Rice and Vegetables

Well, well, well, it's the end of January, another Meatless Monday, and a freezing cold and gloomy day... so let's brighten it up with this delicious vegetarian dish of rice and vegetables!

January is an odd month, it seems both like the longest month, and the one that goes by very quickly. I for one am very glad it's over; it's been fun, crazy, exhilarating and filled with highs and lows (mostly highs!), but I'm more than ready for February, which will hopefully be filled with relaxation, and less stress (hello finished college apps and portfolios!)

A nice way to end off the first month of 2011 is with this rice dish - it's packed with vegetables and delicious flavor. Who would think rice could be a meal in itself? Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you, this is not a difficult dish!

Rice and Vegetables

Ingredients

1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp granulated onion
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small white onion
1/2 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
1 tsp tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups long grain rice
3 3/4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)

Directions

Mix together the spices, salt and oregano in a small bowl, and set aside.

Prep the vegetables, begin by finely dicing the vegetables and chopping/grating/dicing the onions. Heat the 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat, and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the spice mixture you prepared before and cook for a minute. Add the garlic and tomato paste, cooking for another minute or until fragrant.

Add the rice to the pan, stirring to be sure the rice is coated in the mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add in the vegetable stock, water, and bay leaf, bring to a boil. Stir and cover, reducing the heat to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, add the frozen peas and cover and continue cooking for another 8 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes, stir and serve!

Yum, this freezes well too... I have some in the freezer right now!

- Lou

Honey Garlic Chicken Drumsticks

Honey garlic chicken drumsticks are in my opinion one of the best finger foods. Honestly, you just can't go wrong with honey and garlic, whether it's in wing or leg form. You also can't go wrong with finger foods... therefore this combination of honey and garlic in finger food form is bliss.

Do you want to know what else I love about finger food? It makes you stop, and eat. You can't multi-task while your hands are covered in sticky sauce, which means you have to stop whatever you're doing. It's a rather nice break from the final editing stages of a short film you're making... you know, if that's your thing.

What's your opinion on finger food? Do you, like me, love it? Or, are you one of two people in the world who's just "not crazy about it". If you answered "yes" to the latter, well thank you - more for me! If you just can't get over eating with your hands, well I invite you to come and sit down with me, let's enjoy some honey, garlic chicken drumsticks!

Honey Garlic Chicken Drumsticks
(makes 5)

Ingredients

1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 large cloves of garlic (crushed)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all of the ingredients together for the sauce.

Grease a cookie sheet with a little olive oil and place your 5 drumsticks on the sheet. Brush the marinade over the drumsticks and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Brushing with marinade every 10 minutes until the chicken is done.

This may seem as though it's a little tedious, but really it isn't, and it's definitely worth it when you bite into your succulent, juicy drumsticks!

- Lou

Chili Lime Popcorn

Award show season and popcorn go hand in hand. Now that award show season has officially begun, it's time to get snacking! With the Critics Choice happening last week and now with the Golden Globes today, it marks the time to to root for my favourite movies of the past year. I'm not sure if you, like me, are completely obsessed with award shows ... but it certainly is one of my favourite things about this awful January/February stretch we have here.

Popcorn is probably one of my most beloved snacks; I just can't watch a movie without munching on some of the salty and buttery goodness... but this is the sad part, it's not very good for you - imagine that! Well, the ever genius Martha Stewart has resolved that issue with her to-die-for, healthy, chili lime popcorn, with - gasp - no butter!

So, as we sit down tonight with some chili lime popcorn, rooting for our favourite movies (I'm cheering on Black Swan and The Kings Speech!) and wondering what on earth everyone is wearing and why their stylists would think it would be a good idea to dress them in that, we won't feel guilty for snacking on far too much of this delicious popcorn!

Chili Lime Popcorn
source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lime zest
1 large lime wedge

Directions

Begin by heating up 1 tbsp of oil in a pot over medium heat, place 2 or 3 kernels in the pot. Once they pop pour in the remaining kernels and shake the pan to coat all the kernels in oil and cover the pot. Cooking for about 6 or 7 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until all the kernels have popped.

While the popcorn is popping, get your lime zest ready (I used about 1 whole lime, depending on the size, you may need 2.) Add the spices, salt and lime zest to a bowl.

Pour popped popcorn into a large bowl and cover with the remaining 1 tbsp of oil, next evenly distribute your spice and lime zest mixture over the popcorn, tossing the popcorn to completely cover. Finally, sprinkle with lime juice and enjoy!

Have you ever noticed, as the night goes on, the Globes begin to get increasingly sloppy? It's pretty entertaining!

And with that, here's to a happy awards show season! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

- Lou

Living Lou's Omelet

Omelets are such a versatile dish, they are something that can be whipped up rather quickly, with whatever ingredients you have on hand. That is exactly what this omelet was, except I realized it tasted absolutely delicious and wrote down the recipe to share with all of you!


This omelet is pretty packed, every bite is filled with the flavors of either mushrooms, or bacon, or potatoes. It filling and satisfying - it doesn't get much better than this.

Living Lou's Omelet (for 2)

Ingredients

2 strips of bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup diced Yukon gold potatoes
1 1/2 tsp oil
4 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1-2 button mushrooms thinly sliced
1 green onion chopped
1/2 tsbp butter

Directions

For this omelet, I recommend cooking it in a small frying pan.

Begin by slicing bacon in 1-inch pieces, then fry them up in 1/2 tsp of oil over medium heat until lightly cooked.

As bacon cooks, dice your potatoes (do not peel). Once the bacon is done, remove it to a bowl and set aside. In the same frying pan, add in the other 1 tsp of oil and season the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the potatoes until golden about 8-9 minutes. Shaking the pan 2-3 times during cooking. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon.

While potatoes are cooking, combine eggs with milk and salt and pepper. Prepare the cheese, mushrooms and green onion.

Once the potatoes are done and removed from the pan, add the butter, followed by the egg mixture, sprinkle with cheese and add your other ingredients (mushrooms, green onions, potatoes and bacon).

Turn down the heat to medium-low and cover the pan and cook on the stove for about 8 minutes. Checking after 8 minutes and seeing whether the eggs have set. If they have you're omelet is done, if not cook for another minute or two.

And there you have it, a delicious omelet, perfect for brunch, or a last minute dinner!

- Lou

Trout with Chili Sauce

I might have mentioned this before, but I'm a big fan of trout. Do you love trout? If not, in my opinion, you should reconsider. That is unless you just absolutely, positively hate fish, then you should probably disregard this post. Just kidding. You shouldn't, I'll try to change your mind.

Trout is pretty versatile, you can dress it up however you like and it always tastes delicious. Something that I find that happens during the week is that you're running around and there isn't enough time to put together a full, healthy meal. Well here's your answer! This trout is so simple, mix a few ingredients together and bake in the oven, serve with a side salad and some brown rice and you're good to go!

One of my favourite ways to eat trout is covered with aromatic herbs with the heat of chili flakes, such as in my Terrific Trout recipe! This version of trout is completely different than my previous recipe, yet it is still very tasty!

Trout with Chili Sauce

Ingredients

1 lbs piece of trout
1 tsp chili sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed

Directions

Begin by preheating your oven to 325 degrees and greasing a baking dish with a little olive oil.

Next, mix together all the ingredients and brush over trout. Place trout in the dish and bake for 18-20 minutes.

For a filling and healthy meal, serve with a spinach salad and some brown rice.

This is the perfect recipe to cook up some scrumptious trout for dinner tonight!

- Lou

Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla

Today marks the first Meatless Monday of 2011 here on Living Lou, and I'm starting it off with a deliciously simple spinach and mushroom quesadilla. This quesadilla is packed with goodness and the tasty flavors of spinach and mushrooms in each bite! I highly recommend using a pre-shredded cheddar cheese that has been flavored with herbs and garlic as it adds another dimension to the dish.

I started this Meatless Monday initiative about 9 months ago and have been posting my Meatless Monday recipes here along the way, and will continue to do so in 2011, hopefully with more consistency than last year!

To start everyone off in the New Year I thought that a healthy, and quick quesadilla is the way to go. Kids are back from the first day back at school and parents are exhausted after a tiring break and a day at work, so who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen? These quesadillas are an easy and healthy vegetarian meal that kids (and parents!) can help assemble, and enjoy.

Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla
(makes 1 large quesadilla)

Ingredients
1 large whole wheat wrap
2/3 cup grated cheddar cheese, I like to use the pre-shredded herbs and garlic variation!
1/3 cup spinach
1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil (for the pan)

Directions

Wash and slice mushrooms to desired size, I like to slice mine thinly. Begin my wilting your spinach, you can do so by either steaming or sauteing in a pan. I sauteed my spinach in olive oil for about 1-2 minutes or until it's just wilted.

Assemble the quesadilla, using one wrap followed by 1/3 cup of cheese, followed by the sauteed spinach and the sliced mushrooms, and then finally the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese and the second wrap.

Heat up about 1 tsp of olive oil in a frying pan at about medium-low heat. Place your assembled quesadilla in the pan and let it cook on one side for about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for about 2-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove from heat and slice into quarters, serve as I did above with a spinach salad.

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!

- Lou

Happy New Year!

Christmas, as usual, has come and gone at a rather surprising pace. I love Christmas, and the holiday season in general, there really is nothing better than the comforting presence of family and friends. In short, you just feel all warm and happy inside!


I can’t believe that it’s 2011. Please know that when I say that, I mean that I literally cannot believe it! For me, 2011 is a year where everything will change, there will be many exciting new beginnings, as well as sad endings.


As I approach the end of my high school experience and open the door to university, I can’t help but think back on this journey, and then of course, fear its end. Leaving “the bubble” as my friends and I like to jokingly call it, is a rather daunting thought. As scary as it is, it’s also completely exhilarating, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me, and where my cards will fall. I am actually very excited to begin following my dreams and pursuing my passions. And don't worry, everyone at Living Lou will be coming along for the journey!



That said, I still can’t believe it’s 2011.

Will be back to regular(ish) posting on Monday with a yummy Meatless Monday!

Happy new year, can’t wait to see what happens in the coming year! Good luck everyone :)