Zesty & Spicy

If you like food, we'll get along *^_^*

  • Recipes
  • #FoodieLife
  • Urban Gardening

Vegetable soup with ginger & lemongrass

February 12, 2018 by Ariel 2 Comments

The inspiration comes from a vegetable soup my grand mother used to make.  She used to cut all the vegetables in super small pieces and I always enjoyed the aesthetic of her presentation.  You could probably chop everything finely by hand but, if you’re in the lazy club (like me), a hand blender or a food processor work wonders.

This recipe isn’t the soup she used to make but, I would like to think it is as good or at least pretty close.

 Delicate, slightly sweet and made with our homemade vegetable broth.  The fennel leaves used as garnish but also as a component in the soup really shine with the star anise in the broth.  The ginger giving it a nice kick and the lemongrass as the last taste hitting your palate.  When it comes time to buy fennel, I always try to get the complete plant with the long rods and a lot of bright green leaves.  Back home, I’ll cut it up in “parts” and keep the leaves in a separate container to use them like any other fresh herbs.  Next time, I’ll probably add a little extra lemongrass because the taste could have been more pungent and, I would encourage you to do the same if you’re a big fan of lemongrass.

Makes three big portions or four smaller ones. Bon appétit!

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Popular Diets, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: carrots, celery, fennel hair, ginger, green cabbage, healthy, lemongrass, olive oil, recipe, soup, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

Wild Rice, Black Olives & Sun Dried Tomato Salad

September 6, 2016 by Ariel 1 Comment

WildRiceTomatoSalad02

Simple salad made with whole ingredients for lunch today because simple is often best.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a fan of wild rice and guess what??!!  It’s super healthy for you!

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Legumes, Popular Diets, Proteins, Recipes, Salads, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Zesty Tagged With: black olives, Chickpeas, easy, fast, lemon juice, lunch, olive oil, quick, recipe, salad, sun dried tomato, wild black rice, wild rice

Chorizo & Red Potato Stir Fry

June 6, 2015 by Ariel 6 Comments

Chorizo_RedPotato_StirFry02

After living in the Portuguese area of Montreal for many years, I became a little addicted with Chorizo.  As I traveled around, I noticed that every Chorizo is made a little differently and I’m starting to miss the soft and spicy version I was able to find at my beloved Portuguese grocery.

Here’s a simple recipe that brings me back to my time eating my favourite type of Chorizo.. Hope you like it!

*^_^*

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Popular Diets, Pork, Proteins, Recipes, Spicy Tagged With: broccolini, chorizo, fresh garlic, inspired, olive oil, orange bell pepper, pork, portuguese, recipe, red potato, red potatoes, saussage, shitake, shitake mushrooms, yellow onion

Marinated Cauliflowers & Tomatoes Appetizers

March 31, 2015 by Ariel 1 Comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It’s one of those recipes that will make you look like you actually took time to think about your “concept” when it fact it was the easiest and…let’s say it… laziest recipe ever 😛 lol!

If I may suggest, serve the whole thing right on the baking sheet, for a rustic look, and add some chopped cilantro or basil as a little happy green colour to your presentation.

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Appetizer, Recipes, Vegetables Tagged With: appetizer, apple cider vinegar, Ariel, ariel rebel, cauliflower, cauliflower florets, cumin powder, easy, fresh, garlic, green olives, marinated, no fuss, olive oil, pepper, prepare in advance, quick, recipe, sea salt, tomatoes

Fire Roasted Tomatoes & Parmesan Penne

March 24, 2015 by Ariel Leave a Comment

FireRoastedTomatoes_ParmesanPenne01

Because the simplest meals are often the best…

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Pasta, Popular Diets, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: avocado oil, broccoli, brocolli, canned tomatoes, cauliflowers, cheese, easy, fire roasted, fire roasted tomatoes, florets, garlic, inspired, italian, olive oil, parmesan, pasta, penne, quick, recipe, roasted, tomatoes, vegetarian, yellow onion

Green Spinach Pesto

April 1, 2014 by Ariel 3 Comments

Green_Spinach_Pesto_01

Here’s a fun and “jazzed up” pesto recipe made with fresh baby spinach, hemp seeds, arugula, coriander, Parmesan and more!    The first time I made this, it was to go with some homemade raviolis stuffed with light ricotta and feta cheese and ohhhhhh!  …I made a lot of happy tummy that night.

homemade_raviolis_with_spinach_pesto_sauce

To make the pasta sauce, I stretched a few tablespoons of this pesto with coconut milk and a tab more garlic (I’m obsessed with garlic so taste before adding more) and just like that, I had made an flavorful and creamy sauce.  Later that week, I used it for grilling some juicy steaks and even made a dip for the meat!  Both experiences were very welcomed by everybody who had the chance to taste it and now it’s your turn to try 🙂

Hope you like it!

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Popular Diets, Recipes, Sauces, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Zesty Tagged With: 2014, ariel rebel, arielrebel, arugula, basil, cook, cooking, coriander, eat, fresh, hemp seeds, lemon, olive oil, parmesan, pasta, pesto, raviolis, recipe, sauce, spinach, zesty and spicy, zestyandspicy

Strawberries, Kale & Feta Salad

June 1, 2013 by Ariel 5 Comments

StrawberriesKaleSalad01

I had such an AMAZING tapas night with my cousin yesterday.  Because of our night, I’m able to present you a much healthier recipe (compare to my last one) on this sunny Saturday that we invented after a day at the farmer’s market.  We walked around for hours looking at all the gorgeous flowers, organic fruit stands and biologic butcher shops at the Marché Jean-Talon that I even got a mini sunburn on my shoulders… ouch! ..but it was worth it.

After buying all the ingredients needed for the night, we went back to her place and had fun creating a few new recipes that I will be sharing in this blog in the upcoming weeks.  Stay tuned for all that deliciousness 😉 hehe

Since we are young, my cousin and I have always been cooking together.  I remember this one year, when my mom was still living in Paris and I lived one year at my grand parents house in the middle of the woods, she was often coming back home with me after school to cook and invent recipes.  I guess I can say that we have an incredible “kitchen chemistry” and we are both passionate with cooking because we always end up creating delicious meals and it’s definitely our way to socialize and have fun when we are together.

She’s been living in Montreal for a few years now but we are both extremely busy and I unfortunately don’t see her as often I would want to.  Before yesterday, our last “cook off” was a YEAR ago!!!  Pretty bad right?  I know we’re awful….

And it’s not even because we don’t like to spend time together (pretty much the opposite) but like I’ve said, I’m super busy with my business and she’s a full time student doing her master degree while working many hours a week.  I wish our schedule was more flexible so we could do this more often but at least the internet is there to keep in touch.  Last night we made the promise to see each other more often.. let’s hope we’re able to make it this time!  We always have so much fun and look at the delicious goodies we are preparing!!  Please keep your fingers crossed for me so we see each other more often. 😛

We really hope you will enjoy this simple, yet flavorful summer salad.  Are you planning a picnic or a BBQ with your friends and family?  This salad be the next hit at your next event, who knows 🙂  Try it out and let me know!

StrawberriesKaleSalad02

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Appetizer, Recipes, Salads Tagged With: 2013, ariel rebel, arielrebel, bulgarian feta, feta, fresh, healthy, kale, Mint, olive oil, recipe, rice vinegar, salad, strawberries, strawberry, summer

Winter Style Veal Quesadillas with Thyme BBQ Sauce

January 15, 2013 by Ariel 1 Comment

Ok let’s play culture mix-match again 🙂  This time, I am going to see my sweet friends from Mexico to borrow them their famous quesadillas and I’m coming back in Montreal (in the cold) to grab some good butternut squash and see what I can create.  True there is quit a lot of possibilities when we think on mixing the sweet taste of the winter squash and the versatility of the quesadillas.  Since I had some ground veal in my fridge, I decided to create what I like to call the “winter” version of this Mexican dish.  I hope you’ll enjoy it.

To compliment this meal, I decided to make a thyme BBQ sauce that is either good cold or warm and that I’m sure you’ll find more than one use for.  Oh and btw, this recipe makes a pretty big quantity of food, it’s good for at least 4-5 people or for your lunch the next day 🙂  Enjoy!

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Recipes, Spicy, Veal Tagged With: butternut squash, carrots, cheese, olive oil, quesadillas, recipe, Thyme BBQ Sauce, tortila, veal, winter

Make you own Butternut Squash / Pumpkin Puree

December 26, 2012 by Ariel Leave a Comment

I realized that earlier this autumn I said that I had made my own pumpkin puree for my recipes but never thought about showing you how to create your own.  It’s super easy and once you try it will be really hard for you to go buy the canned version again.  Today I’ll be making butternut squash puree but you can use this same technique for making pumpkin puree, other squash and even potatoes.

The secret is all in the roasting…  Hope you find this post informative 🙂

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: baked, basics, butternut, olive oil, oven, pumpkin, puree, recipe, roasted, roasting, squash, vegetable, veggies

Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

October 4, 2012 by Ariel 7 Comments

I was passing by the farmer’s market the other day when I saw that the winter squash are starting to come out! yay!  I always liked the different winter squash but never got around to cook with any of them.  So I took my courage (…ok it didn’t take that much courage lol I was actually pretty excited) and I bought a butternut squash to experiment…  My head was going all over the place on what I could do with it.  Roast it, grill it or make a stew!

This beef and butternut stew is super simple and so delicious that I had to make a second batch before being able to take those photos for you because we ate it all the first night 😛  It was a success in my house, and I hope it will be a success in yours too 😉

…

Read More »

Filed Under: Beef, Recipes Tagged With: beef, blanch, butternut squash, carrots, majoram, mini yellow potatoes, nutmeg, olive oil, parsley flakes, recipe, red onion, sear, stew, while pepper corn

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Let’s be social!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Ariel. French Canadian, digital nomad and creative soul in constant evolution. Mostly extroverted and a little introverted too. Awkward at times yet pretty joyful and easy going most of times. Through my wanders & culinary discoveries I hope to become a better cook and a better person. Follow my delicious adventures and let's share a piece of time together.

Ingredient Spotlight

Graines a Roussir

Discover new ingredients

Kitchen Science

What Sodium Carbonate can do for you…

A delicious ramen bowl have been on my mind for days and my last experience, months ago, in New York is starting to feel like a distant memory.  I’m salivating to the thought of a delicious, silky and salty broth and the chewy texture of homemade noodles but my palate can barely grab on to this souvenir as days goes…

Read More »

Click here for more kitchen science articles

My favourite places to eat & drink…

Click here for more restaurants & bars reviews...

Proud contributor of…

my food gawker gallery my food gawker gallery my food gawker gallery

Copyright © 2011-2017 · ZestyandSpicy.com