Apple, cranberry, pomegranate, pecan, maple... See me coming? This delicious salad sounds to me like the perfect side dish or potluck salad for this year's Thanksgiving table.  It's very good on it's own, in fact we eat it as an everyday meal.  This recipe is nutritious, hearty and super easy to assemble.  But it can also be served as a side dish with your savory Thanksgiving meal (or your Christmas meal! The countdown has definitely started in our house!) to add that little sweet touch to your menu.  

I've never been a big fan of the "steaming hot and covered in butter" corn on the cob.  Until I tasted a grilled corn!  Nothing says summer quite like grilled corn on the cob.  This recipe is highly inspired by one of my favorite healthy food chain, the Veggie Grill .  They have a seasonal menu and this summer, they are serving a "Chargrilled Street Corn", which is basically a grilled sweet corn topped with southwestern mayo, soy parmesan and cilantro.  

Roasting the corn after boiling it adds a smoky flavor, perfect for the grilling season.  Served with fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro and a Sriracha mayo, this side dish will become the star of your barbecue!   

Gazpacho is a Spanish cold soup traditionally made with bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar and topped with fresh bell peppers, diced tomatoes and cucumber (or any other fresh ingredient).  This soup is adaptable (the variations are endless!) and perfect for hot summer days... or when you just don't feel like putting your apron on and spending a lot of time in the kitchen (in front of a burning-hot oven!).  The kids and I love to throw whatever vegetables (or fruits!) we have on hand in our high speed blender (aka our ten-year-old-almost-dead-Vitamix!) to make cold soups!  

This pasta dish is a hearty meal that uses lentils as the main protein (instead of the traditional bolognese meat). Wether you're looking for a delicious and satisfying vegetarian pasta sauce or if you want to replace your traditional bolognese spaghetti sauce with a plant-based version on your "meatless Monday", this is the perfect recipe!  In fact, I would classify it as the "perfect transitional recipe", meaning that it is the kind of recipe you want to introduce to your skeptic omnivore family member that thinks a meal without meat is simply not a meal ! I'm pretty sure no one will miss it in this recipe! 

Roasted chickpeas are great as a snack, but also in recipes, especially to replace "bread croutons" or when I want to add crunchiness to my dishes.  I particularly love to top my salads with spicy roasted chickpeas.  This time, I made a butter lettuce salad with fresh tomatoes, avocados, herbs, radish slices, spicy chickpeas and a vegan ranch dressing.  Very easy to assemble and honestly... it was a killer lunch!

I'm a girl who likes challenges, and this recipe was definitely a challenge!  Kids LOVE finger food! For this special kids week, I wanted to find a tofu "nuggets" recipe that tasted almost like chick'n.  I was looking for the best breaded tofu recipe so... I did another little battle in the kitchen! Hubby was desperate to see all the piles of dishes to wash... but he forgot everything when he took a bite of my winner recipe! He said  and I quote : "Some people aren't going to like it because it tastes too much like real chicken! Those are the best tofu nuggets I've ever had!".  Woot woot!  

Neon orange. Yellow #5 and Yellow #6.  Sounds familiar? No, those are not Crayola colours.  Those are the colorants responsible for the famous mac and cheese bright and artificial orange colour.  

It's now well known that food dyes may have potential health effects on kids like increasing hyperactivity symptoms or allergic-type reactions.  Well well... did you know Kraft Foods just announced that their iconic blue box original mac and cheese will be made without artificial preservatives or synthetic colours starting January 2016.  Even if the famous mac and cheese won't glow in the dark anymore, I believed it will still remain very high in sodium and saturated fats... and not a very nutritious meal for kids.  

To find the best vegan mac & cheese on earth... and the one that would taste and look the most like the original, I did a vegan mac and cheese battle! 

This week I'm sharing these flavourful and vibrant beet "patties".  In my opinion, what makes them beyond delicious and different is the addition of fresh dill that pairs perfectly with the earthy flavour of the beets.  I have to say that dill is by far my favorite herb; unfortunately I don’t use it nearly enough in my recipes! Well, in this recipe, dill and beets sure are the real stars!  

This week I wanted to bring the Californian sun to all my reader's, especially those who live in a cold place.  I love the beauty of winter sceneries but, since I grew up in Canada where winter still reigns and seems to have no end, I totally get it when my friends and family tell me they are so tired of it!  My answer to the winter blues is this adorable salad.  Look at these baby peas! They couldn't be cuter! This recipe is basically sunshine in a bowl.  And you know what? I promise you can make this flavorful and fresh salad at home with simple and available ingredients, even when spring has not yet arrived! 

This is the prettiest, classiest and sexiest salad I've ever made! It was on our Valentine's Day table (as well as my hazelnut, chocolate and fleur de sel "pot de crème" and a few homemade raw chocolates...).   It's also one of my winter salad classics with only a few wonderful ingredients; blood oranges, sweet beets (this time a mix of golden and red), minced fennel, crunchy roasted pistachios and goat or sheep cheese.  The only thing this salad needs to be absolutely perfect is a balsamic vinaigrette!

When you move to another country, you try to find things you like and know well.  Food is so important for me that the first thing we did when we arrived in California was a gigantic grocery at Whole Food Market (my new favorite natural store!). 

Veggie "pâté" is a vegetarian spread.  It's one of my favourite thing to put in a sandwich or in a wrap.  It's also very good as an appetizer with crackers, olives and raw veggies.  I remember searching for it without any success on this very first grocery when we only had a pan and a knife in our temporary house...  

This is probably my favourite pasta recipe ever.  It's inspired by a dish I enjoyed in Tuscany (Italy) a few years ago.  I can't remember where exactly... probably somewhere near the Piazza del Camp in Sienne or on a terrace next to a busy street of Florence.  One thing I remember was the incredible taste of this super easy recipe.  The dish consisted of a simple mix of pine nuts, raisins and sautéed nettles on pasta.  Good and fresh products, good and memorable meals.  Basic principle :)   

Let's talk about bowls.  Remember my Autumn Harvest bowl ? The idea is pretty simple: a meal-sized bowl filled with tons of raw, roasted or steamed veggies, some whole grains, a protein (beans, seeds, nuts, tempeh, tofu) and a sauce. It's also the perfect way to use your leftovers.  I LOVE bowls! And since I found the perfect size bowls (thanks to Crate and Barrel!), we eat almost everything in a bowl! 

My favorite bowl of all time is the "Thai bowl" from Montreal's number one vegan restaurant Aux Vivres.  You have to go there if you drop by! It's a "must" for everyone!  I used to eat that bowl almost every week.  You understand now why I just needed to do my own version.  After a few (!) trials, I'm finally satisfied with my peanut sauce! My husband was flabbergasted! I got it right! It tastes exactly the same! Yeah! 

I'm back! It's been a while! 

The thing is... we came back from our hometown Montreal with two sick kids and I haven't had a lot of free time lately! Canadian winters are hard on tiny bodies and I have to say that, even if we were happy to see all our family/friends, I really missed my beautiful and warm California!  With all the papers we had to fill in for our lost luggages (twice!), the runny noses and the short nights, I was looking forward to get back in my kitchen and cook healthy food for my family.  Our bodies were asking for a mega dose of vitamins!   

This millet pie is a plant based version of the French-Canadian classic named "tourtière" (or meat pie). This recipe originally comes from a friend of the family.  I've been cooking it for a few years already and haven't changed a single thing since it's so good and festive.  It's made of millet, a gluten-free pseudo-grain, and oats.  This year, I added potatoes (I am a potato addict, remember?) and chestnuts.  Yum! If you want, you can substitute the chestnuts with chopped chickpeas (for a more complete dish) or chopped walnuts (for a crunchy twist).  Or you can stick to the simple version, using only oats and millet.  I've tried every version and they are all delicious.  

It’s Thanksgiving today! I’m so trilled to have a few days off with my husband and to be able to enjoy the outdoor autumn scenes.   Even if it’s not even close to the cold winter temperatures I’m used to, we are loosing a few degrees here as well and everybody's saying that winter is coming… At least the Californian’s definition of winter!

My husband and I both love soups, especially creamy soups like this turmeric roasted carrot and fennel soup. This is a delicious, warm and flavourful autumn soup, perfect for the cold weather or for comfort-food cravings!  Roasting the carrots and fennel accentuates the natural sweetness of the veggies, but you can still do this soup by boiling the vegetables in a good stock instead. 

The misunderstood Brussels sprout, the “kid's most hated vegetable”, is the star in this fantastic salad! I normally like to oven-roast my sprouts, but shaved and raw, they are as delicious! Slicing the Brussels sprouts into very thin slices with a sharp knife (or a food processor) give them a delicate shaved appearance and result in this "chic and festive cabbage salad".  If you really don't love Brussel sprouts and kale, you could totally do this salad by replacing them with lettuce/mesclun/white cabbage instead. The result will still be lovely and tasty.  

After weeks (!) of trying to create the perfect vegan tempeh meatballs recipe, I can say that my taste buds are finally satisfied! These "no meatballs" are made with tempeh, which is fermented soy beans (while tofu is not). The whole process of fermentation increases the digestibility and the nutrient absorption of soy. 

November has arrived... I am wondering where the heck October went? I can't believe how time flies! Today, I'm sharing my Autumn Harvest Bowl recipe.  The weather may not be as cold as I'm used to for this time of the year, but the mornings and nights are getting quite "chilly" and you can see more and more fall vegetables at the farmer's market.  

This vegan pasta dish is creamy, healthy and refreshing! My special Alfredo sauce is made from pureed cauliflower instead of the heavy cream, so it's entirely dairy-free and lighter than the traditional version.  

A real cultural marker, poutine is Quebec's "embarrassing but adored" junk food.  It consists of french fries and squeaky cheese curds topped with warm gravy.  Since I'm not a fan of the greasy and "mushy" version, I make my own healthy vegan poutine to satisfy my "comfort food" cravings.  I use oven baked fries and tofu instead of cheese curds.  My homemade "gravy" sauce is made from healthy ingredients and is completely vegan. 

Every now and then I get a really bad craving for Mexican food. I guess it's because of the Mexican heritage you can find around here. Wherever you go in California, you can always find shelves loaded with roasted hot peppers, different types of hot sauces and refried bean cans. And it's everywhere.... From the grocery store to the corner store, from the gas station to the street stand.

Every week, we buy "ugly mushrooms"  and "not so pretty apples" at the Mountain view farmer's market.  Yes, they are cheaper, but we also choose to buy them for ecological reasons.  There's a growing "anti-food waste" campaign that advocates that ugly fruits and vegetables need love too (since they normally end up in garbage).

One thing that my family and I love is to visit "pick-your-own" fruit and veggie farms. It feels good to take a break from our urban kind of life.  It's really about getting to know were our food comes from and understanding the whole process from farming to what ends up on our plates. Most food in our stores have been cultivated for their shipping qualities rather than taste.  Therefore, it gives my kids a chance to understand where their food comes from and gives us the opportunity to taste ripe fruits and veggies.