Outdoor entertaining season is here and I’m ready to rock it out at our next backyard party with this amazing vegan skillet s’mores dip, complete with homemade graham crackers!

I can’t take credit for the idea (thanks Food Network) but I did put my own spin on it by making it vegan. Think crunchy graham cracker crumbs topped with warm, melted chocolate and gooey toasted marshmallow. You use the graham crackers as a layer in the dip as well as a vehicle for scooping!

The marshmallow is made from the beloved chickpea water (aka aquafaba), the liquid drained from canned or cooked chickpeas which, when whisked with a little guar gum and sugar, creates a thick, fluffy and slightly sticky texture reminiscent of real marshmallows. When this dip is baked for a few minutes the marshmallow topping becomes a little crispy on top just like toasted marshmallows over an open fire. It’s magical.

Since vegan graham crackers are so hard to find, I went ahead and created a super easy oat-based version. The great part is that the dough is soft enough that it doesn’t require rolling out with a rolling pin—you just spread it out onto a cookie sheet, score it and bake! How awesome is that? Feel free to make a double batch so you can have them on hand when another s’mores dip craving hits (trust me, it’ll happen).

Once you have those components made, the assembly is very quick. Take a cast iron skillet (I used a 12-inch skillet), spread out a layer of crushed graham crackers, then a layer of chocolate chips, then a layer of marshmallow creme (you can pipe it like I did or just spread it with a spoon). Then put the whole thing in the oven for a few minutes, broil for a minute to brown the top, and then serve with the rest of the graham crackers for dipping!

This is genius and the absolute perfect party dip. Seriously. Make it now.

Vegan skillet s'mores dip with easy oat graham crackers

Yield: enough for a crowd

Ingredients:

For the oat graham crackers:

• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (use certified gluten-free if needed)
• 1/2 cup oat bran (use certified gluten-free if needed)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

For the marshmallow creme:

• 3/4 cup chickpea water (the liquid drained from one 19-ounce can of chickpeas)
• 11/2 teaspoons guar gum
• 2/3 cup cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the dip:

• 2 cups vegan dark chocolate chips

Directions:

To make the oat graham crackers:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, oat bran, cinnamon and baking soda.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, coconut oil, maple syrup, water, vanilla and molasses. Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until a soft dough forms.
3. Pour the dough onto a cookie sheet lined with silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Use an offset spatula to spread into a thin, even 10x14 inch rectangle (it should spread out fairly easily).  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Remove the cookie sheet from the fridge and score into 2x2 inch squares (I use a pizza cutter) by making vertical and then horizontal cuts all the way across the dough. Using a fork, poke holes in each scored cracker.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until dry to the touch and golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and score the dough again through the same score lines so it’s easier to separate them once cool. Allow to cool completely before breaking apart.

To make the marshmallow creme:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the balloon whisk attachment, combine the chickpea brine and guar gum. Mix on high speed for 10 minutes (no less!), until the mixture is fluffy and pure white. It should increase in volume and climb up the whisk.
2. Add the cane sugar one tablespoon at a time, until each is fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract and continue to process for 5 minutes more.

To assemble:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Take 5 or 6 graham crackers and break them up into the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Use the back of a spoon to press down on the crackers and crush them into crumbs. Spread them evenly over the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over top of the graham crackers crumbs. Then use a piping bag to pipe the marshmallow creme on top (or just spread it with a spoon).
3. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until the top is a little crispy like toasted marshmallows and the chocolate chips are melted. Change oven temperature to broil (500F) and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, watching closely, until the top is browned. Serve immediately with remaining graham crackers for dipping.

Recipe inspired by the Food Network.

I’ve been on a chickpea thing lately. You know, that thing where you want them all the time? I put them on my salads, make all kinds of hummus (duh), add them to veggie curries, make cookies, eat them straight up (am I the only one?). I thought about ways to make a fun, portable snack, and then it hit me: cookie dough balls!

Like any good food blogger, the first thing I did was Google it. And, yes, it’s been done before. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to discover this. But I went to work anyway and came up with something a little different. These cookie dough balls don’t have the taste or texture of chickpeas, and that is due to a little extra step: I roasted ’em first.

Roasting chickpeas not only dries them out but also adds a wonderful nutty flavour. When mixed with a little nut butter, maple syrup and of course chocolate chips, the resulting mixture looks just like cookie dough. And it tastes just as delicious but without the unhealthy ingredients. Score!

These bite-sized gems have made perfect pre-workout snacks, since they contain extra protein and carbs from the chickpeas and nut butter. I’ve been making a batch every other week or so and stash them in my freezer. I’ll take one or two to work in a little mason jar for snack time. They’re also great for afternoons or evenings when that sweets craving hits.  

Enjoy!

P.S. There’s a Blendtec giveaway happening—you have until December 10th to enter!

Chickpea cookie dough balls

Yield: 12 to 14 balls

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups cooked chickpeas (or one 13.5 oz can)
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp natural smooth peanut butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 2 to 3 tbsp mini chocolate chips or cacao nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread out chickpeas on the prepared cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes or until dry to the touch and a little toasty. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
3. Using a food processor, process the roasted chickpeas, maple syrup, peanut butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. It should come together and look like regular cookie dough.
4. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. Roll the dough into tablespoon-size balls and store in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer.

Inspired by Vanessa's recipe.

There was a time in my life when I didn’t like salads. I thought of them as nothing but stingy, unfulfilling and just plain boring. But you’d never know it by the look of my meals today (ahem, a lot of salad).

Too often, salad is an afterthought, served as a first course or an accompaniment to other dishes, but there’s no reason for it to play second fiddle to the main meal. Ever since going vegan, I’ve learned through experimenting and diversifying my palate that a salad doesn’t have to be a depressing plate of pale lettuce topped with itty bitty tomatoes, a few slices of tasteless cucumbers and bottled dressing. A well-made vegan salad, in particular, really doesn’t have to suck.

A salad can be made up of pretty much anything you want: lots of greens, of course, but also other vegetables, grains, fruit and protein. Even in the cooler months or darkest days of winter, you can celebrate seasonal produce and feature at least some local ingredients—say fresh, tender asparagus, cubed beets and sprouts in spring and root vegetables, eggplant and Brussel sprouts in fall.

A salad I’d prepare for dinner, for instance, can feature avocado, cooked grains, all kinds of greens and other vegetables, as well as chickpeas or lentils and a creamy dressing made with cashews, lemon juice and garlic. I’d improvise based on what’s available or what I’m craving, as I usually do. And so can you!

There’s really no single way to make a salad and also no wrong way. When it comes to salad, anything goes! Let your imagination run wild with the goal of preparing a healthful meal: maybe baked tofu or quinoa left over from dinner yesterday, swiss chard you sautéed or green beans you steamed to have with the quinoa or tofu, and maybe lentils leftover from the day before.

This peach barley salad I threw together recently celebrates fresh, juicy peaches that play off a batch of tender, chewy pearl barley, a very under-appreciated grain in my opinion. You might think peaches in salad don’t make sense, but it works. Together with chickpeas, cucumber, grape tomatoes, fresh parsley and a tangy tahini dressing, it makes for a filling, supper-worthy salad when served over a bed of curly kale and lettuce.

Four tips for taking that side-dish salad to the next level:

• Celebrate what’s in season: Salads will only be as good as the ingredients you use, so aim for a variety of fresh seasonal veggies like young carrots, early beets, fresh basil and real, local tomatoes.
• Keep the salad dressing simple: A little oil and balsamic vinegar can dress up any plate, or blitz together a mix of tahini, lemon and parsley for a creamy, heartier dressing. Experiment with flavours and incorporate the five basic tastes (think sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami) and make a new batch every week to keep things interesting.
• Play with colour: Don’t forget strawberries and raspberries, bright fresh peas, steamed broccoli or sauteed green beans. In the cooler months, throw on some roasted, cubed squash or carrots.
• Add complex carbs and protein: For a heartier meal, add steamed sweet potato wedges, cooked whole grains or beans, as well as a serving of protein like edamame, tempeh or tofu. Sprinkle on some hemp hearts, chia seeds or toasted nuts and seeds for an extra boost.

Need real examples? Check out my Salads! board on Pinterest.

Now it’s time for lunch!

Peach barley salad

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp tahini
• 2 tbsp water

For the salad:

• 1 cup uncooked hulled or pearl barley
• 3 cups water or vegetable stock
• 1 large peach, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed
• shredded curly kale & lettuce, for serving

Directions:

For the dressing:

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until combined.

For the salad:

1. Combine the barley and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Once it has reached a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and continue to cook until barley is soft. For pearl barley, cook for 25 minutes. For hulled barley, cook for 40 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot as barley tends to give off a lot of foam and can cause the pot to boil over. The barley is done when the water has been absorbed and the barley is soft and chewy. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
3. In a large bowl, combine the peach, cucumber, grape tomatoes, parsley, chickpeas and cooked barley.
4. Drizzle salad with dressing (depending on your tastes, you might not want to use it all) and mix to combine. Serve over shredded curly kale and lettuce.

It never occurred to me that basil and hummus would ever make sense together, not like oats and raisins or chocolate and peanut butter, until I bought Sabra’s new hummus flavour on a whim one day. And oh my goodness was I blown away. This stuff was goooood. It was like I was suddenly whisked away to a fancy Italian restaurant that served fresh basil pesto rigatoni, perfectly crisp garlic bread and the best white wine I had ever tasted.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This is hummus we’re talking about, and here I thought I’d already seen hummus in every flavour variation there was. It has paired up with roasted garlic, black olives, roasted red pepper and even sweet potato too, but this is the real deal. It is a match made in heaven and all that other cheesy stuff.

As it turned out, I had a basil plant at its peak, waiting patiently to be pruned. There’s just something about fresh basil, picked straight from the thin, stalky branches of the plush green plant, that reminds me of the liveliness of summer, even when the cool fall weather has already arrived.

So I went about making my own pesto hummus, and I’m so glad I did! Just think: with each mouthful, you can taste the vibrant, fresh flavours of homemade basil spinach pesto with the comforting, creamy, hearty attributes of chickpea hummus. It’s perfect for serving at a party alongside fresh crusty bread and crudites, or spread across a whole-wheat tortilla and topped with tomatoes and sprouts for a quick lunch. Or you can be extra fancy like me and eat it straight from the bowl with carrot sticks while sitting in front of the TV. Enjoy!

Basil spinach pesto hummus

Yield: Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

To make the pesto:

• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach, lightly packed
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

To make the hummus:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp pesto (from recipe above)
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 can chickpeas

Directions:

To make the pesto:

1. Using a food processor, process the spinach, basil, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper until coarsely chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl if needed.
2. While the machine is running, stream in the olive oil and process until distributed. Transfer the pesto to a bowl.

To make the hummus:

1. Using the same food processor, process the water, lemon juice, tahini, pesto, salt and pepper until smooth.
2. Add half the chickpeas and process until very smooth. Add the remaining chickpeas and process again until smooth. This may take a few minutes.
3. Scoop the hummus into a serving bowl and top with the remaining pesto.

Raw ratatouille

Have you ever met someone who instantly impressed you with their remarkable knowledge and genuine charisma? That’s how I felt when I first met Gena Hamshaw. She’s the brilliant writer behind the blog Choosing Raw who constantly amazes me with her thought-provoking blog posts and now, her comprehensive new book of the same name.

This book is far more than just a cookbook. Using her familiar writing style that is both casual and professional, Gena first introduces us to her own story—growing up in a Greek American home, her experiences with an eating disorder and IBS, and through her discovery of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle and nutrient-dense raw foods. Her story is both captivating and candid, and you learn how she grew to become the experienced health advocate she is today.

This book covers it all—the why, what and how of adding more vegan and raw foods into your diet. She includes a thorough section on health and compassion, guiding us through the fundamentals of vegan nutrition (she’s a clinical nutritionist, so she knows her stuff), explaining what makes raw foods unique and demystifying the common myths and misconceptions surrounding plant-based diets.

Gena also goes over the essentials of grocery shopping, meal planning (she includes 21 days of adaptable, plant-based meal plans), tips on developing healthy, sustainable habits, and stocking your pantry and fridge.

Almond pulp granola

If that isn’t enough, Gena follows up with an ample supply of recipes (125 to be exact), including essentials like nut milks, smoothies, juices, snacks, dressings and dips, plus a variety of breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I love that the recipes are showcased by levels of raw, which take you from a foundation of cooked vegan recipes to more raw food dishes to help you transition to a plant-centric diet.

The recipes are by far the most approachable of any raw food book I’ve seen because, like me, Gena believes being a raw foodie doesn’t have to be bound by rules and expectations. I enjoy incorporating both cooked and raw foods into my own diet but find raw food techniques inspire me to use fresh vegetables in fun and creative ways. While some recipes in this book call for a dehydrator, Gena also gives cooking instructions too, so the choice is up to you. Many of the recipes, particularly in level 3, require no cooking at all, which is quite practical for this time of year when you don’t want to turn on the oven.

Mocha maca chia pudding

There were lots of recipes that caught my eye while first looking through this book but so far I’ve stuck mostly to level 3 recipes, which include more raw food techniques. I began by trying the almond pulp porridge, mocha maca chia pudding and raw ratatouille.

All three recipes were straightforward and easy to make. I particularly loved the porridge, which is a new way for me to use up all the almond pulp currently stashed in my freezer. The pudding, as well, was a fantastic morning wake-up call and the combination of malty maca, rich cacao powder, and intense espresso really gave me the boost I needed to keep going all day long.

The ratatouile, though, was by far my favourite. The variety of colourful, raw veggies and fresh herbs made for an excellent accompaniment to my bowl of greens. While there was both a dehydrator and oven option to this recipe, I found the few hours of marinating made it soft enough to not need any heating at all.

Because I loved this recipe so much, I was able to get permission to share the recipe with you!

Thank you, Gena, for sharing your knowledge and talent with the world, and for inviting me to be a part of your book celebrations!

Raw or cooked ratatouille

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thinly into coins
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 large heirloom tomato, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 teaspoons mined fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup, sliced into thin strips, sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup pine nuts, cooked or sprouted lentils, or chickpeas

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients except for th epine nuts in a large mixing bowl. Adjust the seasonings to taste (you can add more herbs if you like, or more lemon for a more tart taste).
2. Let all the ingredients marinate for a few hours, so that the flavors marry. If you're serving it cool, simply stir in the pine nuts or legumes and plate. If you're heating it, use one of the options below, and stir in the pine nuts or legumes right before serving.
3. OVEN OPTION: Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the vegetables in a small casserole dish and cook for 15 minutes. Give the vegetables a stir, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until they're soft throughout. DEHYDRATOR OPTION: Set your dehydrator to 140F. Spread the vegetables onto two Teflex-lined dehydrator sheets, and dehydrate for an hour before serving them warm. If you keep the dish raw, it will last overnight in the fridge. If you cook or dehydrate it, it will last for up to 3 days.

Recipe from Choosing Raw, republished with permission from Da Capo Press.

I have to admit: this hummus recipe has been sitting in my drafts folder for several weeks now. I’m so sorry, dear hummus, but you must have gotten lost in the shuffle!

In any case, I bought these beautiful little eggplants at one of my rare trips to the farmers’ market earlier in the summer and I couldn’t wait to get home and incorporate it into a recipe. And since hummus is almost always on my mind, the purple beauties went straight into a food processor with chickpeas after a quick roast in the oven. 

The result? A thick, creamy dip that I’d describe as a cross between baba ghanoush and hummus. I kept the skin on the eggplant for more texture but feel free to peel it before roasting if you prefer a smoother dip. If you’re an eggplant lover, this recipe is for you! Enjoy.

Roasted eggplant hummus

Yield: 2.5 cups

Ingredients:

• 6 (550g) baby eggplants
• 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Slice the eggplant and place on a lightly oiled baking pan. I kept the skin on but if you prefer a smoother hummus, feel free to peel off the skin before slicing.
2. Lightly spray or brush the slices with oil. Bake for about 25 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
3. In a food processor, process the chickpeas, lemon juice, parsley, tahini, garlic, salt and pepper until smooth.
4. Add the eggplant and oil and process until desired consistency is achieved.

Maybe my taste buds have changed but since then, beets have been a part of my regular rotation during the fall and winter along with most other root vegetables. I juice them, shred them for salads and sometimes roast them to bring out their flavour. Last week, I happened to buy a gigantic bunch of organic red beets, but since I was getting a little tired of adding them to my salads I decided to go another route and throw them in a batch of falafel. Call it an early Valentine’s Day meal if you wish, since red is everywhere this week.

I wish I had snapped a photo of the inside of these babies to show the beautiful specks of deep red throughout, but I didn’t, so you’ll have to trust me on this one. Underneath the crispy exterior, they are beautiful. I promise.

They are also super simple to throw together in your food processor. With these, you have the option to fry them like traditional falafel, or bake them if you wish. Then place them atop a luscious plate of greens and smother them in my favourite homemade tahini dressing.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, Lisa and I put together special treat tins to share this week. We filled them with three kinds of truffles, as well as raw brownies, moonie pies, chocolate chip almond cookies, white chocolate lavender cups and fig and hazelnut bars. I hope those who purchased the tins enjoy our handcrafted chocolate confections as much as we enjoyed creating them.

We will be doing more of these special treat packages for upcoming holidays. If you like what you see, stay tuned for our next special sampler.

Beetroot falafel with tahini dressing

Yield: about 20 patties

Ingredients:

Falafel:

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 19oz. can)
• 3/4 cup shredded beets (about 1 large)
• 1/2 cup oat flour (ground rolled oats)
• 1/2 cup flax meal
• 1/3 cup finely diced onion
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup tahini

Tahini dressing:

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

For the falafel:

1. Mince garlic in a food processor. Add the cilantro and parsley and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add chickpeas to the food processor and pulse to chop finely, but don't puree. Add chickpeas and remaining ingredients to the bowl. Mix everything together thoroughly (using your hands is best). The mixture should hold together when pressed between your hands.
3. Form into small balls (1 tbsp each) and press together firmly with your palms to form small patties.
4. You can either fry these lightly in oil or bake them. To fry, heat oil of your choice in a frying pan and cook falafel patties over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, flip over and cook another 4 minutes, or until browned on both sides.
5. To bake, preheat oven to 350F. Place falafel patties on a baking sheet and brush tops lightly with oil of your choice. Bake for 20 minutes, turning over halfway through. Best served immediately with tahini dressing.

For tahini dressing:

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Since completing my Certificate in Plant-based Nutrition, I’ve been fascinated by the growing wealth of evidence of the amazing power of nutrition and how it can influence health outcomes. There is often a lot of confusion surrounding the topic of nutrition, especially these days, when accurate information and research manipulated for marketing purposes are often mistaken for one another. We need to consider nutrition–and food–in its whole or wholistic form, not as single nutrients or as “bad” food or “super” food. It’s all about balance!

Kale from my garden. I’m so proud.

So I’m here to start sharing my own fabulous whole-food, plant-based meal and snack recipes that work for me, along with my usual sweet treats. Although the majority of my meals are simple, I occasionally end up with something pretty spectacular and I wonder, Why am I not sharing this with others?!

Let’s start with a salad I’ve been enjoying a lot lately.  With the cooler temperatures coming our way, I like to warm things up with the addition of roasted or steamed sweet potatoes, squash, beets and other colourful fall produce. So that’s exactly what I added to this salad, along with my favourite leafy greens and a handful of shredded carrot, chickpeas and pumpkin seeds. This salad is topped with my current go-to salad dressing–made with roasted shallots, white wine vinegar and a few simple spices.

Since kale is a cool-weather crop, this is the time to eat it. Those who are new to kale (I’m looking at you, Mom) often wonder how to prepare it. Being introduced to such a nutritional powerhouse that ends up tasting rather bitter is kind of a turn off. I’ve learned a few simple tricks that can turn your kale experience into a delicious success.

Three tips for preparing kale:

1. Buy fresh kale and use it up as soon as you can. Look for kale that has a rich green colour with crisp leaves. If it sits around too long, it will start to wilt and taste bitter. I found it can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before use. If it wilts too soon, don’t throw it out! Add it to full-flavoured soups or stirfrys or make kale chips!

2. Remove the stems when you chop it up. The stems are the bitter part of the plant. Strip them from the leaves with a sharp knife and discard.

3. Massage the dressing into the leaves and let it sit for about 15 minutes. A kale salad tastes best when the dressing has had a chance to soak into the leaves. This also helps soften the leaves, which is especially important if you are using the curly variety. For best results, use your hands to massage the dressing into the leaves.

Roasted squash and beet salad with shallot dressing

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

Salad:

• 1/2 small butternut squash, cubed
• 2 beets, quartered
• 4 cups chopped kale
• 1 cup arugula (or more kale)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas
• pumpkin seeds, for garnish

Dressing:

• 4 shallots, peeled and halved
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup water (see notes)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Place the cubed squash on a sheet pan and lightly coat with oil spray and sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary. Add the shallots for the dressing on the same pan if there's room, or another small pan.
3. Place the beets in the middle of a piece of tin foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold up the tin foil by folding the two ends in the middle to cover the beets.
4. Place the squash, shallots and beets in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until soft, turning the squash and shallots halfway through. The shallots should be starting to caramelize at this point.
5. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the other ingredients for the salad. Add all ingredients to a large salad bowl.

To make the dressing:

1. Add all dressing ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

To assemble:

1. Massage the dressing into the kale salad. Divide among plates and top with roasted squash and beets. Serve.

I try to use very little oil in my meals, and this includes salad dressing. For a smoother dressing, feel free to replace the water with your choice of oil.

Oops…did I just spoil the surprise?

Yes, that means there are beans in these cookies. What’s not to love about that?

After being captivated by these chocolate black bean power cookies a few days ago, I immediately decided I needed to make my own. In order to create flourless cookies, I incorporated black beans as well as chickpeas to get the soft, fudgy consistency I wanted. I also bought some organic coffee extract during a recent visit to the states, and it makes a wonderful addition here, moving the fudgy chocolate flavour to a whole new level. My husband is currently on a hazelnut coffee kick, so I thought, Why not add some hazelnuts and dark chocolate, too?

It turns out my spontaneous experiments were a success. Everyone who tried these had no idea they were made of beans! Seriously, they were completely fooled. If you make them, I promise you will be, too.

I originally called these flourless cappuccino cookies when I revealed by experiments on Facebook the other day, but I decided that because of the flavour pairing, the mocha bean name makes more sense. Enjoy!

Flourless mocha bean cookies

Yield: one dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp ground chia seeds (or flax meal)
• 1/2 tsp pure coffee extract
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (or other nuts), plus more for cookie tops
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, plus more for cookie tops
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar, for cookie tops

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line a cookie sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.
2. Using a food processor, process the black beans, chickpeas, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt until it turns into a thick, flour-like consistency.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut oil, chia seeds and coffee extract until well combined. Pour the mixture into the food processor and process until smooth. I let my processor run for about two minutes and scrapped down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
4. Remove the processor bowl from the base and remove the blade. Fold in the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Alternatively, you can transfer the mixture to another bowl before folding in the nuts and chips.
5. Using a cookie scoop, drop rounds onto the prepared cookie sheet and use a wet finger or the back of a spoon to flatten and mold into cookie shapes. Keep in mind they won't spread while baking. Add a few more nuts and chocolate chips to the top of each cookie.
6. Bake the cookies at 375F for about 18 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are fairly dry to the touch. You don't want the middle to feel too wet or the cookies will be very fudge-like. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle coconut sugar on each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from the pan. Cookies can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Recipe inspired by Sarah's recipe and David's recipe.