Tortilla Soup

One of the most amazing tasting soups ever! I like mine mild, not to spicy, but you could always kick it up a notch with some extra chipotles.

I make my chipotles with dried ones that I soak, cook them with onion and garlic, spices and a blob of tomato paste, blend them up and store it in the freezer in small containers.

I have also switched from canned to dried beans, they are way more economical if you use beans as much as we do. I usually have a bowl of beans soaking in the fridge, even if I am not sure of what I am going to make. Always soak more then you need, freeze what you don't use, that way when you are in a jam you can always grab some from your freezer!

• 2 tbsp veggie oil
• 1 medium onion-small diced
• 3 cloves garlic-minced
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 can crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups water
• 1 cube veggie bullion
• 1/2 red pepper-small diced
• 2 tbsp ground chipotles
• 1 cup pinto beans
• 1/2 lime juiced
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup fried tortillas- chopped into small pieces (about 2 tortillas)

• 3 tortillas-folded in half cut into thin strips
• 1/3 cup veggie oil

In a large pot heat oil, add onions and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add corn and spices.
Add tomato, water, bullion. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add pepper, chipotle, beans.
Season with lime, salt and pepper. Add tortillas and simmer for 5 minutes

In a fry pan ( I like to use a cast iron) heat oil to medium high heat. Add tortillas. Using tongs flip around in pan until golden. Remove and sprinkle with salt.

Optional garnishes: Fresh cilantro, fresh parsley, & avocado (these are super tasty and highly recommended :)

Maple Flax Cookies

The weather hasn't been that great in my neck of the woods lately, very windy and rain/snow brrrr. I am getting excited for the weather to warm up. I am starting my tomato seeds next week! I have never had a yard veggie garden but I have been reading a lot about it and one of my friends told me she grew flax. Not that she got a big crop, apparently the flowers that the plant produces are very pretty.

We just bought a big bottle of maple syrup, and I have a huge jar of flax kicking around, and I remembered this recipe from domesticaffair.ca, this is one of my new favorite cookies! I didn't have spelt flour, I just used organic unbleached white flour.

                                              info about flax

Teriyaki vegetables with toasted sushi rice and baked tofu

I have been slack'n on the blog posts this week, not that I haven't cooked every day :P

I made a really yummy red kidney bean balls with spaghetti, and chili with cornbread,( the kid helped with the cornbread ) I wish I posted it all, but sometimes you are so hungry by the end of the cooking process that you just can't be bothered to take a picture, and there are no leftovers ( because it was so good :)

For dinner tonight I made miso soup, and toasted sushi rice cooked with a vegetable broth, teriyaki vegetables with baked tofu, and for dessert a warm banana loaf!

I have to admit I am not the best at cooking rice, its really a hit and miss for me, does anyone else have this problem?

I have dabbled with Mexican rice a few times and the recipe always says to dry toast it until golden, and the results are always spectacular!

I decided to toast the sushi rice and add a half a vegetable bouillon cube to the water. It turned out great. I think the best advice when cooking rice, is that it needs to sit off the heat for at least 10 minutes ( if you are cooking pot method). Then I mixed 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar with 1 tbsp of maple syrup together and poured it over when I fluffed the rice.  I had no brown rice vinegar :(

For the veggies I mixed together about 4 tbsp of tamari with 2 tbsp of maple syrup, mince 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 3 tbsp of water, and 2 tsp of cane sugar. Heated the wok, added the oil, sauteed the veggies, added a little water and then poured the mixture over top. It took seconds to thicken up, I pulled it off the heat right away.

Toasted sesame seeds are essential!

Banana Pankcakes, and the lucky winner is...

It is pancake month, and there is nothing I enjoy more then a fluffy fried dough smothered in maple syrup!

This is a as simple as it gets for recipes, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together, pour in milk (with a splash of apple cider vinegar) and a little oil.

I like to add bananas, I am a Jack Johnson fan, so its always nice to listen to the banana pancake song while you make'm.

The little fork in the picture is my kido climbing on the chair, and making her way up to the table, ready for breakfast.

Thanks everyone for entering the contest and checking out a really cool company, Bumblebar! Random.org picked the lucky winner, #29 Alice in Paris!
Congratulations, please email me with your address.

Good Morning Tea Biscuits

My friend made tea biscuits the other day for the play group she was hosting, when we walked into their home it smelled so good.
I was sad, they were not vegan.
Then she asked me...how do I make them? I have never made vegan biscuits.
This morning I wanted to make some, so I google it, and found this recipe.
They are really easy to make, just be sure not to over knead the dough, otherwise they will be rock hard.

vegan biscuit recipe