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| Beautiful photo via Joe Ruggiero's Blog |
Saturday Zen
30.3.13
"Coffee is far more than a beverage. It is an invitation to life, disguised as a warm cup of liquid. It's a trumpet wakeup call or a gentle rousing hand on your shoulder...coffee is an experience, an offer, a rite of passage, a good excuse to get together". ~Nichole Johnson, Fresh Brewed Life
Elsewhere: New Stuff at Tracey Nolan Studios
29.3.13
I always find I get reinvigorated in the Spring when it comes to my photography. Even if the weather isn't quite there yet, we know it will be soon! Just wanted to share a few pics from some recent sessions. To see more drop by Tracey Nolan Studios.
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A couple of outdoor shoots with a couple of beautiful and talented ladies. I have the best clients in the world!
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The first of the winners from the TDJ Special Projects initiative for 2013...
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And I even managed to get my wee fam into the studio for some fun. How cute are they?!
Top Chef Canada Episode 2 Recap: Scavenger Hunt? More like Scavenger *#%@.
25.3.13
Good morning, Canadian Top Chefs! Before anyone has even had their coffee we learn Newfoundland Chris is struggling. Waking up is hard. Boxing gloves Caitlin is not interested in you or your bullshit OK? She's busy, sitting on the rooftop patio looking angry.
QUICKFIRE!
G.E. Monogram not-Padma waits for the Canadian Top Chefs looking poised in a snake skin pattern dress. She tells them that they need to cook using MREs for somebody who calls himself Survivor Man. I've never heard of his show, but it looks like his shirt and facial hair managed to survive since the late 90's, so there's that.
THE NEWLY BRANDED FINISH CLOCK TICKS DOWN! TICK, TOCK! WHO IS THE AD WIZARD THAT CAME UP WITH THAT ONE? Calgary Chris can't get his MRE open. And he hates oatmeal. Good start! What is this guy, 12?
Boxing glove Caitlin is, of course, one of those women who hates other women. OF COURSE. Expensive Shirt Matthew calls himself "the one to beat", and he might be right. Luxury Jonathan mixes them a cocktail. I love him. I hate him. I love to hate him. And they are the top three with Luxury Jonathan taking it. He has immunity and will live another day to talk through his teeth, look down his nose and make me love / hate him again. He won't be cooking during the elimination challenge, he'll be eating with the judges. Swish!
ELIMINATION CHALLENGE!
Scavenger Hunt at Riverdale Farm in pairs. Shouty Robert Irvine and his arms are here to judge this challenge and two people will be going home. Most of the pairs do well on the scavenger hunt, the teams seem to be gelling well, except for Ruth and Boxing glove Caity.
Not blonde Becky is paired with Calgary Chris. I'm not sure how he even got in this competition. Honestly, this guy might not even be a cook.
Meanwhile, back at the condo, Luxury Jonathan suits up, flexes his jaw muscles and says "this is a good day for Jonathan." Something tells me when this guy becomes unfurled it ain't gonna be pretty.
...and Nicole just hit herself in the face with a hot pan. Let's eat!
I'm going to start a Facebook Page demanding Robert Irvine buy a shirt with sleeves. Enough, seriously.
Nicole & Rory please the judges, Expensive Shirt Matthew and Newfoundland Chris knock it out of the park and then Boxing glove Caity and Ruth totally shit the bed. Both of them. The food was meh and they sent in two dishes instead of one.
There is a wasp situation at Riverdale Farm, making it difficult for the judges to eat. Well, there's a WASP situation too, but that's just because Jonathan has immunity.
Now it's raining like mad. Quick, somebody grab a pack of SPONGETOWELS!
The Brit and The Cast seem to be developing a wee bromance.
Not blonde Becky and Calgary Chris did a great job, which basically means Calgary Chris can take direction.
Smiling Danny and someone named Clement (?) did a poor job with their pork and Crying Kayla and Ge-off turned out a pretty plate without a lot of depth. The Brit and The Cast over seasoned and McEwan says "the more you eat, the less you like it". Ru-roh, bros.
JUDGES TABLE!
Resplendit in yellow lace, the G.E. Monogram not-Padma calls Caity / Ruth, The Brit / The Cast out of the beer locker of self pity and into the blue room of death. We hear things like "offensive", "I wanted to scrape my tongue" and "check yourself". Caity and Ruth are trying to throw each other under the bus and the bros just hang their heads and look ashamed. Fully ashamed. They were super cocky and they knew it.
Boxing glove Caity is awful. Awful.
Not blonde Becky & Calgary Chris and Expensive Shirt Matthew & Newfoundland Chris have the best dishes of the day. Robert tells the boys that they won and that he wanted to lick their plate. That's the first two elimination challenges to Matthew. He wears that expensive shirt for a reason. But like Danny Smiles wonders...what is he hiding?!?!
Will they "wipe a team" or divide and concur? Who will go home?
In the end The Cast and Ruth have to go. Ouch. Peace out, bitches. The moral of this story is don't cross Boxing glove Caity (she is a psycho) and don't try to take part in a cooking competition with a cast on your arm.
Next week we are promised Boxing glove Caity saying things directly into the camera like "I will murder her" and guest judge (wait for it) Daniel Boulud!
QUICKFIRE!
G.E. Monogram not-Padma waits for the Canadian Top Chefs looking poised in a snake skin pattern dress. She tells them that they need to cook using MREs for somebody who calls himself Survivor Man. I've never heard of his show, but it looks like his shirt and facial hair managed to survive since the late 90's, so there's that.
THE NEWLY BRANDED FINISH CLOCK TICKS DOWN! TICK, TOCK! WHO IS THE AD WIZARD THAT CAME UP WITH THAT ONE? Calgary Chris can't get his MRE open. And he hates oatmeal. Good start! What is this guy, 12?
Boxing glove Caitlin is, of course, one of those women who hates other women. OF COURSE. Expensive Shirt Matthew calls himself "the one to beat", and he might be right. Luxury Jonathan mixes them a cocktail. I love him. I hate him. I love to hate him. And they are the top three with Luxury Jonathan taking it. He has immunity and will live another day to talk through his teeth, look down his nose and make me love / hate him again. He won't be cooking during the elimination challenge, he'll be eating with the judges. Swish!
ELIMINATION CHALLENGE!
Scavenger Hunt at Riverdale Farm in pairs. Shouty Robert Irvine and his arms are here to judge this challenge and two people will be going home. Most of the pairs do well on the scavenger hunt, the teams seem to be gelling well, except for Ruth and Boxing glove Caity.
Not blonde Becky is paired with Calgary Chris. I'm not sure how he even got in this competition. Honestly, this guy might not even be a cook.
Meanwhile, back at the condo, Luxury Jonathan suits up, flexes his jaw muscles and says "this is a good day for Jonathan." Something tells me when this guy becomes unfurled it ain't gonna be pretty.
...and Nicole just hit herself in the face with a hot pan. Let's eat!
I'm going to start a Facebook Page demanding Robert Irvine buy a shirt with sleeves. Enough, seriously.
 |
| Two things: I don't think if you ever do that with your shirt in public you should be allowed to judge anyone. Ever. Also, I have that EXACT shirt that Paula Deen is wearing. And I kind of love it. Is that wrong??? |
Nicole & Rory please the judges, Expensive Shirt Matthew and Newfoundland Chris knock it out of the park and then Boxing glove Caity and Ruth totally shit the bed. Both of them. The food was meh and they sent in two dishes instead of one.
There is a wasp situation at Riverdale Farm, making it difficult for the judges to eat. Well, there's a WASP situation too, but that's just because Jonathan has immunity.
Now it's raining like mad. Quick, somebody grab a pack of SPONGETOWELS!
The Brit and The Cast seem to be developing a wee bromance.
Not blonde Becky and Calgary Chris did a great job, which basically means Calgary Chris can take direction.
Smiling Danny and someone named Clement (?) did a poor job with their pork and Crying Kayla and Ge-off turned out a pretty plate without a lot of depth. The Brit and The Cast over seasoned and McEwan says "the more you eat, the less you like it". Ru-roh, bros.
JUDGES TABLE!
Resplendit in yellow lace, the G.E. Monogram not-Padma calls Caity / Ruth, The Brit / The Cast out of the beer locker of self pity and into the blue room of death. We hear things like "offensive", "I wanted to scrape my tongue" and "check yourself". Caity and Ruth are trying to throw each other under the bus and the bros just hang their heads and look ashamed. Fully ashamed. They were super cocky and they knew it.
Boxing glove Caity is awful. Awful.
Not blonde Becky & Calgary Chris and Expensive Shirt Matthew & Newfoundland Chris have the best dishes of the day. Robert tells the boys that they won and that he wanted to lick their plate. That's the first two elimination challenges to Matthew. He wears that expensive shirt for a reason. But like Danny Smiles wonders...what is he hiding?!?!
Will they "wipe a team" or divide and concur? Who will go home?
In the end The Cast and Ruth have to go. Ouch. Peace out, bitches. The moral of this story is don't cross Boxing glove Caity (she is a psycho) and don't try to take part in a cooking competition with a cast on your arm.
Next week we are promised Boxing glove Caity saying things directly into the camera like "I will murder her" and guest judge (wait for it) Daniel Boulud!
Top Chef Canada Episode 1 Recap: Fred?
25.3.13
Welcome to Season 3, Canada! Here's not-Padma in a Herve Leger bandage dress. This is how you guys want to start this thing? OK, then. This year, the stakes are even higher - they're giving away $250, 000 worth of cash and prizes. That's a whole lot of SPONGE TOWELS!
The opening credits are making me squint. So many gang signs, so much ironic bad dancing. While there is no woman kicking a lemon this year there is a woman with red boxing gloves, which would be totally interesting if those were on her hands at all times during the competition. Can you picture it? "I think I did pretty well in the knife skills challenge...considering I'M WEARING BOXING GLOVES!"
Alright, let's meet these crazy bastards, as they embark on this journey in the glamour-filled metropolis of Toronto!
Here's Danny, a 27 year old from Montreal who works for Chuck Hughes. Everyone calls him "Danny Smiles" cause he's really happy and doesn't care that you aren't yet sure if he's a cheerful 27 year old man or a very self assured, tough as nails lesbian.
Nicole runs a catering company. She says a lot of inane stuff about loving food, but then when she arrives at the condo she turns her nose up at the treadmill and bemoans the lack of gin in the freezer so I like her already.
Dennis has a lot of tattoos and a girlfriend who's going to miss him. He's a former breakdancer with a broken wrist. Still in a cast.
Jonathan is the Executive Chef at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and he's all about luxury. He talks through clenched teeth and totally thinks you aren't good enough to eat his food. Meet his bellhop and admire his designer luggage.
Ruth enters. She's the actual self assured, tough as nails lesbian, so I guess we now know Danny is just a cheerful 27 year old boy. Glad we cleared that up.
Katie is a bottle blonde who is "like a pit bull in a cage". This is the same one was wearing boxing gloves in the credits, so...I guess we can see what her personal narrative is going to be.
Dan is an ex-pat Brit who lives on Vancouver Island now and claims to feel part Canadian. The other chefs give him side eye. Isn't there a Top Chef UK that you should go be on?
Chris is here to represent NEW Newfoundland where it isn't all about screech and bologna stew. No, really. That's a thing a friend of mine grew up eating in Newfoundland. Bologna stew. Chris has an adorable baby back home that we can expect to see lots of pictures of.
Kayla is a West Coaster who thinks she's doing pretty great for a 28 year old, thankyouverymuch. She also loves her Grandma, so...I guess we can expect some sort of cage match style "inspiration off" between her Grandma and Chris' baby.
Calgary Chris likes to drink and have sex and says things like "this is pretty baller". Uh-oh.
Becky's from Calgary too, but she works in Toronto now. She says she's short, blonde and pretty cute. She is short, brunette and kind of angry looking. She's also the kind of girl who will work the phrase "my boyfriend says" into ANY conversation.
Geoff, also from Calgary, arrives and we learn nothing about him. Does this mean he'll be the first to be eliminated.
And what's with all these West Coasters?
Matthew is from Van and works with Rob Feenie. He's got a nicely trimmed beard and an expensive looking shirt.
"If you're a well dressed chef, there's something you're hiding" - Danny Smiles
Now that we've met all these peeps we head into the kitchen. The G.E. Monogram not-Padma is looking beautiful and is, I'm sure, scaring the bejesus out of these poor bastards just but standing there looking so poised. It's unnerving. McEwan makes up for the excessive glamour by sporting a very odd ginger jerry curl.
QUICKFIRE!!!!
Culinary skills relay race in teams of 4. We're shucking oysters, prepping a tenderloin, segmenting a lemon and preparing a mirepoix. Cast boy is a stand out despite basically having one hand behind is back. Danny Smiles is having a breakdown. Someone named Fred from Quebec who we did not meet in the opening says he is a "quite person". So quiet he just showed up in the kitchen. So confused.
Luxury boy decided not to tie up his beef properly and somebody named Clement has a food truck and a chip on his shoulder. The red team, whoever they are, wins.
ELIMINATION ROUND
The chefs have to cook a meal inspired by the dish that inspired them to start cooking. Seems like a fairly easy task, they need to find their comfort zones and settle in.
Chuck Hughes is the guest judge this week. Will they play bad Canadian alternative music while he discusses what he's eating?
I seriously hope McEwan's is closed when these running maniacs do their shopping. Can you imagine, you're picking out a melon and boom some crazed chef comes and knocks you down?
The kitchen at North 44 is under siege. Someone is going home.
Ruth is funny and pretty adorable, Newfoundland Chris looks like he might cry over fresh ingredients and Cast Boy remains calm, despite being Cast Boy. Kayla looks like she's going to cry all the time. Is she or is this just a Robert Kennedy Jr. thing where she always sounds like that? Oh, no, she might. She didn't finish her plate. Ooops.
Shereen is no longer pregnant, Chuck Hughes is in the house, G.E. Monogram not-Padma looks lovely. They love Kayla's fried chicken so much the missing waffle might not matter. Nicole's chicken and rice is a hit, Danny Smiles lobster isn't perfect, but Chuck's still proud. Some guy cooked a cabbage roll that didn't come together. Who is that guy?
So many damn dishes. God, there are a lot of chefs. I can't even. Let's just skip to the Beer Locker of Self Pity, shall we? Top 3 are the Brit for his duck, Expensive Shirt for his chicken and not blonde Becky for her lemon pie. Expensive Shirt Matthew wins and you know what? Good for him. He's going to enjoy that $5,000 worth of SPONGE TOWELS!
Bottom 3 are Crying Kayla, Fred? and Newfoundland Chris. Fred? whoever he is, goes home. Au revoir Fred? We hardly knew ye. Like, at all. Really. Were you even ON this show?
See you next week, when we go on a scavenger hunt in Riverdale Farm!
 |
| You can't tell the players without a scorecard. |
Alright, let's meet these crazy bastards, as they embark on this journey in the glamour-filled metropolis of Toronto!
Here's Danny, a 27 year old from Montreal who works for Chuck Hughes. Everyone calls him "Danny Smiles" cause he's really happy and doesn't care that you aren't yet sure if he's a cheerful 27 year old man or a very self assured, tough as nails lesbian.
Nicole runs a catering company. She says a lot of inane stuff about loving food, but then when she arrives at the condo she turns her nose up at the treadmill and bemoans the lack of gin in the freezer so I like her already.
Dennis has a lot of tattoos and a girlfriend who's going to miss him. He's a former breakdancer with a broken wrist. Still in a cast.
Jonathan is the Executive Chef at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and he's all about luxury. He talks through clenched teeth and totally thinks you aren't good enough to eat his food. Meet his bellhop and admire his designer luggage.
Ruth enters. She's the actual self assured, tough as nails lesbian, so I guess we now know Danny is just a cheerful 27 year old boy. Glad we cleared that up.
Katie is a bottle blonde who is "like a pit bull in a cage". This is the same one was wearing boxing gloves in the credits, so...I guess we can see what her personal narrative is going to be.
Dan is an ex-pat Brit who lives on Vancouver Island now and claims to feel part Canadian. The other chefs give him side eye. Isn't there a Top Chef UK that you should go be on?
Chris is here to represent NEW Newfoundland where it isn't all about screech and bologna stew. No, really. That's a thing a friend of mine grew up eating in Newfoundland. Bologna stew. Chris has an adorable baby back home that we can expect to see lots of pictures of.
Kayla is a West Coaster who thinks she's doing pretty great for a 28 year old, thankyouverymuch. She also loves her Grandma, so...I guess we can expect some sort of cage match style "inspiration off" between her Grandma and Chris' baby.
Calgary Chris likes to drink and have sex and says things like "this is pretty baller". Uh-oh.
Becky's from Calgary too, but she works in Toronto now. She says she's short, blonde and pretty cute. She is short, brunette and kind of angry looking. She's also the kind of girl who will work the phrase "my boyfriend says" into ANY conversation.
Geoff, also from Calgary, arrives and we learn nothing about him. Does this mean he'll be the first to be eliminated.
And what's with all these West Coasters?
Matthew is from Van and works with Rob Feenie. He's got a nicely trimmed beard and an expensive looking shirt.
"If you're a well dressed chef, there's something you're hiding" - Danny Smiles
Now that we've met all these peeps we head into the kitchen. The G.E. Monogram not-Padma is looking beautiful and is, I'm sure, scaring the bejesus out of these poor bastards just but standing there looking so poised. It's unnerving. McEwan makes up for the excessive glamour by sporting a very odd ginger jerry curl.
QUICKFIRE!!!!
Culinary skills relay race in teams of 4. We're shucking oysters, prepping a tenderloin, segmenting a lemon and preparing a mirepoix. Cast boy is a stand out despite basically having one hand behind is back. Danny Smiles is having a breakdown. Someone named Fred from Quebec who we did not meet in the opening says he is a "quite person". So quiet he just showed up in the kitchen. So confused.
Luxury boy decided not to tie up his beef properly and somebody named Clement has a food truck and a chip on his shoulder. The red team, whoever they are, wins.
ELIMINATION ROUND
The chefs have to cook a meal inspired by the dish that inspired them to start cooking. Seems like a fairly easy task, they need to find their comfort zones and settle in.
Chuck Hughes is the guest judge this week. Will they play bad Canadian alternative music while he discusses what he's eating?
I seriously hope McEwan's is closed when these running maniacs do their shopping. Can you imagine, you're picking out a melon and boom some crazed chef comes and knocks you down?
The kitchen at North 44 is under siege. Someone is going home.
Ruth is funny and pretty adorable, Newfoundland Chris looks like he might cry over fresh ingredients and Cast Boy remains calm, despite being Cast Boy. Kayla looks like she's going to cry all the time. Is she or is this just a Robert Kennedy Jr. thing where she always sounds like that? Oh, no, she might. She didn't finish her plate. Ooops.
Shereen is no longer pregnant, Chuck Hughes is in the house, G.E. Monogram not-Padma looks lovely. They love Kayla's fried chicken so much the missing waffle might not matter. Nicole's chicken and rice is a hit, Danny Smiles lobster isn't perfect, but Chuck's still proud. Some guy cooked a cabbage roll that didn't come together. Who is that guy?
So many damn dishes. God, there are a lot of chefs. I can't even. Let's just skip to the Beer Locker of Self Pity, shall we? Top 3 are the Brit for his duck, Expensive Shirt for his chicken and not blonde Becky for her lemon pie. Expensive Shirt Matthew wins and you know what? Good for him. He's going to enjoy that $5,000 worth of SPONGE TOWELS!
Bottom 3 are Crying Kayla, Fred? and Newfoundland Chris. Fred? whoever he is, goes home. Au revoir Fred? We hardly knew ye. Like, at all. Really. Were you even ON this show?
See you next week, when we go on a scavenger hunt in Riverdale Farm!
On avoiding the CLACK, CLACK, CLACK! of Wooden Teeth.
24.3.13
My life story can be told through a series of medieval and traumatic experiences at various dentist offices. Once my postpartum anxiety / PTSD situation happened (unrelated to dental work BUT) the idea of going to the dentist was pretty much unthinkable.
So here I've been sitting lo, these many months just letting the plaque accumulate and the red wine and coffee stain what's left of my teeth. But so what? Who cares? Everyone knows I'm just going to let them fall out and then insert new wooden ones myself with the help of a Youtube tutorial eventually. Wooden teeth will be the next big thing. "George Washington Chic" seems like something Hipsters might make happen, doesn't it?
So what could have possibly lead me to go get my teeth cleaned earlier this week? The big motivator is some insurance money that is about to disappear into the ether and the other is that I actually found a practice that takes treating dental phobic people like myself seriously. Ladies and Germs (under my tongue) I give you...
That's right. Dentistry...ASLEEP.
Sure, I spent most of the night before my appointment in a panic over the anaesthetic and the whole thing was sort of a trigger for bad thoughts and anxiety BUT once I got there the next morning I knew that I'd made the right decision.
I had a lengthy consultation earlier in the week with a lovely nurse (Kathryn) and the dentist (Dr. Dann) which really helped me and then the day of the cleaning everyone who dealt with me was just incredible. It was all very gentle, starting with a sleeping pill and numbing cream on the area where the iv went in. Next thing I knew they were waking me up in recovery. Literally every other dentist I've been to has felt like a sadistic butcher. I liked this guy so much I might even stay awake next time. Maybe. Anyway, A+ to the whole team.
It felt more like a trip to the spa then anything else! The next couple of days were a bit of a challenge recovering (I KNOW how stupid that sounds, btw) but it was all worth it in the end. It is located in Yorkville, so when the nurse in scrubs walked me out the front door of a low rise office building with my giant swollen duck lips and face-eating shades into the waiting car I'm sure everyone walking by thought "hey, she looks pretty great for an 80 year old...and look, she doesn't even have wooden teeth!"
So here I've been sitting lo, these many months just letting the plaque accumulate and the red wine and coffee stain what's left of my teeth. But so what? Who cares? Everyone knows I'm just going to let them fall out and then insert new wooden ones myself with the help of a Youtube tutorial eventually. Wooden teeth will be the next big thing. "George Washington Chic" seems like something Hipsters might make happen, doesn't it?
So what could have possibly lead me to go get my teeth cleaned earlier this week? The big motivator is some insurance money that is about to disappear into the ether and the other is that I actually found a practice that takes treating dental phobic people like myself seriously. Ladies and Germs (under my tongue) I give you...
 |
| Hold my calls. |
Sure, I spent most of the night before my appointment in a panic over the anaesthetic and the whole thing was sort of a trigger for bad thoughts and anxiety BUT once I got there the next morning I knew that I'd made the right decision.
I had a lengthy consultation earlier in the week with a lovely nurse (Kathryn) and the dentist (Dr. Dann) which really helped me and then the day of the cleaning everyone who dealt with me was just incredible. It was all very gentle, starting with a sleeping pill and numbing cream on the area where the iv went in. Next thing I knew they were waking me up in recovery. Literally every other dentist I've been to has felt like a sadistic butcher. I liked this guy so much I might even stay awake next time. Maybe. Anyway, A+ to the whole team.
 |
| Post Dentistry...AWAKE! |
Saturday Zen
23.3.13
Oh, what a week it has been. I have stories for you guys about the dentist...but first...a little zen. Much needed, I might add. Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!
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| joan miró, this is the colour of my dreams (1925) |
Saturday Zen
16.3.13
Today's Zen in the form of a mother / daughter lunch at the "neighbourhood restaurant".
Monday Motivation
11.3.13
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| via Cubicle Refugee |
And then, I had a nerdgasm.
10.3.13
Everyone's scientist boyfriend, Neil Degrasse Tyson interviews everyone's bad ass chef boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain.
Saturday Zen
9.3.13
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| Photo via The Prop House |
This Saturday I'm dreaming about a trip to the farmer's market...so glad we "spring ahead" tomorrow. Can't wait for longer days, more sunshine and seasonal fruit and veg!
Recipe: Quinoa Pesto Salad
6.3.13
What did any of us ever eat before Quinoa became a "thing"? Honestly, I feel like everyone I know is as obsessed with Quinoa as I am. And let me tell you, I'm obsessed. So tasty, so adaptable, so good for you. I want to tell Quinoa all my deep dark secrets and let it stroke my hair as I fall asleep. Because Quinoa? It gets me.
I love serving it in soups and with salads. One of my all-time favourite recipes is this one for Green Bean Quinoa Salad but last week I wanted something a little less sharp and a little more luxurious tasting and that's how this Quinoa Pesto Salad was born.
What you'll need:
2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
1 cup quinoa
1 package of prepared pesto (170 grams)
1 bundle of green onions
1 pint of grape tomatoes (halved)
1 cup (or more) of corn (fresh off the cob or frozen would work well)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Make your quinoa as per the directions on the packet. I don't rinse mine or toast it. I do use vegetable broth instead of water as I find it imparts it with lots of great flavour. That said, be your own quinoa spirit guide on this one.
2. Once the quinoa has cooled slightly, stir in the pesto. I find the small 170 gram tub of prepared pesto is perfect for this. That said, if you have homemade on hand, knock yourself out. I think homemade kale pesto would probably be lovely in this as well.
3. Stir in your chopped green onions (the white and the green parts), your halved grape tomatoes and your corn.
4. Top with fresh ground black pepper and...enjoy!
Verdict:
This salad is killer and stupid easy. We served it alongside some chicken thighs but it would be great as a main course on it's own. It also kept very well and was enjoyed for the next two days for lunch. This yields a pretty big batch and would be perfect for taking to a pot luck. I am sure I'll be making this one a lot in the Summer to take to BBQs using gorgeous Ontario corn (grilled, of course) and some heirloom grape tomatoes.
Happy eating!
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