Creamy Sunflower-Ranch Coleslaw – Ditch the mayo and blend up roasted sunflower seeds, with ranch dressing flavours, for a more healthful coleslaw. A whole food twist on a BBQ, pot-luck and picnic favorite.
Coleslaw has got a bit of a bad rap. It’s funny how something where the main ingredients are cabbage and carrots can veer so far away from healthful. But adding in a half cup of mayo can do that to a salad. 😉
Of course, many modern coleslaws eschew the sat-fat and opt for an oil and vinegar approach. And sometimes not even the oil. I like these kinds of tangy coleslaw recipes. Not only are they easy to riff on with fruits, herbs and nuts, they are lighter on the palate and digestion.
I have a vinegar and oil-based, pear-heavy coleslaw, studded with dried cranberries and walnuts, that I could eat pretty much every day. It makes appearances at my work throughout autumn and winter, where it goes faster than a winter salad really ought to. It is absolutely delectable paired with hummus, too. Continue reading
Below is my more satiating, side-to-main take on the classic Sichuan side dish, pai huang gau. Used as a cooling foil for cooked Chinese dishes, the original cucumber salad is popular all over China. Indeed, cucumbers by themselves are a refreshing snack during the hot summer months. Kinda beats our own obsession with creamy iced coffee drinks.
Fried rice is one of those comforting dishes that covers many culinary bases: as a post-pub, sop-up-the-booze snack; a thoughtfully-considered side dish with a larger Chinese meal; as a meal itself, studded with plenty of filling protein, as well as the usual peas, egg and onion.
We’ve got a garden, but I don’t have green fingers. Basically I throw seeds into our back yard 
Be warned: you will want to make this everyday throughout the summer. Not that this is a bad thing, but, you know, variety.
This composed style of salad originates, of course, in the south of France. Best eaten in the shade of an olive grove, or under a flapping parasol on a dazzling white beach, this is THE salad for summer. Pair it with a bottle of chilled rosé, and I can’t think of anything better to tuck into during a spell of warm weather. This salad + a glass of wine = an unbeatable summer lunch. Whether it is your back garden, a green local park, the beach, lakeside, or indoors dodging a sudden thunderstorm, summer isn’t summer without this salad. Fact. 🙂 
I don’t know when I started making risotto. It seems it has always been a part of my cooking repertoire. Especially in our early years of marriage, when I was actively trying to impress my husband (I bet he pines for those days!). As we were strict vegetarians until the mid 90s, bordering on vegan, risotto and other one-pot rice dishes were a go-to for me.