Gazpacho

Since Shauna's shower was held over lunch on a hot summer day, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at gazpacho which is a traditional Spanish tomato soup that is served cold.

I was not able to find a recipe I loved on the Internet so I combined several recipes to come up with my own and it turned out fantastic. I served the gazpacho in my punch bowl with plastic cups for easy to handle servings.

Serves 8

5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

4 cups vegetable juice

Tabasco

Salt

Pepper

Roughly chop the vegetables and herbs.

 

Transfer the vegetables to a blender and puree until the desired consistency is reached.

 

Add the vinegar, oil, lemon, sugar and vegetable juice. Stir to combine. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste. More vinegar or lemon juice can be added if the soup is not tart enough. Serve cold.

 

 

Amy

Tip: To peel the tomatoes, put the tomatoes in to a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute or until the skin starts to bubble or crack. Remove from the pot and place in to an ice bath. The skins will then pull right off the tomato!

CSA: Week 3

This weeks basket included a head of lettuce, mesclun salad mix, peas, chard and strawberries!

Check out the Noble Gardens blog for a peak into what goes in to a family farm.


Amy

Onesie Baby Shower

This weekend I had the honour of hosting a baby shower for my friend Shauna who is expecting a little boy in early August.


I went with a "onesie" theme complete with laundry lines of paper onesies, a onesie bouquet, onesie cookies, and onesie decorating.

It turned out to be a fabulous day - good weather, great friends and lots of fun. The food turned out fantastic - if I do say so myself - I am hoping to share a couple recipes over the next couple days.

Amy

Green Pea and White Bean Soup

With an abundance of peas from the garden and our CSA basket, I took the opportunity to make one of my favorite soup recipes. I love this soup because it is easy and fast - perfect for a weeknight dinner. By omitting the bacon and using vegetable stock, it could easily be transformed to vegetarian.

Adapted from Chatelaine, serves 4

6 slices bacon, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

540 mL can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups green peas

900 mL chicken or vegetable stock

Parmesan cheese

Fresh mint

In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute the bacon until cooked through. Add the onions and garlic, saute until soft.

Add the beans, peas and stock to the pot and bring to a boil, about 12 minutes.

Remove from heat. Transfer to a blender or use a hand blender to puree until smooth. Return to the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.

Garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh mint.

Enjoy!

Amy

CSA: Week 2

This week our CSA basket included spinach, peas and beets.

Amy

Trout with Wasabi Sauce

With Dave out of town, I am taking the opportunity to go through my list of recipes that contain ingredients he won't eat. Not that he is a picky eater - his only dislikes are wasabi and olives.

This recipe was perfect because it also allowed me to use the bok choy that Shane gave me from his garden. Next year I will definetly have to try growing my own!



From Martha Stewart, serves 4

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup fresh cilantro or basil

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 to 3 teaspoons wasabi paste

1-1/2 inch piece fresh ginger

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 trout fillets

Salt

Pepper

1/2 cup mirin

1 tablespoon soy sauce

4 heads baby bok choy

In a blender, combine the mayonnaise, herbs, lime, wasabi, ginger. Add the wasabi 1 teaspoon at a time to reach the right level of bite for your taste - wasabi can be a bit overpowering. Blend until smooth. Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of water to thin the sauce to the desired consistency.

Season the fish with salt and pepper and place into a large skillet over medium-high heat with the oil. Cook until opaque and flaky, about 4 minutes per side. Alternatively, use fillets with the skin on and grill the fish on the bar-b-que.

Remove the fish from the skillet. Add the mirin, soy sauce and bok choy. Cover and cook until the bok choy is tender, about 5 minutes.

Serve the fish over the bok choy and drizzle with the wasabi sauce.



Amy

In the Garden: Week 9

The sun finally came out and the garden has really taken off - including the weeds! We are finally getting to eat from the garden!

Herbs

Spinach

Strawberries

Radishes

Peas

Even Mylo get eat from the garden! 

Amy

Edamame Salad

Things have been pretty hectic the past two weeks preparing for David's Yukon adventure. Even though I am staying at home, I got charged with the task of preparing the meals for the backcountry camping trips... hence why I have been a little slow on blogging. 

Two trips, sixteen days, three meals, four men, two dogs = a lot of food!

Yes, the duffle bag is full of food as well...

I will hopefully get around to posting some of my backcountry camping recipes but in the mean time - an easy summer salad.

Serves 4

1 package frozen shelled edamame, thawed

1 red pepper, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/4 teaspoon chili sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Serve cold.

Amy

CSA: Week 1

We finally got the first basket from our CSA program!

This week we got mesclun salad mix, spinach, snow peas and a fun surprise - a basil plant.

They think that next week we will start to get strawberries!

Amy