Last week was so cold and miserable where I live, but this week has been a whole different story. The temperature is milder, had lots of sunny days and it just puts me in a better mood.

So I think the recipes I made this week are brighter and fresher in nature, which goes well with the nicer weather.

–

Black Bean & Bell Pepper Dip:

I bought a lot of yellow bell peppers that were reduced and they weren’t in the best condition. I didn’t want them going to waste so I cut most of them up – strips and dice – put them on baking sheets and froze them. Once frozen, they went into zip top bags and they are ready to use in soups, stews and stirfrys. The only thing you can’t do with them after freezing is eating them raw but otherwise, they are perfect.

Anyways, so I froze most of the peppers, but with the last few, I roasted them up and made this delicious dip. I roasted a little onion along with the peppers and then blended them up first with a little time juice and olive oil. Then I added black beans, garlic and a variety of spices (smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper). I blended it again until it was nice and smooth.

This turned out so tasty, it was good with vegetables, crackers or even on a sandwich. Also, because the yield was so much, I used a portion of it as a pasta sauce. It was so creamy and the beans add a nice touch of protein.

Check out the video for this recipe – Instagram or Tiktok.

–

Fake Crab Salad:

I didn’t use to like the taste of fake crab but in recent years, I’ve been really into it. This is a super simple salad with flaked crab meat, celery, mayonnaise, sesame oil, sriracha and mirin. Traditional crab salad doesn’t have celery but I love the crunch and colour it adds.

This was a great side dish and a good way to get some fish protein. This isn’t something I make too often though because fake crab tends to have quite a bit of sodium so it probably wouldn’t be best to eat it all the time.