Simple Suppers

I am really enjoying preparing for May's already sold-out vegetarian cooking class. The theme for this month's class is weekday meals that are easy to get to the table. Let me tell you this is an unusually easy class to prepare for in terms of time cooking in the kitchen. It does require a little more on the creative end. But, man, these meals are easy to put together.

I have been continuing with my beans, grains and greens theme as you can see here. Pictured below are a couple of pasta dishes with sides of bean salads and greens.




Today I made a swiss chard frittata and served it with spelt and wild rice toast. I didn't get much sleep last night, so you can see the slathering of sugar... er I mean jam on the toast for a pick me up!

Beans, Greens and Grains

I have been thinking a lot about how to organize a salad plate that we could put on the menu, or as a feature item at the Black Dog Pub. Not only that, but as the spring and soon to follow summer creeps in here, I want to be able to make quick and filling meals to eat on our back deck. This morning, while I was flipping through Nava Atlas'Vegetarian Five Ingredient Gourmetcook book, it dawned on me! BEANS! GREENS! and GRAINS! All I need is a green salad, with a bean (legume) salad coupled with a grain salad... and voila you have a nutritionally balanced salad plate meal! I wasted no time putting it together my first beans, greens, and grains salad plate for lunch today.
Pictured here is lunch. I served a lentil salad, a coleslaw, hummus, a baguette, some brie cheese, grapes and strawberries. YUMMY!

We enjoyed this lunch after doing a little bit of planting this morning. Pictured below is my herb garden. The oregano is coming back strong from last year. I decided to plant LOTS of basil (can you say I love pesto) some lavender, sage, garlic and corriander/cilantro. I also planted some individual pots of parsley, and much more basil. I will have enough basil to make pesto this year.

Easy Dinner, but a favourite at our house

The one meal that my hubby can cook is beans on toast. Well, here you have mushrooms on toast, beans on the side, with some potato chips. Since cooking mushrooms was involved, I prepared the meal. Good old comfort food. These are heinz beans in tomatoe sauce (the only ones my husband will allow me to buy). And, who knew mushrooms were so good for you? The range of traditional nutrients found in crimini mushrooms is impressive. Crimini mushrooms are an excellent source of selenium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), copper, niacin (vitamin B3), potassium and phosphorous. Selenium is needed for the proper function of the antioxidant system, which works to reduce the levels of damaging free radicals in the body. Selenium is a necessary cofactor of one of the body's most important internally produced antioxidants, glutathione peroxidase, and also works with vitamin E in numerous vital antioxidant systems throughout the body. These powerful antioxidant actions make selenium helpful not only against colon cancer by protecting colon cells from cancer-causing toxins, but in decreasing asthma and arthritis symptoms and in the prevention of heart disease. In addition, selenium is involved in DNA repair, yet another way in which adequate intake of this mineral is associated with a reduced risk for cancer. Five ounces of raw crimini mushrooms provide 52.6% of the daily value (DV) for selenium.