YASMIN GARDY: FOOD FEATURE

Yasmin (Chen) Gardy, was born and raised in Israel. Her mom and grandma inspired and grew her love for food, and so she decided to learn about her hobby and passion in-depth, and chose to focus on baking. She’s currently a student in Food Technology at BCIT's Burnaby campus. Prior to learning at BCIT, she has completed her nutrition education at CSNN, Vancouver. Yasmin is also a RHN, Registered Holistic Nutritionist consultant. She says that she is no stranger to the complex relationships people can have with food and shared that at one point in her life she developed an eating disorder. “I’ve managed to cope with that trauma by reconnecting and centering myself, through meditating and asking questions to my body about what it needs,” she says. She goes on to add that the dialog and creating food that you and your body crave to eat the most is a form of intuitive eating. She has turned to nutrition education in order to keep supporting her body and wellbeing. Yasmin has committed herself to enjoying her food like a feast because she believes that “you deserve to eat well even when preparing food at home.”

Tarragon, Mushroom, & Coconut Milk Pasta

INGREDIENTS • 250g pasta • 4 tbsp olive oil • 5 garlic cloves, chopped • 5 brown mushrooms, sliced • 1 can coconut milk (400 mL) • Sea salt and pink pepper to taste • 2-3 green onions chopped fine • 10g of tarragon (4-5 stamps) cut into 1 cm pieces

DIRECTIONS 1. Boil pasta of choice, following the instructions on the box. Strain excess water, add 2 tbsp olive oil, toss, and set aside. 2. Over medium heat in a wide pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and chopped garlic. 3. Sauté till garlic becomes a light golden brown. Then, add sliced mushroom and a pinch of salt, and sauté until mushrooms are a golden brown. 4. Add coconut milk and pink pepper to the pan, and bring to a gentle boil. 5. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. 6. Stir, and clean the sides of the pan with a spatula. 7. Add the cooked pasta and green onions, and set the heat to medium. Continue to cook for 2-5 minutes. 8. Remove from heat and add the tarragon, then let it rest for at least two minutes before serving.

SAVOURY SCONES

COVID-19 brought me many enjoyable cooking and baking moments, including these scones. These flaky treats melt right in your mouth. They have a small kick and twist to them with the added spices and herbs. They are a colourful red, with turmeric root and garlic and they give you some highly nutritious value. If you don’t have a sweet tooth for a morning breakfast, these scones will do the trick!

BRIOCHE CARMELIZED GINGER BUN

Eggs and oil give brioche its smooth buttery texture. Having grown up in a Jewish home, this recipe was inspired by the cultural Challah Bread served for Sabbath dinner. Prior to baking, I coated the bun with coconut palm sugar. I also added finely diced and caramelized ginger for an extra crunch.

CINNAMON CRUNCH

Cinnamon crunch is the perfect addition to a Sunday brunch. I made everything from scratch in this recipe, taking extra time to roll and fold in the butter. This process takes time, but it’s totally worth it. The multiple folds give the cinnamon crunch a flaky layer that’s easy to peel with your hands.

PINAPPLE PIE

Having grown up in the Middle East, I was remarkably familiar with carob, which I incorporated into this recipe to complement the sweet and sour taste of the pineapple. Adding some millet to the cooked batch increased the nut-like flavours. Fun fact about carob: it’s a great substitute for chocolate and it’s caffeine-free.

LAVENDER INFUSED RAVIOLI WITH SOUR CHERRIES

Ravioli is one of my favourite things to make and eat. I enjoy making my ravioli from scratch. The filling in it usually depends on the season. A couple of the recent ravioli fillings I have made were lavender-infused sour cherry, and one with fresh cayenne pepper, lime zest and organic fresh sage and hemp seed pesto. I enjoy working and playing around with new flavours and I would encourage anyone reading this not to shy away from trying out new flavours for your ravioli fillings.