Month: May 2014

Inspired by a Trip to the Market

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Halifax’s Brewery Market was full of fantastic things today – with the benefit of hothouses or a slightly milder microclimate than ours, their lettuce and spinach were way ahead. So after a blueberry muffin we picked up the delicious greens you see here. Then we hurried home to start transplanting, now that we finally are receiving some sun and milder temperatures.

When lunchtime rolled around, we topped the greens with a local apple – these are getting to the end of their useful lives now – some Cendré de Lune cheese, walnuts, and a vinaigrette of Dijon, sherry vinegar, olive oil, and tiny spoonful of maple syrup. By next week our own spinach and lettuce will be starting their picking cycle.

Next: more seeding and some flowers for the boxes…

Happy gardening (or eating). Either way, thank a farmer.

The guy on the right is a bad egg…

This Friday fixing of potato, onion, herbs, egg and tomato is looking good, except for the one whose yolk broke on the way into the pan…

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The last day at work before launching back to the world of running my own company needs to get off to a strong start. It’s not enough that my horoscope said I was a “force of nature”; I also did 45 minutes of rowing and then got to eat this awesome breakfast. Friends and future clients, here I come!

To make this (for 2 or 4):

Cook 1/2 diced onion and two diced potatoes in a small amount 5ml or 1t) olive oil. Tip in some chopped herbs and pepper. Add a couple of spoonfuls of water and break in eggs (more carefully than I did). Surround with diced tomato and lid until eggs are cooked as you like (3-6 minutes).

Have a good one!

What Cheshire cats must eat for lunch…

These melts had us grinning like Cheshire cats…probably because of the cheese. We made a tuna salad, substituting Dijon for half the mayo, and dicing in a tomato. All this went on top of toasted flax bread, with a grate of Cheshire cheese to top it off.

Under the broiler, and we were done. Lunch for two in under ten minutes, and delicious, as well!

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How do you say "Salisbury" in Italian?

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The cold, damp weather made for an uninspiring grilling day yesterday, so instead, we thought we would make some Salisbury steak from our ground beef. A check of the larder revealed sufficient missing ingredients that we needed to improvise.

We started by putting 2 diced potatoes to boil – peel on, as they are great that way for a rustic mash.

We made two patties with lean ground beef (8 oz for two), a minced clove of garlic and a few tablespoons of minced onion (shallot if you’ve got it!) We cooked these in a tiny amount of olive oil in a nonstick pan, medium high heat for 3 minutes per side. Then they went on a plate in a 250F oven while we finished the sauce…

In the pan, sauté about 1/3 of an onion (diced) with a diced sweet pepper, until the onion is translucent. Add 1/2 c (125ml) marinara and red wine, and bring to a simmer. Slip the patties into the sauce, cover, and simmer long enough to steam some peas as a side dish. Turn the patties, mash the potatoes, and serve.

Comforting food on a chilly day.

We kept them warm

California Dream Breakfast

After watching California Chrome win yesterday’s Preakness, I had California on my mind when it came to dreaming up a long-weekend breakfast idea.

A ripe avocado sealed the deal. On a toasted English muffin, we layered the avocado…mashed with a little lime juice and chopped cilantro. Next, a handful of frozen corn, toasted in a nonstick pan…with diced tomato added at the last second to warm through.

Then, a poached egg…with lime juice in the water instead of vinegar…and finally, a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning, although any chili powder would do in a pinch.

Yummy!

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These eggs put a spring in our step…

Although our garden is just beginning to spring to life, hothouse tomatoes are appearing from local farms, giving way to this delicious breakfast.

For two, we split two whole-wheat English muffins, and placed them on a parchment-lined, broiler pan for easy cleanup. Under the broiler they went, just until the cheese was crispy. We weren’t too tidy with the cheese, just so we would have leftover crispings to sprinkle on top.

Meanwhile we diced a large tomato and some parsley into a nonstick pan and heated until bubbly. We cracked in four medium eggs and lidded the lot, poaching til done.

After spooning the eggs on top of the muffins, we sprinkled with some dry mustard and the cheese crispings.

Eat up!

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Gardening is hungry work!

Yesterday was an absolutely glorious day, and hearing that there was snow in Calgary yesterday, we are grateful for the mild temperature we experienced. It let us get the garden cleaned up, prepped, and some cool weather crops sown for our spring table.

Of course digging and weeding all this (and more) in a locale that is too rocky for a tiller is no mean feat!

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This meant our salmon avocado tomato sandwiches were all the more welcome.

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For two, mix gently and spread on multigrain bread:

1 diced avocado, sprinkled w 15ml/1T lemon juice
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 can wild salmon, drained and mashed
30ml/2T light mayo

Enjoy!