Summer salsa

We are heading to friends' cottage this weekend for an annual triathalon weekend, and we are on tap for Sunday morning breakfast. Since peaches are so delicious right now, I am going to serve cheese scones, scrambled eggs, and peameal with this peach salsa.

The recipe is super easy and very flexible. I combined peaches, avocado, onion, tomatoes and cilantro, then added a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Peaches can be replaced with mango or a citrus fruit if you'd prefer, and you can add corn if you have some left over from last night's dinner.

This is also delicious with fish and adds a gorgeous flash of colour - tonight we are having it with salmon! Yum!

When is a dessert really dessert?

As I blogged about here, my husband and I are in the midst of a very competitive health competition. We earn points for exercise, and lose points for 'food infactions' like eating desserts, white flour, and refined sugar.

I was tickled pink when my friend Erin catered to our restrictions by making us faux ice cream this weekend while we were visting her parents' abode in Flesherton, Ontario. The concoction has no sugar or artificial sweetener, and it is yum!

Directions
- Slice and freeze a few bananas
- Once bananas are frozen add a spash of milk, a few scoops of plain yogurt, a teaspoon of cocoa powder, a few spoons of all-natural peanut butter, and a teaspoon of vanilla.
- Blend it all together and stick it back in the freezer for 30 minutes or so before serving.

Enjoy it guilt free!!

Easy salmon for summer

Apologies if the photo is not terribly appetizing....

But I wanted to share a new super easy, super tasty recipe...I'm not even sure it can be called a recipe, it's so simple.

Take salmon, hot or cold, and top it with grainy mustard and horseradish.

Done.

Woohoo! It's got zing, and the flavours match beautifully with salmon.

Enjoy the salmon, and bask in the glory of having only 2 spoons to wash after dinner.

Easy summer salad

Last night I made this delicious summer salad. It is among the most interesting flavour combinations you'll experience, and is oh-so-easy to prepare.

Cube watermelon.
Cube feta.
Chiffonade fresh mint.
Toss with olive oil and balsamic.

Bam.

Salty and sweet, refreshing and creamy.

This salad has it all.

Lobster and crab

This weekend we were supposed to go camping with a group of friends, but we decided not to as there were thunder showers...not fun with kids! Since my husband and I were on point for dinner, we just relocated the troops to a friend's house.

This Toronto Star article about the plummetting price of lobster inspired me to cook some live ones with corn on the cob! The plan was to boil water over the camp fire, but they tasted just as good over a gas range!

The cheapest lobsters in the city that I could fine were at T&T Supermarket down in the portlands...if you haven't been, you should...it's famtastic: great produce, cheap milk, and tons of asian specialties, from dumplings to Peking Duck. Lobsters were a bargain at $8.99/lb! Do it!

The last supper

As I blogged about here and here, during my maternity leave I have been participating in a food share with two other nearby mat leave mamas, Kate and Julie. Every Wednesday one of us was responsible for giving a family meal to each of the other two moms....as a result, we each only had to cook once every three Wednesdays. GENIUS! It worked brilliantly - the rules were simply to cook wholesome, inexpensive meals.

With summer vacations and wonky schedules upon us, we have ended our little food share and last night we had our last meal from Julie: a delicious and refreshing tomato cucumber gazpacho with grilled chicken and whole wheat baguette.

Our food share is one of the things I've been so grateful for on this maternity leave. It has inspired me to cook new recipes and given me the opportunity to enjoy meals from two other amazing chefs.

Food share, RIP! You were fantastic while you lasted!

UPDATE: Julie sent me the recipe from Martha Stewart Everyday Food!!

Tomato Gazpacho with Chicken
serves 4 • active time: 20 min • total time: 20 min + chilling

2 1/2 pounds tomatoes, quartered
1 small piece stale bread, crust removed, torn (1/4 cup)
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 English cucumber, cut into pieces
1 serrano chile, seeded
1 clove garlic
1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
reserved chicken breasts, shredded

1 In batches, in a blender, puree tomatoes, bread, and 4 tablespoons oil. Add cucumber, chile, garlic, and vinegar to taste; blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to 2 days).

2 Divide soup among four bowls, top with chicken, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and serve.

per serv: 384 cal; 21 g fat (4 g sat fat); 30 g protein; 20 g carb; 4 g fiber

A novel dessert

My Dad is coming to visit from Vancouver tomorrow. He is an avid reader, and recently commented to my Mom that the characters in his books are always ordering Key Lime Pie, but he has never actually tried the dessert himself. So in honour of his arrival I made him a Key Lime Pie today....but I didn't have key limes, so I guess it's just a lime pie. It is cooling now, so I'll post some 'final' pictures tomorrow!

The recipe came from the "Ask a Chef" column in House and Home magazine, which finds restaurant recipes upon the request of readers. The original recipe is from the restaurant E11even in Toronto. It is super easy, and super refreshing.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

5 egg yolks

1 can sweetened, condensed milk

120 mL lime juice (I also add some lime zest for extra zing!)

Fresh whipped cream, to serve (optional)

1. Preheat over to 375 F

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and milted butter. Press firmly into pie plate

3. Combine sweetened, condesnsed milk and egg yolks, whisking together. Whistk in lime juice unitl smooth.

4. Pour mixture into pie crust and bake until set, about 20 to 25 minutes.

5. Let cool, then refrigerate at least 3 hours. Garnish with freshly whipped cream and serve.

easy-peasy-pizza

My mom is arriving from Vancouver this afternoon. I had grand plans for a perfectly clean house and a gorgeous meal on the table upon her arrival, but it ain't in the cards, my friends! My son has come down with HFMD (the benign sounding acronym for hand foot and mouth disease!), so he's been up all night, not napping well during the day, and just generally fussy and needy.

So I've opted for an easy dinner of pizza with lots of fresh veggies. I use plain tomato paste for sauce since it's packed with lychopene, which is great for fighting cancer (there is a lot of cancer in both my Mom and Dad's families, so I try to eat of lot of cooked tomato)....and all the leftover veggies from the pizza will be great in an accompanying spinich salad! Yum!

A Bulk Barn birthday

This weekend was my daughter's birthday, and we celebrated with friends at Lake Simcoe (we're having her real party next weekend).

We had a Dora pinata (15% off at Bulk Barn; start the car!!) and a purple iced cake with creepy Dora faces on them (also courtesy of BB).

The pinata was fun until Dora got decapitated and my daughter burst into tears...ooops - perhaps I should have anticipated that. We did it, we did it, we did it, yeah!

Feeding baby

Today was one of the rare days when I had access to our car (my husband took my sister's car to work), so I went wild and went to Loblaws..wooohooo! Crazy talk, I know.

I am always looking for creative things to feed my 9 month old that don't result in leftovers that get thrown out. Loblaws is selling these salmon skewers for $2.50....the perfect amount of salmon for a few days worth a meals for the little guy!

Ola to granola!

A number of months ago I found a recipe for delicious and healthy granola bars in House and Home magazine; the recipe came from the Chateau Deli and the Chateau Lake Louise. When I went to make it the other day I was out of rolled oats so I swapped in steel cut oats (which are higher in protien and fibre than regular oats) and quinoa. To be honest, the texture is not quite as nice as with the rolled oats, but it is indeed a healthier alternative.

Here is the recipe...it is the perfect excuse to visit your local bulk store...and ditch those Nature Valley bars from your cupboard (This Globe and Mail article compares them to chocolate bars, after all!)

3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup canola oil
2 tbsp fancy molasses
3 cups rolled oats (do not use instant oats, but you can sub in some quinoa and/or a different type of oat)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup chopped cashews
1/4 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup milk powder

- Preheat oven to 375F. Mix oil, honey and molasses together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour liquid over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
- Press mixture out in a shallow rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Allow to cool and cut into squares. I find these best when kept in the freezer.

Another day, another salad

Today I was having a friend for lunch, but the thought of cooking in this heat was too much to handle. So I made an at home salad bar, which is my new go-to for summer guests.

My favourite toppings include:
- Greens (romaine, spinich, arugula....anything goes)
- Steamed veggies (green beans, asparagus)
- Grilled veggies (mushrooms, peppers)
- Cheese (feta and chevre are my faves)
- Nuts (how can you say no to roasted almonds?)
- Roasted beets
- Some kind of grain (Quinoa and wheat berries are my current obsessions)
- Some kind of protien (chicken, fish, and steak are all delish)
- Fruit (Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pear, apple.....yum!)

....top it with your favourite homemade vinigarette!

What are your favourite salad bar toppings? I am always looking for new ideas to keep it interesting!

Notes: My table cloth is embarassingly wrinkled...but it is a vintage cloth from my Grandma that I love. I was at my friend Erin's tonight and she had an equally vintagey looking one from Anthropologie. Fun....and yes, those damn carnations are still alive! They won't die!

Summer salads

With local Ontario fare on the offer at produce stands right now, who could resist a hearty summer salad?

Here's one I made this weekend that was delicious and satisfying:

- Steamed Ontario asparagus and green beans (do not over-steam..they should still have crunch!
- Cooked wheat berries (more on wheat berries below)
- Roasted beets cut into bite sized pieces (pickled or canned beets would work equally well!!)
- Roasted pecans
- Crumbled or cubed feta
- Vinigarette made with fresh lemon juice and olive oil

This salad is great because nothing will wilt - leftovers will last at least 2 days...but I bet there won't be much leftover! You could also top this with salmon or chicken for added protien.

Background on wheat berries:
Wheat berries are whole, unprocessed wheat kernels that contain all three parts of the grain, including the germ, bran and endosperm (does this make you blush too?).  Only the hull, the inedible outer layer of the grain, has been removed. As a result, wheat berries retain all of the grain's vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. I find them to be a nice alternative to quinoa...they are equally nutty, but bigger and a bit chewy in texture.

New kitchen toy

My newest kitchen toy is an oil sprayer....it sprays your favourite cooking oil like Pam, but is free of all the butane and other chemicals used to create the spray. As well, you end up using much less oil than if you were to pour it out of the bottle.

This was my Mother's Day gift...but don't blame my husband for the unexciting gift; it was exactly what I asked for!

This one is made by Cuisinpro and is available at IQ Living on the Danforth.

Better burgers

Do you ever wonder what our generation does that we'll look back on incredulously? When I was a child there were always more kids than seat belts stuffed into cars, and more often than not whomever was driving was smoking. No parent would do this today unless they wanted a visit from CAS! Sometimes I wonder if we'll look back on meat eating this way.

I am not a vegetarian, but I do look for ways to reduce the amout of meat my family eats. One of my favourite tricks is for making delicious hamburgers. I use half meat and half minced mushrooms. If you use a food processor to mince the mushrooms, they take on a ground-meat like quality. The result is burgers that are moist, flavourful, and about half the calories of a regular patty...who doesn't like that?

Happy grilling!

PS: In past I have considered just buying vegetarian patties, but they are often higher in fat than meat patties....crazy but true.

Ji ji ji ji ji jiggggly

My daughter is having a friend for dinner, so we decided to make green Jello Jigglers for dessert...very healthy, indeed. I opted for the regular Jello instead of the sugar-free variety since I'm wary of aspertame (along with fat-free potato chips and Communists).

Good thing these girls are only 2 and won't notice that my shapes are flawed...I had trouble getting the Jello off the bottom of my Pyrex dish....next time I might give it the lighest spray of canola oil first (or use a bit less water so they're firmer).

Either way, these are good old fashioned sugary fun.

Here is the recipe I used (from www.cooks.com):  

- 2 1/2 c. boiling water
- 4 pkg. (4 serving size) or 2 pkg. (8 serving size) Jello gelatin, any flavor
- Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely.
- Pour the mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan.
- Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Jigglers will be firm after 1 hour but may be difficult to remove from pan. Dip bottom of pan in warm water for 15 seconds to loosen gelatin.
- Choose a fun shaped cookie cutter. Press the cutter into the Jello and then lift the cutter straight up. Use your fingers to remove jigglers from the pan.

Fresh From the Farm



Photo from Fresh From the Farm website

 Toronto East-enders take note - Fresh From the Farm is an organic food shop on Donlands between Cosburn and O'Connor. It sells a plethora of organic meats and dairy products, often from Menonite farms, as well as coffee, tea, jams, breads, and fresh produce in the summer.

I must admit that I don't regularly buy organic....I am often unsure how much of the high price tag on organic goods is their true cost versus expensive marketing. But unlike many organic shops, this one is all product and no trendy accoutrements. Their prices are wickedly reasonable and the staff is super knowledgable. 

My first foray into FFTF was upon the recommendation of my friends Kate and Julie for a Christmas turkey - I ordered it by phone and was able to pick it up on Christmas Eve, so it didn't occupy valuable fridge space. Everyone agreed it was among the best turkeys we've ever had. Our Easter ham was equally delectable, as were the burgers we made from FFTF's ground beef.

I am sold on FFTF like a pig in mud! I am going to try their eggs next. Mmmm.

PS: The Leslieville Cheese Shop has opened right across the street....perhaps a foodie corridor is developing!

Kale, two ways

I have long been intrigued by kale for its vivid green hue and notable health benefits, but frankly have been a bit timid about cooking with it. ....until the food Gods intervened and presented me with two kale recipes to try my hand at. It was a sign!

For Easter we cooked a ham and were left with a hefty ham bone which I decided I would make a soup from. A few of the recipes I found online suggested adding kale. Then yesterday, I received a kale salad recipe in the newsletter from the Toronto Centre Naturpathic Medicine clinic I visited during my pregnancy.

I made the soup today and am going to try out the salad recipe tomorrow.

Both recipes are below.

Leftover Easter Ham and Kale Soup (adapted from various online recipes)

- Simmer leftover ham bone in a stock pot for about 4 hours

- Remove bone from liquid; place liquid in refrigerator overnight

- Remove fat from top of stock the following morning ( it will be hardened, so can be removed quite easily)

- Reheat stock. Once boiling, add a few handfuls of soup mix (dried lentils, split peas, pearl barley, etc.)

- When soup mix is almost softened, add veggies (I added carrots, celery, green beans, and onion)

- Once vegetables are partially cooked, turn off heat

- Add diced leftover ham, a can of rinsed navy beans, and shredded kale

- Add spices (I added a few shakes of Italian seasoning as well as some fresh rosemary, thyme, and ground pepper)

- Serve with crusty bread! Yum!

Kale salad (from Toronto Centre Naturopathic Medicine clinic April Newsletter)

- Massage coarse sea salt into fresh washed and chopped kale leaves

- Add some extra virgin olive oil, chopped fresh garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste

- Add some toasted pine nuts, pumpkin or sesame seeds

- Add dried currants, cranberries, or raisins

UPDATE: I made the Kale salad. It was delicious, but raw kale is deffinitely on the bitter, earth side of the spectrum. The pine nuts add a beautiful creaminess, and the cranberries and lemon juice counteract the bitterness. I used non-coarse sea salt and it worked fine. Next I need to try Kale chips! Yum!

Communal living

Whisler, BC, image courtesy of BClimo.ca

I have been slow on blogging of late, as I am out in BC on holiday - in Vancouver visiting my parents and currently in Whistler skiing with a great group of friends.

This is our 8th annual ski trip with the same friends. We started the trip when we were all single partiers, but now we have found that the format of the trip works beautifully with kids. We rent a big chalet and each couple is assigned to cook a dinner one night during the week. We have a breakfast team and a sandwich team for lunches. The trip is planned with equal rigour. One friend researches locations and accomodations, my husband is responsible for land and ground transportation, I am responsible for food, and we have an entertainment committee. It is a logistical symphony!

We do a similar trip each year in Prince Edward County in the fall. Before our kids were born we would spend our days cycling the wineries. Now, with kids (this year we had 8 altogether!) our plans are less agressive, and we focus more on good hanging out time.

Prince Edward County, near Picton, Ontario

I have found that communal living is the best way to travel if you have kids and you suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). ....you can put young kids down for naps and still hang out with all your friends. In contrast, hotel based vacations result in one parent having to sit in a dark room in the middle of the day while their children sleep...no fun.

How do you travel with your kids?

Double duty!

Eureka!

My mom has shared with me a secret for cooking oatmeal, rice and quinoa, without being left with a mucky pot that needs to be soaked and scrubbed....a double boiler. It works like a charm and means that you don't have to be constantly stirring....just set it and forget it!!!