That’s right, I’ve got a (gluten-free cinnamon) bun in the oven, baking til December 1, 2013.

So it’s finally time to introduce my newest big little project: meet Niblet. 

I’ll still be posting on CBN, with new recipes and budget healthy living tips, from time to time. I promise I’ll try really hard to make it something other than Mac and Cheese and lemonade (when will I want anything else?!).

We are SO excited- both for our little Niblet and new blogging adventures. Have fantastic week, everyone!

I have spent the last week settling in to my Rhode Island summer. Unpacking my bags into the room that has all my old furniture, but was never really mine. Tossing old clothes, washing my chef whites and sharpening my knives for a new day’s work. Shopping at the Farmer’s Market for a hefty supply of local honey, cage-free eggs, springy greens and grass-fed meat to stock the freezer. Wandering the yard in the sun, following the cats and learning to vegetable garden from my expert dad. Though I count down the days til I see my husband again, I already know I’m going to enjoy my time here immensely.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction I’d like this blog to take, these next few months. The summer has always been a tough blogging time, with all the work and business and lounging in the hot summer sun. I revert to green salads, raw veggies and fresh fruit and cooking is reserved for working, only. I am also about to reveal my new project, very soon, one that is near and dear to my heart and will take a lot more of my time and passion. I don’t plan on abandoning Cook Bake Nibble, at least not any time soon. But I will say expect these posts to be far and few between, but full of love and good food. Have a wonderful summer, friends. I will see you in a few weeks.

I love fresh spring peas. Though they may take a few minutes to peel from the pods and drop into a bowl, the fresh sweet taste is well worth the effort. This dip is created entirely from fresh spring peas, steamed lightly and combined with a few simple ingredients into a delicious spread that is fantastic as a vegetable dip, with some crunchy chips or spread atop crusty french bread with a slice of radish and a sprinkle of sea salt.

The best part about this recipe is it’s utter simplicity. It bring out the very best in the peas with just a few ingredients, blended together- and that’s it. Embrace the natural flavours of fresh produce in-season, often they will surprise you in their intensity.

Fresh Spring Pea Dip
Makes about 2 cups dip

2 cups fresh spring peas
1 large clove garlic, chopped slightly
2 tbsp chopped chives
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
sea salt, to taste

1. Place peas in a small-holed steamer basket and steam until bright green, 3-5 minutes. Set aside until cooled.

2. In a food processor, combine peas, garlic, chives, lemon zest and juice, a couple glugs of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Blend until combined.

3. Add olive oil as needed until mixture is mostly smooth- you can choose a consistency you like best. I like a little texture.

4. Season to taste and serve on top of warm toasted crostini with a thin slice of radish, or as a dip with crackers and crudités.

Note: You can find gluten-free baguette in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

Now that the warmer weather has arrived, I am once again in love with salads. I get my cold green salad fix for lunch,  but for dinner I really love a heartier salad, with beans or lentils, warmed, to fill and satisfy. This delicious Middle Eastern inspired salad fits the bill. Warm green lentils with a tangy lemon garlic sauce tossed with spicy arugula, sweet, sour tomatoes and salty halloumi. A salad fit for a spring night on the patio.

If you’ve never tried halloumi, I highly suggest you do. It’s a salty, brined Mediterranean cheese with small flecks of mint, usually grilled to crispy perfection before being drizzled with lemon juice or in this case, tossed with the salad ingredients that make up this light meal. I do caution to go light; or even do without the sea salt in this dish as the cheese is so very salty it gives enough flavour to the meal. Any more would be too overpowering. The salty cheese, combined with hearty lentils makes a really unique combination that is hard to not reach for seconds.

Warm Lentil Salad with Halloumi
Serves 4

1 cup green lentils, rinsed
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
sea salt, to taste  
1 cup diced halloumi cheese (diced into 1” cubes)
2 cups arugula, packed
1 cup tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced on a bias

1. Place lentils in a medium stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, 15-20 minutes until lentils are just tender. Drain and let cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a small pinch of sea salt. Set aside.

3. Heat additional 1 tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan (cast-iron is ideal). Add halloumi and sear 2-3 minutes per side, until golden and crispy. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. When lentils are mostly cool, add to sauce bowl with arugula, tomatoes, green onions and halloumi. Mix carefully to avoid crushing lentils (they will fall apart a bit) but to wilt arugula slightly. Serve warm.

Summertime is the absolute best time to save on food, in my opinion. Especially in the colder climates when everything but potatoes and onions get pretty darn expensive in the wintertime, summer is a relief for the taste buds and the budget. Here are three of my favourite ways to save on food in the summertime- and one tip on how to save all year long.

1. Buy in Season.

It’s a simple fact that food in season is MUCH less expensive. Grapefruits, though delicious and refreshing, are a winter fruit. Choose watermelon, in the summer months. Choosing foods that are in season will save you a TON over the warmer months- as there are a lot more options!

2. Hit up the Farmer’s markets! 

When buying locally, you HAVE to buy seasonally- it’s all that’s available from farms! Not only are farmers markets fantastic for supporting the local economy + agriculture, they can be a huge savings for your wallet. I like to wander the market on the weekend with some cash in my pocket and base my menus off of what I pick up!

3. Eat Simply.

Food is so fresh and delicious in the summer months, there is no reason to add lots of extra ingredients and expensive sauces. Eat simply, buy quality, choose local and in season and your food will be fantastic without the added ingredients- or costs.

4. Save all year: Buy in bulk and FREEZE. 

If you can afford it, space and wallet wise, buy a whole bunch of extra produce when it’s on sale and FREEZE (or can, if you’re up to it!) for the winter months. This will save you on items like tomatoes, berries and herbs for the colder season ahead.

How do you save on food in the warmer months?

As you may well know, I am a huge fan of simple food. The fewest ingredients for the most flavour? That’s what I’m about! This glaze, with only four very simple ingredients, can be made in a flash and the whole meal requires very little hands-on work for a delicious, filling springtime meal. Especially when you use fresh spring lamb!

As you can see in the photos, I served this meat entree with my new favourite springtime potato salad, my middle eastern herbed potato salad. The slightly spicy dijon mustard glaze works beautifully with the fresh mint and parsley in the lemony-olive oil based salad.

Dijon Rosemary Glazed Lamb Chops
Serves 2

4 lamb loin chops
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
pinch sea salt

1. Rinse lamb and pat dry. In a small bowl, whisk dijon, olive oil, rosemary and sea salt until well-blended.

2. In a medium baking dish, Spoon about 1 tsp glaze over each chop and spread evenly. Flip chops and repeat. Cover and let marinate 30 minutes-2 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 400. Place lamb in preheated oven and roast 15-20 minutes, flipping once, until cooked to desired doneness (I like my lamb no more than medium for optimum flavour and texture). Let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Chef’s Note: Notice I keep the fat pad on the lamb chops- of course I cut it off at the table, but it really helps keep the chops moist- I highly recommend not-trimming before roasting!

It’s picnic season! My very favourite season, of course. I absolutely love strolling to a nearby park, throwing down one of my prettiest vintage tablecloths and pulling out a fresh, delicious picnic lunch. This potato salad is perfect for picnic baskets and BBQ get-togethers in the Spring and Summer. It is mayo-free, making it light and satisfying, but not heavy- and best of all, it keeps a lot nicer than the egg-laden creamy versions! You can picnic-on as long as you like!

I love the bright lemon-herb flavours in this salad and the mid-eastern inspired spices making it a unique addition to your spring table.

Middle Eastern Herbed Potato Salad
Serves 4-5 as a side

3 lb organic russet potatoes, peeled
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 tbsp lemon juice 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp hot paprika
1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more for cooking
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
1 tbsp finely chopped mint (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 cup sliced green onion

1. In a medium saucepan, add potatoes and cover with cold water. Add a generous amount of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer and simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes until potatoes pierce easily with a fork. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water.

2. Let potatoes cool slightly and prepare dressing. Combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, sea salt and herbs in a large bowl and whisk well. Taste for seasoning and add lemon juice or sea salt to taste.

3. When potatoes are slightly cooled, chop and add to dressing along with green onion and toss to coat. Serve warm or chilled.

Note: I like the potatoes to break up slightly- if you prefer perfectly chopped potatoes, cool completely before tossing with dressing.

Last but certainly not least, the bi-weekly plan. Now, I call this a bi-weekly plan, however, there are a couple ways to approach this meal planning technique: one is simply planning for two weeks at a time, one is planning for a week- plus extras, and working off of the extra items you have left in the fridge to get you through the second week. This ends up being one of the most cost-efficient ways of meal planning. Want to learn more?

By planning for two weeks, much like planning monthly, you have to have an idea of your budget for the month, and divide that amount among shopping trips. You may want to do a larger first trip and a smaller second trip, this is up to you. Either way, you’ll need to determine how much you can spend, and account for how much you have each shopping trip. For instance, if you have that $400 per month you had in the 1-week meal plan, and you’d like to go on two shopping trips per month, you have 400 / 2 = $200 per trip.

If you want to do a larger stock-up trip in the beginning of the month, say, 3/4 of your monthly groceries, you would have 400 x .75 = $300 for trip #1, meaning you only have $100 for the rest of the month. This can work out well, again, as long as you utilize the staples you buy.

I find the best way to do this is to sit down with your favourite recipes binder, staples list, calendar (remember to mark off any days with friends or eating out!) and map out those two weeks. Then, if you have time, maybe decide on a few recipes for weeks following and see if there is anything you can buy extra of and freeze, or in bulk. Buy these items at the store, and meal planning in a couple weeks becomes MUCH easier, as long as you use the extra items you purchased.

If you do plan for two weeks at a time, write out your plan and make a grocery list. Add up a quick-estimate of how much you think these groceries will cost (always over-estimate) and if you’re over, cut back. You don’t want to be stuck with not enough money to last you the end of the month.

The second option is a lot more creative, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of plan. If you are the experimental type, one who loves creating recipes and only plans for the sake of budgeting, this will work for you. If this description has your stomach in knots, stick with the above idea.

The second option in bi-weekly planning, is heading to the store with a week’s plan in mind (don’t forget to buy breakfast and lunch staples, too)- remember to budget this week plus staples before hand, so you know how much you have left to spend—and spend the rest of the budget picking up whatever is on sale, in season, or looks good- and using these items to create a menu for week 2. This may sound scary to some- to me, this is thrilling! However, remember to not get caught in the trap of heading back the store on week two. The whole point is to utilize what you have- staples/bulk items, bits-and-pieces from week 1 and those extra items you bought. If you can do this and remain on budget, you’ve got an interesting, fun plan on your hands! I love sources like Pinterest to help me come up with ideas when I have a bunch of ingredients, but am completely stumped as to how I’m going to use them.

So there you have it- the bi-weekly plan, similar in some ways to both monthly, and weekly, but just another option in helping you find the optimal way to budget in your healthy lifestyle. This concludes my 6-week series on meal planning 101. What else do you want to see from Budget Friendly Fridays? Do you have any burning Meal Planning questions you’d like to ask? I’d love to answer them!

Previous Meal Planning 101 Posts:
Why Menu Plan?
Creating a Favourite Recipes Binder
How I meal plan
Meal Planning 101: Monthly Plan
Meal Planning 101: Weekly Plan

First of all, I can’t believe it had been so long since my last kale recipe, as it is my absolute favourite, and so good for you- now you get two in a row! Not to mention this pesto recipe is one of the very best ways to get a heap of kale- whether you like it, or not! Second, this recipe will go down in history as the pesto that made my husband like pesto. Accidentally. I’ll explain.

You see, as long as I’ve known him, my husband hasn’t really enjoyed pesto. He’s a huge Italian food fan, but he’s never been thrilled with pasta drenched in one of my favourite sauces. He always turned his nose up when I ordered a heaping portion of pesto pasta, and gone for the Bolognese instead. Though I can’t understand it, I’ve only made pesto in small amounts for him- amounts he can tolerate, as a dip or a spread, but not a sauce. But the other night, I had so much on my mind, I forgot my husband hates pesto. So I threw together what is probably the tastiest, best pesto I have ever made, and covered our artisan spinach rice pasta with it (unfortunately, as you see, the delicate pasta fell apart in the pan).

Just as I was piling pasta in our bowls and topping with a sprinkle of local raw Parmigianino, it dawned on me: Nick hates pesto. Uh-oh. I stared down at the bowls just as I heard the front door open. I confessed my mistake, pleading that it was a ‘really, really good homemade pesto’. He agreed to try it. And you know what my friends? He ate it. Every. single. bite of it.

Kale Cashew Pesto
Makes 1 cup of pesto

1/3 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup raw grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic
1 small head of kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch sea salt (to taste)

1. Place cashews, parmesan, garlic, and kale in the container of a medium-to-large food processor. Add lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

2. Pulse 4-5 times to chop, and blend until desired consistency. If needed, add additional tablespoon of olive oil. Taste for seasoning and store in glass, for up to a week.

To make into a pasta sauce: reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water for 1 cup of pesto sauce. Add water to pesto in hot pan, 1 tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Toss with pasta and serve topped with raw parmesan.

Happy Monday, Friends! My apologies for not posting on Friday- the last of my Meal Planning 101 series will be up on Friday. I took an impromptu trip to Rhode Island last week, hence the lack of post—and all I can say is, good things are coming

I wanted to stop in quick and update you all, as a few of you had been wondering about my gluten-free monthly meal plans. As of May, I have decided to discontinue my monthly meal plans. I loved doing them, and I thank all of you for purchasing and supporting my meal plans these last few months. There are some changes happening in the next little bit and I knew I had to choose between some projects- and unfortunately, the meal plans were on the chopping block. Luckily, this is all with a happy heart as I am incredibly excited about the new projects + changes that are coming about! I’ll fill you in more, soon, of course.

I have a brand new recipe coming up on Wednesday- so check back in! xoxo Kristin.