This EASY CHINESE TOMATO EGG NOODLES is a dish you should most definitely have in your weeknight arsenal. It’s so quick and easy to prepare, and satisfying to eat. Summer tomatoes are glorious in this tomato-forward dish. But honestly I make this all year round because it is such a no-fuss meal I can throw together in 15 minutes. We all need more of those, am I right?

Succulent poached shrimp and juicy melons are the stars of this POACHED SHRIMP + MELON SALAD. Dressed deliciously in an easy 5-ingredient vinaigrette of evoo, white balsamic vinegar, fresh lime juice, sugar (you can sub honey) and salt, and finished with addictive Tajín on top, this is a salad you’ll probably want to make all summer long!

I love rice and I love kimchi. Like, looooooove. Today I’m sharing this EASY KIMCHI FRIED RICE recipe that’s become a weeknight staple ever since my two girls finally learned to enjoy kimchi! This is one of the quickest dinners you can pull together using fairly basic fridge and pantry staples. You can use homemade kimchi or store-bought kimchi. As easy as this recipe is, there is one thing I want you to pay attention to: perfect fried rice starts with perfectly prepared rice!

This recipe for CHILLED NOODLES WITH SPICY PEANUT SAUCE is a refreshing and delicious recipe featuring bouncy noodles loaded with a variety of crisp veggies and shredded chicken all tossed in a Chinese-style creamy, savoury, spicy and tangy peanut butter sauce. I think of this as the Chinese version of pasta salad! Perfect on warm days as a standalone meal or as a side dish for bbq parties. Great in a packed lunch or as a potluck offering since it keeps and transports so well.

To say the recent arrival of Teri Turner’s wonderful new cookbook No Crumbs Left, Recipes for Everyday Food Made Marvelous was highly anticipated by her legion of loyal fans (she calls her “crumbles”) would be a massive understatement. I have been following Teri’s instagram for years. She approaches cooking with the ease and confidence that inspires so many of us. “Don’t be afraid to fail; it’s just food” is what Teri frequently says. Don’t those words alone empower you to tackle almost anything in your kitchen?

Are you Team White Sauce or Team Red Sauce? Honestly, I have been Team Red all the way, all my life. BUT, this dreamy creamy Springtime White Lasagna almost made me second guess my lifelong allegiance. Plus, I tricked my whole family into eating THREE whole different kinds of green vegetables in ONE meal because of this luscious, roasted garlic cream sauce. I said roasted garlic cream sauce. I just wanted to make sure you read that. 😉 Can you even imagine??! It’s definitely kinda magical.

Here’s an easy, healthy, minimal-cook meal idea for weeknight dinner, not-a-sad-desk-lunch or kid school lunch. This recipe for TUNA AND KIMCHI ONIGIRAZU is a must try…they are simple to make and so, sooo delicious.

Do you like the sound of juicy chicken with crispy skin, slathered in a zippy sauce? If so, I have this fantastic 6-ingredient, 30 minutes recipe for you. This easy and flavor-packed GINGER APRICOT CHICKEN recipe came about when I craved a tasty dish to appease my bored taste buds shortly after starting my first Whole30 so this recipe provides options for regular preparation or soy-free / gluten-free versions. This recipe has since become one of our family weeknight favourites!

Slurp-worthy rice noodles in a creamy, flavourful broth, this easy THAI RED CURRY NOODLE SOUP WITH SHRIMP BALLS is the kind of tasty and nutritious meal to put into your recipe rotation immediately.

Any morel lovers out there?! I am so pleased to partner with Green Peace Canada on this blog post to raise awareness about the Boreal forest by way of this wildly delicious Cauliflower Gnocchi with Morel Mushrooms recipe! Easy to make two-ingredient cauliflower gnocchi are tossed simply with sauteed morels, shallots and garlic, and finished with chives and a wee drizzle of nice balsamic vinegar to brighten everything up. This is an elevated dish fit for royalty! Or at least your most favorite dinner guests. The ones who bring very nice wine! ;)

It's mid August which means Toronto is bursting with summer produce. Our local farmer's market is, to me, almost like a candy store to a child. Tables are piled high with an abundance of fresh and colorful fruits and vegetables hitting their peak. I am in heaven!  In particular, tomatoes are having their long-awaited moment in the sun, literally and figuratively. :) 

Remember when I said cauliflower has superpowers? I still stand by that. Especially after this pretty incredible Cauliflower Steak Salad I made. I've made this dish three times in the past 2 weeks and I have had no regrets about it. Not a one. Actually I do have one regret which is that I'm only discovering Sambal Matah now and not sooner. Such a crying shame!

I made a lip-smacking, finger-licking, killer sandwich!  I borrowed the flavors of Korean bulgogi to create this meatless version featuring that quintessential combo of soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and ginger.  Instead of marinaded meat, I've used the bulgogi sauce on tofu and loads of mushrooms, two ingredients that soak up all that tastiness.   

'Tis the season for winter squashes!  I love the variety of pumpkins and squashes in the markets now - my favorites being pumpkin pie pumpkins (those small round guys), buttercup pumpkin and when lucky enough to find them, kabocha squash aka Japanese pumpkin.  Good ol' butternut squash is excellent all year 'round too and is particularly loved by my girls.  All of these squash varieties can be used in this recipe.  Choose your favorite and the flavor of it will shine through in this simple yet delicious sauce. 

With the start of school and adieu to summer vacation, I begin to accept that Fall is just around the corner.  Every year when I spot the first copper-y dried leaf fallen on the sidewalk, I think of (lower your device's volume if you're at work haha) this old KFC commercial where the woman is screaming and pointing at something. The camera then turns to the sidewalk in front of her, showing a single fallen maple leaf on the ground with the voice-over saying "summer can't last forever".  She then bolts in the other direction.  I feel exactly the same way!  Does anyone else (Canadian) remember this one?  Best.  Commercial.  Ever.  My favorite. :)

Cauliflower has been having quite a moment in the sun.

Have you seen all the clever and creative uses of cauliflower lately?   The popular ones that spring to mind are cauliflower steak, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower buffalo 'wings', cauliflower tater tots and even using cauliflower as a smoothie ingredient to provide bulk without the added sugars of bananas and other fruits (can't say I'm sold on that one ... yet).  

So despite it's pale and unexciting appearance, turns out this cruciferous veggie kinda has superpowers!  And cauliflower RICE, for me, is the most super-y-est of them all because of it's ease of preparation (including how much faster it is to cook versus rice), superior nutritional value over rice, it's versatility and above all, how satisfyingly well it stands in for rice.

I am super excited to share this recipe as a follow-up to last week's Everyday Veggie-Loaded Ragu share.  For forever, it was a no-brainer to make a lasagna later the same week I make up a big batch of my go-to ragu.  I literally don't know a single person who doesn't like lasagna, do you?  But when we began limiting dairy and gluten consumption (among other things) at the end of 2016, it seemed our lasagna days were over.  Bye bye.

Or so I thought.

Does the internet really need another 'spaghetti sauce' recipe? For a year and half since I started this blog, the answer to myself was consistently NO. Yet here it is.

Instead of seeing it as too pedestrian to be blog-worthy, I now see it as invariably delicious, nourishing and actually an excellent representation of what we eat hence what I like to bring to the blog. A ragù (an Italian term) is a sauce made with ground meat and vegetables usually used for pasta. This is my take on the ubiquitous dish. It is uncomplicated yet deliberate in ingredients to maximize both taste and nutrition. It is beloved in my universe (my family). It is tried, test and true.

When I discovered a package of frozen udon in the freezer, I was delighted.  My cravings spoke loudly and decisively.  I knew instantly that I wanted to enjoy it in this easy coconut curry noodle bowl. Since we limit grains including wheat these days, we rarely slurp down any noodles (made from wheat) at home anymore.  I cherished this bowl of udon with my entire being.

This BRAISED RICE CAKES WITH NAPA CABBAGE, SHIITAKE AND PORK recipe is an easy one-pot meal that is also total comfort food. The magic happens in the final simmering when the starches released from the rice cakes combine with the liquid cooked out of the cabbage to create a velvety, luscious sauce. Utterly delicious and satisfying!