Video on how to make popcorn

Hey guys! Here is my very first video log, inspired by a neighbor who asked me to show how to make popcorn after I'd written about it.

So check it out! The popcorn made was amazing by the way :)


Click here to watch video on youtube.

Hearty winter soup with 3 vegetables

Hey folks! So winter's on it's way and we all love soup in the winter. Especially if we're at home with a case of the sniffles.

So here's a basic, hearty recipe that will keep you on your toes throughout winter.

The three ingredients are:

1. Potatoes

Keep the skin for extra vitamins and taste.

2. Pumpkin, or other types of squash:

Puts the 'heart' in 'hearty'

3. Leeks:

Gives the soup a unique taste and complements the potatoes.

In addition to the three basic ingredients, you'll have to add salt/pepper for taste or a cube of vegetable broth. I added a handful of rice and since I ran out of vegetable broth, I added a packet of miso soup.


If you're feeling particulary inventive, you might want to add celery, onions, garlic, turnip, beans, corn. . . the list goes on!

For one person, you'll need:
-1 chopped potato
-About the same amount in chopped pumpkin
-Half a leek, chopped
-A handful of rice
-A cube of vegetable broth
-Olive oil


The how to:

#1. Heat olive oil in a pot. Gently sauté all the vegetables together for a minute. Then, add enough water so that all the vegetables are covered.

#2. Add vegetable broth, or salt and pepper. If you're going to add a packet of miso soup, wait until the vegetables are completely cooked.
#3. If you're adding rice, wait 10 minutes, and then add rice.
#4. Cook until the pumpkin and potatoes are starting to dissolve.

This is what miso soup looks like, in case you were wondering. You can find packets like these in oriental-food stores. The packets are a mixture of fermented soja, rice, and algae. They're pretty salty on their own, so if you use one of these, don't add extra salt.

Happy winter!

How to make tasty broccoli that you will love

Recently I was discussing broccoli with a friend. She mentioned that she had hated broccoli as a kid, but now as a grown-up, she learned to eat it. But she still wasn't in love with it. I exclaimed: But how can you not love it? She then answered that it was its watery, slimy taste that she didn't like.

Then I understood. Yes, even I'm not partial to broccoli when it’s simply boiled. It loses its taste and crunchiness. So here’s a sure-fire way to cook and enjoy broccoli.

1^st step: Wash the broccoli. If you buy super fresh broccoli, there might be little critters in it. So soaking the entire head of broccoli in water with vinegar is the best way to go.

2^nd step: Cut the broccoli in little florets, or ‘trees’ as I once explained to a little kid. I keep the stem and chop it also because I don’t like food going to waste.

3^rd step: Cook the broccoli by vapor. If you don’t have one of these, you might want to invest in one. They’re cheap and cooking vegetables this way is the best way to conserve their vitamins. And plus, they keep their crunchiness, different from boiling them.

What you do is you place a little water in a pot, place this metal collector on top with the broccoli inside, cover with a lid and boil the water. The water vapor will rise and cook the broccoli without immerging the broccoli in water.

The broccoli will be done when it’s dark green and soft.

4th step:  Sauté the broccolis with your favorite condiments! I like heating olive oil in a skillet and adding chopped garlic. In the picture, I added grated ginger root to give an extra flavor. You can also experiment with herbes de provence, chopped onion & soy sauce, tomato sauce, etc.

Chopped garlic and ginger

Note: It is possible to skip step 3 and directly sauté the broccoli. It will take longer, the broccoli will be crispier, and it will need more oil. The extra heat also takes away some of the precious vitamins. In the end, the florets may be more to your taste but it’s generally a less healthy option. I recommend doing the main cooking by vapor instead of frying.

All done! Now here are some quick facts about broccoli and why I love them so much:

-It has lots of iron, like other dark-green vegetables.

-It also has important quantities of beta-carotene.

-It’s high in Vitamin C

All in all, broccoli is a cheap super food. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving special: sweet potatoes!

Back on track for the Thanksgiving and Christmas specials. Here's a very easy dish that can be served on the side: sweet potatoes!

Sweet potatoes look like this:

All you do is peel it. . .

Chop it . . .

Boil it, and that's it. No salt, folks. Potatoes are done when you can spear them easily with a fork.

It's easy, full of vitamins, and gives a little sweetness to your meal.

Questions I get asked- Isn't being vegetarian more expensive?

Today I'm going to answer this one as briefly as possible.

If you adopt a vegetarian lifestyle, the answer is NO. You will basically substitute meat protein for beans/lentils protein. As beans/lentils are cheaper than meat, you will find out that being a vegetarian means a cheaper lifestyle. Just go ask the people in India.

If you adopt a vegan lifestyle, the answer is YES. You'll end up substituting the calcium found in milk and cheese with vegan products such as soy milk, almond milk, nuts, dried fruit. These are more expensive than animal products.

But the difference isn't that much - see how much fish and red meat cost these days.

And also, I find that buying almonds, dried figs and humus makes me happier than buying ham and cheese. Maybe that's just me. But they sure are good :)

Gâteau américain à la banane et aux noix

Je vous présent l'une de mes recettes américaines préférées: le gâteau à la banane!

En fait, son nom en anglais est 'banana nut bread'. Comme son nom l'indique, il s'agit d'un pain- un pain sucré qu'on a pas besoin de pétrir.

Penser à ajouter des noix, mais il est délicieux juste avec les bananes!

Cette recette est bien végétalienne, c'est-à-dire qu'elle n'ajoute pas d’œufs.

Pour le faire, vous aurez besoin de:

-4 ou 5 bananes très mûres, voire même noircies.
-2 verres de farine de blé
-1/2 verre de cassonade (choisir une cassonade qui est vraiment brune)
-3/4 verre de sucre
-3/4 cuillère à café de bicarbonate de sodium
-3/4 cuillère à café de cannelle
-3/4 cuillère à café de sel
-1/2 verre de lait végétal au choix (j'ai utilisé du lait d'avoine, mon préféré)
-1 cuillère à café de vinaigre de cidre
-1/4 verre d'huile (j'ai utilisé huile de colza)
-1 cuillère à café d’essence de vanille
-Des noix en morceaux

Instructions:

1. Mélangez bien les ingrédients secs. Préchauffez le four à 180°C.
2. Écrasez les bananes avec une fourchette dans un saladier séparé.  Ajoutez le lait, le vinaigre, l'huile et l'essence de vanille.
3. Mélangez les ingrédients secs avec la mixture de bananes. Mais pas trop! Il faut que ça soit homogène, mais pas trop mélangé. Il faut qu'il y ait encore de morceaux de bananes.
4. Ajoutez les noix.
5. Mettez la pâte dans une moule à pain. Enfournez pour environ 40 minutes. Le gâteau sera prêt avec le test de fourchette!

Vegan Thanksgiving : Spaghetti Squash!

Hey guys! :)

I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving with my family in the United States. As I grew up, though, I started to question my turkey-beliefs and eventually I gave up Turkey-day all together. Mostly because celebrating Thanksgiving doesn't feel right when you know it's about how the pilgrims invaded North America and killed off the natives. But today, Thanksgiving is about gathering the entire family together for a good meal, being thankful for everything in your life. For that, I still hang on to some Thanksgiving values.

Minus the turkey, of course.

This year I made three vegan Thanksgiving recipes. Check them out!

Spaghetti Squash with tomato sauce

You will need:

A spaghetti squash
Tomato sauce, or make your own with a couple of tomatoes, garlic, onion, and basil!
A friend to help scoop the seeds out and to share your meal with

#1. Preheat your oven to 220°C. While your oven is heating, make several large cuts in your squash. This is IMPORTANT. The squash might explode if you don't do this. Even if you make a lot of cuts, there might be a time when the squash starts to hiss like a pressure cooker. Don't worry. It's the air escaping.

#2. Cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop the seeds out. Save the seeds to bake for a tasty salty snack later, or throw them out.

#3. Take a fork and shred the squash with it. You'll start to see the spaghetti strands. Scoop that out into a bowl.

#4. When you're done, top with tomato sauce!



 Enjoy the wintery goodness for squash.