sea vegetables for the win

Born without a real taste for sweets, when a sugar craving needs to be satisfied fruit will normally do it for me. I'm instead one of those folks with a mouthful of salt-teeth. But since eating truckloads of salt can lead to such funtimes conditions as high blood pressure, which can in turn cause heart disease and other health problems, I try to limit my sodium intake as much as possible.

Enter sea vegetables.

Sea vegetables, or seaweeds (a name which really, really doesn't do these tasty treats any justice), are for me one of the most wonderful things that can be grown or foraged. Salty and smoky and complexly flavoured and textured, and present in such huge quantities and varieties, it's just gravy that they're also so damn good for you, and naturally relatively low in sodium to boot.

Can I get an amen?

beautiful Atlantic dulse from Grand Manan Island, here in New Brunswick

When I first moved to New Brunswick, I was amazed upon walking into my local grocer's to find huge bags of dulse for sale alongside the potatoes and cabbages and turnips. Dulse was always hard to come by in Ottawa, where I'd have to sidle up to the counter in the downtown fishmarket like Bogie in a dark speakeasy and, trying to ignore all the dead sea life around me, sneakily grab the sad little bags of purple fronds that no one else loved and then brave the strange looks at checkout. While most people are acquainted with a few types of sea veggies (most notably nori, which is used in making sushi), many varieties are largely ignored in Western folks' everyday diets. Which is a real shame. So consider this my public service announcement, with tasty recipes to boot.

dried wakame can be bought either pre-shredded or in large sheets that are folded over themselves

My favourite ways of eating sea vegetables, apart from just straight-up chewing away on them like a cow on her cud, all focus on simple recipes or techniques that, like the majority of my recipes, leave the flavours of the veggies at the fore. Here are a couple of 'em.

when toasted, dulse turns almost camouflage-y and mimics a good salty chip

dulse chips

A method not a recipe, dulse chips are one of the easiest and tastiest snacks you'll ever munch on while watching a movie or mindlessly trolling blogs. Dulse chips can also be crumbled and sprinkled on popcorn, mixed into mashed potatoes (so very tasty) or sprinkled on salads, soups, stews, &c., for a tasty smoky salty bite and a faint taste of the sea (as in my riffed gumbo recipe).

To make 'em, simply turn your broiler on at 350°F, chop your dulse into whatever size pieces you fancy, and lay it in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Set in the upper-third of your oven for about 2 minutes - they'll get yellow-green, and some will stay pinky-purple, but don't let them get black (personally, I like them a bit burnt but apparently carcinogens aren't good for you so we'll just pretend I never said that). Take 'em out and let 'em cool.

Once cool, they can either be eaten plain, or sprayed with a bit of olive oil and tossed in nutritional yeast, spices, whatever you like (personally, I go for either a dusting of my Cajun spice mix or simply some freshly ground black pepper).


wild rice with konbu, shiitakes, and scallions

For those unfamiliar with konbu (aka kombu), it's a form of kelp indispensable in Japanese cooking used in the making of dashi and for adding a savoury undernote (or umami, the fifth basic taste element) to just about anything imaginable. This recipe takes a bit of time and requires some foresight, but it's well worth the wait and the majority of the waiting is just that - waiting. It's downtime. So turn up your stereo and get your dancing shoes on or grab a good book and rock out with your geek self. I've separated the ingredients into groupings which correlate to the recipe's steps, as you first need to make a konbu and shiitake stock (konbu to shiitake no dashi), then cook the wild rice, then assemble.

what you need ...

2" x 3" piece dried konbu
6 small dried shiitake mushrooms
2 1/4 c. water

1/2 c. wild rice, well rinsed

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 large scallions, thinly sliced on the bias
1 Tbsp. genmai (brown rice) miso (or your favourite miso)
1 1/2 tsp. unseasoned sweet brown rice vinegar
1 tsp. low-sodium tamari (wheat-free)
1/2 tsp. brown rice syrup (or agave nectar, or unrefined sugar)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

what you do ...

For the konbu to shiitake no dashi, combine konbu, shiitakes, and water in a small pot and let sit at least two hours. Once the two hours are up, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove shiitakes and konbu and reserve.

Measure out 1 1/2 c. of the dashi (adding water if necessary to reach 1 1/2 c.) and bring to a boil. Add wild rice, stir once, then cover and reduce heat. Let rice simmer 50-60 minutes, or until the grains have started to puff up. Stir with a fork, and let simmer uncovered another 5 minutes. Drain and reserve excess liquid if there is any.

Dissolve miso in 2 Tbsp. rice cooking liquid (or water, if there was no liquid left in the rice). Add rice vinegar, tamari, and rice syrup. Mix well and set aside.

Remove stems from shiitakes and discard, then thinly slice the caps. Slice konbu as thinly as possible.

Heat sesame oil in a non-stick skillet and fry garlic very briefly. Add sliced konbu and shiitakes and continue stir-frying for about a minute. Toss in scallions and fry just until they start to cook, then add cooked wild rice and mix well.

Pour in the sauce, toss well, and let cook just until heated through, stirring constantly. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.



pseudo sunomono

I call this a pseudo sunomono because the traditional version of this delicious salad doesn't contain zucchini, but as we know I'm a big zucchini lover and my garden is in full production mode. If you want to make this and aren't experiencing a zucchini flood or just don't like this summer squash, by all means feel free to replace the zucchini with more cucumber, but I personally love the taste and textural contrast. Using yellow zucchini lends a lovely colour - sadly, I didn't grow any this year.

what you need ...

1 medium English cucumber, unpeeled, thinly sliced in rounds
1 medium zucchini, unpeeled, thinly sliced in rounds
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large piece dried wakame, about 10" long
2 Tbsp. unseasoned sweet brown rice vinegar
2 tsp. unrefined sugar (or agave nectar)
3/4 tsp. low-sodium tamari (wheat-free)
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
toasted black sesame seeds

what you do ...

Combine sliced cucumber and zucchini in a fine-meshed strainer placed over a bowl, toss with salt, and let stand 30 minutes to sweat.

Have ready a bowl filled with ice water.

Meanwhile, place wakame in another bowl and pour boiling water over top to rehydrate. Let stand about 5 minutes, or until wakame is softened but still rubbery - don't let it get mushy. Drain and immediately plunge into ice water to stop from "cooking". Remove tough rib and discard (or, if you're me, chew on it while you make the 'mono), pat dry, and slice or tear wakame into bite-sized pieces.

In a jar, combine vinegar, sugar, and tamari and shake until sugar is dissolved. Add sesame oil, shake again, and let stand while you prepare the salad.

Once the cucumber and zucchini have finished sweating, rinse very quickly under cold water to remove salt and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Pat dry with a clean tea towel.

Combine veggies and wakame in a bowl, give the dressing one last shake, and pour over top of veggies. Toss to coat, then let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with toasted black sesame seeds.


arame, daikon, and carrot salad with spicy-sweet ginger dressing

what you need ...

1 small daikon, peeled and finely shredded *
1 medium carrot, scrubbed (or peeled) and finely shredded
1/3 c. shredded dried arame
2" piece fresh ginger, grated
1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 1/2 Tbsp. unseasoned sweet brown rice vinegar
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. low-sodium tamari (wheat-free)
1/2 tsp. sriracha (a scant 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. unrefined sugar (or agave nectar)

what you do ...

Toss daikon and carrot with salt and put in a fine-mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Let sweat at least 30 minutes.

In a small jar, combine ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, tamari, sriracha, and sugar and shake well. Let sit while you prepare the salad.

Pour boiling water over arame and let stand 5 minutes. Drain, rinse, and place in a small pot with enough fresh water to cover. Simmer 5-7 minutes, then drain and rinse thoroughly under very cold water. Drain again and pat dry.

Once the daikon and carrots have finished sweating, squeeze out as much moisture as possible, rinse quickly under cold water to remove salt, and squeeze again. Combine with arame in a non-reactive bowl, mix, then pour dressing over top and toss to combine.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving to allow flavours to marry - this salad is even better the day after it's made.

* I use a julienne peeler to shred the daikon and carrots. It set me back about $10, I think, and is one of my favourite and most-used kitchen gadgets.

seasonal sides

The following are two of my favourite simple but flavourful ways to use up fresh summer produce.

The lemony loubieh with toasted walnuts and sa'amak is one of a huge number of traditional Lebanese flat bean dishes that my paternal grandmother used to make in massive quantities when the loubieh vines were literally bent over double with the weight of the beans, and it would be eaten as part of meze or, if you're me, straight from the serving bowl, and it's normally eaten with one's hands, pinched up in fresh pita bread or marcook. This is my kind of comfort food. My tittoo would cook up well over 3 or 4 kilos of loubieh at a time -- I've scaled it down a bit here.

The maple-mashed kohlbrabi with cauliflower and carrots is something I came up with years ago to try and convert a kohlrabi skeptic who used to look at me cross-eyed for munching on it raw. It worked. If you can, get the purple-skinned kohlrabi - I find the taste nicer, but the green is excellent as well.

lemony loubieh with toasted walnuts and sa’amak

what you need …

1 lb. fresh loubieh, topped
1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 a large lemon, juiced
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. dried sa’amak (aka sumac)
1/4 c. dry roasted walnuts, chopped (or toasted pine nuts)

what you do …

Combine garlic and salt and mash really well with a mortar and pestle (little trick here – the salt helps the garlic get all creamy when mashed).

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine creamed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and sa’amak and shake it up. Set aside to let the flavours get all friendly-like while you cook your loubieh.

Get a medium-sized pot of lightly salted water boiling, and have ready a bowl of ice water. Lay a clean tea towel on your counter and have another one handy.

Once the water’s boiling, drop in the loubieh, cover, and let cook 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on it after 3 minutes – you want the loubieh cooked a little bit but still green and with a good bite to it.

Once cooked, immediately drain loubieh and dunk it in the ice water bath to stop it cooking. Once thoroughly cooled, drain and lay on tea towel and blot with the second towel to dry.

Dump loubieh into a non-reactive bowl, shake up the dressing again, and pour over top. Let sit out for at least 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Right before serving, throw in the walnuts and give it a good final toss.

maple-mashed kohlrabi with cauliflower and carrots

what you need …

2 medium-small purple kohlrabi (about the size of a small grapefruit), peeled and chopped *

2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped **

1 small head cauliflower, florets and stalk, chopped

3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

pinch ground cloves

a couple Tbsp. unsweetened, plain almond milk

1 Tbsp. flax oil (or olive oil, or non-hydrogenated margarine if not a fan of flax and / or not fussed about getting your omegas)

what you do …

Steam vegetables until very tender. Transfer to a food processor and add salt, spices, maple syrup, and almond milk. Blend until puréed, stopping a couple times to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl, and add more almond milk as needed to keep it all moving.

Once it’s all creamy, and with the blades still running, drizzle in the flax oil and continue blending until it’s all incorporated.

* If you don’t like / can’t find kohlrabi, turnips or parsnips are good substitutions.

** In the fall, I normally sub fresh pumpkin for the carrots, but I have a sick obsession with pumpkins. Sweet potatoes work well too.

Ye Olde Standbys ...

blah blah blah hot and humid blah blah blah garden blah blah blah farmer's market blah blah blah …

Yep, things continue pretty much as per usual in this little corner of the universe. These are definitely the salad days of summer. Yea, verily.

Add to that the fact that the last week has seen me brutalized repeatedly by my dentist (aka The Happy Butcher -- why oh why must you torture me with a tv embedded in the ceiling and then play the Country Music Television channel constantly? Is it not enough to make my mouth bleed? Must my eyes and ears bleed as well?) and completing a large and mind- (and ass-) numbing project for work, and it's understandable that I've been rocking the old standards in the kitchen.

Neither of these dishes is highly original, I'm afraid. They're two of the staples that make up the skeleton of my culinary carapace. But, well, this is a blog, and if I didn't post something once in a while, then, well, ... Both are good recipes to use up fresh summer produce, and the marinara is excellent hot or cold and keeps well in the freezer for emergency saucing needs.

hot-'n'-cold cucumber salad

Every time I make this salad, without fail, I end up with "she's so cold" stuck in my head. Alright, if I'm being honest - I end up belting it out full-volume while hunched over my cutting board. "I'm so hot for her, I'm so hot for her, I'm so hot for her, and she's so cold ...".

hot-'n'-cold cucumber salad with cumin, lime, and fresh coriander

what you need ...

1 large cucumber, diced (unpeeled)
1 medium zucchini, diced (unpeeled)
1 large orange pepper, diced
4 large scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
a few handfuls cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 large fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 c. fresh coriander (packed), finely chopped
couple grindings black pepper

2 large cloves garlic, crushed or pressed
1 Tbsp. flax oil (optional, can omit or use olive oil if not big on flax and not needing the omegas)
3 medium limes, juiced
1 tsp. (heaping) ground roasted cumin
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. dried ground chipotle chilis or cayenne (optional, I likes my spice)

what you do ...

Combine second set of ingredients in a glass jar, cover tightly, and shake shake shake. Let stand in the fridge while you prepare the veggies.

Toss together first set of ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Pour dressing over top, mix well. Let stand at least 20 minutes before serving to allow flavours to marry. Toss again and serve with lime wedges.

* Normally, I'll throw in a cup of cooked and cooled black beans and 1/3 c. dry-roasted pepitas, but this time around I was looking for something lighter.

zucchini ribbons with sun dried tomato and fresh basil marinara

Everyone and their dog has a go-to marinara recipe. I'm no different. Here's my favourite.

sun dried tomato and fresh basil marinara

what you need ...


1 large onion, finely chopped
6 - 8 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow pepper, diced
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 c. (well packed) sun dried tomatoes, sliced *
28 oz. whole roma tomatoes (canned, unsalted, unpeeled)
6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 c. salt-free home-made vegetable stock (or good-quality commercial)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. dried chili flakes
1 c. (well packed) fresh basil, roughly chopped

what you do ...

In a large pot, steam-fry onions, garlic, carrot, and yellow pepper over medium-high heat until onion is fragrant and translucent (about 3-5 minutes).

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, oregano, chili flakes, white pepper, and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Stir well, crushing tomatoes against side of pot with the back of your mixing spoon.

Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Leave to simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally (patience is a virtue, my friends).

Once the hour's up, throw in the fresh basil, mix well, and taste for saltiness. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt if you think it needs it (or more, or less), re-cover, and allow to simmer another 15 minutes, stirring once somewhere in there.

Once it's finished simmering, remove from heat and remove and discard bay leaves. Using an immersion blender or food processor, purée sauce until smooth (unless, of course, you like chunks. In which case, by all means, leave some chunkies in there). Taste and adjust salt and pepper if/as needed.

* You want to get the ones that aren't oil-packed. Preferably unsalted/unsulphured. If you can't find the unsalted ones, you'll need to blanche the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes, and then rinse-drain-rinse and squeeze.

hot days, cold foods ...

The temperature here has been pretty unrelentingly brutal of late, and so the idea of eating anything cooked just isn’t doing it for me. With all the fresh gorgeous local produce showing up at my local organic pushers and my garden getting into the swing of things, I’m not complaining. I’ve been happily living on salads and raw fruits and berries and veggies, and my brain’s been occupied with a mess of random-firing new recipe ideas that will help me put the bounty to good use.

Friday night a few friends came over for some feasting and relaxing, as is our wont. J and B are the best dinner guests a girl could hope for – they’ll eat anything you put in front of them, do it with a smile, and never balk at the lack of animal-y ingredients. I decided to go with a couple old hot-day standbys, gazpacho and carrot salad. Being a person who can’t not mess with a good thing, and being rich in fresh basil this time of year, the classic Spanish cold soup recipe went through a number of costume changes, crossed the Mediterranean, and landed on the shores of Italy. And the carrot salad, well… it just got extra sweet. And beta-full. I'm pretty sure I'll wake up in the morning with x-ray vision.

Italian gazpacho

what you need …

4 medium, very ripe tomatoes, chopped (about 3 ¼ c.)
1 small red onion, chopped (about ¾ c.)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 c.)
1 c. English cucumber, unpeeled, chopped
1 c. zucchini, unpeeled, chopped
½ c. celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 c. home made salt-free veggie stock (can use good-quality store-bought)
1 c. fresh basil, chopped and loosely packed
1 tsp. fresh oregano
½ tsp. sea salt (if using a salted stock you may want to reduce this or omit entirely)
¼ tsp. ground white pepper
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp. good, strong extra virgin olive oil (optional, but recommended)
lemon slices, more fresh basil

what you do …

Combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, veggie stock, herbs, pepper, vinegars, and olive oil (if using) in food processor and purée until liquefied.

Add the rest of the veggies and pulse through until desired consistency is reached

Taste before adding salt, then go to town if you think it needs it.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving, and preferably overnight. When serving, ladle into chilled bowls and top with fresh basil en chiffonade.

sweet and simple carrot-beet salad

what you need …

2 medium beets, peeled and grated
5 large carrots (just over 1 lb.), scrubbed and grated, excess juice squeezed out *
1/2 c. raisins (I like jumbo Chilean flame raisins, but thompsons are good, too)
8-10 unsulphured dried apricots, slivered
1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice, pulp and all
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/3 c. dry-roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds (I just get the raw ones and toast them myself)

what you do …

Throw carrots, beets, and dried fruit into a large bowl** and mix well.

Combine orange juice, lemon juice, ginger, orange zest, and salt in a jar, shake well, and let sit 10 minutes. Once the 10's up, shake it again and pour over salad, tossing to distribute.

Cover bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to chill and allow flavours to marry. If you think of it, take it out and toss it every 15 minutes or so to make sure everything gets equally juicy

Serve topped with sunflower seeds.

* this step is important, as otherwise your salad will end up a little on the soupy side

** make sure to use non-reactive (ie glass, enamel, etc.) bowls for this recipe

Seeing as my Italian gazpacho recipe was birthed out of a desire to showcase the fresh basil being belched out of my veggie patch at an alarming rate, it fits the bill for this month's No Croutons Required challenge being hosted by Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes, and I humbly submit to her judgment.