Thursday, September 16, 2010

White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup with Spiced Turkey Meatballs

It is once again the season for soup! I must confess that I am not a lover of soups in summer. Chilled cucumber soup, Vichyssoise, even gazpacho most often leave me… cold (sorry, bad pun). The soups that I love and long for are cool weather soups that are warming, filling and comforting with ingredients that reflect the season. I also love the versatility of soups: they are great for a solo lunch, an after school snack or for a simple supper rounded out with a loaf of crusty bread, a hunk of cheese and maybe a salad.

I’m thinking that this year I might start Soup Kitchen Mondays here at my house. I will spend some time on the weekend making an aromatic stock and then make a huge pot of soup on Monday afternoon, enough to feed 12 or 14 people. Then whichever friends happen to be free can stop by, perhaps with a bottle of wine or a loaf of bread or something edible to share, and we can all have a low-key, unfussy meal, talk and enjoy an evening together. What a nice alternative to a more formal dinner party. Anyone in?

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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Salmon with Summer Corn and Tomato Salad

Last week at this time I was happily anticipating the beginning of the school year. I thought I would be thrilled to have Max back in the classroom, a regular bedtime re-instated and a re-newed sense of structure to my days.

But now, it’s only two days in and I miss those very carefree days of summer I thought I was ready to leave behind. I miss the swimming, and family walks and reading on the deck and the cocktails at the beach.

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Peach and Blackberry Crumble

I know, I know, I know what you are thinking. “Can the woman please just move on from the peaches already!” I am painfully aware that this is my third consecutive recipe to showcase peaches and I am sorry, but I just can’t help myself. I have been enjoying the peaches so much this year and have been eating a ton of them out of hand but am also enamoured as to how they are cooking up in both sweet and savory recipes. But I promise that this will be the last one for the season. And, to be fair, this time I have paired the peaches with blackberries and a crumble topping and some ice cream…

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Monday, August 30, 2010

Peach and Rosemary Galettes

With the peaches in season and so perfectly ripe I couldn’t resist another recipe that features them. This time in the form of rustic peach galettes with the addition of some fresh rosemary. It may sound a bit strange to incorporate a herb usually associated with lamb or chicken or savory sauces but you need to trust me on this one as a bit of rosemary really works well here. The key is to use the rosemary in judicious quantities so that it doesn’t overwhelm the sweetness and perfume of the peaches. A sprinkling of sugar and a tiny drizzle of honey balances the herbal/savory quality of this potent herb. And it really must be fresh rosemary, the dried stuff just won’t work here. The other key: beautiful, ripe fragrant peaches. These organic beauties came from the Okanangan Valley via Granville Island. Continue reading →

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Monday, August 23, 2010

Warm Peach, Prosciutto and Arugula Salad

Just a quick post to share what I enjoyed for lunch today. I promise I have plenty of lovely, seasonal recipes to talk about, I just need to find the time to sit and write them out. Soon, very soon.

For now, we continue to enjoy these last, precious days of summer. Swimming in the ocean, barbecuing hamburgers, reading on the deck, picking the suddenly abundant blackberries and making pies, and sorbets and crisps and even a vodka based blackberry cordial. Then there are the peaches! Just picked peaches have arrived from the Okanagan Valley that are so fragrant and ripe and juicy they almost demand to be eaten unadorned while leaning over the kitchen sink.

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Monday, August 16, 2010

Mini Pavlovas with Summer Garden Fruit

Funny thing about seasonality… We all anticipate the ripening of our gardens, the ripening of the summer season, but then bang (!) there are a whole lot of summer fruits and vegetables and we struggle to utilize them during their peak ripeness.

This highlights the blessing/curse of having a cabin get-away. I can’t help but plant a garden every year but this is the first year that I have not been around to water and tend my beloved and labour intensive plot. And for reasons that currently escape me, I actually increased the size of my vegetable/fruit/herb garden this year. What the heck was I thinking!?

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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Fig Sauce

The figs are ripe! I have been watching with a wee bit of envy as all of the east coast bloggers write of the beautiful figs that they have been enjoying for well over a month. Here, in Vancouver, we must wait a little longer but finally the figs are beginning to ripen.

I live in a neighbourhood known as Commercial Drive that is often referred to as “Little Italy” due to the large number of Italian families that settled here after WW II. There are many, many coffee shops along the Drive and you can hear the old Italian guys arguing over espressos or on the bocci courts in Victoria Park. You can see the Italian mamas picking through the escarole, baby artichokes and fennel at Norman’s Market or picking up their Prosciutto and Genoa salami at Santa Barbara Market and their Pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano at La Grotta del Formaggio.

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Summer Tomato and Gorgonzola Bread Salad with Seared Beef Tenderloin

I love bread salad. I love it in the spring (with pea shoots, asparagus, fava beans and shaved parmesan), in the fall (with roasted wild mushrooms, pancetta and leeks), and in the winter (with roasted butternut squash, thyme and a chiffonade of kale sautéed with garlic).

But it is the summer bread salad the I love the very best. With some crunchy, cayenne dusted croutons, ripe tomatoes, a bit of red onion, some torn basil leaves and a bit of cheese, nothing says summer to me like this salad. Plus, it is easy to prep all the components ahead of time and simply toss them together when you are ready to serve it. This makes it perfect for a picnic in the park or to take along to a potluck BBQ at a friend’s house or for an impromptu supper at the beach. Every time I take this salad  to a gathering I am assured of an empty bowl to take home and have even see people verbally sparring over who deserves the last crouton.

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