Grown up scrambled eggs, Italiano style. Inspired by piles of fresh basil and oregano, a hunk of great chorizo and fresh cheese curds. The seasons first broccoli are out, Italian ribbed zucchini and sweet little baby onions. All of these delights, sautéed in butter, lightly seasoned with black pepper, just allowing the raw flavours of everything to shine. A nice local cheese curd mixed in with slow cooked eggs alongside a pile of summers bounty. Yes please, this perfect breakfast awaits, and it’s way better than an omelette. (more…)
J’s birthday was on Sunday. My passionately strong souled love with the softest cancerian tendencies. Alive another year, every one better than the last. Of course I had to make him deliciously unhealthy foods on his day. Though not terribly unhealthy. We had a fresh abundant salad with a toasted almond and herb vinaigrette, arctic caribou meatballs in a apricot cumin glaze,garlicky hummus and ciabatta,sweet potatoes and this “hot mess” cheesy dip filled with garlic, kale, onion, cherry tomatoes and of course cheesy goodness with fried wonton crisp. To top it all off I made a birthday pie, yes you can do that! J’s always bugging me to make him a berry pie, so I hooked him up with a raspberry-saskatoon-mango butter crust oh.so.yummy. pie!
So back to the hot mess cheesy dip. When we were doing the Whole 30 I stumble upon this recipe at the white on rice couple. Those guys could make a pile of haggis look good they are so talented. This dip was all I wanted in the whole world, it just oozes delicious comfort in its every molecule. Those fresh tomatoes they popped on top YES! Pucker! (As Jamie Oliver would say) I switched up the recipe a touch by adding some garlic and kale, plus I skipped out on the cream cheese and stuck to just monterery jack.
enough cherry tomatoes to plunk on top of your dish
and handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
one package wonton wrapper
1/4 cup sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F
In a oven proof deep baking dish (I used a typical fondue pot) about 6inches in diameter mix together the mayo, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, kale and cheese.
Top with cherry tomatoes and another sprinkling of cheese
Bake for about an hour until the top is golden brown.
For the wonton crisps, heat oil in a frying pan, add wonton wrappers a few at a time, frying until golden. Allow to drain on paper towel. Repeat for as many crisps as you want.
This is a luxurious dip to share with friends and family. Or to just gobble up all on your own, whatever, you only eat cheesy dip once in awhile rightttt? Or maybe cheesy dip is your go to staple food. Who knows. Wouldn’t be so bad would it?
Cheese making is more of an art than an exact science. No matter how sterile and by the book, the home cheese maker will never reproduce the same cheese twice. Because there are various different bacteria floating around which will inherently change the taste of your cheese. The amount of humidity in your home can also play a part. In hot countries people don’t typically eat much cheese because it ripens too fast. Mexico is famous for the simple cheese queso fresco, India for paneer, both of which can be made very quickly. (more…)
It’s a great time of year to hop over to your friends garden and swoop up some healthy, free, delightful wild foods. Wood sorrel is one of my faves. It’s easy to eat heaps as it isn’t at all bitter and has a lemony zing akin to parsley-lemon zest gremolata. (more…)
The reason I love pizza so much, is because it’s like a blank canvas, where you can create anything you can imagine. Really the combinations are endless, more than any other type of food. I mean, you can’t have fruity pasta, but fruity pizza YUM. Or revamping any ethnic dish to be in pizza form, pad thai pizza, jerk chicken pizza, greek salad pizza. My favourite pizza though is spicy perogi pizza, which is a carb explosion of potatoes and classic pizza dough bathed in spicy goodness and b-b-b-bacon. You never feel too hot afterwards though, it’s one of those meals that leaves you feeling hungover the next day. This pizza problem is alleviated with the invention of this amazing grain and gluten-free pizza dough by The Domestic Man. How’s about you go here for the recipe and to check out his amazing blog laden with wonderful recipes of all healthy varieties. The recipe does contain dairy but you can substitute it with coconut milk and nutritional yeast. I just used a nice raw parmesan and some organic spicy cheddar and my belly felt just fine afterwards.
Todays pizza creation included a smoky yam & bacon version and a truffle, rosemary, oyster mushroom and fresh watercress version.
I have a real love/hate relationship with kale. Lets just say, there was a time when I overdid it, I mean kale.in.everything. It got old, I couldn’t even bear the sight of it at the end of harvest season, but waste not, want not. Yes, and it was this salad that reunited us and turned it all around. Because kale is big and bold and it needs a creamy tangy counterpart to overtake it. Or else, it can kind of overpower, especially when raw. I recommend thinly slicing the kale into little ribbons so that they are absolutely covered in the creamy caesar goodness. (more…)
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.
