Category Archives: recipes

Recipe: Tomato and Rice Soup

  By Crystal Clarke | February 10, 2016 - 5:01 pm | , , ,
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rice soup

When I cook rice and quinoa I like to cook a whole bunch at once so that I can use it in different dishes through the week. Last week I took it a bit too far and had about 4 cups of leftover cooked mixed grains of brown rice, quinoa, basmati rice and wild rice . I knew I had to use them up yesterday and decided to make a Tomato and Rice Soup. I thought maybe the grains would be too “grainy” tasting, but it actually worked out really well and added some nice texture to the soup. I don’t … Keep reading →

Not from Spain “Spanish” Rice

  By Crystal Clarke | September 13, 2013 - 3:15 pm | , , ,
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Not from Spain Spanish Rice

After my last post about the not-my-mom’s banana bread I got to thinking about food that my parents used to make when we were kids. One of our favourite meals was one that my parents called “Spanish rice.” I’ve never heard anyone speak of this dish before or since then and I haven’t had it in years. What sparked this memory is the fact that I attempt to cook for two teenagers who have never really eaten vegetarian food and have a bit of a bias against it. I’d be lying if I said that this didn’t hurt my feelings , … Keep reading →

Not as Good as my Mom’s Banana Bread

  By Crystal Clarke | September 9, 2013 - 7:58 pm | , , ,
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Banana Bread Collage

For many years, and my siblings and my entire childhood, my grandma and my mom co-existed in the same farm yard. Now that I’m an adult and have experiences with mothers-in-law and family dynamics, I have a serious appreciation and respect for both of these women for making it through those years without killing one another. And more than that, they are still very close! The joke in our house whenever my mom made one of my grandma’s recipes w  was that the secret ingredient is a mother’s love. No matter what my mom made, it was never as good … Keep reading →

Streusel-iscious muffins

  By Crystal Clarke | September 6, 2013 - 9:10 am | , , ,
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This whole Vegan MoFo thing has been a big learning experience for me. Today I learned what streusel is! From dictionary.com, it is: streusel [German stroi-zuhl; English stroo-zuhl noun a topping for coffeecake, consisting of crumbs of blended sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter, and chopped nutmeats. Origin: 1925-30; <German: literally, a sprinkling; I have no idea what a nutmeat is, but maybe I’ll look that up tomorrow! And, obviously, there is no butter in this vegan recipe. Today’s recipe is adapted from The Garden of Vegan (again). I used flax eggs for this one to add some good omega oil and because … Keep reading →

5 Days Strong

  By Crystal Clarke | June 17, 2013 - 9:07 pm | , ,
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Today it was a struggle to get outside for some “real” exercise. I managed to get out for a good speed walk. It was a cloudy day but it turned out to be a beautiful evening. So this vegan triathlete went for a good walk fighting the mosquitoes and felt better. I was not feeling well today so it was hard. I did it, though, and the sense of accomplishment is great. Day 5! My 40-day challenge is coming along well and I’m  happy with my daily exercise goal. I’m not going to lie, this weekend was weak in terms … Keep reading →

Weekend Recipes!

  By Crystal Clarke | January 13, 2013 - 3:03 pm | , , , , ,
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Two pancakes with Becel Vegan margarine and maple syrup. Delicious!

Last week I made a wonderful meal of steamed veggies (peppers, onions, and spinach) on top of quinoa with a simple tahini dressing/sauce (tahini, garlic, Bragg’s). It was delicious when warm and then the next day for lunch when it was cold. Last weekend I made some delicious dahl from my new Forks Over Knives cookbook that I got from my sister for Christmas (Thanks Ash!). I was planning to make home-made naan to go with the dahl, but I got lazy and had a double lentil meal with some lentil rolls a friend randomly gave to me earlier that … Keep reading →

Fast Food Indeed

  By Crystal Clarke | October 11, 2011 - 8:45 pm | , , , , , ,
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Today I got home from work like so many other people in western civilization –  very hungry. My stomach was growling the whole way between work and home. It was at this moment that it made so much sense to me why so many people eat at fast food restaurants. As a vegan, though, I am lucky enough to have very few options in the world of fast food and, therefore, am never tempted to put such gross “food” into my body. So instead of eating at a greasy fast food restaurant, I made my own fast food! It’s quite … Keep reading →

A Food Post: Refried Beans!

  By Crystal Clarke | March 2, 2011 - 7:33 pm | , , , ,
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Refried Beans2

In the last few months I have been more frugal in my life to save money for specific future endeavours. To do this, I have looked at foods that are simpler, cheaper, and healthier. Funny enough, these factors often go together! As an athlete and a generally busy person I don’t usually have a lot of time to prepare meals. I tri to cook larger meals on the weekend and eat leftovers, but as the week progresses I either get sick of the leftovers or have eaten it all. As a single person, meal planning is pretty simple and I … Keep reading →

A Food Post: Quinoa Salad

  By Crystal Clarke | August 5, 2010 - 8:03 pm | , , ,
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Today I was in a bit of a hurry for a potluck with some friends. On my walk home, I thought about the ingredients I had. I knew that I had lots of quinoa, some scraps of veggies, and some salad dressing that I had made the other day. I put them together and made a super awesome salad, I have to admit. Here is how I did it: 2 cups of cooked quinoa (2 cups quinoa, 3 cups water – bring to boil then to min for about 15 minutes) red, yellow, and orange peppers (half) diced 2 grated … Keep reading →

Rewards

  By Crystal Clarke | June 19, 2008 - 10:50 am | , ,
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This morning I slept in through my run and decided that I would go for a run this afternoon. To ensure this happens, I’m going to reward myself with an awesome vegan peanut buster parfait. Good ol’ soy ice cream, peanuts, and a vegan chocolate sauce all in layers will be perfect to top off a nice 1-hour run. Tonight I’m mountain biking with the gals, which I’m excited about. I move in merely two days and I’m excited and sad about it. I’ve lived in my current house for almost three years and I know lots of my neighbours. … Keep reading →