Beet & Corn Hash

This post seemed have gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere. Seems a little out of place now that we're almost heading into November but it was delish so here it is nonetheless!

I love meals that really represent the transition of seasons, especially summer to fall. Lately I've been diving into fall produce while still trying to use up some of late summers best offerings. I feel like the addition of sweet fresh corn really adds a touch of summer to an otherwise heavy fall dish. 

No recipe this time, just hoping to inspire you to take a breakfast staple like hash and give it a good ol' seasonal twist!

Summer Squash Soup

So it's official. This is the time for soup. 

Not just weather wise, but baby wise. 

I've quickly realized that soup is the perfect meal for me to cook while taking care of the babe while my husband's at work. I start it late in the morning while the babe is napping, eat some for lunch then serve the rest for dinner, or just save it for another days lunch. If the babe wakes up and I have to leave my cooking, it's so easy to just take it off the heat or turn it down while putting it together, and of course once its done its perfect to just leave on the low heat ready for whenever I can sit down and eat some.

I wish I had found this recipe earlier. It's the perfect way to use up oodles of zucchini or other summer squash that we all end up having a little too much of now and then. With a hint of coconut milk and green curry, this simple soup was another great way to celebrate the transition into fall. I think I'll definitely be making this again this winter with some of the zucchini I've tucked away into my freezer.

Beet Greens with Tofu and Soba Noodles

When the end of summer nears closer and closer I feel myself clinging to the seasons best produce; green beans, tomatoes, peaches, and berries. Even though I'm actually slowly getting tired of these foods and actually can't wait to dive into my first winter squash or bag of brussels sprouts, I just feel like I need to avoid eating fall/winter vegetables as long as I can because before I know it beets, potatoes, cabbage and turnips will be some of my only culinary choices. 

During todays market trip however I just couldn't help myself. Its been weeks that I've been eyeing bunches of beets and piles of winter squash and I couldn't resist them any longer. We're heading out of the city for a few days tomorrow so I knew I needed to make quick work of the beet greens before my refrigerators crisper gets to them first. 

I think every fall I search for new exciting things to do with beets, especially the greens. I love their flavour but often find it quite overpowering.

After checking all my usual sources for inspiration and finding nothing, google provided me with this recipe from Canadian Living. I added this yummy tofu my friend Renee got me hooked on, as well as cashews and soba noodles. It was the perfect quick Saturday lunch! 

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.

Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

Zucchini season has hit my backyard and I couldn't be happier. I think in the last two weeks I've harvested 7 big beautiful zucchinis. Not a bad start eh? Most of them I have been diced and frozen but I've also made a batch of one of our guilty summer pleasures: Zucchini Fritters with Whipped Feta and how could I resist the allure of chocolate zucchini muffins? I was really looking for a recipe that was slightly healthier...but still quite chocolatey. It was truthfully hard to find but I think this was pretty much what I was looking for.

July Garden Update

Lately I'm all about the COLOUR in my garden! Seeing little bits of bright pink or orange peeking out from within the jungle of green just makes me so happy. This could also be because my garden isn't producing much in the way of edibles right now. Aside from herbs, some lettuce and edible flowers, I'm still mostly waiting for things to mature (or show up at all). 

So let's dive right into the good stuff shall we? CHERRIES!! Aren't these spectacular?? Mostly because we had no idea we owned a cherry tree until it started to bloom early this spring, and then weeks later when fruit slowly started to appear. 

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. 

Green Bean Hazelnut Salad

This summer has been just fantastic so far. Despite the fact that the high temperatures don't agree with my pregnant body, my feet are constantly swollen and I'm getting a wee bit crankier...I am actually having a really great summer.
Yesterday was a perfect day filled with two trips to the lake, a great burger from my favourite new burger joint, a long nap, a delicious quickly-thrown-together summer meal, refreshing mocktails, and board games in the yard at dusk. What more could I want?

This salad comes from (you guessed it) Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. She comments on the surprisingly pleasant pairing of the tomatoes and the hazelnuts but I really think it's the green bean and hazelnut combo that wowed me. Either way, you must add this into your summer salad repertoire.

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.

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 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? 

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.

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. 

Raw Kale Salad

I never imagined I'd love raw kale so much. This salad is bursting with bright and bold flavours that make it a rather addictive dish. After eating it (and learning how to make it!) in a recent Feisty Chef cooking class, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I made it for Thanksgiving dinner a few days later and despite how "un-thanksgiving" it seems it really fit in well amongst mashed potatoes, turkey and stuffing. But it's also quite deserving of a plate of its own for an afternoon snack, just like I'm eating it now.

Beet & Green Bean Salad with Goat Cheese

There's nothing like an early fall salad of beets and green beans. 

I am really going to miss green beans once they disappear from the markets. Thankfully we'll probably have another few weeks (right? right?) before they disappear until next summer. This was also a lovely use for all the tiny little basil leaves left on my sad looking basil plant. 

Linguine with Blue Cheese, Beet Greens, and Hazelnuts

I love when I go searching for new recipes to use up a particular ingredient and I find one that features other things I already have on hand, and it turns out to be my new favourite dish. The flavours are simple  but bold in their own ways and the hazelnuts really pull it all together. Yum!

Blue Cheese Caesar Salad

So...I'm kind of on a blue cheese kick lately. Mostly because I have way too much of it in my fridge so I can't help but find ways to sneak it into everyday life. This has to be one of my favourite examples of such sneaking. If you don't (think you) like blue cheese but want to learn to love it, I really suggest making this salad. You can easily put less blue cheese in if you're really freaked out, but I say just go for it!