The flavours of Summer

For the next while I suspect many of my posts will have a "flavours of summer" theme.  My cucumbers are going gangbusters, the tomatoes are colouring up, the soy beans are staring down the rest of the garden for dominance, the carrots still look good....  And then there's the produce at the farm stands and farmer's markets!  We've been gorging on blueberries and cherries, and peaches have begun too.  Let's not forget the corn as well.  We've had that 3 times in just over a week.

Yesterday afternoon I was looking at the zucchini and summer squash Little Miss (3) had chosen from the farmer's market on Saturday.  We don't eat a lot of either, but I had something ratatouille-esque in mind when she asked for them.  As I began looking at recipes, I realized that I had no eggplant.  Okay, time for plan B.  I had tomatoes, sweet onions and farm fresh garlic.  I chose the yellow squash and thought about what to make.  How about a "marmalade" of sorts (and for lack of a much better term)?  Something sweet and sour that would go well on a burger, or topping some crusty bread slices.  Okay fine, now to make it happen.

I began by lightly caramelizing the thinly sliced onions.  Then I added the garlic, the quartered squash slices and a few diced tomatoes.  Played with brown sugar and red wine vinegar.  I resisted the urge to add oregano, which in my mind always goes with anything having to do with cooked tomatoes (I blame my Italian fore-bearers) and opted instead for thyme.  Ah, a French-inspired creation.  Sounds good to me.  I let it cook until it was relatively thick.  In the end I got about 3 cups of... whatever it became.  LOL  And while I liked it well enough still warm on crusty bread, I'm sure it will be even better at room temperature.

Sweet and Sour Onion, Tomato & Summer Squash Spread

1/4 cup grapeseed oil (or a good, fruity olive oil if you have it)
2 sweet onions, quartered and thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large summer squash or zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
5-6 tomatoes (peeled if you're so inclined - I didn't, but should have)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp thyme (more if using fresh)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large enamel sauce pot heat the oil over medium and add the onions and a little salt and pepper. Cook until they begin to caramelize, then add the garlic.  When it's fragrant, add the squash and tomatoes and give it a good stir.  Add the thyme, vinegar and sugar, and keep them out to adjust the flavour as you go along.  Let it all bubble over medium-low heat until it starts to thicken and much of the liquid has evaporated away (this took over an hour in my pot).  Check for seasoning and adjust to taste, making sure to cook out any raw vinegar flavour.

Pack into clean canning jars and keep in the fridge (I froze some).  Use as a topping for crusty bread, burgers, chicken, fish... even meatloaf.

I bet this would be nice with a couple of dried chilies tucked into it while it simmers.

Too hot

What is the weather here today?  It's noon and it's already 31C, feels like 39C (that's 88 and 102 degrees American).  It's been this way pretty much since late last week.  And tomorrow it's supposed to be 36C before the humidex kicks in.  *insert melting emoticon here*

I gave the veggies an hour of water this morning. The raspberry canes have drooped and will need to be supported for the rest of the season, I fear.  Some may have snapped already, but I think overall most of the canes are just fine.  We've certainly gotten a lot of berries in the last week.  And this is only the first flush.  The big push comes next month when this years new canes start bearing along with the old ones.

In this heat it's too hot to even boil water. And grilling leaves the family with a meal and me seeking shelter in the nearest freezer, uninterested in eating.  So tonight I'm turning to my other favourite summer meal helper.  My crock pot.  It was a wedding gift from some thoughtful person nearly 14 years ago, and it has been well used ever since.  It, and it's smaller cousin, have been the source of stews, braises, soups, roasts, hams and even hot chocolate and lattes.  Today it is home to a couple of hot Italian sausages, some chicken drumsticks, onions, garlic, bay leaf and a bottle of beer.

I first created this meal many years ago while clearing out the fridge, and it became a favourite.  I love the sausage when it comes out and the chicken shreds into a beautiful, tasty pile.  But it's the broth that I look forward to the most.  The meat juices, aromatics and beer mingle together to create a liquid that is absolutely wonderful served with crusty bread and old cheddar.  Often I skip the meat altogether and just add a green salad or some pickles.  It's a, nourishing meal that doesn't heat the house (or the cook) and isn't salad, again.

Tomorrow we may just order in pizza, though.

Summer Eating

Wow, it took a while, but summer is definitely here.   My garden is slowly catching up after a cool, wet spring, and today I impatiently picked a few not-quite-ripe raspberries and some extra large snow peas that were hiding in the copious foliage of the 6 foot tall vines. 

The shift in weather brings with it a necessary shift in eating, too.  Although we have air conditioning and I close the curtains and blinds as the sun bursts through the kitchen windows around mid-day, the back of the house still gets hot quickly.  Obviously I limit the use of the oven as much as I can, baking only at night and roasting in the toaster oven if I can get away with it. Even just simmering a pot of soup or boiling water for pasta (or canning) on the stove can make the kitchen air thick and sticky.  I've found over the years that I use my crockpot more in the summer than in the cooler months.  It doesn't really heat up the kitchen, and there is minimal effort involved.  I also barbecue.  A lot.  And we eat lighter things like salads, or grilled pizzas.  Actually, I've made a lot of naan bread this summer, and that's just a topping or two away from do it yourself pizza.

I'm always on the look out for summer friendly meals that we'll all eat*.  Today I came across a post on Chow about playing with stuffed potato skins, changing up the fillings to make a variety of tasty treats.  I love potato skins!  The post (here) was put up in March, but I can see these being an easy go-to for a hot day.  A side of fresh salads and a cold drink would definitely round the meal out.  And even Little Mister, my 6 year old who eats a lot of things, but not ground meat and never cheese (except on pizza), said that he'd like to try them... with his own filling - black beans, corn and salsa.  Sure!  Sounds great!

* For more ideas, check out these two fabulous posts (and don't forget to follow their blogs for a wealth of inspiration throughout the year)  -
http://mixingbowlkids.typepad.com/family_bites/2011/07/meal-planning-monday.html
 - great summer meals for the whole week
http://www.simplebites.net/frozen-treats-cherry-limeade-popsicle-recipe/ - part of a week long series of posts about frozen treats (because dessert is part of dinner too!)

Potato salad kind of day

It's been lovely out for a few days.  There's still a bit of squish in the ground from the copious rainfall last week, but the sun has been shining, the windows have been open and the plants (and people) are all so happy.  It's not hot out yet, either.  That makes me even happier.

It's a potato salad kind of day.  The kind of day that says, "Welcome" to the nice weather and acknowledges that we've turned a corner from grey and damp to balmy and bright.  It helps that someone on a forum that I frequent was asking for ideas to help her bland potato salad.  Hers has small red potatoes, which I actually don't care for.  I am not a fan of the "earthiness" of new potatoes at all.  It also had mayo, hard boiled eggs, salt, pepper, and some dry mustard.  That's it.  Mine is quite different.  I like my potato salad to have different textures.  It's actually basically my mother's recipe.

It starts with dicing some Yukon Gold (or other waxy) potatoes, and boiling them until just done with some peeled cloves of garlic.  Then I drain and rinse them under cold water to cool them quickly.  Usually I fish out the garlic to mash into the dressing.  I forgot today.  So there will be some little bits of big flavour scattered about in the salad this time.  LOL

While the potatoes cook, I dice veggies.  I like to use celery (with the leaves), tomatoes, cucumber, red or yellow or orange peppers, radishes and red onion.  The dressing is simple.  Mayo, a little dry mustard and a little yellow mustard.  Plus the boiled garlic, salt and pepper.  My mother mashes in egg yolk, adding the diced whites to the salad, but I don't bother.  I don't really notice much difference without the egg.

Then the whole thing gets gently tossed together and sits in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.  I garnish it with a sprinkle of paprika and a little freshly ground black pepper.  Hubby and I feast on it for a few days, since the kids won't eat it (they just do not like potatoes that aren't crisp, like my hash browns or grilled slices).

So that is what I made today.  If you don't mind an over exposed iPod pic, here it is...  Tastespotting material it ain't.  But it still tastes great, and is perfect for a day like today.

Trying to find inspiration

Last week was lovely.  Absolutely lovely.  Warm but not too hot, and gloriously sunny.  After much rain, more rain and a lot of rain, plus downright un-Springlike cool temps the warming glow was so welcome.  Then came this week.  We've had so much rain that the city closed down all of the recreational parks.  The week that many minor sports were getting ready to start.  Both kids had their activities canceled due to the intense squishiness of  the fields.  It's been so gloomy that I felt like I was going to bed pre-drepressed by the lack of sunshine ahead.  Then there was that wind storm a few weeks ago...

As I type, it's foggy out.  It's lifting, but the tops of the trees still appear softened by a hazy film.  It's quite calm too.  No breeze at all.  There is a majestic Chestnut tree in my view that was only bare branches earlier this month.  Lilacs that are promising to bloom at the first sign of warmth.  A vase of tulips from my garden sits on my desk, reminding me that it is indeed Spring and not Autumn, regardless of how it feels out there.

It sure doesn't feel like it's Victoria Day this weekend.  The "unofficial kick-off of summer" seems at odds with the weather we've been having.  In past years we've  had the air conditioning running for weeks already.  Yesterday morning the furnace ran.

But it is the May Two-Four (for my American readers that is the first holiday weekend of the season, and usually falls on the weekend closest to the 24th of the month.  It is also traditionally a large beer consuming weekend, and a case of 24 beers is called a Two-Four).  And I am looking for inspiration.  Lately Pinterest has been my go-to for illumination of all sorts.  Today I am perusing pins with barbecue tags.  Check out this space from Design To Inspire...

Now that's a summer kitchen!  Put in some plumbing for a sink and some lighting and I'm there.  Not that I could do that with this house, but I can dream.

For a little more realistic inspiration, I'm looking at the wonderful barbecued foods.  Like Barbecued Thai Chicken Legs and Korean Barbecue Beef.  There are some wonderful kebab images on Pinterest too, as well as salads, drinks, cute summer party invitations and more.  Even though it doesn't feel like summer yet, I can still live vicariously through fabulous pictures and find inspiration for the grilling and entertaining season ahead.

Inspiring weather

Have I mentioned that it's been hot this summer? And humid? Hmmmmm, maybe. ;-) But lately we've had a few days where the A/C hasn't run, where the air wasn't thick and where the window is open at night. And today... ah today. It's all of 17 degrees out and it may not get any hotter. Hooray! It's practically chilly in the bedroom. LOL

So what am I doing to celebrate? Well yesterday I bought some local yellow plums (wow are they big), local early apples and local tiny purple grapes (they may be Coronation grapes, but they weren't labeled with a name). Just now I peeled and chopped a couple of the apples, pitted and chopped about a dozen plums and stemmed a handful of the grapes. I popped them all into my small crock pot and added a little leftover hard cider and some local dark maple syrup. I left the lid ajar and turned the crock on high. Once it's bubbling I'll turn it down to low and let it go all day. At some point I'll adjust the sweetness and decide if I want to add spices or if I want a more pure fruit butter.

Later today I'm going to bake. Probably cookies. Probably with chocolate. Maybe a spin off of the Mocha-scotch Truffle Cookies I blogged about earlier this summer. And I popped a pork tenderloin into a simple marinade of Dijon, and more of that cider and maple syrup. I'll glaze it with more of the same towards the end of cooking.

It's amazing how something as simple as some cool weather can revitalize me. As I've mentioned, I'm not a summer person. I love the bounty, but it only makes the heat and humidity marginally bearable. Autumn is when I feel like I come alive. And days like this, which are a sneak peek of the season to come, inspire me to make the most of them.

Feelin' hot hot hot

Okay, I get that the last two summers have spoiled me. Two full summers of temps that barely went above 25C, very little humidity, lots of rain (okay, too much last year)... I think we had something like 6 days over 30C last year. This year it feels like we've had maybe 6 days under 30C. And then there's the humidex. By suppertime yesterday it felt like 41C out there (for my American readers, that's about 105F). Too hot to take Little Mister to soccer. To hot to move outside. And so humid that sweat can't cool you because it doesn't evaporate.

To those who know me, it's no secret that I don't like summer. I don't do well with heat, humidity, bugs, heat... I miss baking, which is funny because I've only come to enjoy it relatively recently. I have wonderful local peaches in the fridge that my son keeps asking me to make a pie with, but the thought of turning on the oven in this ick makes me cringe.

That's not to say that I would do away with summer if I could. I do value some aspects of it. The produce, for one. Living where I do I have at my doorstep a dizzying array of fresh produce. Berries, tender fruits, heirloom tomatoes, greens, beans, beets and so forth. All grown within kilometers of here. All amazingly fresh and bursting with goodness. Then there's the herbs. Fresh herbs are a joy to work with, and summer brings them in abundance. My own garden is bursting with Basils, Oregano, Chives, various Thymes and a fun little Mint called Cotton Candy.

Speaking of the garden, if you've been following me for a bit you know that we have a small one in the back yard that is a source of food and amusement. The Lemon Cucumbers have been interesting. A definite do again! What I thought were bell peppers have turned out to be mild cherry peppers. Kind of disappointing. The heirloom tomatoes are a source of joy and the broccoli has been... well thus far the plants are huge, but not bearing much. I do love walking into the yard to pick whatever is out there and then making it into something to nourish us. More than that I love it when the kids just pick what they want and eat it right there. Yard snacks. A definite joy of the summer.

Then there's the smells. Specifically the smell of tomatoes roasting or stewing. Man do I love having that smell fill the house. I need to buy a quantity of Roma tomatoes soon to put down in the freezer for the winter. The thought of a freezer stock of roasted tomatoes makes me happy.

There are also carnivals and fun things to do that are even more fun now that we have kids. I love making memories with them. And I adore sharing my own childhood memories of these events with them.

And the final thing that makes summer bearable? The fact that enduring it makes autumn all the sweeter!

Cold brewed iced coffee

Yeah, I'm a good year behind on this one. LOL I did find it last year when it swept the web, and I've enjoyed it since. But today I decided to share it here for my friends and readers. With so many places offering expensive cups of mostly ice and some bitter/sweet, high fat cold coffee, this treat is so much better. It costs less, it tastes better and it can be customized to your heart's content.

The basic recipe is one I came across here. It may have started with the New York times, as many viral recipes do.

1. The night before, start with 1/4 cup of coarse ground coffee, and add 1 cup of cold filtered water.
2. The next morning add 1 more cup of water.
3. Strain and pour into a chilled glass over ice (makes two glasses).

I add a generous amount of milk and a spoonful or two of raw sugar. You could even make a simple syrup with a little vanilla. If you like extra milk, then add less water. Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays for next time.

So that's where I started. But after doing that a few times I decided to ramp things up a bit. I doubled the base recipe, for starters, adding all of the water at once instead of only half of it. So here's what I do...

1. Add 1/2 cup coarse ground coffee to a French press (or glass measuring cup). Pour over 2 cups of cold water and let stand overnight (on the counter or in the fridge).
2. In the morning, press the plunger down slowly.
3. Fill a glass that has a little ice in it half full with the coffee concentrate. To those two parts of coffee, add up to one part water and one part cream, milk, soy milk, rice milk, goat milk or any other creamy beverage. I tend to use more cream/milk than water.
4. Sweeten with simple syrup to taste (I keep a jar in the fridge - one part water with one part sugar, heated until the sugar dissolves).

You can play with this, of course. Flavoured coffee works well. So does a splash of vanilla extract (or even a split vanilla bean added to the simple syrup when you make it). A swirl of chocolate syrup in place of the simple syrup turns out a nice mocha beverage. I'm sure my husband would add caramel. And for those not opposed, there are plenty of non-dairy flavoured creamer type thingies out there.

I like that the sugar and fat can be controlled in this. And there are no chemicals, unlike (I suspect) in a certain coffee shop iced brew. (I really don't know for sure, since if you want the actual ingredient list you have to contact them directly. I'm guessing it's more than "coffee, milk/cream, sugar.")

So last night I picked up and ground some organic beans at the Bulk Barn (what an age we live in when you can buy organic at a bulk dry goods store). Added a cup of them to my French press (yes, I doubled my already doubled recipe) and added the water. And this morning I made a lovely cup of iced coffee. The cold brewing process doesn't seem to leach bitterness out of the grounds, which makes for a smoother cup of coffee. You can heat it up after the fact by mixing it with hot milk/cream (or stirring it into some hot chocolate). I've made some hot brewed iced coffee this year already and the difference is amazing. Well worth the "effort" required to start the concentrate the night before. And I have enough for my husband and I for today and into the weekend (maybe). ;-)

Great summer salads - volume 1

It seems that summer has arrived in Southern Ontario in full force. Spring rolled over and gave up a couple of weeks ago already. So now it's time for recipes that beat the heat.

I subscribe to Taste of Home magazine. The recent issue has a recipe for a Pickled Veggie Salad that looked interesting. Not sure why, since I'm not a huge fan of Brussels sprouts and I dislike mushrooms. But I had a baby shower to go to this weekend and wanted to bring something different. This salad sure fit the bill. I've had a couple of requests for the recipe already. So I'm going to share my take on it here.

Pickled Vegetable Salad

1lb fresh Brussels sprouts
1 cup sugar (I'd use 3/4 cup next time)
3/4 cup vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp plus 1/4 cup oil, divided (I used grapeseed)
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and cut into halves or quarters
2 cans black olives, drained (or a mix of black and green olives)
2 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I used about a pint of halved cherry tomatoes)
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Cut an 'x' in the core of each Brussels sprout. Place in 1/2" of water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 8 minutes, until tender. Drain and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine the sugar and vinegar (I'll add a dried chili or two at this point when I make it again). Bring to a boil and dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a large skillet heat 1 Tbsp of oil and saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic until just tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the water chestnuts, olives, tomatoes, peppers and lemon juice. Cut the sprouts into halves or quarters and add to the bowl. Pour the sugar and vinegar mixture over it all and toss with the remaining oil (not sure I added it... hmmm).

Cover and refrigerate at least overnight.

Notes - I drained it and added a generous splash of fresh vinegar before bringing it to the shower. It gave the salad a bit more kick.

The next time I will omit the mushrooms and maybe try some asparagus in place of - or along with the Brussels sprouts.

You got your autumn in my summer

And now your summer is in my autumn. It's been fall for 2 days and both days the A/C has come on. It's not terribly hot, but enough to be sweaty. At least it's not hideous at night. But seriously, who gave summer permission to exact retribution on autumn?

Oh well, I have the house decorated and I made a roasted veggie soup to mark the first day of autumn. We went to a local fall fair/regional exhibition that we hadn't been to in a few years. It got really sucky for a while, and then it was good again. Now it's back to sucking. But the kids had fun on the rides and seeing cool exotic animals and such. And Little Miss was brave enough to ride on a live pony ride. I had a hand on her, but she held on to the saddle and had a great time! Little Mister isn't really the live horse type. He'd rather ride around on the car ride (which hubby said had a manufacture date of 1970!).

We ate some very dry, over cooked food. The one vendor had a smoker, and smoked everything, which would be fine... Except the peameal bacon was already cooked and sliced. All it did in the smoker was dry out. Blah. We tried a deep fried Mars bar, but it tasted like the water used for the batter had been stored in a plastic jug in the sun for a few hours. Either that or they forgot to unwrap the chocolate bar before frying it. Blech. Got our money back on that one. Actually, the woman nearly threw the money at me to get me away from the truck quickly, before anyone else heard. We bought some fresh mini doughnuts instead.

This weekend is the wrap up of the local wine festival. I doubt we'll go to any events. There's a big parade, but it's supposed to rain. And the organizers have become a little poopy about the whole thing, wanting to make it some stellar "event" rather than a fun community parade. We did take the kids to a parade on Labour Day that was fun. Except for the labour entries, which were boring (it's a community celebration parade, not specifically a labour parade). But the kids liked it.

There's a local food festival coming up in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to that. And of course the Thanksgiving craft shows the week after that. I can't believe Thanksgiving is in less than 3 weeks! We've been discussing whole turkey versus turkey breast. I love the whole bird, but it's hard to find small ones. They're all 15-25lbs anymore, it seems. Hubby asked if there are 5lb turkeys. I said, "Yes, they're called eggs."

The end is near (I hope)

If you read this blog long enough, you'll come to see that I am no fan of summer. I endure it for the sake of fresh produce and herbs. And that endurance makes autumn, which is my favourite season, all the sweeter. But this summer has been different. It's only in the past few weeks that we've had any real heat and humidity. The air conditioning has not gotten much of a workout this summer at all. And I love it that way. Even now, the windows are open as we await yet more rain.

That said, I do not want summer to overstay it's welcome, just to make up for lost time. I don't care that it arrived a few months late. It is not allowed to nose it's way into my autumn. Bring on long pants, light jackets and hoodies!

But if I may backtrack into the bounty of summer for a moment, I would like to share one of the fruits of that strange Bear Claw tomato plant that I've mentioned previously (and if you're wondering, yes, my tomatoes have successfully taken over most of the neighbourhood, and I suspect that once we dig them up, we'll find at least 2 small children and a Mini Cooper under them). This tomato plant produces Brandywine type tomatoes, with a strange teardrop-ish shape.

Here's the first one that I pulled off. The first thing that I thought when I saw it on the plant was that it was rather heart-shaped. Then I saw the markings on it and that settled it. It's a Cardiac Tomato. Perhaps the first of it's kind. Definitely a contender for the strangest looking thing I've ever grown, and I'm including that carrot with 6 legs. It was quite large. There's nothing to reference the size in the picture, but it was bigger than my whole fist, consistent with the Brandywine variety. It was also a little mealy in the middle, but I suspect that is due to the large quantity of rain we've gotten this season. The flavour was good. I added it to a bowl with some cucumber, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Yum.

There are a few more on the plant yet, which has taken quite a beating as summer has worn on. I haven't seen any more with such a pronounced heart shape to them, but they are all tapered at the end.

Now, on to autumn. September is nearly here, and with it our daughter's second birthday. I really hope and pray that it does not rain again this year. Our house simply is not large enough for everyone, and this year we've invited the family of one of our son's soccer teammates. He and this girl became friends, as did Little Miss and the girl's brother, who is six months younger. So we'll have a very, very full house if the weather is not good. 23C and no rain would be lovely.

And then we dive into homeschooling again. Not that we've really stopped, but we haven't had a routine. I still don't know what our routine will look like, but I'm sure it will emerge as we go along. A little book work, a little art time, some outside fun, some tidying around the house. And the rest of the day spent learning through living. I love homeschooling!

I am already looking forward to the local food festival which is in early October. We went last year and found some new apples. Niagara Gold they're called. They are THE BEST apples I've ever tasted. And living here, I've had many. Tart, sweet, crisp, juicy. They have it all, with a really pronounced apple flavour. They're wonderful, and I hope to get more this year. I can already see them stuffed into a pork loin, glazed with hard cider (a recent discovery I've made and a new favourite beverage and autumn cooking flavour, I'm sure).