Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
. Last night was The Man’s birthday and we celebrated with a prime rib roast. Today, the leftovers are in a redux of last week’s grilled salad:
Per plate:
Two good handfuls of baby greens
60-120g of sliced roast beef
Drizzling of sun-dried tomato dressing
15-30 ml of Dragon’s Breath Blue, crumbled over top
Nothing left to do but to enjoy!
Yesterday was glorious! Sunny, mild, breezy, and offering just a taste of spring. The clouds have moved in again and the wind is chillier as it blows up from the bay, but the yearning for spring salads isn’t diminished.
We grilled a steak and searched for provisions in the fridge – some spinach, a few leftover pickled beets, and an end of goat cheddar. With the addition of some walnuts and a drizzle of spicy mango dressing, it seemed like a good transition from the soups and stews of winter to the salad days we know are coming.
Today our daughter is celebrating her 30th birthday, and we are so grateful for her. She’s an amazing young woman. Last night when we returned home from gathering the ingredients for her birthday dinner, a simple dinner was in order. So we grilled the lamb chops himself had picked up at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market, and used some more of Nick’s delicious romaine to make a simple Caesar salad. The fresh Ontario garlic in the dressing was piquant!
Yesterday was a slow, sultry day, the kind where salad is the best option for any meal.
We had a bit of leftover roast lamb (the roast came from the East Lynn Farmers’ Market, just down the street) and a small chunk of feta (from Better Bulk) begging to be used. So we put this salad together:
15ml/1T each of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, whisked together in a medium bowl
A good handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
90g/3oz of diced cooked lamb
6 black olives, pitted and chopped
1 medium tomato, diced
250ml/1c broccoli florets
Our lamb had been roasted in a coating of Dijon; otherwise add about 5ml/1t of that to the dressing as well. Toss the vegetables and lamb in the vinaigrette. Serve on a bed of:
500ml/2c romaine
Over the top of the salads, sprinkle:
30g/1oz feta, crumbled
Serves 2
This morning we were just getting back from our walk when our neighbour, Nick, came around the corner. Nick is a lovely Italian man who likes to garden. His little city plot is a veritable Garden of Eden, and even those of us with urban farms of our own look forward to his gifts throughout the season.
On today’s menu, three or four heads of delicious Romaine. So what else but Caesar salad? For our lighter version we dressed a whole head with this recipe:
Whisk together a tablespoon each of wine vinegar and olive oil, a teaspoon of anchovy paste, and a crushed clove of garlic. On top, a sprinkling of Grana Padano and some oven-baked pumpernickel and multigrain croutons.
Delish!
Nothing about today’s lunch is local, with the exception that all the groceries came from less than a block’s walk of our house. That’s what the walkable feast is all about.
Today’s salad starts with a couple of good handfuls of spinach, tossed with lime juice and olive oil. Then for the topping, two pink grapefruit, peeled and diced, an avocado, about 15 dry roasted un salted almonds, chopped, half a shallot, minced, and a can of albacore tuna in water, drained and broken into chunks.
Even if the spring weather isn’t cooperating, it makes us feel like it’s a sunny California day.
Lent is nearly here. As usual, that means that just as we need to be taking stock, counting our blessings, and engaging in some introspection, the world of work is starting to get spring fever. Of course our personal commitments are also on the upswing. Projects are underway, and to-do lists are multiplying. One way to slow down the hamster wheel is to simplify wherever we can. Like Friday’s fish dinner…the perfect way to put the brakes on a hectic week.
Simply prepared, the meal includes black cod, cooked in a little olive oil and butter, and dressed with a squeeze of lime juice. On the side, a salad of local greenhouse veg (lettuce, tomato, cukes, green onion) topped with a couple of spears of visiting asparagus. For the dressing:
1T/15ml olive oil
1T/15ml Maille Dijon with hazelnuts and nutmeg (or add some nutmeg and ground nuts to your own mustard
1T/15ml sherry vinegar
I feel calmer just remembering it…
When we had a houseful of teenagers, “leftover roast beef” was an oxymoron. But our home is emptier now, and our eating habits have changed as well. Today at lunch we needed to use some roast beef. But not too much. Also on hand: a couple of roasted beets, some arugula, and the last ounce of Shropshire Blue from our New Year’s party. We sliced the beets on a bed of arugula, then the beef. Next, a vinaigrette using a tablespoon of grainy mustard (ours was Kozlik’s), a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, and the zest and juice of half an orange. A grating of the cheese and we split about a tablespoon of pecans over the two plates for extra crunch.
Quebec’s stunning Cendrillon cheese from Alexis de Portneuf is delicious all on its own, or with breads, or fruit. But we decided to use it to dress up the ubiquitous beet salad, and elevate that beyond the same old version showing up on menus all over town.
We sliced some leftover roasted beets. Then we sautéed a diced shallot in a little olive oil, and stirred in the juice of a grapefruit and a tiny splash of wine vinegar, plus about a half teaspoon of brown sugar. We reduced this to a couple of tablespoons and mixed with the beets, and set it aside to cool.
On the plates, a mixture of winter and greenhouse lettuces – Boston, radicchio, and arugula. Top it with the beets and grate about an ounce (30g) of the cheese on each (it must be very cold or it is too soft to grate – cubes or slices would work also).
Thanks to this cheese, a dull salad was transformed into a real beauty.
’twas in the dead of wintertime…yet it hardly seems it. We had a great walk around the neighbourhood today, and it was chilly but the sun was blazing. We spent the afternoon readying the house for the New Year, after the post-Epiphany cleanup.
Then to dinner. An amazing chicken breast (the whole thing, not just parts) from Plank Road Market. The husband did it as a simple roast, nothing added. We mad a little garlic mash and served it with a salad of Ontario veg, many hothouse-grown. Lettuce, arugula, cukes, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Dressing of mustard, chicken fat, and cider vinegar. A little candlelight, some East Dell wine. Ahhh…