The prerequisites that led up to this salad: must have grilled veggies, shaved parmesan cheese and arugula.  I think I was feeling particularly inspired after flipping through Jamie at Home and he did a similar salad (minus the arugula).

After a rare trip to the Byward Market on Sunday, we came home with more than just herbs for planting.  We ended up with wild garlic, asparagus and some extremely cute baby eggplants.  (PS: it’s the last week for wild garlic!)

I “fired up” the Mario Batalli grill, tossed the eggplant slices in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and set them grilling for about 15 minutes.  Once they were done, in went the asparagus for another 10-15 minutes.

Serving this salad couldn’t be easier - toss some arugula on the plate, load up with veggies, add cheese and finish with a does of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Maybe even a squeeze of lemon.  Easy.

I LOVE a good cupcake - especially a cupcake with some sort of theme - like my “Orville cakes” or pumpkin cupackes from last year.  Ok, this cupcake idea from Martha Stewart may in fact be the cutest.thing.ever. Sorry Orville.  I’m not sure I love the idea of eating jelly beans and cupcake together, but I would be willing to take one for the team and try it out.

We picked up some fancy shaped pasta to make this dish (President’s Choice Memories of Piemonte Casarecce) just for something a bit different.  I’ve been keen to make this recipe since I saw the recipe posted over at Simply Recipes - it just seemed so easy and a guilt-free way to get a creamy pasta sauce.

The only thing we added to the recipe were sundried tomatoes.  We tossed them into the boiling pasta for the last few minutes to soften them up (we alway buy dry - never the oil-packed sundried tomatoes).  Just don’t ask how long we spent in the cheese section selecting the ricotta.  Let’s just say it was long enough to make the husband fidgety.

Boyfriendly (and peanut) rating: 5/5 and everyone went back for seconds.  Just be generous with the cracked pepper to serve.  Mmmm cracked pepper.

We tried making this edamame dumplings recipe this week and it was a total hit. I blitzed the spices and edamame in my blender, but it was a poor substitute for a food processor. Next time, I’d probably use my hand blender to mash the beans up. I can see this recipe (and the sauce) becoming an entertaining staple for us. May try steaming them next time too - though the crispy outside was pretty delicious!

Boyfriendly rating: 5/5 “Really good, even without meat”

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked from Simply Recipes for a long time and finally made it over the weekend. My only regret? Not making it sooner. This recipe is a.maz.ing.  You probably have all of the ingredients just hanging out in your fridge and cupboard: milk, eggs, rice, sugar.  Just add a bit of elbow grease for stirring the rice and you’re set.

I omitted the raisins because well…  I hate raisins in desserts.

This is a keeper recipe for us.  Sometimes it seems the easier the recipe, the better it tastes!

Boyfriendly rating: 5/5

The Boyfriendly Cooking hiatus is over! Hurrah!

The boyfriendly household is expecting a long-term dinner (breakfast and lunch) guest arriving in September. That’s right, we’re cooking for three (and a hungry orange tabby). Suffice to say, foodblogging fell a bit to the wayside for several months, but now I’m back and hungry!

To get back into the swing of things and celebrate the start of spring and chilled soups (mmm!) I decided to make Gordon Ramsay’s avocado and cucumber soup that was featured on Canada AM last week. A previous attempt at avocado soup did not have great results, but I was willing to give Gordon’s recipe a shot. It was much more refreshing than the Ace Bakery version I had previously made.

Boyfriendly rating: 5/5

Gordon Ramsay’s avocado and cucumber soup
Ingredients

• 2 large cucumbers, abut 14 oz each, chilled
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 tbsp strained plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Sea salt & black pepper
• ½ red onion minced
• 1 plum tomato, seeded & minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• 3-4 basil leaves, finely shredded

Directions

Peel the cucumbers, quarter lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Dice a quarter and set aside for the garnish. Roughly chop the rest, place in a blender with half the lemon juice, and whiz until smooth.

Halve, pit, and peel the avocados. Mince one avocado half to use for the garnish. Squeeze over a little lemon juice and set aside with the diced cucumber. Tip the rest of the avocados into the blender.

Blend the avocados with the pureed cucumber, strained plain yogurt, and Worcestershire sauce until very smooth. Season generously with salt and pepper, and add lemon juice to taste. Chill until ready to serve.

For the garnish, combine the diced cucumber and avocado with the red onion and tomato. Toss with the olive oil and shredded basil.

Taste the chilled soup for seasoning and add a splash of cold water if it is too thick. Pour into four chilled bowls and spoon the garnish into the center. Add a drizzle of olive oil and grind over a little pepper to serve.

Jamie Oliver’s new book, Jamie at Home, was waiting for me when I got home last night.  And after a quick flip through, I know it’s going to become one of my favourite cookbooks.  Part gardening manual and part recipe book - Jamie shows how satisfying it can be to not only cook for yourself, but to grow your own veggies.

I’m also starting to like his recipe style  too - no calorie counts or breakdowns, just quality ingredients.  He lets you decide if you should splurge on that apple crumble or not.

And the photos.  Swoon.  The whole book is printed on this lovely matte paper which gives the whole book a sort of wholesome feel.  (Much like Super Natural Cooking.)  The cover too is oddly reminiscent of a cookbook your grandmother probably had.  The whole thing is just lovely from cover to cover.   Now, to start cooking…

I am currently obsessed with this matcha green tea latte mix. I bought it on a whim at the grocery store last week and now I can’t imagine starting my day without it.   It’s so easy - just mix the green tea in equal parts with milk, heat on stove (or microwave) and voila… latte.  I put a little more milk in than tea, probably about 1 1/4 cups milk to 1 cup tea.  This way it’s not too sweet.

It’s like having a Starbucks… in your kitchen.  And you can wear pajamas if you want to.

Last night was the book launch for the new version of Cheap Eats Ottawa.  The new version has lots of familiar Ottawa foodie institutions and plenty of new reviews.  Like pho.  Seriously, there are a lot of pho places around these days.

Hot off the presses- you can buy a copy online or in stores today!  Valentines gift you say?

Here’s a peak of my profile - to read my recommendations just pick up a copy.  It’s a bargain!

I took my sandwich in a Ziploc bag today (ok, No Name brand “sandwich” bag) and I felt guilty.  Too guilty.  I’ve tried washing out these little bags to reuse them, but they never really wash properly… or take for.ev.er. to dry.   So, bags-b-gone.  I bought a 3 pack of wrap-n-mats.

I’m having a bit of a food freak-out since reading some information about the chemicals in plastics.  Did you know that Bisphenol A is even in the linings of many canned foods?  Like canned tomatoes??  We eat a lot of canned tomatoes.

If I knew how to can food, I’d probably start.  Well…  in the summer.  Hmm, maybe it’s time to learn.