gujarati toor dal (split pigeon pea soup)

Toor Dal (Split Pigeon Peas) Soup | conifères & feuillus

January 10, 2017December 25, 2017 ~ annika ~ 9 Comments

Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It’s not about nutrients and calories. It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity. -Louise Fresco

My last post featured a Westernized version of the classic Gujarati toor dal soup. Today, I’m posting my family recipe for the traditional version. Toor dal (or split pigeon pea) has been cultivated in India for at least 3500 years and is a staple in Indian cuisine. However, in a Gujarati home, toor dal (which refers to both the uncooked legume as well as the soup) is a daily affair and is eaten during every meal. Although classified as a soup here in the West, it’s not eaten as you would a soup: it’s ladled over rice and eaten alongside rotis and a curry, at the very least. (Google ‘Gujarati thali’ to see what a typical Gujarati meal looks like).

Continue reading “gujarati toor dal (split pigeon pea soup)” →

cranberry sauce

December 12, 2016December 13, 2017 ~ annika ~ 15 Comments

My husband is a mix of German and Acadian descent. From the Acadian side comes a recipe for a traditional roast turkey dinner that we make twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When I first met my husband, he would follow the recipe he’d been given to a T and was very reluctant on changing anything about it. Although it makes a very delicious meal, there were certain things that I wanted him to change. For example, it mentions using canned cranberry sauce. This was the first thing to go!

Continue reading “cranberry sauce” →

chickpea biryani done an easier way

How to make the perfect chickpea biryani each time.

November 21, 2016December 14, 2016 ~ annika ~ 16 Comments

The humble chickpea never fails to amaze. On their own, chickpeas are an excellent source of protein. When combined with a grain such as rice, they become a source of a complete protein and can replace proteins acquired from eating meat (only without the fat). But when you make a biryani with them, they bring you to a whole new level.

Chickpea biryani is healthy, packed with flavour and makes for a great meatless meal.
Continue reading “chickpea biryani done an easier way” →

spiced parsnip soup with roasted garlic oil

spiced parsnip soup recipe with roasted garlic spread | conifères et feuillus food blog

November 8, 2016February 25, 2017 ~ annika ~ 11 Comments

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. -Kurt Vonnegut

Did you know that when exposed to the bitter cold, the starches of parsnips will actually turn into sugar rendering them sweet and delicious? Interesting isn’t it? And for this reason, this ancient root vegetable is harvested late in the season here in Québec and well into winter or even early spring.
Continue reading “spiced parsnip soup with roasted garlic oil” →

chocolate almond granola

chocolate granola | conifères et feuillus food blog

October 26, 2016December 16, 2019 ~ annika ~ 23 Comments

There are so many good reasons to make your own granola. First of all, it’s way too easy to not be making it yourself. Secondly, you can custom make it exactly how you and your lovies like it. Lastly, it’s so much cheaper than buying from the store.

Continue reading “chocolate almond granola” →

tracing roots & roti, an indian flatbread

whole wheat indian flatbread (roti, chapati) | conifères et feuillus food blog

October 25, 2016May 3, 2018 ~ annika ~ 25 Comments

Food is never just something to eat. -Margaret Visser

Having been raised in Canada, there are so many things about my Indian heritage that I gave up or lost inadvertently. But the one thing that binds me to my past, despite how or where I live, is the food of my childhood, more specifically the simple Indian flatbread, or roti. Bread has this way with us, no? It’s a universal food, yet, each type defines its own culture, people and place, sometimes beyond nationalities and borders. In my opinion, the bread we call our own tells one more about who we are, and where we’ve come from, than our passports and birth certificates. And our last names.

Continue reading “tracing roots & roti, an indian flatbread” →

indian-spiced cabbage with tomatoes and green peas

indian spiced cabbage curry | conifères et feuillus

October 10, 2016May 11, 2022 ~ annika ~ 5 Comments

From humble beginnings come great things.

A simple vegetable curry served with fresh rotis (Indian flatbread) is a typical lunch in a Gujarati home. This sort of humble food is deeply rooted in my humble beginnings. And though, now, things may have changed on the outside; at heart, nothing has, and this simple Gujarati girl still craves these simple yet delicious curries. I cook them not only to satisfy my own cravings but to ensure that I can at least pass this portion of my heritage to my Canadian born, half-Indian children.

Continue reading “indian-spiced cabbage with tomatoes and green peas” →

vichyssoise (or leek soup)

vichyssoise or leak soup | conifères et feuillus food blog

October 9, 2016September 3, 2024 ~ annika ~ 18 Comments

It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and the markets are brimming with local produce. Although Montréal is a huge metropolitan, just a short drive out and you are sure to hit farmland. There are over 30 000 farms in Québec and our produce is our pride and joy and definitely something to be thankful for. One of the crops that shine at this time of the year are our gigantic leeks. What better way to use them up than by making leek soup?