Making a nice, creamy risotto had evaded me for years. My downfall in the past was my split attention span (I like to call it multi-tasking) and the assumption that making risotto is similar to making rice or congee: add water and boil. The reality couldn’t be farther from the truth and to think all it took as a little investigation into “how to make risotto”. So, to save you from the same sad fate as my past attempted risotto creations, this is how you really make risotto and it’s surprisingly easy. As an aside, risotto is not something to make if you need to be multi-tasking, as timing is of the essence. It’s not hard, you just need to be able to pay attention to it and have a little patience. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 2 cups of risotto or arborio rice
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 4 to 5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 cup of white wine
• 5 small brown mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 cups of spinach, chopped
• 1 cup of parmesan cheese, grated

Ingredients if vegan: (serves 4)

• 2 cups of risotto or arborio rice
• 1 medium white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4-1/2 to 5 cups of vegetable stock
• 1 cup of white wine
• 5 small brown mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 cups of spinach, chopped

Preparation:

1. In a medium to large saucepan, heat up the butter, 1/4 cup of the cream, and olive oil (just olive oil if vegan) on medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chopped onion (and garlic, if you’re using garlic). Simmer until the onions are translucent and nearly breaking down.
2. In a large pot, pour your stock and wine. Simmer on low heat without a lid. It should not come to a boil.
3. Back to your onion saucepan – add the rice and stir, still on medium heat. The edges of the rice should also turn translucent, while the centre will remain opaque. Stir the rice to keep it from burning. Lightly toasted is what we want but not burned.
4. When the rice is translucent, ladle in a cup of broth and stir it into the rice. Keep slowly stirring. The rice will absorb the broth at which time you can ladle in another cup of broth. You will be ladling in a cup of broth at a time – only a cup at a time. This is where that patience and attention comes in. It’s important that you only do a cup at a time and wait until nearly all of the liquid is soaked into the rice before you add another. No need to rush. Too much liquid and your risotto could get really soupy rather than creamy and overcook.
5. When your risotto is nearing completion – you’ll be able to tell as the kernels are nearly al dente and the consistency will be creamy (you’ll also only have about a cup or two left of your broth) – add the chopped mushrooms and spinach. Continue stirring.
6. Finish adding enough broth to get your risotto to the perfect consistency and the rice just cooked. I encourage taste testing to make sure. Note that you may not need all the broth – or if you run out, use a little water or more stock. Add the grated parmesan cheese and the last 1/4 cup cream to the risotto, stir to have it melt in (ignore this last step if you’re vegan).

You’re ready to serve! Risotto is best served right away – buon appetito!

I fell in love with jicama in Mexico and have since looked for every opportunity to integrate it into a meal. Last night, we had baby back ribs for dinner and the refreshing, clean flavour of jicama was the perfect complement to the saucy, smokey flavour of the ribs.

Ingredients: (serves 4-5 people)

• 1/2 jicama, peeled and finely sliced into strips
• 1 regular cucumber (not English cucumber), peeled and finely sliced into strips
• 3 limes, juiced
• 2 stalks of cilantro (coriander), chopped
• 1 green mango (mango that isn’t quite ripe), peeled and finely sliced into strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of cracked pepper, or to taste
• 3/4 tablespoon of cracked salt, or to taste

Preparation:

1. Combine the sliced jicama, cucumber, and mango in a bowl and hand toss until everything is evenly distributed
2. Juice the limes over the salad and toss again
3. Add the olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper. Toss yet again. Note, you’ll need a lot of salt and pepper to flavour the salad

And that’s it, the salad is ready to serve!

Ingredients: (serves 6)

Fruit jelly top:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 peaches (or other fruit – see below for portions), halved or sliced and pitted
• 1 packet of gelatine powder (equivalent of 1 tablespoon)

Panna Cotta layer

• 1/3 cup water
• 3-3/4 cream
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 packets of gelatin powder (equivalent of 2 tablespoons)

Preparation: 

1. Heat up water and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add peach halves (or other fruit) and simmer on medium-low heat until the fruit is soft.
3. Remove the peaches (or other fruit), remove the skins (keep the fruit water).
4. Take 1/4 of the peach water and add the tablespoon of gelatin in gradually while stirring to avoid clumps. Set the gelatin mixture aside for about 5 minutes – it will thicken.
5. Pour the gelatin mixture into the rest of the fruit water on low heat and mix until it’s dissolved.
6. Grease a baking pan and place your peach halves or slices (or other fruit) into the bottom of the pan. I like using a silicone loaf pan. The silicone is flexible, making it incredibly easy to pop the panna cotta out of the pan once it’s set. If you’re using peaches, plums, or pears, place them cut side facing up (uncut side down on the pan) – it makes for a better looking panna cotta when you’re done.
7. Pour the fruit water over it. Place the pan into the fridge for it to start setting.
8. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of gelatin powder into the 1/3 cup of water gradually (so it also doesn’t clump) and set it aside for around 5 minutes to set.
9. Heat up the cream and sugar on medium-low heat and bring it to a simmer. Add the vanilla extract and stir to mix it in.
10. Add the gelatin-water mixture and stir until it’s all dissolved.
11. Cool the mixture in the fridge for around 15-20 minutes or until it’s cooled to about room temperature.
12. Check to make sure the first layer has set. When it has, pour the panna cotta mixture into your baking pan over the fruity layer.
13. Put the pan back in the fridge to set. It will take around 6 hours to set fully.
14. Once the panna cotta has set, it’s ready to serve. Tip your baking pan upside down on a serving dish. It should pop out fairly easily.

Note, if you prefer to use canned fruit instead of fresh fruit, use the syrupy water from the can and add water to it until it reaches 1 cup. No need for the 1/2 cup of sugar at the start of the recipe. Just set the fruit aside and pour the syrup-water mixture into a saucepan and let it simmer for 1 minute. Follow the rest of the recipe from step 4.

Enjoy!

Other fruit options:

• 3 plums, halved or sliced and pitted
• 2 apples, sliced and cored
• 2 pears, halved or sliced and cored
• 1/4 pineapple, sliced
• 1/2 cup of raspberries
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 5-6 strawberries, halved or sliced

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay.

Ingredients: (serves 5-6, two bowls each)

• 300 to 400 grams of pork neck, shoulder, or ribs
• 1 large carrot, chopped or sliced
• 1 medium sized Chinese green radish, chopped or sliced
• 4 dried dates
• 10 cups of water
• salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Boil water in the pot you’ll be making the soup in. When it’s boiling, place the pork into the pot. Let the meat boil for 2-3 minutes. The pork meat should light brown in colour. The meat does not need to be cooked through at this point. The water will have bubbles start to form on the surface and even become a little foamy (picture on the left).
2. Pour out the boiled water and rinse your meat. The water at this point will likely be very frothy (picture on the right). These first two steps are important as it’s a cleansing and detoxifying step for the meat – and is also effective in removing fat from your soup.
3. Fill your pot again with 10 cups of water with the pork still in the pot. Bring the water up to a boil.
4. Add the chopped radish, carrot, and dates. If you’re using a regular pot, turn the heat down to low and let your soup simmer at least 2 hours. I use a thermal pot for all of my soups – for me, it’s the benefits of a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one. If you’re using a thermal pot, bring the water to a boil and place your pot into the thermal pot and let it sit and cook for at least 2 hours.
5. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Choosing a wok can be an overwhelming task. They come in a multitude of different materials, sizes, and makes. Rather than reviewing each type, I’m just going to cut to the chase. The best woks for the average household are 14″ in size (not too big or small), made of carbon steel, and hand hammered. Check that the sides are thick and strong enough that they don’t bend when you push on them. Luckily, that combination of wok is actually quite inexpensive (I got mine for $13 CAD), despite being hammered out by hand. Depending on the kind of stove you have, you  may also need to get one with a slightly flattened bottom so it sits on your stove range. That said, you can get circular wok burner rings for the traditional round bottom woks. It’s also best to avoid the non-stick woks. Not only are you usually paying a lot for these pans, the non-stick surface doesn’t do well under high heat, which is one of the biggest benefits of cooking with a wok.

For a more comprehensive break down of the different types of woks, I really like the overview written on Serious Eats.

Once you have your wok, it needs to be seasoned. There are different ways to achieve the same result. This is the method I like best.

What you need:

• scouring pad or steel scrubber
• lard or a high smoking point oil

Optional:

• 1/3 cup of ginger, sliced
• 2 sprigs of green onion, chopped into 2 inch

1. Wash and scrub your wok in soap and hot water to get the factory machine oil off it. The machine oil is there to keep the wok from rusting as it sits on factory and store shelves for an extended period of time, but once you get home, you’ll need to remove it. Many recommend you scrub the wok down with a steel scrubber. I found that I could feel the slippery texture of the film on my wok and I preferred to work it off with first my hands until my wok had a uniform smooth but not slick feeling when I rubbed my fingers over it. I then used a scouring pad to be thorough. It’s up to you how you get the factory oil film off. Note also that this soapy wash is a one time thing. You’ll never need to wash your wok like this ever again. In fact if you do, you’ll need to season it again.
2. Dry your wok thoroughly with a dish towel then place it on your stove on high heat. The extra heat will burn off any residue water you may have missed, which prevents rusting. Move your wok around so it gets heated evenly across its surface. You may find that your wok starts browning into a bluish black colour in parts. This is normal.
3. Drip a single drop of water into the wok. If it evaporates within a second, your wok is ready for oil. The heat opens up the pores of the steel for the oil or fat to seal. You’ll probably want to open a window or door at this point.
4. Add the lard or 2 teaspoons of oil into the centre of the wok directly and swirl it around the wok from the centre out towards the edges so it evenly coats the entire wok. You can also use a heat resistant barbecue brush to brush on the oil evenly all over the inside of the wok, although I prefer first method of tilting and swirling the oil around.
   • Note:  if you’re using oil, use an oil with a high smoking point like peanut, canola, grapeseed, or palm oil. The high smoking point minimize the fumes. Avoid using polyunsaturated oils like unrefined sesame oil, soybean oil, and fish oil as they’ll leave your wok gunky.
5. Move the wok around on the burner so different parts of it get exposed to the heat. Keep heating up wok until the oil smokes. Turn off the heat and let the wok and oil cool.
6. Wipe up the excess grease with a paper towel. It will likely be orange or even black.
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 another 3 times.
8. (Optional) Slice up a piece of ginger and a couple sprigs of green onion into fat chunks of about 2 inches in length. Bring your wok up to high heat again. Put in 1 tablespoon of oil, swirl it around in the wok and add the ginger and green onion. Bring your heat down to medium heat. Push the ginger and green onions around on the wok so the oil spreads evenly around the wok under it. Do this for about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the ginger and green onion, and soak up the excess oil with a paper towel.
9. Once the wok has come down to room temperature, rub in one last coat of oil into the wok with a paper towel.

Your wok is now ready to use. As you use it, always heat it up first before putting the oil in to continue seasoning it. Avoid cooking acidic things in the wok initially, such as vinegar or tomatoes, until a stronger patina has formed. When washing, just use hot water and dry it over high heat again.

Happy wok cooking!

The other night, I finally tried my hand at making it. This recipe outlines how I made my pad thai and is simple to follow and straight forward, but does take some time. I’d recommend setting aside about 2 to 3 hours for prep and cooking time if it’s your first time making it – about 1-2 hours once you become more practiced.

Ingredients: (serves 5)

• 3/4 of a package of dried pad thai rice noodles (package will say “pad thai” on it)
• 2-1/2 tablespoons of dried tamarind powder or 3 tablespoons of pulp (add more if you like a touch more of a tangy, sour flavour in your pad thai)
• 1 cup boiling hot water
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons of Sriracha
• 1 bunch of green onions (sometimes called scallions), chopped to 1 to 2 inches in length
• 1/2 a large carrot, finely sliced into strips or quarters
• 5 shallots, finely sliced in thin strips
• 1 package of firm tofu (or deep fried tofu), cut into inch-long strips
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you can also use a full cup of either peanut or vegetable oil)
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 cups bean sprouts, washed and drained

Garnish:

• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped or crushed
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Optional:

• pinch of salt
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt (from above) added
• 1 chicken breast, sliced
• 8 prawns, deveined and shelled

Preparation:

My process for making pad thai really breaks down into four main parts: prep, deep frying, making the sauce, and stir frying the rest of your ingredients. First the prep.

1. Before you get started on anything else, remove your noodles from the package and soak in a large bowl of hot water. The noodles should be covered. They need to soak for at least 25 minutes. I let mine sit for around an hour or more while I prepared everything else.
2. Prepare all your ingredients according to the list above

The next part of the recipe is deep frying some of the shallots and the tofu (picture below). If you picked up deep fried tofu, you can just deep fry the shallots. The outcome of this step is you’ll have shallot-infused oil to use for the rest of the recipe.

2. If you’re using a wok, preheat it until it smokes on high heat and pour the oil in. Bring the oil to a near boil, but not boiling. Adjust the heat down so the oil doesn’t jump or boil. Throw in 1/3 of your sliced shallots. Let the shallots brown and get crispy, stirring them occasionally. Once they’re ready, scoop them out of the oil with a strainer or slotted spoon and place them to drain in a dish lined with a paper napkin.
3. Place the tofu in the oil next. It should only be one layer deep for all the tofu strips to be immersed in oil. Turn them over occasionally until they’re a golden colour. Scoop them out with you strainer and place into a napkin lined dish or bowl to drain further. Repeat until you’ve deep fried all your tofu.
4. (Optional) I poured all of the oil into a sauce bottle so I’d have better control of how much oil I used for the remainder of the recipe, but also to have for future use. You don’t need to do this, but do set it aside. You’ll need about 9 to 10 tablespoons of oil later.

Making the noodle sauce:

5.  Bring a cup of water to boil and put it in a measuring cup or bowl. Add the tamarind powder or pulp. If you are using pulp, you should work to break up the pulp and then cover the cup/bowl and let it steep for 5 minutes. You’ll then need to strain the mixture to get the pulpy fibres and any seeds out. I find the potency of the powder and pulp to be surprisingly similar, although I prefer the pulp.
6. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved completely.
7. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, and Sriracha. Stir. Set the sauce aside for later.

Stir-fry and combining everything:

8. Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil from your earlier shallot deep fry into your wok. Sauté the remaining shallots, garlic, and carrots until the shallots and garlic are slightly browned and carrots are softened.
9. (Optional) In another pan, pour in 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of your deep fried shallot oil and heat it up on medium-high heat. Slowly pour in the lightly beaten eggs and keep moving the pan in a circular motion so the uncooked part of the mixture continually spills over across the hot pan. The eggs will gradually cook and fold over and get fluffy. Once most of the mixture has cooked through, take a wooden spoon and start breaking up the egg in chunks. Turn off the heat and cover the eggs.
10. (Optional) If you’re adding shrimp or chicken breast, add them to the wok and lightly sauté them on medium heat until they’re just cooked. The shrimp will be pink and curl. The chicken will turn white – make sure to check that the chicken is cooked through. Remove the shrimp and/or chicken from the wok and set aside.
11. Drain your soaking noodles. By this point, they should be relatively soft, pliable, and fully separated into individual strands.
12. Back in the wok, add another 6 tablespoons of your shallot oil and throw in the noodles. Give them a few stirs in the wok and add the sauce from earlier (see pictures below, pre and post sauce added).

12.  Add the bean sprouts and green onion. Continue stirring to lightly cook the noodles, sprouts, and green onion. 
13. (Optional) Add the egg, shrimp, and/or chicken if you prepared it.

Serve your pad thai on a large platter or in a casserole dish. Set out the crunchy shallot slices, crushed peanuts, chopped cilantro, and lime on the side.

Enjoy!

Ingredients: (makes 8 small ramekin servings)

Cake:

• 1-1/2 cups flour (regular all-purpose flour is fine)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 cup water

Frosting / Molten chocolate filling:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) vegan margarine
• 2 cups organic powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or soymilk
• 3/4 cup unsweetened pure cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

OR

• Dark chocolate

Preparation:

Cake:

1. Start by pre-heating the oven to 350ºF.
2. Sift all of the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl. Take a spatula and gently fold the ingredients together until the ingredients are blended together and uniform in colour.
3. Add the vanilla extract, vegetable oil, white vinegar, and water. Fold these ingredients into the mixture. Using a pastry blender or mixer, blend the ingredients together until the consistency and colour are smooth and even. If you are using a stand mixer, careful not to over-blend the ingredients, or the cake will not rise as readily.
4. Set your mixture aside to make the icing.

Icing:

5. Mix the icing sugar with the vegan margarine until the consistency is very smooth and even. I just used a fork. You can also use a blender for this if the fork method takes too long.
6. Add the almond (or soy) milk, pure cocoa powder, and vanilla and continue to mix the icing until it’s all blended and very smooth.

Assembly:

7. Grease your ramekins just a little left over vegetable oil and a very slight sprinkling of flour.
8. Spoon in just enough mixture into each ramekin to cover the bottom of the ramekin. You can spread it a little with your spoon.
9. Spoon in a very generous dollop or two of your icing in the very centre of the ramekin on top of the batter. This will be your gooey centre once your cake is baked, so the larger the dollop, the larger the gooey centre. If you’re using actual chocolate, just place a few large chunks of chocolate into the ramekin in the same way – on top of the batter in the centre.
10. Spoon in more cake batter in around the chocolate icing (or chocolate) and over top. The ramekins should only be filled about 3/4 of the way (see the picture on the left at the top of this post.)
11. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and place the sheet into the oven.
12. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the tops are crusted over and dark brown (see the picture on the right at the top of this post). Pull the cakes out and let them cool enough for the ramekins to be touched.

Enjoy!

In the last six months, Toronto has seen a surge of new ramen establishments open their doors. For me, it’s been a welcome occurrence since I adore noodle soups of all kinds with ramen being no exception. My hubby and I haven’t completed the full circuit and visited them all yet, but so far, Ryoji Ramen & Izakaya has taken its place as one of our favourite restaurants in the city… and has become a staple place we go to on a regular basis. The establishment itself is a part of the larger Japanese-based Okinawa business founded by Ryoji Kinjo in 1988. Toronto is the first to have a location outside of Japan.

So why do we love it so much. Three main reasons:

1. The atmosphere is fantastic. Fun, eclectic, well-designed, and spacious. There is a dining nook to suit every preference – communal harvest table dining, smaller two or four tops, bar-side under a swath of colourful ryuku glass lights, or comfy lounge-style by a wall of lamps. What’s also great is that compared to many of its ramen counterparts, it’s relatively large and doesn’t require the same kind of lining-up and waiting that many of the other ones do. Not to say I wouldn’t wait in line, I would and do, but sometimes, I like being able to walk in and get seated relatively quickly.
2. One word: Ai. Our favourite server… and so far, the only server we’ve ever had (by our request). We love her. She’s an absolute darling – attentive, helpful, knowledgeable, and sweet. She’s my favourite. I’ve told her so.
3. The food. It’s Okinawa-style ramen and food and it’s delicious.

This last time we went, we ordered a couple of starters: takoyaki (a snack that wraps minced or diced octopus in deep fried wheat flour), the daily sashimi, and sea bass miso yaki (grilled sea bass).

The takoyaki is a no brainer for us. Topped with takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, seaweed, pickled daikon strips, and bonito shavings – the ball-shaped snacks are delicious. Careful when taking your first bite. They’re hot.

The daily sashimi this time was salmon, tuna, and mackerel. It always comes with three dipping options: a soy mousse, cracked pepper and salt, and a sweet miso sauce. Combined with the fresh daikon and watercress, the bite-sized morsels of fish have incredible flavour.

Our last starter was the sea bass miso yaki. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this last option – but we felt compelled to try it. We weren’t disappointed. The sea bass was positively fluffy. The flakes of flesh fell off the fish, sweetened and salted slightly with the citrus miso sauce. The bass comes accompanied by some leafy sauteed greens and pickled daikon to cleanse your pallet afterwards.

And of course, the main course. What we came for… the ramen. The first ramen I ever had at Ryoji was the Okoto-Aji “RYOJI” – pictured below on the left. It comes with extra slices of chashu (grilled pork belly), a seasoned hard boiled egg, and dried seaweed. I always get extra bamboo shoots on the side. It’s delicious. The broth is a pork bone based broth and claims to be “rich and flavourful”. It is. Ryoji also has a chicken and pork based broth as well as a vegetarian option.

The second ramen pictured here is what my hubby first ordered and fell in love with. I tried it myself this time, and loved it also. I opted not to get an extra egg this time, although got my usual bamboo shoot side. It is also the Okoto-Aji style ramen, but with a spicy miso broth: Okoto-Aji Kara miso. This ramen has fantastic flavour – it’s not overly spicy – but just a little extra kick to it than the regular broth.

For the noodles themselves, there are three main ways you can have them cooked: soft, regular, or hard. Hard is the equivalent of al dente. We generally prefer the noodles cooked hard, but it’s entirely personal preference.

When you’re done your bowl of ramen, you have the option of getting more noodles in your broth: Kae Dama. It’s only $1.50 more to get extra noodles… well worth it for the hungry belly. We’ve never gotten extra noodles – we end up eating so much upfront, but it’s a great option to have.

Maybe next time!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 medium sized red potatoes, chopped
• half a pineapple, chopped (or one can of pineapple nibblets, mostly drained)
• 1 medium sized white onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground pepper or to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 a small can of tomato paste
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of vegan margarine (if you’re not vegan, you can use butter)
• 1/4 cup of vegetable stock
• Soft-shelled tacos

Garnish:

• Grated cheese of your choice (we used Okanogan’s Soy Co. vegan mozzarella)
• Salsa
• Guacamole
• 1/4 of a lime

To start, brown the garlic and white onion in a large saucepan in the olive oil on medium heat.

Once the onions have browned and turned a little translucent, add the potatoes and fry them, allowing the sides to sear a little. Turn the heat down to medium-low heat and allow everything to simmer for 5 minutes.

Next, add the vegan margarine and 1/2 of each of the spices (for example, 1 teaspoon of the cumin). Stir the mixture so the margarine and spices coat the potatoes and onions evenly. Turn the heat down to low and allow the mixture to simmer. Add the pineapples and a tablespoon or two of the pineapple juice (if you’re using canned pineapples)

Add the vegetable stock, tomato paste, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potato consistency is soft and almost falling apart, but not falling apart.

And you’re done! Serve with cheese, guacamole, and salsa garnish.

Buen apetito!

I made a vegan variation.

Ingredients:

• 250g of cheddar cheese, sliced or grated. Other kinds of cheese can be used. Cheddar is what was recommended to me. Many recipes call for “Velveeta cheese”, which is a processed cheese that’s softer in nature. I try to avoid processed foods, so didn’t use it. For the vegan variation, I used Okanagan’s Soya Co. cheddar.
• 1/4 cup of cold water (for a non-vegan version, you can use 1/4 cup of half and half cream)
• 1 Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (remove the seeds if you prefer mild heat)
• 1/2 sprig of green onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1/4 of a medium sized white onion
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt

Start your queso by melting the cheese. You can do this directly in a saucepan or pot. I didn’t want to have to transfer the gooey cheese from pot to serving bowl, so I placed my sliced up cheese in the serving bowl directly and placed the bowl in a larger pot that had 2 inches of water in it. The heat from the pot and water melted the cheese directly in my serving bowl.

Once the cheese is melted, add the water (or cream for the non-vegan version of this recipe) and mix until smooth.

Add the peppers, onions, tomato, and salt.

If you prefer a runnier dip, you can add a little more water and mix until it’s at the consistency you like.