These gluten-free cinnamon sugar donuts will curb any of your cravings. These Canadian Timbit-inspired homemade donuts are covered in a keto-friendly cinnamon-sugar coating. I love having one of these donuts with coffee with none of the blood sugar spikes. This means they’re a great diabetic-friendly recipe. They come together in the perfect shape because of our trusty egg bite molds!
How do you cook quinoa in the Instant Pot? Well, it’s very easy. Not to mention cooking quinoa in the instant pot takes just 3 minutes under pressure! A pilaf is normally made with something like couscous or rice and can be mixed with dried fruit, meat, vegetables, depending on what part of the world you’re cooking from. My instant pot quinoa recipe is inspired by seasonal fall flavors and will be a perfect gluten-free holiday side. Quinoa pressure cooker recipes are a great dish to serve for vegetarians who may be joining you this holiday. Quinoa is a grain that’s also high in protein.
Are you hungry for a quick inexpensive gluten-free snack? I have loved these Indian vegetable fritters (known as pakoras) for years. My girlfriends and I in high school would get together for take-out Indian food monthly and these little fritters would be my favourite. I hope you like this easy homemade version of them. Serve them with ketchup or, more traditionally, tamarind chutney or cilantro dipping sauce.
These no-bake raw date brownies are the perfect quick and healthy treat for those back-to-school needs. You can make them in all sorts of sizes and they can stay fresh in the freezer. I love prepping them to have on hand for a healthy whole foods sweet snack. There is no refined sugar in these bad boys so they’re still sweet yet full of nutrients you’d be missing in a regular treat.
Hello food & music lovers!
It’s been a minute since I’ve written a block post about an event. Well, here I am to talk about one of my favourite Canadian festivals - period - Beau’s Oktoberfest.
Even though Oktoberfest doesn't actually happen DURING October (no, not even in Germany!), it's a great way to ring in the new season and the harvest. Many of Ottawa's (and the region's) best restaurants get together and show their stuff.
Now you may be wondering why I'm writing about Oktoberfest in December?! To be fair, I've been going through an enormous amount of transitions career, home and personal-wise. I've been on the road with a film crew cooking for the cast and crew.
This year they called it Oktinyfest because they decided to pare the festival down. Also! This was the first year it was actually celebrated in October! All things considered, I thought it was great that they got this organized in light of ever changing restrictions in Ontario. Definitely better than cancelling it altogether.
I checked out their Saturday evening time slot. It was hard to choose which of the 4 slots to go to as they always curate really great Canadian music talent. I checked out Bambies and Grae. Thank goodness though they also featured their resident Polka band.
It was a damp chilly evening so the first thing we did was hit up the delicious food provided by Sticky Cow BBQ and, of course, German pretzels. I had the beef stew as well as the beans. The stew was definitely the star. So hearty, so flavourful and perfect for the weather.
Of course you can’t talk about Oktoberfest without talking BEER. Beau’s was the first brewery I ever visited in person. That was probably around 2007 that I first visited.. wow! They continue to grow and inspire me as a local sustainable food business.
If you’ve read this food blog, you know that I’ve struggled with dietary changes. I’ve been dabbling with drinking beer again this summer and have been feeling ok having some on occasion - YAY!
The beer staff were really patient and grateful to share little tastings of most of the beers that caught my eye. Maybe this was one benefit to having a pared down festival - beer samples! I started with the dark Halcyon Beer and finished with the Raspberry Sour.
Another benefit to the smaller version of Oktoberfest was the fact that I could sign up on time for the beer stein holding contest! During (and before) lockdown, I had been working with a personal trainer. I was hoping I would have superpowers and win but, alas, a woman VERY MUCH taller than me won! Better luck next year.
The live music was fun to enjoy although I would have rather been allowed to dance so that I could vibe (and stay warm) but I have to respect different business’s comfort levels whilst holing the event. It’s been a really really tough time, especially for food and event businesses but there have been several outdoor music events that have more open policies in the region. Let’s hope that the restrictions lift so that these businesses can run without fear of shutting down.
Overall it was awesome to discover new beers, new music and finally get a taste of real life again. Prost!
