Walk Widely. Eat Wisely. Live Gratefully.
We East Coasters like our shortcake a certain way. First, it doesn’t really involve cake. It takes biscuits. We make fresh, hot tea biscuits. We top them with sliced strawberries that have been sprinkled with a spoonful or two of sugar (no more!) and allowed to make some juice.
Then we give each shortcake a dollop of delicious, cool whipped cream with vanilla and just a hint of sugar. Summer on a plate!
Berry season!
There’s no better breakfast than some fresh-made jam from your own kitchen (we made twoberry, our combination of raspberry and blueberry). Serve it on top of flaky tea biscuits and a hot cup of joe – and you’re golden!
The Belanger Brothers favoured us with some lamb leg steaks recently. They 
were a little big to just fire on the grill (if we wanted to keep in fighting trim). So we diced them into nice cubes and threaded them onto skewers. In between, we had mushrooms, baby tomatoes, yellow zucchini, and onion. When they were grilled, we served them on platters, with some creamy avocado, sprinkled with lemon. It’s not local – but it’s our kind of local. We bought it down the street at Kelly’s.
Recently we had some Copper River Salmon from Hooked. It looked sublime, even before it was cooked. We took the fillet and rubbed it down with a little olive oil, then chopped some herbs over it – green onion, tarragon, oregano, and garlic chives. We sprinkled some dry mustard over, and gave it a very light grind of salt.
We cooked it on the grill, on a sheet of foil,
since we didn’t have a plank. The smell was glorious. While it was cooking, we boiled up some baby red potatoes, and sliced up a radish or two. We mixed those in with the bean salad from the day before. It was an amazing feast.
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember Green Goddess dressing. But the old-school version was very creamy and very caloric. It also was often made like mayonnaise, with a raw egg, which doesn’t hold up to everyone’s food safety standards these days.
This version’s a simple homage to the original: whisk together a white-wine style Dijon (about a tablespoon), and a similar amount of olive oil, and lime juice. Give it just a pinch of salt and some finely chopped herbs (we had some tarragon, greek oregano, and garlic chives). Gently stir in about a tablespoon of plain yogurt and 1/2 a cup of finely diced cucumber. Pour over whatever veg you’re serving, and others will be green with envy
Sunday morning, feeling lazy. We had a meal plan but it was organized on a day when we weren’t overtired, and were feeling extra energetic. Sunday came, and we just wanted to chill. What to do?
We had some great organic whole wheat English muffins in the cupboard. We also had some delicious Green Valley eggs from Rowe Farms (we got them at Better Bulk). There was an end of some ash-coated cheese from Montforte Dairy.
So, we toasted the muffins. Sliced the cheese thin and put it on the hot muffins so it could wilt a little. Meanwhile, we poached the eggs. We sprinkled the whole thing with some French tarragon, which was growing in the urban farm. (We didn’t start it from seed – we bought it from Mimi’s convenience, around the corner).
That, and a hot cup of coffee will get you Sunday morning heaven. (Okay, that and church – which we had plenty of energy for, after a breakfast like this!)
The harvest has begun on the urban farm. (We’re also seeing some fabulous produce in the Farmer’s Markets at East Lynn and Coxwell). Most exciting, is when we can start clipping lettuce, right outside the back door.
We’re well-served on our walkable route to food and feast-stuffs, except for one thing. There is a limited supply of places to buy good-quality fish. Recently we visited Hooked, on Queen Street. They have an amazing selection, arranged west-to-east in a gorgeous glass fridge. Advice and provenance of the fish are freely provided.
The only problem we had with Hooked was figuring out which fish. Too many to choose from, and all of them looked good. In the end we settled on a huge fillet of Lake Huron Char. Then, what to do?
We baked it, glazed (see our recipe page, here).
Of course it was too big for two, so we put a couple of pieces in the freezer for a day when we want a delicious meal, but fast. So much better than the corner burgermeisters. There was still some left. What to do?
Stay tuned tomorrow!
One secret to success are fresh fruits and vegetables when you’re trying to lose
weight and keep in shape. If you combine that with a desire to eat local, and you live in a climate where those things don’t grow all year round, it’s a challenge. We like local. We like farmer’s markets. But let’s face it, some things just don’t grow around here at the best of times. So unlike some locavores, we’re not giving up lemons, or oranges, or coffee, because they come from somewhere else. Our compromise? We compare the ones that are available within a reasonable walk from our house (for us, that’s probably about 30 minutes each way), and buy the ones that come from the closest locale. What we get in return is an opportunity to get to know our local shopkeepers, still have a variety of foods, and to offset our carbon footprint by using…well…our feet!
Every time I tell someone I’m making bread, they answer, “Oh, do you have a breadmaker?”
“Yes”, I answer, “This is it”.
I make bread the same way your grandmother made bread. (Assuming your grandma made bread). Two hands, some flour, and the best therapy money can buy. Old recipes are best – unlike the breadmaker, most of these are designed to make four loaves at a time. Of course they need some adaptations for today’s modern diet. Shortening or lard can be replaced by a more heart-friendly oil – olive if you’re making a savoury bread, or something with a milder flavour, like canola. Salt (which used to be vital when yeast was more volatile) can now be cut down dramatically, or eliminated from the recipe entirely.
This is a batch I made earlier this week.
I know, I hear you…who has time?! Well, while this bread was on the go I did some cleaning. Worked on my French homework. Watched some television. Not to mention that other than the oven to bake it, the only energy used was mine.
It’s full of delicious, tasty things. (I substituted some rolled spelt flakes and whole wheat flour). The last loaf has some dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds in it. Those things, plus white flour, yeast, and some brown sugar, came from Better Bulk.
So get your breadmakers working – it’s faster than a breadmaker. You get more bread. And the kneading is the best therapy money can buy.