Home-made Parmesan Tomato Sauce & Gnocchi

Dan    Mains, Recipes     cheese, dinner, italian, pasta, sauce, tomatoes, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

3 large tomatoes (ripe!)

3 cloves garlic

1 onion

1 TBSP dried basil

1 TBSP dried oregano

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

1/2 cup fresh basil

salt & pepper

olive oil

2 packs of gnocchi (store-bought, or click here for an easy gnocchi recipe)

Making your own pasta sauce is so easy and so worth it. This is not a revolutionary recipe by any means, but instead, let it serve as a reminder that sometimes the simplest things can be the tastiest!

Place some olive oil in a large-sized pan and set it to medium-high heat. Chop your onion, garlic, and tomatoes then place them into the pan. Let them cook, the onions will soften and the tomatoes will start to release their juices, stir the mixture occasionally. After about 15 minutes, the sauce will have thickened, add in the cup of vegetable stock and the dried herbs, salt & pepper to taste. Let simmer for another 10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Why not chop your fresh basil while you’re waiting?

Gnocchi only takes a few minutes in boiling water to be ready (they’ll float to the top) so you can get them going when your sauce is just about ready. I add in the cheese right at the end, give the sauce a final stir, then you’re ready to plate. Strain the gnocchi, top with sauce and finish with the fresh basil! Italy would be so proud!

Serves 4

Total cook time…30 min

We Were Lovers

Dan    Thoughts     music

I don’t know if Julia Child would go for this kind of music, but it’s definitely my thing! Based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, We Were Lovers, has the kind of energy in their music that definitely puts a dance in your step. Currently on a North American tour, they seem to be dead set on world domination…musically anyway…

Take a listen to what they’ve got by clicking here.

Beware…it’s catchy!

Noel Johnson

Dan    Thoughts    

 Originally I had this fantastic idea of posting a link to the artist’s music playing while I was cooking a feature dish  for dansgoodside.com. There is nothing like listening to some of your favorite music while prepping a meal for friends or family. It just puts you in a fantastic mood, does it not?

Have you heard of Noel Johnson? If not, consider yourself lucky for reading this  because he is one amazing singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. His latest album, Spirit of the Day, is infectious, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face, even if your dinner doesn’t turn out exactly as planned!

Check out his site for a lyrical preview. It won’t disappoint.

www.noeljohnsonmusic.com

Basmati Summer Salad

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes     almonds, gluten-free, salad, summer, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

4 cups basmati rice (cooked)

4 radishes

3 celery stalks

2 shallots

1 orange

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup roasted almonds

1 cup arugula

1 cup red grapes

1 TSP tumeric

1 TBSP minced garlic

3 TBSP olive oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 TBSP pepper

This is summer on a plate. Rain or shine it will make your tastebuds smile! Go on, have a picnic. Invite me too if you would like, I’m always down for free food!

Ok, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you know how to cook rice, so let’s just say the rice just finished cooking! While the rice is still warm mix in the tumeric until the rice is a light, sunny colour. Set aside to cool.

Chop your arugula, radishes, and celery. Halve the grapes and chiffonade the basil. Add all of the aforementioned into a bowl with the almonds and (now-cooled) rice. Mix thoroughly.

For the sweet vinaigrette zest the orange, and juice it as well into a bowl. Pour in the olive oil, cider vinegar, minced garlic, and pepper, then whisk for about 30 seconds. Pour this on top of the salad and mix until it’s evenly coated, add a bit of salt if needed.

Let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to feed it to your guests!

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…20 min (not including chill time)

Vegan Dinner Night at Higher Ground

Dan    Thoughts     dinner, eggplant, vegan

It’s not often that I get to flex my cooking muscles for a large crowd, let alone my vegan ones, but I have the honour of cooking some 3-course vegan dinners at the cafe for the next 5 weeks! In January I established Global Vegetarian Night at Higher Ground in collaboration with Lisa Krasnow of Anahata Foods and the response from patrons and the community in general has been very positive. With Lisa on leave, it is now my turn to put my own personal touch to vegan cuisine.

As usual, I draw my inspiration for cooking from just about anywhere. Just like anyone else, I’m hoping for a great summer with lots of sun, so I wanted to keep the dishes fresh & bright (no rain, thank you). First up, I made a basmati summer salad filled with fresh grapes, radishes, celery, & almonds. I put some tumeric in the rice to sun it up a bit, and used a citrus cider vinaigrette on top!

Next up, some roasted eggplant steaks that I marinated for the afternoon in some red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and spices. I paired them up with some roasted apples, stuffed with walnuts, herb-marinated tofu, and topped with brown sugar (check out the apple recipe here, just substitute 1 block, cubed, extra-firm tofu). Finished with olive oil, nice and simple!

Now, I’m not a huge dessert guy, but this vegan banana ice-cream topped with a cashew caramel sauce & fresh berries can melt even my heart. This ice-cream is a mix of bananas (of course), soy milk, & honey. Seems fairly guilt-free to me!

Check back soon for my recipes for the basmati summer salad and the dessert. Can’t wait to do it all over again next week! I’ll be adding each week’s recipes to the site, so if you are a vegetarian or a vegan you should have a smile on your face right now…and…move that mouse over to the ‘bookmark’ button!

Balsamic Radicchio & Garlic Dip

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes     appetizer, beans, beets, flatbread, summer, vegan, vegetarian, vinegar

What you’ll need…

1 head radicchio

1 bulb garlic

1 can Romano beans

1 can beets

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 TSP white sugar

salt & pepper

If this isn’t the easiest, most tasty, vegan dip you’ve ever had, than I don’t know what you’ve been dipping into…Someone probably put cheese in it and didn’t tell you, but I digress! This is definitely something different regardless of your diet choice and should please your party all the same.

Alright boys & girls, for this dip we need to roast the head of radicchio and the bulb of garlic. The easiest way to roast garlic is to cut a 1/4″ off the head of the bulb and rub it with some olive oil. For the radicchio, halve it through15t’s core and put some olive oil on it as well. place both in a baking dish and roast on low broil in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping the radicchio once at the halfway point!

Once roasting is complete, the garlic may have some ‘over-carmelized’ tips (aka possibly burnt). Just slice them off. Once the garlic has cooled a bit you can just squeeze it into your blender, the cloves will just pop right out. Chop up the radicchio and add that as well.

Now add your beans (rinsed) and beets (drained) into the mix, as well as the fresh basil, sugar, and salt & pepper (to taste, always to taste!). ‘Pulse’ your blender while you add in the vinegar and the oil.

After blending, pour into a bowl and chill before serving. I generally serve dips with pita chips or some type of flatbread, but to each their own right? Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

Total cook time…30 min