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We Are Open All Year Wednesday to Sunday
Whether you are celebrating Valentine’s/Galentine’s/Family Day or a combination of all three, this weekend nothing says “I love/care about you” like homemade meals prepared with in season local vegetables.
Ontario’s winter bounty offers the perfect opportunity to create heartwarming, homemade meals that bring loved ones together.
Local ingredients, like rich root vegetables andheartygreenhousegreens, are at their peak this time of year, making it an ideal moment to get creative in the kitchen. Whether it’sstarting your day with a creative twist on a favourite breakfast food, crafting a savory stew with seasonal carrots and potatoes, or preparing a cozy casserole, these meals are more than just nourishment—they’re an invitation to slow down and enjoy time together. As we gather around the dinner table, the act of cooking and sharing meals creates lasting memories, fostering connection, warmth, and a sense of tradition. This long weekend, celebrate the love of family and friends with delicious, thoughtful meals that bring joy to the heart and home.
Happycelebrating &cooking!
From our Hive to yours we wish you a Happy, Healthy and Nourished Valentine’s/Family Day Long Weekend!
Recipes
Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes
Created by:Ambitious Kitchen
Get creative with carrots and add a delicious twist to a breakfast favourite!Fluffy, healthy carrot cake pancakes made right in your blender with delicious spices. These easy carrot cake pancakes are dairy free, naturally sweetened and packed with yummy mix-ins like walnuts and raisins. Top with almond butter, cream cheese or yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup for a wonderful, cozy breakfast! The perfect start to your day!
Ingredients:
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1TBSP pure maple syrup (or honey)
1 ½ cupsold fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
Mix-ins:
1 cup shredded carrots (shred with a cheese grater)
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3TBSP raisins
For cooking:
Olive oil or coconut oil, for cooking
Instructions:
1.Addall of the ingredients (besides the carrots, walnuts and raisins) to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the carrots, chopped walnuts and raisins (DO NOT BLEND).
2.Lightly coat a griddle with coconut oil or olive oil and place over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add about 1/3 cup of the batter to the griddle for each pancake and use a spoon to spread them out a bit into circles; cook for 2-4 minutes until pancakes slightly puff up and you see a few bubbles along the edges.
3.Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside. If you find that pancakes are browning too quickly, then you need to lower the heat. I normally start on medium heat, then reduce to medium low later so that my pancakes don't burn. If at any point your griddle starts smoking, it means your pan is too hot.
4.Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more oil and remaining batter.
Makes 6 pancakes total. Serves 3, 2 pancakes each.
Notes
I love topping these pancakes with almond butter or cream cheese and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. You can also top them with yogurt! Yum.
To freeze pancakes: if you want to make your carrot cake pancakes ahead of time and serve themat a later date, you can place the pancakes on a bakingsheet so they aren’t touching and place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then place them in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply add pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.
Sweet Potato Beef Stew
Created by:Chungah
The coziest beef stew with the most tender chunks of beef and sweet potato that just melt in your mouth!Make over the Long Weekend and enjoy the leftovers (if any) for lunch during the short week!
Ingredients:
2TBSP olive oil
2lbs top sirloin steak, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8ozcremini mushrooms, quartered
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2TBSP tomato paste
½ cup dry red wine
4 cups beef stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1large sweet potato (can also sub for red potato), about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch chunks
2TBSP chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions:
1.Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season steak with salt and pepper, to taste. Working in batches, add steak to the stockpot and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 6-8 minutes; set aside.
2.Add onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
3.Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 3-4 minutes.
4.Whisk in flour and tomato paste until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
5.Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the stockpot.
6.Stir in beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and steak. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until beef is very tender, about 30 minutes.
7.Stir in sweet potatoes; simmer until potatoes are just tender and stew has thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
8.Serve immediately.
Root Vegetable Casserole
Created by:Myra and Laurier
This casserole is a superstar side dish – it’s delicious, easy, cheap, healthy, versatile and is perfect for holiday dinners, make ahead meals and even dinner tonight. This is freezer-friendly comfort food at its best!
Ingredients:
1/2 turnip (you can adjust to suit what you want to use)
3 carrots (you can adjust to suit what you want to use)
2 parsnips (you can adjust to suit what you want to use)
2 sweet potatoes (or one big one)
1 and 1/2 tsp salt divided
1/4 cup butter
1/2 pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs
Instructions:
1.Peel turnip, carrots, parsnips and sweet potato and cut them into chunks. I chopped the turnip smallest because it takes the longest to cook, and the sweet potato larger because it cooks faster. The carrots and parsnips are somewhere in the middle.
2.Put them in a large pot with 1 teaspoon of salt, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until vegetables are soft enough to be pierced with a fork or sharp knife (make sure that each kind of vegetable is soft).
3.Drain. I put a strainer over a large bowl so I could save the vegetable broth and make a soup. Put vegetables back in the pot.
4.Use a potato masher to mash them up. Then use a hand mixer to cream them together. Add butter, cream cheese and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix well to combine and make them creamy.
5.Spoon them into a large casserole dish. You canrefrigerate, or even freeze the casserole until you're ready to eat it. When you're ready, bring the dish to room temperature and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle with panko. Bake until heated through (around 30 minutes) and top is browned (you might need to broil it for a couple of minutes).
6.Serve hot and enjoy!
Honey Lime Tahini Dressing
Created by:Harvest Kitchen
Looking for a new dressing to drizzle over this week’s greens, tomatoes, cucumber and microgreens? I’ve got the perfect one for you, using our favourite naturalsweetener!
The combo of sesame, lime and honey flavor is completely addictive!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3TBSPlocal liquid honey
1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
2-1/2TBSP tahini
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions:
1.Whisk the ingredients together in a bowl. You can also put the ingredients in a wide-mouth mason jar and use an immersion stick blender to blend the ingredients together.
2.Store in anair tight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, it should last up to 5 days.
Friendly Reminder: Looking for additional inspiration? ALL recipes from the past two years are available on the blog for reference.😊
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