Nettles, the stinging sisters as Susun Weed calls them, these magical stinging weeds turn into luscious nourishment once the heat touches them.
Nettles make me so giddy, they are such a treat and they don’t last long. When they arrive in early spring I stalk them and try to get them at their most prime, before they go to seed and get too rough and woody to enjoy. They are one of the first fresh local greens to come on the scene.
They like to grow in marshy wet places, alongside fields and swamps, near creeks and moist woodlands. When harvesting nettles, wear gloves and long pants, bring scissors to snip off the tender top shoots and if you’re lucky you can go around for a second harvest.
Many people see stinging nettles as an invasive weed, but they are actually a delicious food. All wild foods are far more nutrient dense than the domesticated plants we eat most often. Stinging nettles when lightly steamed to remove their sting, are reminiscent of spinach. They make a delicious earthy tasting tea and when infused for 4 hours or more offer an amazing source of key minerals that many of us are lacking.
We eat a lot of nettles this time of year, basically you can enjoy them in any dish you would use spinach for. So far we’ve really been digging stinging nettle omelettes, hummus, palak paneer, teas and other delightful nettle experiments.
This pesto is ah-ma-zing, it’s really a classic pesto just nettles instead of basil, which gives it a more demure taste but equally satisfying. We ate it with zoodles (zucchini noodles) and roast chicken which was divine, the next days leftovers were spread on crusty sourdough bread from the french bakery in town.
Henry David Thoreau once said ” All good things are wild and free.” I would have to agree, and nettles definitely fall into that category. Food is meant to be free and the Earth provides plentifully, we just have to know where to look.
Vegetables rock. They never get boring, truly there must be millions of variations to get your veg in. While I’m starting to feel the itch for fresh spring veg, I’m also still ever so enamoured with hardy winter varieties. These roasted root veggies have all the flavour of stuffing without the bread. Perfect with roast chicken or turkey, you could even mix them up and throw them in the roasting pan with your bird.
There’s a little sage bush right outside my house, its starting to spring back to life and I’m enjoying the bounty of fresh sage. Crispy friend sage is sinfully delicious, but it also adds a certain aromatic lingering presence to all things hearty and roasted.
I hope you all had a great weekend, mine was jam packed with birthday cake and love as my little baby Mav turned 1. Such a big day, hard to believe it was just one year ago he came into our lives and made life so much more joyous. Being a mom has been such a trip. Did you fall into the parent role naturally? Or does it take time for everyone? It took awhile before I even thought of myself as a mother, there’s so much to learn and I’m sure it’s endless. Now I’m starting embrace this fairly new role, I am now the one who makes birthday cakes (delicious paleo ones) and kisses sore knees. About that cake, I really wanted to share it with you. Admittedly I am a terrible party planner but I ace the catering side of things. Perhaps I’ll make the cake again just so that we can photograph it and share the recipe, it was sooooooo perfect!
All cake aside, we’re talking root veg. This Roasted Balsamic Sage Root Vegetable Stuffing is about to become your new best friend.
I really think your going to thoroughly enjoy this creation, my friends. Seriously, if apple pie walked into a bar, met a caramel apple, fell in love, these bars would be their babies. Yep, that’s my best analogy of the day, except these babies are a million times easier and way healthier than either of the latter apple treats.
So if you like easy, delicious, high protein treats, without any added sugar you’ve come to the right place.
The base for these bars is really similar in texture to a thick chewy caramel. I’m curious if I could somehow maguiver it around a whole apple and stick a twig in it for paleo friendly caramel apples. This invention just might have to happen.
Yesterday I went for a long drive to the neighbouring village to visit some friends. There’s a dead zone where no radio stations work and I drove in sweet stillness enjoying a crisp fresh apple. Grateful for the moment of quiet and peace with the solitary sounds of a crunching orchestra of sweet and refreshing delight. I don’t know about you, but this is the time of year where I start craving fresh fruit, dreaming of plump berries freshly picked, and sweet juicy peaches. Apples will have to do for now, as none of those luscious fruits are any good out of season. Groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter, we’re almost there, before you know it this blogs pages will be brimming with juicy fruits and vibrant greens!
Until then, enjoy the delightful sweetness of an apple enveloped in this caramel goodness, yum.
A simple soup, to warm your bones on chilly days, when all you have in the fridge are some carrots, a knob of ginger and your preferred broth.
This is a staple soup that I’ve been making for years. It’s so easy, you don’t even have to think about it, yet the combination of flavours is complex enough that its still interesting and leaves you wanting more.
I’ve been writing a few articles lately around the web with minimalism as the main theme. In regards to being productive, minimalism seems to me the most effective tactic. With a tangle of distractions to pull us away from the task at hand, it can be hard to accomplish much of anything. Though I’ve been writing in a work context, I think principles of minimalism apply just as well for cooking. We can obsess over a complex dish with 16 ingredients, and sure the results might be worth it. But often I find I get more enjoyment out of simple dishes that take minimal effort and offer maximal results.
Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.-Joshua Becker
This is a minimalist soup, may it simplify your life and bring you a feeling of serenity.
Happy Solstice everyone! The longest night is upon us, and I think we’re all ready to welcome back the light. This time of year, for me, is all about inner reflection, looking back on the last years happenings. It’s an exciting time to realize the potential that you can harness in 365 days. This time last year I had a little baby bump and had no idea what to expect but now I have this sweet little angel and it all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. I am so in love with life and the capacity for us all to achieve great things, to full fill our wildest dreams, to learn new skills, practice old ones and reformulate our outlook so that it serves us all the better.
After a day of frolicking around the city, people watching in the busy shopping mall and running around trying to get all the last minute goodies taken care of, I’m so glad that we’re celebrating solstice this year. The mad rush of the 24th is no longer looming because it just doesn’t matter, phew. Tomorrow morning we’ll get up slow, drink baileys and coffee, make a quiche or a giant frittata and open gifts while my dad films the whole thing. We’re roasting a beautiful free range turkey, complete with all the fix ins, and for the one and only time this year our entire family will sit down together and share a meal. I’m so incredibly grateful for all of this, I know what a monumental blessing it is to have a loving family, I wish everyone had that.
Now without further adieu, these little imitation ferrero rochers are delightful and a great little treat to spread joy with to all. I like to plop them into an egg carton for a makeshift box of chocolates. Of course, these beauties are free of unknown nasty preservatives or other weird ingredients, and I personally like them better than their commercial counterparts. All they need is some fancy gold wrapping and a little stick, et voila!
French onion soup can’t come from a packet, it cannot be had by a chemical laden powder. It’s essence is steeped with time and a wack load of onions which all melt down to practically nothing. There’s a reason why it’s french, the slow caramelization process is one which only the french could invent. Tried and true this recipe is one that my Grandmother taught me when I was about 10. It’s more of a technique than it is a recipe really. You can’t just fry up some onions and add stock, the depth of flavour comes from a long and slow all day melt down of the onions, perfect for a sunday afternoon or a start in the morning while the grass still clings to its frosty sleeve. Feel like you need a good cry but you just can’t let it out? French onion soup to the rescue, drown your sorrows while twelve onions force the raw emotion out of you, and then just let it melt away, allow the release just like the onions. You’ll see the volume of your onions wilt to 1/4 of their original fullness, what a great example they set.
Tomorrow morning we embark on a journey of epic proportions. A visit to the frozen wasteland of soviet like architecture, dear old Edmonton. While I’m happy to no longer live there, I adore my family and cannot wait to spend time with them. This year we’re having a solstice celebration before my brother and his fiancee depart for her families place. It’s baby Mavs first road trip so my fingers are crossed that he doesn’t learn how to unbuckle himself, as he has adeptly shown in the past. My outstanding procrastination skills have brought me here to this moment where its more important to write about classic french onion soup than it is to pack and get ready. I don’t care, I work best under pressure anyway.
1 baguette sliced and toasted (I used spelt sourdough) (optional)
½ C grated gruyere cheese
½ C grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter or ghee and add the onions,thyme and bay leaf. Stir and allow them to cook down for at least 3 hours, stirring every so often. Near the end give them a colour boost by amping up the heat for a few minutes and stirring continually.
With the heat on high, add the red wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate, cooking on high for about 2 minutes.
Add the beef stock, salt and pepper to taste and let it all come to a simmer.
Ladle to hot soup into 4 oven proof bowls, set oven to broil.
Top each bowl with a few pieces of toasted baguette and a generous amout of cheese. Place bowls on a baking tray in case of spillage and bake under the broiler until golden brown.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
