Raspberry Salad with Cocoa Balsamic Dressing

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A few years ago, I went to a wonderful local French restaurant called Chez Sophie with my French class. It is a lovely little bistro with all sorts of delicious items. I had a heck of a time deciding between a veggie quiche or a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. But what really caught my attention was a simple romaine salad with a chocolate balsamic viniagrette. Chocolate…in a salad!? I was incredibly intrigued and ended up ordering it to enjoy with a piece of quiche. My curiosity was rewarded, as the salad was wonderful. The dressing was bittersweet + slightly acidic. It paired up incredibly well with the salty parmesan curls used as a garnish. Yum!
For Valentine’s Day this year, I thought I would try and re-create the salad at home to share with my Valentine :) To make it extra special and romantic, I added some fresh raspberries and slivered almonds. I’m not sure if it is possible for a salad to be romantic, but there’s something romantic about fresh raspberries and luscious chocolate. In my opinion, this combination is pure decadence and perfect for a special occasion such as Valentine’s Day.
 
Cocoa Balsamic Dressing
  • 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons of canola oil
  • 1 heaping teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 heaping teaspoon of honey (or sugar)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • mix of baby romaine, baby spinach and arugula
  • pint of fresh raspberries (or strawberries)
  • 1/2 cup of slivered almonds
  • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • bittersweet chocolate curls or cocoa nibs for garnish
Method
1. In a small jar, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Shake to mix and set aside. Allow the dressing to sit for 10 minutes for maximum flavour.
2. In a salad bowl, toss the greens, raspberries, slivered almonds and parmesan cheese. Drizzle the cocoa balsamic dressing over top and toss. Garnish with chocolate curls or cocoa nibs.
Note: enjoy this salad with a glass of red wine :)
Yield: 4-6 servings
Source: inspired by a salad at Chez Sophie in Winnipeg

Vegetarian Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings)

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A few years ago, Jesse and I were in Minneapolis for a vacation and we had dinner at an amazing Japanese restaurant downtown. To my surprise, they actually had vegetarian gyoza on the menu. For some reason, vegetarian gyoza is difficult to come by. I find most gyoza is sold with a pork filling. Anyway, the vegetarian gyoza was incredible! The vegetable filling was perfectly spiced with ginger and garlic and served with a delicious dipping sauce. A year later, we returned to Minneapolis for another vacation and headed straight back to the Japanese restaurant to share a plate or two of the vegetarian gyoza. To my dismay, they removed them from the menu! :( I was heart broken! We’d drive 7 hours for those gyoza! *haha*
Ever since then, I’ve been on a mission to find the perfect veggie gyoza. A few weeks back, I found a recipe in Chloe Coscarelli’s cookbook Chloe’s Kitchen for cashew and mushroom dumplings. I ran to the store and bought all of the ingredients and whipped up a few batches. I had a feeling they’d be what I’ve been looking for and to my delight, they were perfect! Actually, they might be even better than the ones I had in Minneapolis. The dumplings are filled with sautéed mushrooms, cashews, scallions, grated carrot spiced with fresh ginger, garlic and a touch of soy sauce. The cooking method was quite easy too. You pan fry the dumplings until the bottoms are golden brown and then steam them for 5 minutes. Since Jesse and I loved the gyoza so much, I thought I should share the recipe ASAP. Making the gyoza takes a little time, but you can make a huge batch and freeze them. They are well worth the effort! :)
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons of canola oil, divided
  • 5 ounces of mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
  • 1 cup of cashews
  • 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
  • 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • dumpling wrappers (egg-free if vegan)
 
Dipping Sauce
  • 1/3 cup of low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar
  • splash of sesame oil
  • pinch of sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
  • chopped scallions
  • dash of hot sauce such as sriracha
Note: if you cannot find proper round dumpling wrappers, you can use wonton wrappers and simply cut them into circles with a round cookie cutter.
Method
1. In a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil over medium-high heat. Sauté mushrooms until soft and lightly browned. Stir in the cashews, scallions, carrots, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Allow mixture to cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor and pulse until the cashew are finely ground and the mixture is somewhat smooth.
2. Place 2 teaspoons of mushroom/cashew mixture in the centre of each wrapper and moisten the edges of the wrapper with water. As you fold the wrapped in half to enclose the filling, squeeze out as much air as possible. Fold little pleats along the top, if you are inclined, before pinching to seal. To learn how to fold little pleats at the top of your dumplings, check out this tutorial by The Little Kitchen.
Note: if you want to freeze some or all of the dumplings, freeze them separately on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once frozen through, placed them in freezer-safe container or re-sealable bags. Allow gyoza to thaw before cooking.
3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons in oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, arrange the dumplings in the skillet. Do not overcrowd them. Cook the dumplings for a few minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned (about 3 to 5 minutes).
4. Once browned, slowly fill the skillet with 1/2 inch of hot water. Be very careful to avoid spattering the oil. Cover the skillet immediately and let cook for 5 minutes, or until the water has evaporated. Remove from pan and place on a parchment lined baking sheet to cool slightly. Serve with dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce: combine all ingredients and serve.
Yield: I used small dumpling wrappers and only had about 1 teaspoon per dumpling. Therefore, I made about 28 gyoza total.
Dumplings: Chloe Coscarelli + Dipping Sauce: All-Recipes.com

Indian Spice Starter Kit

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Last week I posted a recipe for my favourite East Indian dish – Navratan Korma. In the post, I mentioned that I had taken a fantastic vegetarian East Indian cooking course a few years back where we made a number of dishes and learned about a variety of spices and herbs. My teacher had also given all of the students a beginner’s spice kit to get us all started with East Indian cooking at home. After last week’s post, a few people contacted me with interest in knowing what was in the beginner’s spice kit put together by my teacher. So, without further ado, here are the 12 most commonly used spices in East Indian cooking. For those of you just getting into creating curries at home, these 12 spices will allow for unlimited creativity in the kitchen. Many of these spices can be used in Middle Eastern and African cooking as well.
Indian Spice Starter Kit
1. Red chili (such as cayenne pepper)
2. Carom seeds (Ajwain seeds)
3. Cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon
4. Clove buds or ground cloves
5. Black mustard seeds
6. Fennel seeds
7. Green Cardamom pods or ground green cardamom 
8. Turmeric (yes, I spelled it wrong on the jar lid…haha)
9. Cumin seeds or ground cumin
10. Coriander seeds or ground coriander
11. Black Cardamom or ground black cardamom
12. Garam Masala
 
Fresh ginger and garlic are also key to a well-stocked starter kit. I always buy ginger and garlic fresh when I am planning on creating an Indian dish, but you can use ground ginger and ground garlic if you prefer. 

Carom (Ajwain seeds) have a similar flavour as thyme. In a pinch, thyme can be used in its place. If you use cardamom pods, you just have to break them open and grind the smell seeds inside. Mustard seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds need not be ground. However, for optimal flavour, make sure to toast the spices. Cinnamon sticks should be removed from your dish before serving.

Garam Masala is a blend of ground spices common in North Indian cuisine. It is a blend of spices that varies from family-to-family and region-to-region. Spices are toasted and ground together. A typical Garam Masala contains black + white peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds and black + green cardamom pods. Garlic and ginger may be added as well. According to Wikipedia, the key to a good Garam Masala is balance, so that not one spice overpowers the entire mixture.
You can find all of these spices in any well-stocked grocery store or ethnic food store. Be sure to buy a quality garam masala to ensure your dishes have maximum flavour. Different blends of garam masala can be quite spicy. So, I always recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala to your dishes at the end of cooking and then adjust as needed. Also, make sure to have relatively fresh spices on hand. You can purchase whole spices and grind them yourself for optimal flavour. To grind spices, you can use an old coffee grinder, a spice grinder or a mortar + pestle. If you cannot grind them yourself, using fresh pre-ground spices will do the trick as well. 

Note: I find spices stay fresh for up to 6 months in a dark, dry cupboard.