A couple of weeks ago we were down at Hooked and they had a delicious-looking slab of sustainably-caught albacore tuna. It was just the thing we were looking for, to be tossed with some homemade marinara and whole-wheat spaghettini. Tasty, fast, and healthy – the perfect Friday night supper.
Tag: food
Thank you Jamie Oliver
What a great day it was when we learned
to make this delicious tomato salad from a Jamie Oliver cookbook! The farmer’s markets (or if you’re lucky, your back yards) are full of them now. Of course we’ve made it often enough we keep adapting it, so it’s not exactly as it was. In this case we used some red onion from the market, the usual dried oregano, balsamic, EVOO, and pepper. Then a chiffonade of basil from the urban farm, to top it off. Goes with anything, or itself. Mmmm.
Fingerling Out What to Do with these Potatoes
We found these delicious fingerling potatoes at the market, tiny and golden. But how to cook them?
Since we had plans to put a chicken on to roast, we decided maximizing our use of the oven was a fine idea. After rubbing the little fellows with some olive oil, we put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and ground on a little salt. Then we topped them with sprigs of rosemary we had growing out back. When the chicken was half-done (after 30 minutes at 450F) we put the potatoes in. At the one-hour mark we took the chicken out to rest, and turned off the oven, leaving these tiny morsels to finish cooking.
They were crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside, and good all over.
Cool as a Cucumber
Last week I tweeted about the cucumber watermelon salad we were making – some folks wanted a recipe. It’s not much of a recipe, really, but here it is:
Peel some English cucumber and cut into thick chunks. Cube some watermelon about the same size, and remove the seeds. Place these in a bowl.
In a small prep bowl, whisk together 15ml (1T) olive oil and 30ml (2T) cider vinegar. Drizzle this over and give it a toss. Grind on a few good grinds of pepper. Then julienne some basil leaves and sprinkle over the top. We’re lucky enough to have lots of fresh basil growing on the urban farm, but it’s plentiful in stores right now, or in farmer’s markets.
Put the whole thing in the fridge until it’s well-chilled. It’s a sure-fire solution to cool you off on a sultry summer day.
So Delicious, We Could Spit…
Himself went to Royal Beef one day recently, when the skies were blue and cloudless, and the barbecue was calling his name. What he found was this tremendous-looking pork roast. He dressed it with a little salt and pepper, some dry mustard, and put it on the spit.
Slow, steady cooking was what it needed, and then a rest. Although there were juices on the board, with a little tenting, most were retained, and it was moist and marvelous.
There's a Reason to Freeze your Beans!
Remember back in the spring, when we were baking and freezing batches and batches of beans? This was one of them – white beans with rosemary. Fast-forward to a blisteringly hot day, and those frozen beans came in handy. We put them on the counter to thaw in the morning, and stuck them back in the fridge when they were slightly icy, around lunchtime.
About half an hour before dinner, we mixed up a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar, a tablespoon of creamy Dijon, and some olive oil. We blanched some green beans, peas, and asparagus, then chilled them quickly in an ice-water bath.
We chopped in a litte oregano from the garden, and a green onion. Then we diced a couple of farmer’s market tomatoes. We grated in some cheddar from Montforte. Then we tossed it all together in a big bowl with some salt-cured olives from Plank Road Market.
Pair it with a light, bright, summer wine, and the heat will suddenly seem more bearable.
Rhubarb Berry Crisp – Garden Heaven
A week or two ago I was lamenting the lack of local strawberries. Frankly it’s a bit early for most of the province but they could be found in a few places – there were apparently some for sale at the Brickworks market. But this past week East Lynn Farmer’s market had a few. And my grandmother’s rhubarb (transported far and wide across the country, into various family gardens) was ready for the pulling.
What to make? Pie or crisp? The guys made the decision. Much to my surprise, they chose the crisp! Mix the fruit in the pan and sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of sugar.
For the topping, about 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter. Relax, it’s crisp! Then a bit of brown sugar, some oats, and a little whole-wheat flour. Mix it together til it’s crumbly. Sprinkle over the top.
Bake at 350F for about half an hour. Check it. If it’s not golden, give it another 10 or 15 minutes.
You can serve it warm, by itself. Ice cream is nice. Or you can eat it the next morning as leftovers, with a little plain yogurt from your favourite organic dairy.
Farmers' Market Season has Arrived!
Now I know summer is really going to get here! The East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market is finally open.
Clearly the farmers have had the same problems we’ve had with the garden – cool temperatures, and not enough sun. But there were a few early veggies to be had, and some rhubarb. As for us, we bought a delicious looking rack of lamb from the Belanger brothers, Peter & Josh. By the time we arrived their veg were pretty well sold o
ut.
We also swung by Montforte and picked up some cheese – oh, what a surfeit of delicious dairy flavours. Today we went for an oozing packet of ripe deliciousness (camembert?) with herbs, and some nice hard cheese for grating.
Last stop, Better Bulk for some whole wheat flour – gotta get some bread going before the heat returns. It’s going to be a tasty week.
Warning! Slow Food Alert! Barley and Brown Rice Risotto
Once in awhile you just need to s-l-o-w down. The other night we had some fish we wanted to use to make a nice fish risotto. Just as in many places, it’s been raining. And raining. And raining. So when we opened the cupboard to discover that we didn’t have any risotto rice left (arborio, or canaroli, preferably), we were worried. What to do?
We did have some delicious short grain brown rice from Better Bulk. But it doesn’t really give enough starch to give the creaminess we like. We did have some pearl barley. Why not the two? So since we were in a kind of “use up what’s there” mode, we also threw in various veg that were in the fridge.We started by the usual risotto method – cooking the barley and rice in a little olive oil, with some onion, garlic, and carrots from Kelly’s. When it started to get translucent, but not toasted, we de-glazed with a little vermouth (but apple juice would work, if you prefer, or even a little vinegar).
Next, the rest of the veg – a bit of spinach that wouldn’t hold up another day for salad. A half tomato hiding in the fridge. Another half tomato with the nasty side cut off. And a little bell pepper and a few mushrooms.
All the while, keep adding liquid – for us, vegetable stock. Add a cup, stir. Keep simmering! Another cup…for barley and brown rice this might take an hour. Do it with a good friend or significant other. Play nice music. Drink some wine. It 
will be worth it!
When all was cooked down to creamy deliciousness, we stirred in the diced trout fillet, and a couple of spears of asparagus, broken into lengths. Soon it was done. Comfort food for a very un-spring-like day. A great meal to share.
On the Urban Farm
What makes the 
feast even more walkable is when some of the food comes from our own back yard. We’ve been starting tomatoes and peppers indoors, and last week we were able to really get things cleaned up and going in the garden. (The indoor veg will start hardening off in our mini greenhouse this week).
We’re looking forward to some peas – the shoots are finally out of the ground (just!) after a slow, cool start.