A Light Lunch

It's been three months since I had my baby. He's healthy, beautiful and wonderfully cheery.


And while it took nine months to put on the weight during my pregnancy, I am quite eager to get to my pre-pregnancy shape.

It's time to take action.

But I love to eat and this is a food blog... so let's not go crazy here.

Maybe we should have lunch first....

Normally, I make a mini version of these crab cakes as an hor d'oeuvre for parties. And gosh, they are delicious. These are so simple to make, perfectly paired with a light salad for lunch.

I use lump crab meat as I love biting into the little nuggets of crab delicately held together by a savoury, moist filling brightened with a hint of citrus and dill.


Crab Cakes
(makes approximately 4 crab cakes)

1/4 lb crab meat, well drained (lump crab if you have it)
1 tsp finely minced dill
1 tsp finely minced parsley
1/2 tsp celery salt
pinch of smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
pinch of freshly ground pepper
1/2 c panko crumbs
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
(* 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning - I normally add Old Bay to my crab cakes but it isn't available everywhere. If you have it, I'd reduce the celery salt to 1/4 tsp but add a pinch of salt to the mixture.)

1/2 c panko crumbs in a separate shallow bowl

1 tbsp butter

1. Gently fold dill, parsley, celery salt, paprika, pepper, panko crumbs, egg and lemon juice into drained crab. Don't overmix and try to keep crab in chunks.
2. Divide the mixture into quarters and gently shape into patties.
3. Gently coat crab cakes in panko bread crumbs. Set aside on a plate. Repeat. Cover crab cakes with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Melt butter over medium heat in a large fry pan until butter is foamy.
5. Gently fry crab cakes until golden brown and toasty. (Flip crab cakes over only once.)
6. Serve immediately with a side salad.
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Crab Spaghettini with Chili

This has been an extremely busy week at our house.

We had a baby on Wednesday morning. Yes, you read that right. We had a baby. Wednesday. Our darling, Jack, arrived safely on his actual due date after a rather brief but arduous delivery. While my husband and I braced ourselves (mentally) for the long sleepless nights and the crying fits, nothing could have prepared us for the intense euphoria and joy of meeting your child for the first time. While it is tiring, it is certainly not without its rewards. Ah parenthood...

Now onto the business at hand...

As frazzled and tired as we are, we have still managed to cobble a couple of meals together. At times it can be a challenge, but I think the key is a well-stocked kitchen and a couple of "go to" recipes that you can quickly put together.

One of our classic standbys is this simple pasta dish. If you have time to boil water, you have time to make this delicious dish. While crab can be a little spendy, if you think about it balanced against one night of ordering in, it's still a pretty cost effective meal and makes an everyday meal slightly special.

Crab Spaghettini with Chili

1 lb pasta - long thinish noodles like spaghettini, spaghetti or linguine

4 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced finely
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 c grape or cherry tomatoes
1 lb crab meat*
1 large lemon, zested & juiced
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

parmesan reggiano

1. Boil water & prepare pasta according to package's instructions.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large sauce pan. Once bubbly, saute garlic and chili flakes until garlic is softened. Do not brown. Add tomatoes until softened then add crab meat. Break up crab into loose chunks
3. Once the pasta is al dente, drain immediately and add to a large pasta serving bowl. Set aside at least 1 c of pasta water.
4. Add prepared crab mixture on top of pasta and toss with lemon juice, zest and dill until well coated. Add additional pasta water to loosen if required. Add salt & pepper to taste. Finely grate parmesan on top and serve immediately.

*you can prepare your own crabs, but honestly, I buy the refrigerated picked crab meat. It's delicious and saved me alot of time...

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Avocado, Crab & Tomato Salad

My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary this past week. It was a great first year and we couldn't believe how quickly time passed. To celebrate the occasion, we decided to do something different. Instead of going out for a great and extravagant dinner, we decided to have a great and extravagant dinner at home by creating our own tasting menu, based on our favourite foods. It was unexpectedly exhausting but our three hour extravaganza allowed us to put the rest of the world and all the distractions of our everyday life on pause while we took a bit of time to slow down and enjoy time with each other. As we recalled our memories of our shared life together, in the years before our wedding day and the year since, we found ourselves laughing until our sides ached.

For this very special evening, I started the evening out with crab, one of my favourite foods. This appetizer is super easy, fresh and flavourful. The avocado is velvety and smooth, the tomato fresh and clean, and the crab is luxurious and dressed so simply that its true flavours come through.

Avocado, Crab and Tomato Salad



Serves 2

You don't need a fussy plating for this, you can toss all the ingredients together instead of placing them in layers.

1/2 ripe avocado - diced (click here for tips on how to prep)
8 cherry tomatoes - diced
1/4 lb lump crab meat - dark & white meat
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 lemon (zest & juice)
pepper to taste

1. Divide the cubed avocado into 2 and place in the center of each plate.
2. Repeat with the tomatoes.
3. Gently mix crab with mayonnaise, celery salt, lemon zest & juice. Add pepper to taste.
4. Pile crab onto tomatoes and serve immediately.
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