So how exactly can one be a foodie and lazy at the same time? Well, sometimes you just can be out of sheer necessity and exhaustion.

Needless to say, I love food. Since I moved out after I graduated from university, I had to do all the cooking myself. Growing up in an Indian household meant that my mother controlled the kitchen, and cooking was a task that she insisted on having full control over.

I also grew up in the Toronto area; I had quick and easy access to food from all over the world. After university, I found a job teaching English as a Second Language in a small town in Quebec (Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, to be specific). I still had the appetite for the same food I grew up with, however, this food was no longer readily available. And so, I began to put a lot more effort into my cooking to be able to taste what I was so desperately missing.

In learning to cook some more complex dishes (such as but not limited to mattar paneer, falafels and congee), I realized that they take a fair amount of time and effort. And after a long day of teaching and talking, I didn’t always have the energy to cook. So I figured out how to make some good food very quickly (because ordering takeout costs money and I am a fairly frugal person).

I learned that simple recipes can still taste delicious and can be healthy; it sometimes just takes a bit of pantry planning. Last year, I truly perfected this craft when I was living with Hubert, my roommate when I lived in Quebec City, who has now become a good friend . We would each get home after a long day of work, nap and then figure out what to make and eat for dinner. We called these dishes as lazy gourmet; I will be sharing some of them here with the hopes that they might help some of you as well.

Feel free to tell us what you think of these recipes and ideas, and feel free to share some of your own too! And for full disclaimer, this blog should not be used as a source of nutritional information; I am but a lazy person who just so happens to like good food.