Tag: cooking

The Vibrant Life: Cookbook review
I’ll admit that when I ordered The Vibrant Life cookbook by Amanda Haas, I thought I was ordering The Anti-Inflammation Cookbook which she also wrote. I was dealing with a neck injury and figured that learning some low inflammation recipes would expand my repertoire and help me heal.

Haas’s introduction, though, won me over.

Haas, the former culinary director for swoon-worthy cookware store Williams-Sonoma, talks about reaching the age of 45 and experiencing chronic fatigue along with other health complaints. She’s not advocating for turning back the clock – she says, “I love that age has provided me with a stronger sense of self, courage and compassion.” Instead, she talks about having people who showed up in her life and helped her redefine what aging looked like.

The Vibrant Life is Haas’s answer to wanting to resolve her health issues to feel great. It’s a wellness cookbook that includes recipes and lifestyle recommendations ranging from yoga and strength-training to acupuncture, cryotherapy and meditation.

I’m the same age as Haas and can relate to her call to live her best life.

The ups

The book is well designed and full of easy to follow, unfussy recipes and excellent photography. It’s moderate and balanced in terms of the diet presented. Although gluten-free, many of the recipes include meat, fish or dairy.

The downs

Because many of the ingredients for many recipes wouldn’t be found in a regular, well-stocked kitchen (e.g. tarragon, Marcona almonds, pistachios, sour cherries, fennel bulbs, adobo sauce, crème fraiche, King Trumpet mushrooms, golden raisins), this wouldn’t be my everyday go-to recipe book.

Although recipes like the chocolate ganache tart with grand marnier, tequila old-fashioneds, and roasted Moroccan chicken with cauliflower “couscous” sound delicious, I was, frankly, expecting more wholesome plant-based dishes from a wellness cookbook. Instead, there seem to be a disproportionate number of recipes in the “Land and Sea” and “Sweets, Treats and Cocktails” chapters.

Favourites

I didn’t have some of the ingredients required on hand, so tried some of the simpler recipes, including:
- The drinks like maple-turmeric golden milk and coconut almond matcha, both made with almond milk
- Sophia’s toasted almond granola – a tasty recipe featuring dark chocolate, sour cherries, maples syrup and cardamom
- Wild rice, butternut squash salad with pistachios, cherries and mint
- Blistered curry cauliflower with mint, currants and toasted almonds
The shaved brussel sprout salad with roasted root vegetables and pomegranate seeds is next on my list.

The final word

I can see myself cooking some of the recipes for special occasions, but don’t imagine that this cookbook will make it into my regular rotation. For a wellness cookbook, too, I would have liked to be nudged further along with truly inspiring, downright healthy food.

This book would make a great gift for an omnivore, who enjoys making colourful, tasty, fresh food to entertain friends.

With Haas’s simple, but sincere wellness recommendations, it would also make sense for someone who has experienced some health challenges and is just starting out on a wellness path.

And thanks

Thanks to Raincoast Books for sharing this cookbook!
December 12, 2019
Sky Camp Kohlrabi
There’s something to be said for being in the right place at the right time.

Over the consumption of tasty beverages at the Beer Farmers, my girlfriend was casually asked if she’d like to host a bunch of mountain bikers at Sky Camp (one of Tyax Adventures’ most balling backcountry locations). She was quick to mention that I could cook and would be a great addition to the hostess-with-the-mostest team and it took me about 0.01 seconds to agree to this union. As of yet I had only heard the tales of this remote location and recognized that it was an opportunity one should not shy away from.

Allow me to create a visual for you: Board a floatplane that takes you deep into the South Chilcotin range to a fully set-up cabin. This location comes complete with wood-burning sauna, canoes/kayaks/paddle boards, hot showers, the sound of loons atop a lake full of trout, adventure Crocs, old school board games, guest tents stocked with flannel sheets & duvets and nothing else but the silent sounds of the forest. Everyone in favour of glamping, raise his or her hand! Easily 90% of you just did.

A simple, delicious menu was drawn up for us and I couldn’t help but raid my garden for a few extras to tie in to the plan. My spare time has taken a hard hit lately (aka neglected garden) and there are a few species that have gotten massive due to this lack of maintenance – or someone has secretly been feeding them steroids. So, may I introduce to you the current, uncontested, and very underrated, heavy weight champion of my garden… kohlrabi.

Out came the biggest bulb, a leek, the dried coriander seeds from my bolted cilantro plants and a cured garlic bulb; all grown in my backyard and all destined to become a side-dish served with salmon. What follows is a rough outline of how I cooked it via an old school propane oven.
- Pre heat oven to 375°F. While that is happening, lightly toast your coriander seeds then grind them with a mortar & pestle to desired texture.
- Cut the kohlrabi into ½” cubes and place them into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add in some sliced leeks, minced garlic, the ground coriander, salt & pepper to taste and then drizzle with olive oil; tossing to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a cast iron pan and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Make sure to take the kohlrabi out of the oven and stir it around every so often to avoid burning.
The key ingredient for making this dish tremendous, aside from the fact it was grown with love, is the company it was shared with. For some it was their introduction to kohlrabi and that alone makes it a success.

Sky camp is a magical place: you arrive unplugged and leave fully charged.
September 4, 2018