Mixed herb and couscous patties with roasted pepper and tomato salsa

I have not always been afraid of anything that comes with a remote possibility of danger. In fact, as a child, I was quite adventurous. I loved to climb onto things like the house roof and up trees. I loved to explore in the forest when we would go camping and I was thrilled by the idea of walking home from a friends house in the dark. I loved water sliding, rides at the fair, haunted houses (okay that one scared me from the start), skiing and air plane rides (imagine!).

It must be, that as I got older, fears would creep in when I would get hurt doing something I previously considered fun. Or maybe hearing stories of other people falling victim to accidents, contributed to the decline in my repertoire of adventurous activities. I remember jumping down a flight of stairs and nearly breaking my foot, getting the wind knocked out of me on a water slide, being on an airplane where the power kept shutting off (it had not taken off yet), and almost throwing up on The Zipper at Buffalo Days.

Growing old and reading the news ruined things like hiking in the back country (bears), snowboarding (head injuries), walking at night (abductions and murders) and even just crossing the street (did you hear about the guy who was killed by a pole that a truck slid into, while standing on the side-walk? How about the guy that went out to get the mail and was crushed by a falling helicopter?)

One of my favorite things to do as a grade-school-aged child was to bike. I remember my fist two-wheeler bicycle. I got it for Christmas one year, at my grandparents. I remember waking bright and early, creeping into the living room and seeing it there, just propped up in front of the Christmas tree. It struck me then that it was unwrapped and of course, unwrapping presents is the most exciting part of Christmas.

My family was very excited to give it to me though, and that excitement soon caught on to me as well. It was pink and white and had these little coloured beads on the rims that would clink up and down the wheel as it turned. It also had training wheels, and I remember being afraid to let those go. I think my dad started by removing them one at a time. I adapted quickly and it was not long before I was biking around farther than I was allowed to. In fact I was grounded a few times for straying too far and going to the local gas station in search of candy.

Eventually I grew older and am sure (although I do not remember the transition) that I had to get a bigger bike. When I was old enough, my best friend Rachelle and I, would bike around the neighbourhood every day. Most times we would bike to the library where I remember spending a big part of my child hood. We would read magazines, Fear Street books and all sorts of other pre-teen novels that I still remember fondly. We would spend entire evenings there, not leaving until the lights where turned off, just before the doors would get locked behind us.

The moral of my story is that having a bike was just a natural part of my life as a kid and teenager that I never really thought about. Somehow though, eventually, I just stopped riding a bike for years until I moved here to Vancouver. For the first few years I was in Vancouver I had a mountain bike that did not work very well. The gears skipped and the brakes rubbed against the wheels. In this hilly city, an inefficient bike makes getting around really difficult. I would often opt to walk or catch the bus instead of riding my bike.

I have been waiting patiently for the day that I would graduate, get a real job and be able to afford a nice road bike. While I was in Winnipeg over Easter, Mike bid on a bike for me, on E-bay, that he assured me would suit me perfectly. On Thursday I took my first ride around my neighbourhood on this fancy new (second hand) road bike. It was night, cold and rainy and riding a road bike is really strange compared to a mountain bike. But, I could not believe how effortless it was to navigate around on this road bike, even uphill. Having a bike I enjoy being on reminds me of my happy childhood memories of independence and adventure. So many happy experiences and explorations are interlinked with the bikes that I had as a child and I am excited for the bike trips to come.

My recipe today is one that I whipped up in my head as I stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, bright and early Saturday morning. I was afraid this drowsy concoction could turn out really awful so was pleasantly surprised when everything came together easily and deliciously. You could add more potato or an egg to make the patties a little more stable but it is not necessary. Also, I kept my salsa extremely simple but you could roast and mix in other vegetables that you want to use up, like onions, asparagus or zucchini. 

Mixed herb and couscous patties with roasted pepper and tomato salsa

Makes 6 patties

Ingredients

Couscous patties

6 mini potatoes (about 1/2 cup pureed)

1/2 cup couscous

Juice from 1 lemon

Shallot, finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped herbs (basil, mint, chives and Italian parsley)

Roasted yellow and red pepper and tomato salsa

1/2 cup mini tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped sweet peppers

Extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Sea salt

1/2 avocado

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine chopped peppers and tomatoes with olive oil, sea salt and crushed garlic.

3. Spread on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and place in the oven. Cook about 20 minutes, mixing once half way through cooking.

4. Meanwhile, cook potatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes.

5. Heat 1/2 cup of water in a separate, small pot.

6. Stir in chopped shallots and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, take off of heat and stir in couscous.

7. Cover couscous and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

8. Drain potatoes when done, and fluff couscous with fork.

9. In a food processor, blend potatoes until a sticky smooth mass.

10. In a large bowl, combine a tablespoon of oil, blended potatoes, couscous, and chopped herbs. Season with sea salt.

11. Form mixture into about 6 x 3" patties. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

12. Bake patties about 8 minutes per side. Do not over cook or the couscous will dry out.

13. Remove roasted vegetables from oven and combine with chopped avocado.

14. If desired, poach eggs while patties are cooking.

15. Serve patties warm with roasted vegetable salsa and if desired, a poached egg seasoned with salt and pepper.

Toasted wheat orecchiette with zucchini, fennel, asparagus and pesto

I was secretly (only slightly) inwardly emotional yesterday while working in my lab at school. Every task I performed I thought to myself, this is the last PCR plate I will run here or this is the last time I will infect my tissue culture cells, and this is the last time I will wear my RNase free lab coat. Obviously those specific things are not that exciting but it is so weird that in one week I will no longer be doing the things I did on a daily basis for the last 6 years.

It has been a difficult couple of weeks; trying to ease my former PhD supervisor into the notion that soon I will be gone. I had to put the axe on a couple of projects that seemed obviously impossible to complete in my short time left, but for some reason they were being discussed as if I would be there forever. Even after giving my final end date as being May 4th, the following week I was confronted with the question, you are here until the end of May, right? I guess this is why in the real world of work, people give written notices of termination. What we say and what people hear can often be two very different things. 

Because the time I have left in the lab is so short, I have been working like mad in an attempt to finish everything on my list that I promised to accomplish. As such, I have had little to no time to cook lately. Yesterday, I was really excited to just come home on a Friday night, relax and consume a home cooked meal.

I have also been looking forward to trying out this toasted wheat orecchiette, another product (one of my last!) from Cannensi. Once cooked al dente, I mixed it with a quick and simple homemade pesto and sauteed tender vegetables. I cooked the vegetables in a nice, hot pan with a generous serving of olive oil. The high heat helps to brown and bring out the natural flavours of the vegetables, but they need to be stirred often so they do not burn.  Stirring the cooked pasta into the pan afterwards allows it to soak up all the flavours and oil. I ate the pasta with a simple salad, Cannensi sun dried tomatoes, a baguette and triple cream brie. It was divine.

Toasted wheat orecchiette with zucchini, fennel, asparagus and pesto

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups orecchiette

1 small zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

1 bunch fennel, tough outer layer discarded, sliced thinly

8 asparagus, tough ends removed and chopped into 2" pieces

1 shallot, sliced

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

1/3 cup pesto (store bought or your own (see below))

Freshly grated parmesan

Directions

1 - Heat water to boil in a large pot with salt and olive oil.

2 - Add orecchiette to boiling water, stir and simmer gently until pasta reaches desired tenderness (slightly al dente is best).

3 - In a large cast iron skillet, heat 3 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.

4 - Stir in shallot and garlic and cook 2 minutes.

5 - Add the fennel, zucchini and asparagus and cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender, about 8 - 10 minutes.

6 - Drain pasta, then add to vegetables. Stir, add 1/4 cup of pesto and continue to stir until well coated. Remove from heat.

7 - Serve pasta topped with an extra dollop of pesto and freshly grated parmesan.

To make pesto

In a food processor, combine 2 cups loosely packed and torn basil leaves, juice from 1 small lemon, 1/8 cup freshly grated parmesan and 1/8 cup walnuts or pine nuts. When finely chopped, process in 2-3 tbsp high quality extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste with sea salt.

*Note that the proportions can be easily altered to your preference. I prefer mine to be mostly basil with the other ingredients used to add saltiness and texture.

Anchovy, caper and marinated eggplant pizza

Although I was excited to join a community garden and grow my own vegetables, I was also worried (still am) that I do not have what it takes to mother plants to life. In my last apartment, the landlord left behind a plant that died a slow and painful death at my hands. Following that unfortunate event, Mike and I adopted a cactus and an aloe vera plant at a nearby botanical garden plant sale. I am sad to say that my aloe vera plant is looking very sick.

My parents did garden every year when I was a child but I do not remember participating much except to pick and eat the raspberries, strawberries and peas. And I think I had to grow a seedling at one point in elementary school, but that is where my gardening experiences end.

I also had some very unfortunate pet experiences such as leaving my poor kitty outside for 2 hours in minus 40 degree weather. When I remembered to let her in she could barely walk; she crawled under my mom's living room chair and stayed there for a week. It might have been the saddest experience of my life.

It was almost as sad as the time I tried to catch my little sisters hamster that had escaped from its cage. I thought I could throw a towel over him and scoop him up before returning him safely to his prison. I successfully caught him under a towel, but as I was crouched down in our carpeted apartment hallway I lost my balance, and fell forward, my knee crushing the poor rodent's head. I will spare you the gory details, but the images still haunt me. My sister called me a murderer and barely spoke to me for weeks

The point is that I question my ability to nurture plants for several months and successfully keep them alive. It is a big responsibility, watering and feeding and tending to plants; it requires commitment and patience. I have this annoying aversion to failing at anything, thus I am determined to turn over a new leaf and paint my thumb green. Last weekend I borrowed some manure, soil and eight little pots from my community garden space. I planted eggplant seeds in half of the pots and butternut squash in the remaining half. Little sprouts started coming up almost immediately. I was excited but suspected they might be weeds.

Yesterday morning, I woke up bright and early and went to check on my seeds as I do every day, about ten times a day. This time though, something was different. There were these huge seedlings bursting up and out through the dark and dense soil of the butternut squash pots. The seedlings were about 10 times the size of the little weedlings that surrounded them. I watched the sprouts all day; every time I would look at them they would be just slightly more unfolded and upright and today they are standing 3 full inches tall. Is it weird that I actually love them? They are so majestic. 

I will be very nervous the day I have to uproot them and put them out into the community garden. I think I will have to set up a sleeping bag by the garden and watch over them to make sure they make it through the night.

I made this personal sized pizza with the intention of testing out using marinated shredded eggplant (mine was from Cannensi) as a pizza topping. I paired the eggplant with some capers and anchovies that I picked up from Bosa Foods. I topped it with some bocconcini and used a fresh tomato sauce that I had made the night before. The pizza was really salty, savory and satisfying. It was extra yummy topped with fresh torn basil leaves and freshly grated aged parmesan cheese.

Anchovy, caper and marinated eggplant personal pizza

You can use any pizza sauce or dough for this pizza but I highly recommend making your own sauce. It does not take long to simmer down some tomatoes, all you need is to season with a little salt and honey. A simple, fresh tomato sauce is a great compliment to salty pizza toppings. Also, the recipe below is for one personal sized pizza but you can obviously expand as needed. The success of this pizza is also dependent on keeping the toppings very light. Capers and anchovies should be thought of as more of a seasoning or garnish then an actual topping.

Ingredients

3/4 cup prepared pizza dough (About 1/3 recipe from this post)
~1/4 cup fresh tomato sauce (see below or this post)

1/2 tbsp capers

2 anchovy filets

Small handful of shredded, oil-packed marinated eggplant (find at Italian import food stores)

5 pearl bocconcini

Freshly grated parmesan

A few torn basil leaves

Directions

1 - Preheat oven to 500F with pizza stone on the top rack of the oven.

2 - Press out about 3/4 cup prepared pizza dough (about 1/3 of this recipe) to an 8" round, use flour to prevent sticking.

3 - Place dough on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper.

4 - Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce onto the dough.

5 - Top with marinated eggplant, capers and finely chopped anchovies.

6 - Tear bocconcini pieces and scatter over pizza.

7 - Bake pizza about 8-10 minutes.

8 - Top with freshly grated parmesan and torn fresh basil leaves.

Quick fresh tomato sauce

Bring a small pot of water to near boil. Cut a small slit in the bottom of 3 tomatoes and add to water for one minute. Remove from hot water and place in cold water until cool enough to handle. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a seperate pot and add 1 crushed garlic clove. Cook for a couple of minutes. Slide the skins off of the tomatoes, cut them roughly and add to pot with a pinch of sea salt and 1 tsp of honey. Simmer until thickened for about 10 - 15 minutes. Stir periodically and break the tomatoes apart further with a spoon while you stir. 

Wild chickpea (cicerchie) and mustard greens bruschetta

I am soaking in the afterglow of a busy, satisfying, productive and work-free weekend. It was one of those weekends where I kept so busy that I simply did not think about the stresses and annoyances of school and work. On Saturday, I made it to the farmers market for the first time in months. The sun was shining, the tents were filled with eager shoppers, curious children and enthusiastic farmers. I filled my shopping bag with bright green and tender spinach, spunky mustard greens, super pink radishes, shiny eggplants, spherical red tomatoes and some farm fresh eggs. 

After the farmers market I made it out to the large Italian import food store, Bosa Foods, located on the outskirts of Vancouver (technically Burnaby). Mike and I stopped there on our way to scavenge new tires and a blower resister from an auto wreckage yard in New Westminster. Afterwards, Mike had me crawl under the car's dashboard to shimmy out some screws with my freakishly small hands so he could install the new resister. Our next stop was at Ikea where we picked up a little, inexpensive patio set before driving further east to Abbotsford for a visit with Mike's parents and sister.

Mike's parents live in a house that sits perched in the side of a hill and overlooks the beautiful Fraser Valley. When the clouds disperse they have a stellar view of stunning Mount Baker. I snapped a couple of shots of a pastel pink magnolia tree and the distant mountains from their patio. 

I passed on a bottle of Cannensi olive oil to Mike's mom who enjoys cooking just as much as I do. She always prepares us fantastic meals, snacks and desserts and last night was no exception. She had fresh blueberry muffins baking when we arrived. Then we shared a meal of a fresh and simple salad, perogies and bread with oil and balsamic. We were all stuffed afterwards so stuck with refreshing and nutritious mango lassis for dessert.

Today I spent the better part of the afternoon in my community garden plot with my friends where we planted our first seeds; some beets, potatoes, peas and lettuce. When I made it back home I started some winter squash and eggplants indoors in little mini pots. To be cooking with fresh produce brought to life by my own hands is a very exciting thought. I cannot wait for these vegetables to spring up through the dirt and bear fruit.

Earlier this week I returned home from a much enjoyed trip to Winnipeg where I visited with my best friend, Jenny, her beau, Raffaele and my mom and grandparents. One of the fruits of my visit was a suitcase full of Cannensi products. I grabbed four jars of sun-dried tomatoes (because they are amazing), some marinated zucchini and orrechiette. Jenny also gave me a couple bags of black chickpeas and another peculiar looking legume that I looked up when I got home that in English is called wild chickpea or grass pea (cicerchie in Italian).

These rare and almost forgotten legumes have a very interesting history. Traditionally they were grown in areas prone to drought as they are extremely hardy and resistant to harsh weather conditions. For this reason they are often consumed in regions of prevalent famine and in the past provided sustenance during tough growing seasons and long winters. Recently, efforts have been implemented in Italy and elsewhere to revive the farming of this important crop which also acts as a fertilizer and contributes to pest control.

I recently decided that I should have a dinner party to share with friends all of the wonderful Italian imports that Raffaele and Jenny are working so hard to sell here in Canada. I have found every morsel to be so wonderful and want others to be able to appreciate their wonderousness. However, I am not much of a party planner so, to not have a dinner party be a complete disaster, I need to figure out what to make first and be sure to test out all of the recipes I plan to make.

My first idea is to make a chickpea puree bruschetta using the different chickpea varieties I have. This inspiration originates from a dish served at Trattoria, an Italian restaurant here in Vancouver. I created my own interpretation of their balsamic-glazed chickpea bruschetta by stirring flecked mustard greens into a puree of wild chickpeas and topping it with fresh radishes. I kept the puree simple, stirring in sea salt, lemon juice and the highest quality extra virgin olive oil. I made a quick balsamic glaze on my stove top and served the chickpea puree on some foccacia that I picked up at Bosa Foods.

I also want to make a pasta for my dinner party that I tested out today. I thought that the little black chickpeas would be perfect with orechiette as they naturally nestle themselves into the little pasta cups like a pearl in an oyster; it is adorable. I still want to experiment with other ingredients and flavours but was happy with today's resulting pasta dish that combined grilled eggplant, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto and bocconcini with the chickpeas and orrechiette.

Wild chickpea (cicerchie) and mustard greens bruschetta

Spring seasonal: radishes, mustard greens

Ingredients

1.5 cups cooked (~1/2 cup dried) wild chickpeas

1 tbsp meyer lemon juice

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

2 large mustard green leaves

Balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp honey (agave or maple syrup for vegans)

Radish, thin slices

Foccacia slices

Directions

1 - Soak chickpeas overnight in the fridge. Drain and cook in water boiling at a low simmer for about 40 minutes or until tender.

2 - In a food processor, process a couple mustard green leaves until finely flecked. Scoop into a bowl.

3 - Separately, puree chickpeas in processor with sea salt (plenty), lemon juice and olive oil.

4 - Stir together the puree with the mustard green flecks.

5 - Meanwhile, bring about 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar to a low simmer in a non-reactive pot on the stove.

6 - Stir in 1/4 tsp of honey and simmer, stirring often until reduced, thick and slightly sticky. About 15 minutes. If you thicken it too much, just stir in a little bit of water.

7 - Slice and grill foccacia bread then top with the chickpea puree. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction and top with radish slices.

8 - Serve warm.

Spring vegetable and quinoa frittata

The air in our household has been saturated with stress and tension for the past few months. Mike and I are both committed to several working positions that keep us busy all week, some nights and even weekends. Recently it had become glaringly apparent that one or both of us were in desperate need of a vacation. It was Mike's birthday a couple of weeks ago and, as having new jobs means having a few extra dollars to spare, I decided to splurge on a couples spa package on nearby Pender Island. Due to how busy we were, Mike seemed very resistant to leave the home office for the weekend but I forced him into it.

Bright and early Saturday morning, before the sun had broken over the horizon, we packed our light overnight bags, rain coats and hiking shoes into the car. About ten minutes into the drive to the ferry I could already sense some of the week's tension being left behind. Unfortunately, it was a rainy morning but we proceeded to the ferry terminal and boarded the 8 am boat headed for Pender island -  a tiny, simple island nestled between the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island.

We arrived at the Island at 11 am on the dot; five hours before we could check into our room at Poets Cove. We drove around and explored the island, stumbling upon a small hike which led us down a cliff and along the island's shore line. The path ended on a beach where we encountered crabs, sea anemone and were followed by an adorable and curious sea lion.

We had a delicious lunch at the only cafe we could find on the Island then headed back to Poets Cove. We were delighted to find that our room had a patio which directly overlooked the ocean. I was most excited about the heated floors in the bathroom. We donned our swimsuits and crept out into the chilly evening air to the outdoor hot tub set in front of the ocean. The last of our worries melted away as we snacked on some goat cheese from a nearby island and some spicy crackers which we washed down with a lovely red wine.

The next morning we awoke, peaceful as can be and went for brunch which was the highlight of the trip for me. The brunch was a buffet and at first glance appeared ordinary. Eggs, pancakes, hash-brown potatoes and what appeared to be a giant omelet. I piled the items on my plate and further down the line found individual home made yogurt cups, cheeses, fruit and baking.

My first bite was of the scrambled eggs which tasted unbelievable. Mike had had eggs on the ferry the morning before which had looked the same as the eggs at the buffet; they tasted completely different. Clearly these eggs came from happy local free-range hens. The hash-browns were nicely browned and seasoned delicately with fleur-de-sel. Next I tried the omelet. I delightfully discovered that this frittata-like dish was filled with quinoa and cheese. It was perfectly chewy, flavorful and decorated with mushrooms and peppers. It was incredible. I knew I would be trying to make it when I got home after going back for a second serving.

Also amazing was the little yogurt cup which was made with the most creamy, silky yogurt I have ever tasted. Stirred-into the yogurt was a light mixture of oats and it was topped with a fresh berry compote. Drooling yet? All I can say is that having the brunch at Poets Cove is reason enough to visit Pender Island.

After the brunch that I could not stop talking about, we relaxed further at the spa in a steam cave that smelled of eucalyptus, watched the clouds melt away in the sky in the hot tub and then succumbed to Swedish relaxation massages. 

The weather had improved somewhat, so after our spa session we rented a kayak and paddled to the base of Mount Norman for a short hike. We failed to find the summit as we encountered several confusing forks in the paths. Time did not permit us to explore every direction so we worked our way back to the base, jumped back in our Kayak and paddled furiously back to the rental station.

 

The remainder of the day was spent driving around and exploring the little nooks and crannies of the island before snacking on a quick dinner back at the cafe.  We headed tentatively to the ferry around 7 pm where we watched a beautiful sunset and would you believe encountered a small pod of orcas? It was definitely magical; surreal. A much needed and enjoyed break from the busy life of Vancouver.

Back at home I am trying to replicate some of the amazing food I had while on Pender Island. Every bite I had on the island revealed the commitment that those Islanders have to sustainable, organic and healthy food. All of the ingredients were so flavorful, smooth, delicate, intense and just plain amazing. The frittata/omelet/quiche (whatever it was) was my favorite. I tried my own version the next day but was not able to make it quite as good. Nonetheless I am posting this recipe for my first try. Maybe you have some suggestions? I may come back and update the recipe next time I make this.

Spring vegetable and quinoa frittata

Spring seasonal: peas and asparagus

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup shelled peas

6 button mushrooms, roughly chopped

3 thick spears of asparagus, sliced with a mandoline

4 free-range eggs

2 tbsp milk

3 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup white cheddar

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked

Sea salt

Chopped chives to garnish

Directions

1 - Preheat oven to 350F.

2 - Warm a pan on the stove to medium heat, melt butter and stir in garlic, mushrooms and chopped asparagus.

3 - Cook vegetables for about 5 minutes, stir in peas then cook another minute or so. Remove from heat and let cool.

4 - Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Stir in the cheeses, cooked quinoa and cooled vegetables.

5 - Season generously with sea salt then divide mixture among greased ramekins (about 5) or pour into a large ovenproof skillet.

6 - Place ramekins in a baking dish and place in oven. Cover ramekins with a large metal baking sheet.

7 - If using a skillet you can start the cooking process on the stove top or place directly in the oven, covered.

8 - Keeping the eggs covered allows them to puff up and brown evenly on top.

9 - Bake about 20 - 30 minutes (may be more or less depending on the size of the ramekins or whether you use a skillet).

10 - Check the eggs often and remove from oven when nicely browned on top.

11 - Serve garnished with fresh chopped chives.

A 'spring meets winter salad' on a plane

You would think that I would be tired of salads. After seven days of creating a diverse array of salads, a funny yet likely predictable thing happened. I fell into a salad trap. I cannot stop wanting to eat a mix of spring lettuce with a simple home made dressing. Nothing beats it. At least not when you consider the time, taste, quality and nutrition that goes into and comes out of making a fresh salad.

Today, as I start this post, I am 2 hours away from shooting up into the sky and across the country to Winnipeg, Manitoba. I hate flying. Let us just get that out of the way right away. My analytical mind will not let me not think about the possibilities (as rare as they are) for disaster in an aircraft. But I try very very hard to fight the irrational thoughts.

Distractions are the only way for me to make it through the twenty fours surrounding a flight. I focus on packing, planning, finding books and magazines to read, making sure I have my head phones and some podcasts to listen to. And of course, I like to make myself a snack. A snack that usually serves as the highlight of the time that passes so painfully slowly in the air.

For some reason, when traveling, I feel that people go into a mode of "lets eat crap that I normally try to avoid". I cannot say I am not also a victim of that mindset. But there is a unique feeling of superiority and smugness that creeps in when you manage to avoid unhealthy temptations even when you are living outside of your regular routine.

I remember one particular moment on a past flight when I opened up a container of freshly chopped fruit and veggies with dip. I remember the people on either side of me; looking over with their "yum"s and their "oh that looks good"s. It was nothing - fruit and vegetables chopped. But when you are trapped in a metal cylinder filled with nothing but your local gas station fare - soda pop, coffee, juice, salty pretzels and chips - some fresh produce looks pretty darn amazing.

For today's three hour flight I made myself a salad with leftover winter produce (beets, grapefruit and pear) and the new spring lovelies (chives, peas and asparagus). Balsamic vinegar and Cannensi extra virgin olive oil will dress my salad and likely assault the noses of my fellow passengers but I could care less. I know they will be wishing for a bite of their own as I crunch away on my super springy-winter salad.

*I made it to Winnipeg and my flight was smooth and even almost enjoyable. I nearly did not eat my salad on account of fear of annoying my fellow passengers. But, with about 30 minutes left in the air I could not resist. I must say I could not have been happier to have that salad to distract me for that last agonizing stretch in the sky. Now I am back on the earth, the weather here in Winnipeg is almost summer-like and I am so happy to be with my mom and my grandparents. Happy Easter Holidays everyone!

Spring meets winter salad

Ingredients

1 yellow beet

3 asparagus spears

1 small pear, chopped

1/2 grapefruit, segments

1/4 cup shelled peas

2 cups chopped spring lettuce mix

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/3 tsp fine sea salt

Chopped chives and fresh goat cheese to garnish

Directions

1 - Preheat oven to 400F or turn on grill (I use a George Foreman grill).

2 - Peel and thickly slice beet. Then, snap the tough ends off of the asparagus and lightly salt both.

3 - Grill or roast until tender. Asparagus will cook faster, about 10 minutes, while the beets will take 15 - 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

4 - In a large serving bowl, place in lettuce and top with chopped grapefruit segments and chopped pear.

5 - Chop up the asparagus and beets into bite-sized pieces and place in bowl with salad mix.

6 - Mix together dressing by placing vinegar, oil and salt in a jar then shake vigorously until emulsified.

7 - Top salad with chives and goat cheese.

8 - When ready to eat, toss the salad with the balsamic dressing.