It’s been a while.

Hi friends. It’s been a while.

You can tell when I haven’t been cooking when my blog is barren. I haven’t written a post in almost 3 weeks!!! Way too long and I’m so sorry! I was away in San Francisco for a weekend and the rest of the time I haven’t cooked. I hadn’t grocery shopped, my fridge and cupboards are barren… WHO AM I!??

Well, the wait is over and I’m back! Up on the menu today? Moroccan vegetable stew.

Mountain Bread pizza.

Have you heard of Mountain Bread? I’ve never seen or heard of the brand before but when I spotted it at the Saturday market, I was curious so picked up a package. It looked just like a wrap of some sort and I usually like to keep burrito wrappers or tortillas in my freezer just in case. After further research and a cool recipe on the back of their packaging, it looked like pizzas could be made with these wraps. I was intrigued so I tried it.

The result? Mountain Bread pesto pizzas.

FREE COOKIES?!

Oh, my bad. I meant free as in allergen-free. Sorry to get your hopes up!!!

These banana date oatmeal cookies are 1) sugar-free, 2) dairy-free, 3) egg-free, 4) nut-free, 5) gluten-free, 6) soy-free and oh, 7) vegan. It doesn’t sound appetizing to you, does it? My sister would probably comment on me being “hipster” again but hey, they’re actually not bad at all! Plus, it’s got all these amazing superfoods mixed in which makes it even BETTER for you.

Are you ready for the recipe yet!?!

Broccoli trees + other great grocery spots.

I’ll tell you a not-so-secret secret: one of my favourite places to grocery shop would be Sunrise Market in Vancouver. It’s a super cheap, no-frills old Chinese market that I believe used to be Sunrise Soya foods which produced tofu back in the day (and I think still to this day — correct me if I’m wrong). It’s this amazing market in the middle of the downtown eastside. Fresh produce is dirt cheap and besides that, you can get killer deals on tofu, dumplings, packaged foods, etc. Basically everything.

This time around I got some huge broccoli trees that were bagged into the Reduced bin and I swear, there were atleast 2-3 heads worth of broccoli in there. For $1.00. Yes! Since I wanted to make something new with the broccoli, I decided to whip up a quick steamed broccoli salad.

Making gnocchi for the first time.

I’ll tell you a story. A couple months ago, I attempted to make gnocchi. Somebody told me it was simple and judging by the recipe, it seemed like something I could do. I had all the ingredients on-hand and I didn’t think it would take me so long. I woke up at 6:30 that morning to try and make them before I left for work. Big mistake. It was a complete disaster. Without a ricer and a masher, I ended up with these sticky dumplings that weren’t at all reminscient of gnocchi. I was disheartened.

But a friend of mine, Westley, who is actually the chef de partie at the restaurant at the Marriott hotel where I used to work encouraged me to try it again — this time with taro. Yes, folks. I made taro gnocchi with sauteed kale and pesto from scratch. Bitch, what!?

Roasting vs. sauteing mushrooms.

How have I gone this long without roasting mushrooms!? SERIOUSLY. This is the only way I will have my mushrooms from now on…besides mushroom risotto, that is. This roasted mushroom recipe will complete your life. Guaranteed.

Soba salad + keeping yourself within budget.

Okay, I remember complaining last week that it didn’t feel like spring, but now I think it totally does! The sun peeks out a bit every here and there and oh, RAIN. Yes, I’m talking about a Vancouver spring. Seems like it’s been such a drab week – grey skies and rainfall. But honestly speaking, we have been getting some great sunny days randomly — not complaining one bit. Atleast the temperatures have been increasing and we’re (almost) consistently in double digit weather, hurrah!

The BEST Vietnamese salad roll, ever.

I absolutely LOVE Vietnamese salad rolls. Whether it is the traditional one with shrimp, minced pork, Vietnamese ham, or whatever, they are one of my favourite ways to eat a salad because who has the time to sit down and eat nowadays?! They are great for an on-the-go lunch or snack and are even more delicious with a few dabs of Sriracha and hoisin sauce. Mm….

Lately I have been finding myself skipping the rice noodles traditionally found encased inside the roll as a lighter and healthier way to eat my rolls. I usually throw more lettuce or greens in there but sometimes, I do miss those carb-y noodles. I hadn’t ever found a suitable substitute those noodles…UNTIL NOW.

Introducing to you, my raw enoki mushroom and avocado salad rolls.

Killer lettuce wraps.

Looking for an innovative and refreshing way to eat your food? Skip the tortilla wraps and use some leafy greens instead! I present to you my avocado, shrimp and egg lettuce wraps.

My own version of Foundation’s “Molten Tofu”.

When you dine out a restaurants, don’t you ever think that “Damn, I could easily make this at home”? I feel like this happens to me quite often and sometimes upon leaving I feel like “Damn, I could have easily made this at home AND I would have made it 10x better”. Does this happen to other people!??! Maybe it’s the cheap Asian in me but it happens.

Foundation, it’s your turn to be dominated by me. Tonight, I recreated Foundation’s Molten Tofu dish with my own twist — roasted tofu and broccoli with maple tahini dressing.