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Do you remember the first recipes you made when you moved into your first apartment? Was there a particular dish that you ate over and over again? I can clearly remember making vegetable stir fry most weeknights. A simple and healthy dinner that was made even better because I had made it by myself, in my apartment with the dishes I had bought and the groceries I had picked out. Yes, vegetable stir fry is one of those staple recipes that become the foundation of our culinary lives.
This year, the team behind Food Revolution Day (taking place on May 20th) are focusing on building a good culinary foundation. Instead of focusing on one day and one recipe, this year Food Revolution Day is about 10 deliciously basic recipes that will help families eat healthy all year round. What recipes do you turn to on busy weeknights? Which recipes do you modify and switch up depending on the season or the budget. That's what great basic recipes are - an opportunity to enjoy a homemade meal that you enjoy over and over again.
Ingredients
2 shallots, sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
1/2" ginger, grated
2 cups broccoli flourets
3 medium carrots, sliced into ribbons
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup canned chick peas, rinsed
1 cup sugar snap peas
noodles of choice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
Directions
Follow package instructions for how to prepare your choice of noodles. Prepare noodles and set aside.
Add pine nuts to a large sauté pan, over medium heat. Lightly toast pine nuts and then dump nuts into a small bowl and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in the large sauté pan. Add shallots, garlic and ginger. Sauté until softened.
Stir in broccoli, snap peas, carrots and chick peas. Sauté until broccoli is softened - approximately 5-7 minutes.
Pour in sesame oil and soy sauce. Add in the noodles, toss and remove from heat.
Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.
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Pizza is kind of a big deal in our house. I'm pretty sure it is totally my influence - pizza has always held a warm place in my heart. However, my kids are not keen on eating leftover slices of pizza. I would love to pop a slice of leftover pizza in their lunch boxes, but it would remain uneaten. That's when I started making individual mini-pizzas and pizza pinwheels. Fill these pizza pinwheels with your favourite pizza toppings, bake them up on the weekend and be prepared to fill the kids' lunch boxes. These pinwheels also make a great on-the-go snacks or after school snacks. Don't forget to set aside a few for mom and dad's lunch boxes too.
Ingredients
1 Fleischmann's Pizza Yeast packet
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil
2/3 cup warm water
1 cup strained tomatoes, or passata or your favourite pizza sauce
1 cup sliced pepperoni
2 cups grated mozzarella
2 tbsp finely chopped basil leaves
Directions
Pour 1 cup of flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour. In the well, add the packet of yeast, sugar and salt.
Pour in warm water and oil. Let sit for at least 1 minute. You will see the yeast start to foam.
Stir ingredients together to form a sticky wet dough. Add in additional 3/4 cup of flour and continue to stir until dough forms. You may need to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour if the dough is too sticky.
Form dough into a ball and let stand, covered with a clean tea towel, for at least 20 minutes.
Once dough has risen, roll dough into a large thin rectangle.
Cover dough with tomato sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella and basil leaves.
Start with the long edge of the rectangle and roll the dough toward the other edge.
Once the dough is completely rolled, use a sharp knife to slice the pizza log into 1 inch thick pinwheels.
Place the pinwheels onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Leave about an inch between each roll, as they will spread as they bake.
Bake in a 400°F oven for 10-12 minutes - until the tops are golden brown.