Simple Carrot Salad

This is my entire carrot harvest of summer 2012.

Looks kind of sad when you think of it like that, but I prefer to appreciate the fact that I got one big bowl of sweet crunchy fresh carrots rather than none at all. The glass has been pretty well half full around these parts lately, thanks to this little beauty:

With him strapped to my chest or asleep on Daddy, I've finally been able to venture back into our overgrown forgotten garden and harvest some goodies, rip out some oldies, and plant some newbies.

The bebe has also been such a great reminder to slow down and stop and smell the roses. Life takes on such a different pace with him around and everything holds such a different meaning.

Which is why I just devoured and enjoyed this little carrot salad for what it was in the moment, and nothing more.

The recipe is from Everybody Likes Sandwiches, check it out here.

June Garden Tour

Things are really in full swing here in my backyard. I am officially swimming in salad greens (I've given away 3 grocery bags full of greens in the past week and still have so much left to eat) and am starting to think this is going to be a theme this summer. Thankfully most everything else I'll be growing will be preservable.

Come take a peek into my garden...

Asparagus Chorizo Hash

Mmm-mm, this was so good! 

Hit-the-spot good. 

Making-me-crave-it-for-dinner-again-tonight good. 

My mind is truly everywhere else right now, so I don't know what else I can say to make you want to cook this. It's just damn good!

Asparagus Salad

Do you ever have those moments when you have an idea for a dish or meal that slowly evolves into merely a shell of it's former self? Well that happens to me sometimes, like when I wanted to make a spring Panzanella salad and wound up with this.
Baked croutons, asparagus, dill, bitter greens, and some green onions are dressed in olive oil, lemon juice, a little garlic and lots of shaved extra old gouda.
The end result really reminded me of the flavours of my favourite Kale Salad but with more texture and diversity. This one's a keeper for sure!

Seed Starting Part II

Remember how I was telling you a while ago about how determined I was to make starting seeds indoors really work for me this year? Well I think it's safe to say it has worked! YAAAAY!
Every once and a while (ok all the time) I look at my plants I've started from seed and seriously can't believe that I GREW THEM! They look like "real" plants!!
My tomato plants are all looking so nice and strong. I've already started hardening off the really big ones outside (fingers crossed I don't regret that decision).

The bok choy, tatsoi and marigold pictured above were all started indoors and all appear to be very happy now that they've been transplanted to my garden. I've sown some more seeds of both greens directly so I can hopefully have a continued harvest. 

I will say that starting these greens indoors was mildly frustrating. I really only have 2 good looking bok choy plants out of close to a dozen. They were just SO leggy and seemed really unhappy indoors. I was able to find a couple good looking sprouts and transplant them to larger containers indoors (which resulted in these bad boys) but I feel like greens are really so much happier to just start outdoors. I've noticed the same with all my other greens too, such as arugula, romaine lettuce, etc. I'm not sure if I would start them again inside next year or not. I feel like I didn't get much quantity considering how many seeds germinated, but it sure is nice to have such well established greens this early in my garden. Someday I'll hopefully have cold frames and then will be able to grow greens outdoors all year round.

Before my husband had time to build our garden boxes I was feeling rather antsy and just couldn't wait to get some things growing outside so I started some radishes, various lettuce mixes, swiss chard and chives in containers. Seeing those little red gems poking out from the soil just makes me so happy.

How is your garden growing? 

Wilted Swiss Chard Potato Salad

Everyone keeps asking me if I've been having any strange cravings while pregnant. I feel like I'm almost disappointing people when I say no, not really. I remember asking pregnant friends the same thing, so curious of the weird and wacky food combinations they were eating. But most of them, like myself had nothing interesting to share.
I do feel like I'm eating a little differently but not all that "weird". There were a few weeks there when I could eat a bowl of cherry tomatoes simply dressed a few times a day, yet now it just doesn't appeal to me in the same way.
Around the same time I'd also slather a piece of toast with an inch thick layer of herb goat cheese and savour every tangy bite.
Lately I'd be pretty happy to eat some sort of grilled sausage on a bun smothered in mustard at any point in the day, but that's about it for real "cravings".

For the rest of the time I'm still trying to just enjoy all that spring has to offer. This salad is a perfect example of such. Asparagus, swiss chard and quinoa make this potato salad feel like a much healthier version of it's usual self.

Mango, Cucumber and Radish Salad

I think all of us who try to eat locally can admit that there are times we're weak and break down and buy produce "from away". My toughest time (as I've mentioned before) is usually towards the end of winter when I just can't eat another root vegetable and all I want are greens. Thankfully there are a few great sources for early spring greens here in Halifax to quench the craving.
However this spring my pregnancy has really thrown me for a loop. I've been craving fruit like nobody's business and can't get it off my mind. Apples aren't really cutting it anymore and lately I've been trying to satisfy myself with oodles of cherry tomatoes. Strawberries and peaches are what I'm really after but I still have so long to wait! I recently felt it was time to make the executive decision to just buy some imported fruit and let my body be happy.

So I've been scarfing down navel oranges and enjoying every single sweet, sticky bite. There truthfully wasn't much else in the grocery store that appealed to me...except for mangoes. Juicy, glorious mangoes.
Funny enough it was while looking for new recipe ideas for radishes that I found this mango salad recipe. It was so fresh, bright, juicy and fantastic. I might just have to make it one more time...

Simple Tomato Salad

I know this looks a little too simple...but trust me; if you love tomatoes, you will love the simplicity. 

The other night I made another simple salad (greens + tomatoes + balsamic + olive oil) to accompany some grilled burgers and although the salad was good, I just couldn't keep from eating all the tomatoes first. They were just so ripe and perfect! I'm sure it's also due to the fact that these are still some of the first tomatoes of the season (thank you hothouses!) and my taste buds just can't get enough, but I knew then that I really should just take a direct approach and simply eat a bowl of cherry tomatoes. Because clearly that's what I really want. 

For this salad make sure your tomatoes are perfectly ripe (red, not pale at all) and fragrant. Do NOT store your tomatoes in the fridge (I don't know what the science is behind this but the fridge just ruins fresh ripe tomatoes), instead just leave them on the counter to ripen. Once summer hits and the fruit flies are rampant I usually keep them in a clear sealed bag (or bowl covered with plastic wrap) and often even store them in a cupboard so they're a little more hidden from those pesky flies.

Today I doused my tomatoes in a splash of red wine vinegar, a heavy glug of olive oil and a liberal seasoning of salt and pepper. 

Seed Starting

A baby isn't the only thing growing around here!

I'm hoping that this will be my year for starting seeds indoors. I have previously never had enough sunlight in my homes to really allow for indoor growing, but now that I have a real HOUSE (!!) I have more windows with more sunlight streaming in all day.
I've also learned more about indoor sowing and am hoping that my research will pay off with fruitful results. Fingers crossed!

Here a few things I never knew about starting seeds indoors:
- potting or seed starting mix is necessary. Regular old soil just won't do.
- rotate your seedlings daily. They will grow towards the sun, so rotating them will help them grow straight.
- not all plants are best started indoors and there are plenty that resist transplanting.
- watering enough (but not too much) can feel like a fine line. Your soil should feel like a damp sponge that's been wrung out.
- harden off your plants slowly and gently. It might seem like a nice treat to set your plants out on your deck on the first sunny warm day of spring, but the heat might actually be too much for them. Try a warm overcast day to start, and of course bring them back in overnight.
- once your seedlings have developed "true leaves" (the new leaves that grow past the baby sprouting leaves) they should be transplanted to a larger pot to continue to grow until they're ready for the garden.

If you live in Nova Scotia and are interested in starting your own garden from seed check out Annapolis Seeds (can be found at the Seaport Market) as well as Halifax Seed.

Tofu & Bok Choy Stir Fry

Finally a taste of spring! Bok choy is often one of the first green signs of spring at my local farmers market. Sure asparagus and radishes are often the veggies that get people (including myself) excited for spring, but in my little neck of the woods bok choy is truly my saviour from the depths of winter woes.

Last spring/summer I got hooked on this little dish but would always gobble it up too fast to tell you about it. It's really quite simple and so satisfying.

Green Potato Salad

Well my least favourite time of year is upon us: the end of winter. You're probably thinking "The end of winter? That sounds like a great time of year! Spring is around the corner, change is in the air..." but those few weeks make me restless and irritable. I'm sick of winter foods and all I crave are fresh tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce, berries, peaches, peas, zucchini...ugh it's torture just thinking about all that scrumptious produce that is just out of my reach.

And to add to that annoying nagging feeling of wanting time to fast forward, this is also the time of year when I begin to become OBSESSED with gardening again. I have literally been having dreams about transplants, I kid you not. And just like the produce I long for, waiting for the rare sunny days to help my seedlings grow feels rather agonizing. 

So what's a housewife to do? Well the other day I decided to try to brighten up my day with this summery potato salad. With bright lemon, spicy arugula and creamy avocado, it totally hit the spot and helped make the long grey day feel a little more tolerable. 

Peanut Soba Noodle Salad

For about the last two weeks I've been eating and drinking with dear friends to my heart's content and have loved every minute of it. But as we all know that lifestyle can only last for so long. A few nights ago while indulging at one of our favourite bars with a friend visiting from away, my husband and I quietly made a pact that as soon as our visiting friends leave we're going to get back into our usual rhythm of eating healthy mostly home cooked food and exercising. 

This cold soba noodle salad is the perfect first healthy meal to kickstart our little detox. Fresh raw veggies, a light and zingy peanut dressing and of course buckwheat soba noodles. Yum!

Pickled Radishes

As the farmers markets fill up with fresh local produce it doesn't take long for this housewife to start thinking of the pickling and preserving opportunities.
I'm in need of a few new tools before I fully embark on the canning mayhem that will eventually consume my kitchen this summer. So until then I'll be making lots of "refrigerator" pickles that aren't shelf stable and will last about a month or two in my fridge. If they last that long without being eaten...

If you love radishes and have never had a pickled one, you need to make a jar of these little pink beauties right away.

Pasta with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

Here it is. You're new favourite spring/summer meal. It takes barely any time to make and forever to forget. Truthfully I can't believe I've withheld this from you for so long.

I discovered Smitten Kitchen during the winter of 2008 and when spring rolled around and Deb revealed this winner of a dish I was officially head over heels. We've made this every spring and summer since then, experimenting along the way. 

Pretty much right off the bat we substituted dill for the tarragon, added bacon and have never looked back. Go make this. Right now.

Spring Potato Salad

I just couldn't resist trying out Smitten Kitchen's newest potato salad recipe. Asparagus, pickled green onions, and a mustard vinaigrette? Are you kidding me? That sounds amazing! It's truly a salad of my dreams.

I made this for myself while my husband was away and didn't change a thing except for omitting the peas because they're not available yet. This time I made it for my husbands lunch and knowing he might not be terribly excited at the sight of potatoes in his salad, I added some bacon to try to lure him in. Turns out it was a fabulous addition to this flavourful salad.

Rhubarb Shortbread

Summer feels like pie season to me. While I do make seasonal fruit pies all year long, it's only in the summer that it feels so right. Maybe its rolling out the dough with a warm summer breeze blowing into my kitchen, or showing up to a BBQ with a freshly baked pie, or the oodles of fresh fruit that I tote home from the market that beg to be eaten with a flaky crust; that make pies such a summer friendly dessert. 

However as I'm sure we can all agree, sometimes you just don't have time to make pie and in those (hopefully) rare moments you can make this fantastic shortbread instead. It's one of those staple recipes you can adapt with any fruit for any occasion. It feels light enough to eat more than one piece, but decadent enough to satisfy your sweet tooth on a belly full of a summer supper. 

BLT Salad

Ok BLT sandwich, prepare to loose your title as my most favourite summer snack. There's a new BLT in town.

Poached Eggs with Asparagus

Last saturday after spending my morning at the farmers markets picking up my week's worth of local groceries, I made myself a delicious little brunch consisting of poached eggs atop steamed asparagus and sprinkled with grated gouda. It was delicious, fresh and hit the spot.
Today I made the same simple meal again but jazzed it up a bit with some fresh dill and scallions, and crispy proscuitto.

It has taken a bit of practice for me to master poached eggs. There are so many different tricks and tips you can find online related to making the perfect poached egg, but this post on Everybody Likes Sandwiches was definitely the most helpful for me.

Asparagus Pizza

I seriously don't know how much more of these grey rainy days I can take. It feels like the only thing that has been getting me through this month or more of awful weather has been meals like this.

Thin ribbons of asparagus, tangy lemony goat cheese and fresh cracked pepper on a thin crust. What more could I want?

Oh right. Sunshine. I still really want some sunshine, please.

Quick Pickle Potato Salad

Ok so I know I've been pretty glum what with all the cloudy days we've been having lately, and I tried my hardest to bring a piece of sun into my life (and mouth) with those cookies yesterday. But I think I'm starting to feel optimistic that the sun might actually one day return to our skies. The weather forecast still says I have to deal with another 4 days of clouds and rain, but now that I have this potato salad I think I'll be alright. This potato salad embodies summer for me, and after a long winter the crisp taste of pickled cucumber and fresh radishes just really hits the spot.