy sauce

4 cups water

ketchup
soy sauce
orange and zest
1-2 cloves of garlic
brown sugar
white wine vinegar
ginger

directions:

1. Brush ribs with oil, or smear around with your hands. And then sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Fill a large casserole dish or pan with 4 cups water, 1 cup soy sauce, pieces of sliced ginger, and maybe some oranges if you have it.

2. Cover dish with ribs with tin foil and put in an oven at 500 F degrees for 1.5 hour. The high heat will help break down the ribs and make them tender.

3. Remove the ribs from the oven, and brush with your favourite BBQ. If you make a homemade sauce yourself it will be even better. (see below).

4. Put ribs in oven until broil for 5 minutes or so to give some colour and char to the ribs. Serve the racks in chunks, or cut into individual pieces. (let it stand before slicing)

sauce:

In a small pot, combine ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, orange zest and juice, ginger, brown sugar, and white wine vinegar and cook down until it looks thicker and saucier. When combining the ingredients you want to have a good balance between sweet, sour, salty, tangy... the orange will make it extra special, and the ginger will add some spice to it.

Poached Pears with Caramel Sauce and Chopped Pistachios

I made the caramel sauce myself... super easy! The pears totally turned into a vehicle for the rest of the stuff... but oh well