Strawberry Almond Tart

So I don't want to sound like a broken record or anything...but have I mentioned how uncomfortably hot I've been lately? 33 weeks preggo in 25+ degree weather isn't as lovely as it may sound. 

I think I've been doing a pretty good job at not complaining too much but there are points in the day when a frown creeps onto my face and I just can't comprehend the fact that I need to stay out of the sun. Add to that picture my undying desire to cook and bake new fun things for almost every meal and my utter disregard for the fact that baking will in fact make my house hotter. 

Thankfully I've stumbled upon this little gem of a summer tart. Not only is it super fast to make but the end result is so light and refreshing that it almost makes me forget I had to turn the oven on at all. 

Strawberry Coconut Tart

Please tell me you have a favourite cook book that you keep coming back to again and again only to be further impressed and inspired by. Because then maybe I won't feel so crazy for gushing over my long time favourite book "Super Natural Everyday" for the millionth time.
I just love how Swanson manages to make such wholesome foods that taste so damn good. If you still haven't looked for this book in your local library I will try to forgive you if you insist you'll go do it now.

Last night I decided to give this coconut tart a whirl, seeing as I just can't seem to get enough strawberries but needed a new form in which to devour them. This lil gem was just perfect! Not too sweet or too heavy.
I think I'm definitely going to make this all summer long with a variety of fresh fruit like peaches, raspberries, and plums.

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins are so classic. Much like fluffy pancakes, a simple chicken soup, or chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins are one of those homemade foods you can always rely on to make you feel good.

After a good week or more of pure sunshine (and unseasonably high temperatures) this mornings grey skies were all it took for me to whip these up for breakfast in an effort to brighten up my day.

Chocolate Pear Cake

My husband laughs at me a little when he peers over my shoulder and sees me browsing cake recipes online. I suppose what he's laughing at is the fact that this is during an average Saturday afternoon, no occasion that warrants a cake, yet cake is on my brain and I just can't shake it. I don't want anything fancy, or too sweet. Just a luscious cake filled with some kind of seasonal fruit that I can eat without too much guilt.
This everyday cake seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Browned butter, chocolate, and juicy pears. Lovely on a Saturday afternoon, and even better for a Sunday morning.

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Scones with Orange Zest

Not since I discovered "Super Natural Everyday" have I been so excited about a cookbook. I've been patiently waiting for my turn to borrow "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals" by Maria Speck from the library, and today I finally got to pick it up.
Now I know a recipe like this might not be the best representation of a book of this nature but it was the first one I tried and they turned out to be some of the tastiest scones I've ever had so I felt I owed it to you all to share. I literally can't stop thinking about these scones (weird, no?) and even crave them for dessert.
And don't worry I'm sure I'll be sharing lots of delicious things made with farro, barley, quinoa, polenta and wheat berries with you soon enough.

Steel Cut Oats

This little bowl is a window into our daily life and routine.
Almost everyday my alarm clock goes off and I sleepily begin preparing these oats for my husbands breakfast. Why doesn't he make his own darn oats, you ask? Well most days the poor boy has to wake up at 5:45am, and I think it's a fair trade that if I get to sleep in then perhaps I could be generous enough to make him breakfast and bring it to his work. It's the least I can do, right?
As the months roll by his oatmeal gets topped with whatever fresh fruit is available. Strawberries, blueberries raspberries, blackberries, peaches, pears, or apples. It's yet another way we really notice (and appreciate) the season changes.

This morning I'm really noticing the season change. For the last few months I've been enjoying my morning coffee sitting in my favourite arm chair with our deck doors wide open, letting the sun pour in and warm me up.
Today the doors will not be opening. In fact there's only one window out of four that is left open (I just can't say goodbye to the fresh air just yet!). The sun still pours in but doesn't warm me up the same way. I'll rely on wool socks and sweaters to do that this morning, and will every morning from now until next spring (sounds kind of sad doesn't it?).

Peaches in White Wine Syrup

Before the peaches disappear for another year do yourself a favour and make a batch of these delectable preserved peaches. You'll thank me in February as you pile them on your morning oatmeal and breath a sigh of relief that winter will be over soon.

Pickled Cherries

Talk about an interesting pickle! Sweet, sour and lightly spiced, this pickle has made a welcome home in our preserve pantry. They're definitely unusual but delicious nonetheless. I used allspice in all the jars to flavour them, but also made a few jars with clove and black pepper, and a few with whole vanilla beans as well. So far we've only tried the clove, black pepper and allspice but the next jar we open will definitely be the vanilla.

Lemon Plum Iced Tea

September in Nova Scotia is a bit of a magical time of year. The days are still warm while the morning and nights are perfectly cool, and the farmers markets are bursting with everything you could ever want.
Labour Day felt like the perfect representation of September. It was cool enough in the morning to put on jeans, but the sun has came out and called me to the lake. I made rich and hearty blue cheese scones for breakfast, a cold soba noodle salad for lunch, a spicy corn chowder for dinner and this delicious and refreshing iced tea for every moment in between.

Plum Vanilla Jam

I wish I had an good excuse as to why I've been withholding this gem of recipe from you. I guess I could say that it's because I've been swamped with keeping up with my preserving mayhem while hosting multiple house guests AND working a few shifts at the family biz.
But who cares what I've been up to, all you need to know is that this jam is so flavourful and perfectly tart that it's easily won the title of "My Favourite Jam Ever".

Peach Chutney

As a longtime lover of mango chutney I was very excited to see a recipe for it in my new favourite canning book. But I just can't bring myself to buy produce thats traveled so ridiculously far to get to me when there is so much wonderful fruit grown right here in my province. So what else is a girl to do but find a local substitute: peach chutney!

Aside from the obvious Indian food applications, this chutney is great on fish cakes, these amazing quinoa patties, alongside cheese and bread, spooned into these biscuits and so much more. I'd love to hear your favourite uses for chutneys too!

Peach & Almond Olive Oil Muffins

A good friend is one who texts you a photo of freshly baked muffins and exclaims "These are the best muffins I've ever made!", knowing that if you both lived in the same city she'd be leaving some on your doorstep or inviting you over for tea to share them.

But when you're miles apart the next best thing is to take her word for it, make the muffins, and share them with the people who are close to you.

Cantaloupe & Cucumber Salad

This salad is a very welcome sign that my creativity in the kitchen (that has been sorely lacking lately) has returned!
I had some cooked quinoa and pearl barley in the fridge leftover from making tabbouleh, some juicy ripe cantaloupe that was begging to be eaten and just had this feeling that they could make up a great salad somehow.
I added some chopped cucumber, cilantro, sea salt, pepper, lime juice and a little olive oil and the result was the most refreshing summer salad.

Raspberry Jam with Mint

I've been OBSESSED with Liana Krissoff's new book "Canning for a new generation" lately and have a pantry full of preserves to prove it.
So far I've made spicy dilly beans, pickled radishes, four types of strawberry jam, cherry & red currant jam, roasted red peppers (I've always wanted to preserve these, so exciting!), and now the most amazing raspberry jam ever.

Still on the list of things I'd like to can are: spicy pickled carrots, peach & raspberry jam, plum cardamom jam, tomato sauce (hubby has deduced we need 40 500ml jars to get us through winter, yikes!) various salsas and chutneys and BBQ sauce. Phew! I'm going to be busy.

Thumbprint Cookies

It feels almost wrong to make these cookies in the summer. Like they're supposed to be baked when you're looking for ways to bring the taste of summer to the dead of winter, and when your body can handle a little fattening up due to their rich buttery goodness.

But here I am in the middle of summer, excitedly trying out some of my newest preserves with these quick and simple cookies.

Rumtopf

While I'm busy making jams and pickles you can bet my cocktail obsessed husband is busy preserving fruit in booze. So far he's preserved mostly cherries (in either Maraschino, Metaxa, or Brandy) that will be used to garnish our cocktails. But this beauty was both of our handiwork.

Usually fruit preserved in alcohol takes on the flavour of the booze, while adding some fruit flavour to the alcohol, creating fruit that is deliciously intoxicating to snack on as well as some fabulously flavoured booze to sip on.  But in the case of Rumtopf the flavour is taken to the next level. We tasted a cherry that tasted like strawberries, rum, blueberries, and raspberries! It was so fantastic we can't wait to make many many more bottles.

Watermelon Salad

This refreshing and beautiful salad was another winner plucked from the pages of Super Natural Everyday (what do you mean you still haven't checked out that book?).

Juicy watermelon, salty feta and olives have a party in your mouth with the help of mint, basil, and splash of lemon juice. 

I know what I'm having for a post-swim snack...

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

I would not exactly call myself a cupcake fan. Mostly because they're usually too sweet, or too big, or full of artificial colours. Sure I ate a few Crave cupcakes while living in Calgary, and we served FRED/Whet cupcakes instead of cake at our wedding but those were exceptions to my cupcake disliking rule.
I think cupcakes are one of those things that became uber trendy years ago and everyone and their dog opened cupcake shops to sell the most tooth achingly sweet treats. To find a cupcake that not only has a moist crumbly cake that is full of flavour with real buttercream that isn't too sweet or full of bright fake colouring, is like searching for nirvana (ok maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration but you get my point, right?).

But these strawberry cupcakes are in a completely different league. They were great.
Despite how much butter and sugar is in the cakes and the buttercream, the strawberries managed to make everything taste so light and fresh. If you haven't done any baking yet with fresh local strawberries then you owe it to yourself to make these cupcakes. Your friends will love you for it, trust me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

I am literally eating jam straight out of the jar with a spoon. I don't think I've ever done this before in my life but I just can't stop myself. I guess you could say my first attempt at jam was a sweet success.
Actually I'm not a fan of overly sugary jams and this one tastes pretty darn close to my personal version of jam heaven. I really think the salt and lemon juice are crucial and really enhance the flavour of the fruit.

If you've never tried making jam, what are you waiting for? It's surprisingly easy and quicker than I had imagined. Check out my favourite preserving book,  "The Beginners Guide to Preserving Food at Home" by Janet Chadwick and start canning!

Strawberry Basil Iced Tea

Clearly I'm obsessed with strawberries right now. Ever since they made their appearance at my local farmers market I've been buying 2-5 pints a week. They top my morning granola, get baked into many crumbles, the lonely sad looking ones get juiced (which sometimes turn into popsicles!), and my husband has been muddling them into some spectacular cocktails.