Snow is everywhere, and thankfully, not melting as quickly here as it is for some of you. But my soul feels cold...my fingers are tingling and I believe we all need to heat things up a bit. So on that note...

I long to mention our really incredible instant creamy pastas...We have had a number of them again recently and have reminded ourselves of just how simple and fantastic they all are. Even the odder seeming ones, like Aztec Chocolate, Crimson Love and Daring Dill are all excellent comfort food for a simple meal on a cold night. I have given two recipes for the same thing...simple pasta for dummies &then my longer detailed versions at the end of this page. Check out the longer recipes for flavour descriptions &veggie/protein add-ins.

For all you anti-cooks out there!!!

Creamy Pasta for Dummies! Serves Two

• Cook 250g. pasta in big pot o’water (half box)
• Drain
• Put back in pot with 1 cup cream & 2 tbsp SpiceBlend (any flavour)
• Stir 5 mins. on medium high heat
• Shake on parmesan cheese and sea salt if desired
• Eat.

Dairy-free (Vegan) Pasta for Dummies! Serves Two

• Cook 250g. pasta in big pot’o’water (half box)
• Drain
• Put back in pot with 1/2 cup water & 2 tbsp SpiceBlend (any flavour)
• 2 tbsp butter (vegan) or 2 tbsp olive oil
• Stir 5 mins on medium high heat
• Shake on sea salt and nutritional yeast flakes, optional
• Eat.

Stirfry for Dummies! Serves One

• Find a really big pot
• Add 1 tbsp oil or butter
• 1 handful meat, tofu or seafood cut in small chunks
• 3 handfuls veggies in big chunks
• 1 tbsp Spice Blend
• Drizzle with soy sauce - & honey if you like sweet or fresh lime juice if you like sour
• Stir over high heat, 5-15 mins until cooked
• Add 1 tbsp water, wine or juice as needed, if things get too dry
• Eat with Rice

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Our Delectable Edibles are now available in compostable cello bags in our D.E. Everyday Collection.

2 hearty servings for $7 /mix and match 6 for $36
6 hearty servings for $15 /mix and match 6 for $75

Some of the gorgeous meals you can make with these instant whole food products are pictured below...try all six fabulous flavours!

Cashew Curry Dinner – Earthen Fire Shitake Mushroom Soup - Creamy Mushroom Leek Soup – Rosemary Foccacia QuickBread with sweet peppers & garlic – Italian Vegetable Soup with ditali pasta – Eat Your Words organic alphabet soup

^new Herb & Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Wonderful Italian bread dip or salad dressing - $12ea

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Jalapeno Roots Fried Rice Serves One or two side dishes

This recipe is Not very hot...despite the fearful pepper in the name...
Great for Vegans, substitute a little crumbled tofu, vegan butter and nutritional yeast flakes. We have yet to try them all, but are betting all nine flavours are great in this recipe too...We just can’t eat that much food!!!

In a frying pan add:
• 1 cup cooked rice
  try a funky one like red african or purple thai or substitute quinoa, millet or amaranth for something different
• 2 tbsp. Spice Blend
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp butter
• a couple chopped green onions
• sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Stir fry all together for a few minutes, over medium-high heat until egg is cooked and all is hot. Yummy! Great served with Steak Night Stirfry Below.

Crimson Love Steak Night Stirfry Serves Two

• 2 nice thick Free-Range Beef Steaks
• Crimson Love Spice Blend
• Braggs Soy Sauce or Kikkoman Japanese Soy
• Liquid Honey
• Fresh Lime, Ginger Root and Garlic
• Assorted Veggies chopped- pick your faves - two servings
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

1. Put Olive Oil in a large frying pan, over med- high heat.
2. Add steaks, sprinkle top-side very generously with Crimson Love until well-coated, drizzle with soy sauce and honey all over. Flip steaks and cover other side with spice, soy and honey.
3. Squeeze in half a fresh, yellowy tender lime.
4. Add sliced ginger root, a little or a lot, whole garlic cloves, peeled (add the whole bulb because they end up soft and sweet and caramelized).
5. Flip steaks again.
6. Add the rest of the veggies around your steaks. Cover with large lid and steam together 5 mins.
7. Uncover, flip steaks again and cook stirring over until meat and veg are cooked evenly 5 mins.
8. Remove meat and veg to plates with slotted spoon, leaving juices behind.
9. Increase heat to high and sizzle juices hard for a few minutes to reduce glaze to sauce. Drizzle over steak and veggies and serve immediately.

Easy Winter Crock Pots

In the morning, put all ingredients in your pot. Add just enough water to cover all your chunks. Add boiling water to speed things up. Cover and cook on low all day or high 4-5 hours.
At night come home to the glorious aroma of a yummy winter meal.

All these crock pots mix Spice Blends to make a great balanced stock base...if you are missing one flavour double up on another or substitute...they are all good.

All recipes are for a medium crock pot...double them for a large family or half for a single or smaller portion couple. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Beef and Veggies

• 1 lb Stewing Beef
• 2 med. onions quartered lengthwise and peeled.
• 2 parsnips cut into three or four big chunks.
• 2 handfuls baby organic carrots.
• 2 ribs celery in big chunks.
• 3 tbsp Spice Blends... 1 Country Onion, 1 Crimson Love, 1 Pesto Garlic.
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 tsp horseradish.
• 2 tbsp minute tapioca (optional if thick gravy is desired rather than broth)
• Water to cover.

20 minutes before serving stir in 2 handfuls frozen peas, 1 tbsp butter and cook a pot of rice. Serve in big bowls over rice.

Free-Range Chicken and Baby Potatoes

• 4-6 Chicken Thighs or half a whole chicken.
• 1 lb tiny baby potatoes, any colour or mixed.
• 6 small whole tomatoes, we use frozen organic tomatoes from last season’s market, but fresh ones or a can would do fine.
• 8 pearl onions or shallots or 1 large onion, your choice peeled.
• 1 can sweet corn niblets and juice too.
• 3 tbsp SpiceBlends: 1 Prima Vera, 1 Garden Curry, 1 Country Onion.
• Water to cover.

20 minutes before serving add a couple handfuls of fresh or frozen green beans, 1 tbsp butter and half bunch fresh parsley chopped. Heat a whole crusty loaf of bread in a 300* oven and serve.

Rainbow Veggie Bean Stew

• 1 can Kidney Beans drained
• 1 can Garbanzo Beans drained
• 1 can corn niblets with juice
• 1 yam cut in 6-8 very big chunks
• 5 very big cauliflower florets
• 1 onions cut in quarters and peeled
• 1 red pepper chunked
• 3 tbsp Spice Blends 1 Garden Curry, 1 Pesto Garlic, 1 Red Pepper
• Water to cover

20 minutes before serving add 1 cup frozen edamame beans (no shells), 2 tbsp butter (vegan) and half a bunch fresh chopped parsley; Garnish with finely sliced raw purple cabbage, grated carrot and beet; Sprinkle hemp seeds and squeeze fresh lime juice overtop. Heat some chapatis or other flat bread directly on racks of a 400* oven for a couple minutes, butter and serve.

Cashew Curry Crock-Pot

Follow directions on your package adding 4 servings cashew curry dinner mix, water and butter to your crock-pot. Mix together. Add as many meat pieces or omit as desired. Add two yams chunked into 6-8 big pieces. Top with whole baby veggies: try tiny onions, sweet peppers and baby carrots.

Serve with our garden curry yogurt dip as a condiment, baby green salad with balsamic dressing and fresh sourdough loaf heated in a 300* oven.
An easy anti-cooking feast!

Simple Seven Recipes – Instant Creamy Pasta

- for those of you who want to listen to my detailed babblings!

Pick whole wheat or spelt or kamut or organic brown rice pasta (excellent for gluten-free diets) to keep things delicious and nutritious or splurge on 100% Semolina Real Italian Artisanal Pasta and eat some extra wheat germ in the morning...balance is everything! Directions for adding some chunks of protein and veggies follow and can make a huge difference to your healthiness.

For two very hearty servings of pasta...

• 250g of dry pasta, generally half a box.
  I love linguine and fettucine which do the fabulous long spirally thing that is perfect for carrying a simple cream sauce and when properly cooked have some real bite ... or penne, my other fav, so simple in a chunky sauce.
• Loads of uncovered boiling water. Sea Salt and Olive oil dashed in is optional
• 2 tbsp of your favorite Spice Blend
• 1 cup of Cream
  ...10% or higher...to be really good... but milk will suffice for the calorie obsessed! Please remember Atkin’s fond provings of people scarfing fats and loosing zany amounts of weight...natural fat is not your enemy! Though, I believe, better in moderation and not with unbalanced insanity.

1. Now for the really very difficult part...boil noodles until just barely cooked...there should be a tiny dark center that still tastes barely undercooked to be perfect.
2. Drain them and shake thoroughly in a colander...but DO NOT RINSE
3. Put cream and Spice Blend together in your now empty pasta pot over medium high heat. Sizzle together, stirring for a moment or two.
4. Add cooked pasta and stir well to coat, stir for another few minutes to thicken...just enough to be saucy...but do not cook too long or you will get sticky gooo - if you do get sticky goo - add a little more cream or milk to thin and...
5. ...Serve Immediately with loads of parmesan cheese, fresh cracked pepper and sea salt...we have found one to highly recommend: this salt is gorgeous. Their salt enriched with west coast bull kelp has no sea weedy taste and all the fabulous nutrients of sea veggies in an easy table grinder sprinkle. I am now addicted!

While pasta is in colander: sauté some bite size chunks of meat, fish, tofu or veggies in your hot pot for a few minutes if healthy chunks are desired. Then add cream, spice and pasta as described above.

Flavours and suggested add-ins below:

1. Crimson Love stains noodles a beautiful deep reddish pink, and tastes gorgeous and garlicky with Parmesan cheese and a little sea salt. Toss in some baby spinach and frozen scallops.
2. Aztec Chocolate is a heavenly combo of spicy, sweet and salty balance with lots of parmesan cheese on top. Chicken and sweet peppers, or Italian sausage and peas.
3. Daring Dill is deep and decadently creamy, gorgeous with sautéed fresh mushrooms or artichoke hearts. Or fresh dill and smoked salmon is a given.
4. Prima Vera is nothing short of gorgeous just on its own...The head chef at the Delta Sun Peaks Resort recently commented, “I could replace six cooks in my kitchen with that bottle!” Prawns, chicken, sausage, veggies...combine it with anything.
5. Pesto Garlic...need we say more? Perfect alone or with anything imagined in pasta. I like chicken and spinach.
6. Garden Curry is sumptuously amazing...love it with chicken or tofu and brocolli or prawns are great.
7. Red Pepper is sweet with sizzle...try it with crumbled blue cheese and toasted walnuts / chorizo, onion and roasted yams / or tofu and broccoli.
8. Country Onion is a caramelized onion creamy herbal dream, try it with Italian sausage and sundried tomato/ or Cambozola and fresh chopped basil or parsley.
9. Jalapeno Roots is glorious...creamy rich spicy yum yum yum! Chicken or prawns or scallops with green beans, peppers or slivered carrots.

For Simple Vegan/ Dairy-Free Pasta
– so simple &it tastes like it came from a way too expensive restaurant.

• 250g pasta cooked
• 1/2 cup water or half water /half white wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 2 tbsp SpiceBlends
Optional - Mixed Veggies, Tofu or beans... yummy and whole food healthy! Saute in olive oil in hot pot while pasta is in colander...then add pasta and sauce ingredients.

Cook pasta and drain in colander but do not rinse. Mix all sauce ingredients in your hot pasta pot. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes. Toss in pasta and stir together well. Serve hot. Top with Sea Salt, Nutritional Yeast Flakes, and Cracked Black Pepper if desired.