When all else fails. Make desert.

Alright, so dinner wasn't a failure. It's just a work in progress.

There's nothing I enjoy more than cooking for people I love. So when I found out that Mom, Dad, Stéphane and Dasha were coming over for dinner, I put my thinking cap on and tried to whip something up that would be gluten free, vegetarian, low in fiber, include some form of protein, no chocolate and not too expensive. Ummmm right. That's a tough one. So I settled on a beet salad and Zucchini Corn Pancakes.

My zucchini corn pancakes were originally supposed to be vegan friendly and had gluten in it. I nixed regular flour and used buckwheat flour instead. I am sure I could/should have used a mixture of other flours that would be lighter than buckwheat but it's what I had on hand. I also added chopped shrimp to the pancakes. The finished product was really delicious but the texture is a work in progress. The outside took a while to brown and the inside still remained doughy. Dasha and I played with different temperatures and tried butter vs. olive oil. Olive oil in the best we've found but it still left the inside a little too doughy for my liking. The recipe definitely has potential so I'll keep playing around with it.

The beet salad was something I wanted to try because Sean had a beet salad with yellow beets that he really enjoyed. He's mentioned it a couple times that we should try to make the salad again. I have never had a beet salad. Beets being recently introduced into my kitchen as they weren't something I really enjoyed before. I could see the potential with this salad but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I think I'll have to try a couple before I try to make my own.

Feeling quite discouraged, I set to make desert. When it comes to sweets I feel like a have a better handle on the flavors. I feel more confidant so I play with ingredients a little more. The dish was inspired by the tropics. Think mangoes, papaya and bananas with the comforting taste of vanilla and cardamom. It was like sunshine in a bowl. Which was a welcome change considering the cold wet Vancouver weather.



3/4 cup turbinado sugar (I prefer to use turbinado sugar because it's flavor is earthy which lends itself well to this recipe)
1 cup water
6 cardamom pods - seeds removed*
1 ripe papaya
1 ripe mango
1 banana
1 container of Vanilla Liberte Mediterranée Yogurt

• In a small pot, add sugar, water and cardamom seeds. Boil on medium high heat until it becomes thick but not quite caramel consistency.
• While the sauce is cooking, dice papaya, mango and banana and place in a medium bowl. Place 2 scoops of yogurt in each serving bowl (if you have small bowls, use them. I forgot to and used a big bowl... the desert ends up looking lost.)
• Once the sauce is ready, pass through a sieve to remove cardamom seeds. Sieve directly over diced fruit. Stir until fruit are well coated.
• Scoop fruit over yogurt and enjoy!

Leftover fruit mix is delicious on oatmeal in the morning.


* To remove the seeds from the cardamom pods, set one cardamom pod on your counter, take a large knife and lay it flat on top of the cardamom pod, crush the pod (usually one good whack with your fist will do. But be careful!). Pick out the seeds from the crushed cardamom mess. Repeat with 5 other pods.