Nexus

Vegan quinoa Chili

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chili powder, such as ancho or chipotle
1 tbsp pureed chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce
28-oz(796-ml) can diced tomatoes with juices
2 cups vegetable stock
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
14 oz (398 ml) can pinto beans
1 cup corn kernels

Directions

In large, deep saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper & garlic. Cook stirring, until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes. Add chili powder & chipotles. Cook stirring, 1 minute.
Add tomatoes with juices & stock. Bring to boil. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Add quinoa, beans and corn. cook stirring until mixture returns to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until quinoa is tender about 25 minutes.

Bittersweet Chocolate Brownies

8 oz (250g) 70% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tbsp (90mL) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 eggs
1 cup (250mL) sugar
1/4 tsp (1mL) salt
1 tsp (5mL) pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75mL) plus 1 tbsp (15mL) all-purpose flour

1. Melt chocolate and butter in bowl set in a wide skillet of almost simmering water. Set aside.
2. With a hand mixer beat eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla on high speed until eggs are thick and pale about 2 minutes. Whisk in warm chocolate. Fold in flour.

3. Spread batter evenly in an 8" (1.5L) square baking dish that has been lined with aluminum foil.
Bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a rack.
4. Invert brownies on a rack and peel off foil. Turn right side up and on a cutting board cut into sixteen 2" (5cm) squares. (I found they cut perfectly when cold.)

makes 16 squares

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Goat Cheese Mash

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 oz (110 g) dried black-eyed beans, pre-soaked and drained
3 oz (75 g) green split peas (no need to soak), rinsed
3 oz (75 g) green lentils (no need to soak), rinsed
2 oz (50 g) peeled carrots
2 oz (50 g) peeled swede
2 oz (50 g) peeled celeriac
1 large onion, peeled
1 small green pepper, deseeded
2 oz (50 g) butter, plus a little extra for greasing
8 oz (225 g) tomatoes
1 heaped tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley
¼ level teaspoon ground mace
¼ level teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the topping:

4 oz (110 g) soft goats’ 1 lb 8 oz (700 g) potatoes, peeled
2 oz (50 g) butter
2 tablespoons milk
1 oz (25 g) Pecorino cheese, grated
salt and freshly milled black pepper

You will also need a steamer; and a round baking dish with a diameter of 9 inches (23 cm), 2 inches (5 cm) deep, buttered.

You will need to soak and drain the black-eyed beans. To do this, wash them under cold, running water and discard any broken ones. If it is convenient, soak them overnight in 2 pints (1.2 litres) cold water. If you need them today and haven’t got time to do this, simply bring them up to the boil (using the same quantity of water), boil for 10 minutes and leave them to soak for two hours before draining.

Now put the drained beans into a saucepan with the split peas and lentils. Add 1¼ pints (725 ml) boiling water and some salt, cover and simmer gently for 50-60 minutes, or until the pulses have absorbed the water and are soft. Then remove them from the heat and mash them just a little with a large fork.

Now pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C), and put the potatoes on to steam. Next, roughly chop all the vegetables, pile the whole lot into a food processor and process until chopped small. Next, melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the vegetables and cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then until they’re softened and tinged gold at the edges.

Meanwhile, skin the tomatoes. Place them in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water on to them. After exactly a minute (or 15-30 seconds, if they are small), remove them (protecting your hands with a cloth if the tomatoes are hot), slip off their skins and slice them.

After that, add the vegetables to the pulses mixture, along with the herbs, spices and salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste. Then spoon the mixture into the baking dish and arrange the tomatoes in overlapping slices on the top.

As soon as the potatoes are cooked, place them in a bowl, add the butter, milk and goats’ cheese, whisk to a smooth purée, season with salt and freshly milled black pepper and spread the potato over the rest of the ingredients in the dish. Finally, sprinkle over the Pecorino and bake the pie on the top shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. If you want to prepare this in advance, it will need about 40 minutes in the oven.

This recipe is taken from How to Cook Book Three and Delia's Vegetarian Collection.

Fig Compote

Ingredients
200ml/7fl oz white wine vinegar
400ml/14fl oz water
1 small cinnamon stick
2 cloves
4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 red chilli, sliced
1 thumbs ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
140g/5oz caster sugar
1 tsp sea salt
20 dried figs

Method
Place everything in a saucepan and boil gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Allow to cool before refrigerating and use as required - the compote will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Packing Light

I'm starting to plan what clothes to take on my trip to London next week ... I've been having trouble with the zipper on my larger suitcase and don't feel like replacing a piece of luggage right now, so decided since I am only going for a week, that I will try taking my carry-on size suitcase. In addition, I have a smaller case that I use for cosmetics, shoes, books and other stuff I travel with. This means the suitcase is pretty much just for clothes. I got the carry-on suitcase out tonight - I had forgotten just how small it is. Now I know once I starting packing, I'll be able to fit a lot of stuff in ...... but ...... it looks really small. I may have to do a trial run in the middle of the week to make sure there is enough room. I don't fancy running out the night before the trip buying a new suitcase. Plus, I am in a non-aquisition phase right now.

Every time I travel I seem to wear only some of what I take. It is hard at this time of year to know the weather conditions - could be warm or cool, wet or dry. So layers are definitely the answer. And I take some laundry soap and hand wash a few things. I think I will be OK with the limited wardrobe I plan to take. I want to leave room for a bit of shopping just in case something catches my eye in London - which is usually the case!

Apple Crisp with Crunchy Almond Topping

The almonds and coarse sugar make the topping extra crunchy.
6 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced
1 1/2 cups (375mL) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (175mL) white granulated sugar
3/4 cup (175mL) brown sugar
3/4 cup (175mL) butter, cold, cut into bits
1 cup (250mL) whole almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup (50mL) coarse sugar
1. Butter a 9"x13"(3L) baking dish. Spread apples and pears in the bottom.
2. Combine flour with sugars in a large bowl. Rub or cut butter in with your fingers, pastry blender or
food processor until it is in tiny bits. Add almonds. Sprinkle over the fruit. Sprinkle with coarse
sugar. Sprinkle over the topping. Bake in a preheated 350F(180C) oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until
topping is browned and crisp and apples are very tender.
makes 8 servings

NOTE - This post is closed to comments as for some reason the spammers got hold of it and particularly liked linking it to on line pharmaceutical sites.

Harvest Fall Vegetable Soup

6 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup minced onion
1 cup sliced celery hearts (tender innermost stalks)
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup seeded and diced green and yellow zucchini
1 sprig fresh thyme
4 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup red kidney beans, precooked or canned
1 cup sliced leeks, including part of the green
1 cup squash or pumpkin diced into half-inch cubes
2 cups shredded Savoy cabbage
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
Extra virgin olive oil, for garnish
Grated cheese of your choice for garnish
Salt and pepper

In a stockpot over medium heat, sauté the garlic in olive oil. Before the garlic browns, add onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, thyme, bay leaves and vegetable stock. Simmer for a half-hour, or until the vegetables are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add kidney beans, leeks, squash or pumpkin and cabbage. Simmer for 15 minutes.

To serve top with parsley, a drizzle of olive oil and a handful of grated cheese of your choice.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Weekend Update

I've been on a mini vacation - took three days off work last week and combined with the weekend had a total of five days away from the office. It was a nice break and the weather was fantastic .... but I am not ready to go back to work. I did not do anything special - went downtown one of the days, treated myself to a spa morning one of the days. I went for a long walk every day and generally enjoyed the autumn weather.

On Saturday I went to the McMichael Gallery ... this was only my second visit - the first was many years ago. I really enjoyed the visit - the gallery is known for its collection of art by 'The Group of Seven'. My favourite pieces in the gallery were by David Milne .. who is not associated with The Group of Seven.

The gallery had special exhibits of both Robert Bateman and Mary Pratt. I have to say I was unexpectedly impressed by the Bateman works ... I had just been associating him with very routine mass produced prints of his work - he seems way over produced. But the exhibit had a lot of early works - many done in Africa, some abstracts and many political works - he is an ardent environmentalist. I was glad to see more of his work and get more insight into his career.

Flax Seed Oil - for the skin

Since getting my little blender a week and a half ago, I have been making myself a protein shake every morning. Ingredients ... soya milk, pomegranate juice, protein powder, frozen berries, yogurt, ground flax seeds and flax seed oil. I've noticed an improvement in my skin - it has a better texture and is glowing. A few months ago I had been taking flax seed oil and noticed my skin was better then as well. I'd run out of the oil and then got out of the habit and had forgotten the skin benefit. I will have to keep this up for sure - if there is a noticable benefit after this short amount of time, I can imagine it is doing other great things. You don't even notice it in a protein shake. I've read about the health benefit of both ground flax seeds and the oil - it is definitely a supplement worth taking - and so easy to incorporate into the routine as well. The other recommendation is to use it to make salad dressing - I must admit I find it too strong and too thick for dressing but don't mind it at all in my protein shake. The shake is delicious and filling - it just makes me feel healthy having all that great stuff in it. Moisturizing from the inside out.

The First Emperor At The British Museum

I managed to score a ticket to The First Emperor exhibit at The British Museum. Although I can't find a link, The Globe and Mail had a feature article about the exhibit in the Saturday paper. Since I will be in London in a few weeks I decided to see if I could get a ticket on-line to pick up while there. It is already getting sold out for most days so I felt really lucky that I had heard about it this ear;y. Otherwise ... I would have been in London and disappointed because I would have missed it.

I am getting quite excited about my trip. I've travelled to London three times in the last couple of years and by now it feels like going home. I was telling someone today that a week in London rejuvenates me way more than two weeks on the beach. There is something about the mental energy that I pick up in London that really makes me feel alive. Toronto is great too, but being in a different city that offers different sites somehow bring the mind alive.

A few of the places I plan to visit - The British Museum, The Courtauld Gallery, Westminster Abbey (to attend a service), many of the small City of London Churches, attend a West End play (not sure which one yet), The Tate Modern ..... Not to mention some shopping. I also just love walking in the neighbourhoods. I am staying in South Kensington this time. First time staying in this area so my evening walks will take me in a new part of town.

I'm not really religious, but the London City Churches might be my favourite part of the city. The small Christopher Wren Churches are really special - I prefer them over St Paul's or any of the larger and famous churches. I think of the 50 London City Churches, I have been in at least 40. The actual City of London area is quite small - the first time I went to this area was a Saturday. It was deserted really which surprised me. Truly an area meant for business. The best part was - I could stand in the middle of the street to get a good look at some of the buildings - try doing that during the week! It was lovely walking this area and having it almost to myself - not even the shops were open.