Split pea and Winter vegetable soup

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   This is with a new soup recipe we'll start the year because, whether it is warm in Winter or cold in Summer, it's an easy way to a healthy but yummy balanced dish without having to stay before the stove. It's also a good mean to stay hydrated because we tense to drink less water in Winter. And the last good thing about soups is that you just cook it, eventually blend it and just pour it in a bowl and enjoy!

   Today, I decided to honor the split pea that is too often left aside in the kitchen. By the way, did you know that split peas are... green peas that are dried (and else)? Cooked here with some Winter veggies, herbs and spices. Then I mixed a part of the soup to make it smooth. Do not hesitate to add some cooked rice leftovers and/or smoked tofu dices for a balanced healthy dish, my favorite are the almond sesame and Black Forest ones from the Taifun band.

   And if you fancy trying another recipe with split peas, I suggest you this dhal served with roasted aubergine/eggplant and some mint yogurt sauce, so more of a Summer dish, but you can swap with a Winter veggie instead.

Smooth and creamy oil free hummus, with sauteed mushrooms and seitan

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    A few weeks after the last published recipe, Fall is here and I'm back with a delicious recipe. I'm taking part to a new edition of a French food challenge and the theme of this month was "Let's hang out in the woods" and we had to propose a recipe with fruit or vegetables or nuts from the woods so I chose the mushrooms because, well, I just love them, raw or cooked and all the varieties I guess.

   To go with them, I wanted to try this dish I had eaten last Spring in Barcelona, in Hummus Barcelona, a vegetarian food place. I'm not a big fan of hummus but I wanted to give it another try and I had really enjoyed it because it was very smooth and also it was the first time I ate one as a dish with cooked mushrooms. And as I had hesitated with the seitan version, I chose to assemble all together today in this recipe.

Crunchy quinoa, raw asparagus and orange salad

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    Here is a recipe I've had in a corner of my head for 4 years. I had tasted a raw salad of asparagus and discovered they could be enjoyed uncooked and it was very good. I had written this on my To Do List but always forgot about it and the list got bigger and bigger.

   I thought again about it a few weeks ago when I bought my first asparagus of the season. I added some crunchy quinoa to go with it, the taste and the texture are slightly different, it's interesting.

Vegan pumpkin mac n' cheese

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    Today, still no detox on the blog, it's been cold, it's been raining so here is some comfort food! If you're living in the US, you're most than familiar with mac n' cheese but in France and other countries, this is not something common. As its name says, it's made of macaroni, bechamel sauce and melting cheese such as cheddar, diet oriented as you can see. 😁 I only tasted it once while I was an exchange student in the US and as most homes enjoy it, it was canned and not good at all to me!


   When home made, it's still not a light dish but it's simple to make and it tastes better. Here, it's a different version I wanted to share to enjoy squashes. I kept the pasta - changed the macaroni for other pasta for sauce - that are full of carbs if made out of wheat but there again, good pasta from time to time , in a reasonable quantity, it feels good.

   As we say, it's the garnish that counts, here, not giant quantity of melting cheese, the sauce is made of a seasonal vegetable: pumpkin. Then, add some milk (soy for me), nutritional yeast to give this cheesy flavor, starch to thicken he sauce and spices to season. With some parmesan (vegan or not), it makes a delicious dish that you can enjoy with some other seasonal veggies. 

Avocado cucumber apple cold soup

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   If you've been following the blog for quite some time, you may have noticed that I love soup, I repeat it each time I publish a soup recipe. Whether warm and comfy in Winter or fresh and light in Summer, it's a good way to stay hydrated and eat veggies, legumes or even cereals in a simple manner.

   Lately, we've been brainstorming about what to do with our huge numerous cucumbers we have at work with my colleagues apart from tzatziki and salads and we talked about cold soups. One of them made a cold cream with cucumber and some "kid cheese" as I like to call it, I don't know if it exists outside of France but to me and cheese amateurs, it's not really cheese, it's something chewy wrapped into individuals packs. Anyway,  thought about what to use instead and I thought about avocado to bring some creamy texture.  

Piadine, North Italian sandwiches { garnished with arugula, mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella & cherry tomatoes }

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   Today, I offer you to fly towards Italy and discover these typical sandwiches, the piadine, from the North of the country, Emilia Romagna.