I had a heck of a time finding Harissa, and now that I have, I am definitely in love. It has a tomato paste bitterness to it, with the brightness of red chilis, coriander, and cumin adding depth and a little squirt breathes life into so many foods. I first bought it to make Soup Addict’s Spinach Egg and Harissa Chopped Salad and now I feel like the old lady in the Frank’s Red Hot commercials – I wanna put that sh*t on everything!

I think it would be lovely in a vinaigrette for a salad with roasted cherry tomatoes, mint, and chickpeas. I also want to turn it into a marinade for chicken skewers and then wrap it up in some warm buttered naan. What about a Harissa baba ganoush dip? And I don’t even like eggplant! Speaking of complementary flavours, mint, feta, lemon, toasted fennel seeds are all complementary if you want to experiment with Harissa.

Infatuation like this doesn’t take much tempting – and it was up against Sumac, which I have been eager to bust into ever since I found it at MacLean’s in Nanaimo last month. The can of full fat coconut milk was calling my name from the back of the pantry and I knew Harissa, as a North African spice, was a safer bet for experimenting with a huuujass pot of stoup.

This recipe will work with whatever vegetables you need to use up, though onions, celery and carrots should all play some role for mirepoix affect. And if you’re in Victoria, check out the newly renovated and expanded Rootcellar on Blenkinsop and Mackenzie. They now carry pretty much every food that has ever crawled into my heart and never left, and the space is open and bright and evokes a much more peaceful, breathable shopping experience!

Also, please do not skimp on the coconut milk, ok? I know, I know. It is tempting to buy the reduced fat stuff, but the truth is I just use that light coconut milk to justify a cookie, extra piece of French toast, or glass of Dark Matter somewhere else in life, so what’s the difference? Besides, the lentils and veggies will absorb most of the broth during cooking, so when you add the coconut milk it will just melt into the pot like a dream and you won’t regret it. I promise!

Creamy Harissa Lentil Soup

Makes a huuujass pot – I never understand how people count out soup servings since I eat soup in all kinds of serving sizes, whenever it feels like a good idea!

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 – 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (definitely more than the cinnamon but not as much as the Harissa)
2 generous squirts from the Harissa bottle (available in Victoria at Aubergine Foods and Chou Chou Charcuterie or Maclean’s in Nanaimo)
Cayenne pepper, salt, and black better to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can of coconut milk (not the light stuff!)
1 900 ml carton of vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups of dried green lentils
1/2 a large sweet white onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced

5 carrots, thickly sliced
5 celery stalks, chopped
Handful of cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 large bunch of kale, chopped finely

Sweat the onions, then add the mushrooms to brown them. Add all of the dried spices and Harissa paste, along with the garlic. Allow to toast and stir for about 1 minute, until it is fragrant and has absorbed the moisture from the onions and mushrooms and garlic. Add all the remaining vegetables, except the kale. Brown semi-covered for about five minutes to bring out the flavours in the spices and get them steamed into the vegetable mixture. Add the lentils and continue to brow semi-covered for another five minutes, stirring often.

Add the vegetable broth and raise the heat to medium-high until the stoup comes almost to a boil. Turn down to low and simmer covered for about 40 minutes. Add the kale, recover and cook for another 10 minutes. When the lentils are nice and tender, remove from the heat and add the can of coconut milk. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste and serve with fresh lime and cilantro.

We started this blog to document and appreciate our travels in food and drink and the people and places we share those experiences with. On a spiritual and philosophical level, I also want to share my appreciation for the diversity of nourishing, living things on this earth, and to practice being grateful and amazed by the many forms they can take and gifts they can bring to us. So I am working on finding satisfaction by cultivating wonder in my kitchen again – and I am re-learning what peace in the heart does to my food, my eating, and my outlook. And I have managed to make quite a few things with a peaceful and present heart.

Coconut Cardamom Banana Bread

With no added sugar or oil, based on The Sweet Beet recipe, with a few minor substitutions.

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 2 large very ripe – mine were totally black)
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup of almond coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
About 1 teaspoon or a teaspoon and a half of cardamom pods, smashed with mortar and pestle

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan or use parchment paper.  In large bowl, beat the eggs with a beater until fluffy. Mash the ripe bananas and add to the eggs – I don’t bother to measure out the banana. I just added a bit more apple sauce one time when I sensed it wasn’t quite thin enough. Both times I have made it, it turned out fine without measuring! Add milk and vanilla and mix well.  In another bowl mix all dry ingredients and add dry to wet.  Pour into loaf pan. The recipe says to bake for 45 minutes but I am often closer to an hour, even on convection setting. Just watch closely and make use of that good ole raw spaghetti trick!

Coconut Glaze:

3 tablespoons almond coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Whisk all the glaze ingredients together and pour overtop of the loaf while it is still a bit warm. This is a thin glaze that the loaf will absorb, so I would recommend trying to loosen the loaf from the pan when you take it out to cool, but to leave it in the loaf pan to cool and then pour the glaze overtop so it soaks it all up. As you can see from the picture, I poured mine overtop after the fact and lost a lot of goodness on the bottom!

Buffalo Chicken Chilli

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 lb of ground chicken, 1 lb of ground turkey
3 large carrot, thickly sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
1 – 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (I add, to taste, near the end)
1 19 oz can of tomatoes
1 19 0z can of tomato sauce
1 can of white beans
1 can of black beans

Brown the chicken and turkey in the vegetable oil. Add the spices and the garlic and cook until fragrant and toasty, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the veggies and brown until the onions are soft and transluscent. Add salt and pepper just to season.

Stir in all the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, then turn down to low. Put a lid on it and go about the rest of your day. Add the apple cider vinegar, and more salt and pepper to taste when you are almost ready to serve.

We had ours with sliced fresh avocado, cilantro, and some good squeezes of lime juice!

Quinoa Granola

Inspired by this recipe from Savoury Simple, last week’s variation was goji berry and apricot, this week it’s blueberry almond vanilla.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups regular or gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 cup whole raw almonds (or other nuts of your choosing)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup of honey (or 1/2 cup honey and half cup applesauce)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2/3 cup dried fruits of your choice

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, except the dried fruit and mix well.
In a smaller bowl combine the vanilla and binder/sweetners together. Add the liquids into the dry ingredients and stir well to make sure everything is evenly coated.
Spread the mix in an even, thin layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly on top.
Bake for approximately one hour, turning the granola every 10-25 minutes. For the first half of the cooking time, I don’t check it as often, but as it gets closer to done you will want to check it to make sure it isn’t burning. I have burned granola in the past and it is very depressing.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.

NOTE: if you use the full cup of honey, I would recommend cooking at a lower temp (the original recipe I followed baked it at 225 and I ended up turning it up to 275 after an hour because it just wasn’t toasting darkly enough for me. But I imagine the lower cooking time is probably better for not burning your honey!). If you use the honey and apple sauce combination, you will get some sweetness but you won’t get those shattery little clusters – that only comes if you substitute with some shiny syrupy goodness like maple syrup or brown rice syrup.

May your own kitchen adventures bring you peace too.

There will still be beer and chocolate and all that good stuff, but we’re also trying to get back to a Nordic, anti-inflammatory way of eating that always makes us feel energized and satisfied. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen this weekend – check it out!

Miso-Ginger Mussels with Mushrooms, Kale, and Siracha

Check out the size of these babies from SaltSpring Island Mussels. Adding a tablespoon of white miso paste to the broth brings out the nuances of their natural flavour: earthy, sweet and just a tad salty, like the sea. I hate when mussel broths get so elaborate that the flavour of the mighty mussel itself becomes secondary. I also added grated ginger, garlic, onion, and a variety of mushrooms.

No Sugar, No Oil Added Banana Bread. I love love love finding a new blog full of style and recipes that instantly inspire me, which is exactly what The Sweet Beet turned out to be!

I recommend at least doubling the cinnamon. I did, and some of my taste-testers couldn’t even tell there was cinnamon in it. This is one of those simple, efficient base recipes that makes my brain start firing off variations while still chewing. Next time, I think I will try adding golden raisins and unsweetened coconut. Since it was my Mum’s birthday yesterday, I brought her the extra loaf. My stepdad Jim’s recommendation for next time is to add cloves, which inspired me to fantasize about a sugar free, oil free pumpkin version. It has great flavour, but it could have been spicier and what better to put with spices than pumpkin? Or are you totally sick of pumpkin to the point of almost being willing to accept Christmas music? I know, the fall pumpkin obsession has been a bit ridick, especially on the food blog corner of the web. But what if I put pieces of 90% cocoa dark chocolate in it? See, you still love me. Thankfully, having farmers in the family means I left with lots of eggs and a sweet pie pumpkin to make all my dreams come true.

Moroccan Spiced Lentil Veggie Stoup

I was having coffee and banana bread at the farm while Mr. ST finished the cooking process on this one, so unless you want a photo of the finished product in a giant plastic container in my fridge, this is as blog-worthy as it got Lentils, mushrooms, sweet potato, red pepper, carrots, kale, and fresh fenugreek leaves that were randomly available at The Rootcellar this week! The main flavours came from healthy tablespoons of turmeric, cinnamon, curry powder, and cumin as well as the juice of a big lemon. Also, I can’t say enough about Pacific Foods organic broth. Short of making your own, it is a  fantastic alternative. I used the mushroom broth because we are funghi freaks. This is lunch for the week ahead!

And finally, Whistler Brewing Company’s Chesnut Ale.

I almost hate to say it, but it must be said: This beer is better than the Granville Island Winter Ale so many of us covet from November – February every year. Like the Winter Ale, it has vanilla overtones, but the added nutty and toasty elements in this beer really add to its charm and my inability to drink it as slowly as I should. It took me right back to when we visited the brewery during our trip to Whistler back in August….

The brewery is located at Function Junction, off Highway 99. We stopped in after our train-wreck art adventure in the woods!

Whistler Brewing has consistently impressed me this year. Flavoured beer is getting a big gimmicky at this point, but we admire when a craft brewery puts thought into making the flavouring a true elevation of a beer style’s thisness (if you’re willing to get all philosophical about it). I spent my summer following up my Saturday long runs with a dip at Thetis Lake and their Pineapple Express Wheat Ale. Refreshing rainy fall runs, followed by inhumanely hot showers, meet your new friend.

Nothing puts me more at ease than a weekend in my runners, in the kitchen, and snuggling on the couch with Mr. ST. Nourishment for the mind, body, and spirit!

PS – Do you have a favourite seasonal beer yet?

I had planned to share some details of our noteworthy food and drink experiences in Vancouver, the Okanagan, and Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton from the summer, but the truth is that my heart belongs to fall and my brain is completely clouded over with infatuation for breezy gray days and root vegetables. And with the making of this soup, there is just no coming back – you’ve been warned.

Yesterday my mum dropped off a giant farm care package at my house, including a big ‘ole pie pumpkin and two pounds of bacon from the summer’s pigs. My first thought was to whip up some pumpkin pancetta pasta – but what to do with the rest?

We still have a bunch of pumpkin beers kicking around in the fridge (working on a ‘best of’ pumpkin beer post) and being that I am a cheese fiend, I started to think about beer cheese soup and how much more appealing it suddenly seemed with the velvety sweetness of fresh pumpkin……so I tabled my plans to make pear ginger coconut carrot soup and got down to business breaking down my pumpkin.

The small amount of curry powder and apple give just a bit of depth, but I deliberately stayed away from cinnamon and other Indian cross-over spices in order to retain the soup’s autumnal herb and cheese flavour.

The beer I chose, Howe Sound’s Pumpkin Strong Ale, has quite a powerful molasses note that worked exceptionally well here. You will probably still have great results with a nut brown or an amber, but the pungent taste of a strong ale is ideal.

Pumpkin, Beer, and Smoked Gouda Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Half a large sweet white onion, diced small
• 1 gala apple, diced large
• 2 carrots, thickly sliced into coins
• 1 tablespoon of mild curry powder
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 big sprig of thyme
• sage leaves
• 4.5 – 5 cups of pumpkin, large dice (sweet pie pumpkin)
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1.5 cups strong ale
• 1 – 1.5 cups grated smoked gouda
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat and add the onions. Sweat the onions for a few minutes until they start to get translucent and then add the apple. Sautee them together until the apple becomes fragrant and starts to soften.

Add the carrots and continue sautéing for another 5 minutes or so.

Add the lightly smashed clove of garlic and the curry powder. Stir and work into the vegetables until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the vegetable stock, beer, and diced pumpkin. Stir it all together then crank up the heat to medium-high.

When it starts to come to a boil, stir in a few sage leaves a big sprig of thyme.

Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin and carrot are both very tender. I am always surprised at just how quickly pumpkin cooks!

Remove from the heat. Remove the big branch of thyme and a couple of the sage leaves. I left one sage leaf in the soup when I blended it all together with my hand blender.

Return the pot to the stove and stir in the cheese in small handfuls, over low heat. Smoked gouda is not a great melting cheese so there will be flecks of curd-like cheesy bits in your soup but it mostly melts, which I think is the best of both worlds. You could also use an aged white cheddar. I didn’t add any salt or pepper until the very end, which is the best way to go with anything cheese heavy because you’re going to get some salt/seasoning from the cheese itself.

I served this up for dinner sprinkled with spicy sweet roasted pumpkin seeds on top and kale chips for crunch.

This dish has inspired me to try going all the way with Indian spices and stewed pumpkin. Maybe also with kale stewed into it and some cubed paneer. Pumpkin Saag Paneer, anyone? I wish I had a hollow leg. And another pumpkin.

Balsamic roasted figs and brie

As you might know already, last weekend was actually birth-aversary-giving for Mr. ST and I – my birthday, the anniversary of when we met, and Canadian Thanksgiving. Farm-sitting at Omnivore Acres for my mum and stepdad turned out the be more than fitting for the occasion: a bit of romantic getaway, with a few chores mixed in to keep with the humble gratitude of the holiday.

I went trail running with this girl

And we got plenty of slobbery kisses from this girl

We picked eggs

We had a charcuterie lunch in the sun

And I got a little excited to have such a large gourmet kitchen…….

My tips for extra crispy skin:

1. Dry that bird thoroughly before you season it.

2. Massage olive oil and salt and pepper into the skin.

3. Thin slices of salt cured fatty ham on top (courtesy of this fella).

Lemon herb roasted chicken

Have you tried delicata squash? The skin is edible and the flesh is a cross between a sweet potato and an acorn squash. These came out like potato wedges and were even good cold the next day. No need to peel like a butternut, and no awkward ribbing like an acorn.

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for. How was your Thanksgiving?