Marathon Meals

 Staying in a villa on the easternmost edge of Greece where it falls into the Aegean left us far from many amenities.  Despite the demand from the re-enactment, a few nice things were had to eat, "over there."

Here's a little round up before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The view from the pool level at the Ashley Villa.

Taverna take out the first night.  Way too much food!

Suzy toasts after a sit down dinner at a local taverna.

The view from my seat at Archeon Geysis, or ancient tastes, a restaurant in
Piraeus that only serves classicaly prepared food.  Honestly, one of the best meals of my life...

A braised goat leg in the process of being demolished.



We also did some cooking too... Chicken breasts marinading in the villa's rosemary.



Julian Faulkner, one of our companions, prepares dinner one night.

Her piece de resistance, greek yogurt with honey, figs, and cake...

Aija attacks a meal in a Monastiraki taverna.

A "quiet" evening out on the balcony.  A bottle of wine and a box of figs...

The view from the balcony...

Catching Up on the Backlog

A last minute trip to Greece to re-enact the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon put a bit of a dent in my spare time, and one of the first thing that had to give was posting in the blog.  That's not to say that there wasn't a lot of cooking going on.  Here's a little photo round up of a few things that have gone down or come out of the kitchen over the past month:



Aija spooning fig jam into a savoury tart. 
Some hamming it up for the photo couldn't be avoided...



Suzy happily engaged in the same task.

Aija demonstrating some dexterity by making the marinade
for a batch of teriyaki pork chops into an emulsion.

Summer vegetable salad from the market including purple beans.

A colourful farfalle dish whipped up in a hurry.

The tomatillo salsa was a big hit, especially as it was ready
when company dropped by unexpectedly.

Tired of seeing the bounty from the market yet?  Not me...

Sometimes the simple things are best... Canadian bacon, heirloom tomato, and
lettuce sandwiches on St. John's Bakery bread with the last of the 2010 pickled asparagus.

Pickles Galore

While life continues to be busy, better busy than bored I say!





My father, Nick, was down over the weekend and we had our noses to the grindstone renovating the Hotel's loft to make it both more fun and a bit safer.  It was a hard weekend's work, but between framing, drywalling, crib assembly there was time for a little bit of fun in the kitchen.  Nick brought five generous quarts of organic Nova raspberries from Pat Brooking's Annan Way Nursery outside of Owen Sound.  Some ended up in our bellies, some frozen for winter, and some became one of Aija's favourites, raspberry jam.  A trip to market turned up some lovely things, particularly white cucumbers from Potager du Kanada.  An experimental Greek-themed fritatta turned out to be a huge hit, and the fresh pickles were finished off.  We also had a nice roast chicken dinner with Suzy's folks on Saturday night to add a convivial turn to the weekend.



White cucumbers finely sliced and arranged.
Delicious with salt, and with none of the bitterness
in the skin one expects in a larger cucumber.



Greek fritatta - olives, tomatoes, feta, red onion, and parsley



Suzy was in particular thrilled by big effort of the past few days; decanting the fermented pickles.  No more would the house smell like pickles...  better than sauerkraut admittedly, but it does wear on a soul.     Fermented food can be quite lovely, but I always feel a bit trepiditious as I pull it out, particularly after a batch of whole heads of cabbage went off last year.  The resulting mess was a disgusting experience, and I probably would have required professional counselling to help deal with the shock if I wasn't made of sterner stuff.

They pickles had been in the pot for three weeks, and they smelled like... pickles.  A quick inspection showed that they were still sufficiently firm, and had turned a lovely variegated olive green, so out they came.  The canning gear got set up with a little help from Aija, and then after she was off bed Suzy and I laid up a dozen jars -  thirteen litres in total.  A yeoman's work on a school night, but you have to do it on the pickle's schedule.  This morning all the jars showed a firm seal, so we're holding to a 100% success rate so far this year. 

The bad news is that Ben Sosnicki's cucumbers didn't turn out, and we're going to have to find another source to make sure we can get up to target...

Fennel Failure

It was Taste of the Danforth weekend here in Riverdale, and most residents of the neighbourhood were doing their best to avoid the insanity going on in Greektown.  By insanity I mean a street packed with humanity waiting in line to pay three dollars for a traditional Greek cob of corn dipped in butter... At least I hope it's butter...

But around the edges life goes on, and as usual there were many nice and colourful things to be had at the market for about the same price as the aforementioned cob of corn, including purple potatoes from Dave at Haystrom farm, garlic and black  tomatoes from Ben Sosnicki, Purple Haze carrots from the Singhs, a perfectly white eggplant (in a beautiful display of three year old logic Aija asked if she could have some eggs the eggplant laid despite knowing all about chickens), a summer sausage from the Webers, and last, but not least, some green and yellow zucchini and young fennel from Laurel at Small Potatoes.

My Saturday dinner plan was pork chops marinated in lemon and fennel, and I was going to experiment and make up a fennel, lemon, and caper topping for the chops, with sides of baked zucchini with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese, and a fresh cucumber and tomato salad. 

Despite a kitchen witch to help ensure everything turns out, it was a troubled day from the start.  The tupperware with the marinade turned out not to seal terribly well, and I spilled olive oil and lemon juice all over the kitchen table.  After, despite some misgivings my friend Christian and I were going to join two other friends at Taste dressed as hoplites to advertise the upcoming re-enactment of the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon in Marathon, Greece.  We and our daughters kitted up and marched off only to find that due to some mix-up the others had been escorted off by the police, and we made a strategic retreat to settle Aija down for a rest and eat fresh pickles and drink lemonade.

The third and final failure was the fennel, lemon, and caper topping.  I botched the lemon quantity, and it was quite honestly dreadful.  A sad waste of some lovely fennel.  Fortunately, everything else turned out well, and we had a lovely dinner to wrap things up for the day.

Family Recipe Crunchy Dill Pickles

Leo Strubbs once told my mother's best friend that if she wanted crunch she should eat celery.  Strubbs Kosher Dills are of course fermented and soft, and there is something to be said for a nice fermented pickle.  There is also something satisfying about a crunchy dill pickle as well, a memory of that summer freshness that isn't there in a soft pickle.

Suzy's Aunt Trish is a celebrated cook and professional caterer, and her crunchy dills are perhaps the best I have ever tasted, as well as incredibly simple to prepare.  With her permission here is her recipe reveealed to the world for the first time. 

Wash and soak overnight in ice water:
4 pounds small pickling cucumbers
The next day sterilze jars (the number will vary depending on the size of the cucumbers, have six ready).  Prepare a brine of:
4 cups water
2 cups of white vinegar
1/4 cup of pickling salt
And bring to boil.  One at a time, remove a jar from the pot or oven and place in the bottom:
2 cloves of peeled garlic
2 stems of dill
Pack the jar with:
Cucumbers
And put on top:
2 more cloves of peeled garlic
2 more stems of dill
Fill with the boiling brine to a quarter inch from the top, place a hot lid on the jar and seal fingertip tight with a ring. Place on a wire rack immediately to cool overnight, check the seals, and store in a cool place for at least one month before eating.

Note: that the brine allows you to get away without processing the pickles and maximizes the crunch.  That said, in any pickle there is the risk of contamination.  If a jar shows mold, fizzes, or smells like anything other than pickles discard it.  That said, over the past few years we've only lost one jar out of the hundreds we've prepared using this method.

Clearing the Decks



Cucumbers anyone?

 It's amazing how quickly the time slips by! Between work, getting over the family cold, and a extended long weekend up in Owen Sound visiting my folks, it's been over a week since I've been able to post.  That doesn't mean things have been idle.   As we'll be travelling in September, the pressure is on to get quite a bit of pickling and canning done before be leave for Greece.

The pickles on to ferment

Last week saw the delivery of a bushel of pickling cucumbers from Haystrom Farm, and let me say a bushel is a lot of little cukes! Sorting them by size, washing, and preparing them took a fair bit of Thursday afternoon.  By the evening we were ready to go with three kinds of pickles: twenty-odd pounds were set to ferment in a big bucket, another 5 pounds of little ones were stored in the fridge for doing dills when we got back, and the ones that were too big for either were quartered and put in the fridge in a brine for a quick pickle.

Fresh salsa for a summer feast

The next few days in Owen Sounds were a bit of a break on the shore for us  despite Nyls deciding that he wasn't going to sleep for longer than two hours the first two nights.  Fortunately there was nothing for us to do; my folks had everything planned, and we feasted on pork chops, ribs, roast beast, and lots of local vegetables, expecially corn on the cob..  Aija did take the time to make French toast one morning with her Momo and she and I whipped up a batch of fresh salsa from leftovers when old friends of the family joined us for dinner one night.

Aija's helping hands

Nyls decided to sleep a little better Sunday night, so we returned to the Hotel Cavell with a plan to clear the decks in the cold cellar and freezer for the new stock that will be coming in over the coming weeks.  Six jars of canned whole San Marzano tomatoes and six bags of frozen paste came up from last years stock to be made into a giant batch of Marinara sauce for freezing.  Suzy, Aija, and I worked hard though the afternoon to get it done, and enjoyed a lovely dinner of sphaghetti with meatballs as a reward.

The fruits of our labours

When all was cleaned up and squared away the fermenting cukes were skimmed, the fresh pickles shaken, and the rest of the pickling cucumbers put in ice water for pickling this evening.  The jars are washed, lids are on hand, and we're ready to begin a marathon session of pickling!

Mostly Market Meals

Between booking a trip to Greece this fall, fighting a head cold, and work its been a busy week, so I thought I would seize this opportunity to post instead of working through lunch as I usually do.

Despite the challenges Sunday's attempt to feature produce from the market went over well.  Suzy's Black Cap rasppberry pancakes were a big hit with our brunch guests: Toby, Lisa, and their son Q as well as our family.  Each little piece of fruit was a flavour bomb that went perfectly with the fried batter and maple syrup.

Aija and Suzy helped with the prep in the morning, and then while the rest of the family napped in the heat of the afternoon I wrapped dinner up - four salads to keep things cool. 

They were:

• Haystrom Farm yellow bean salad marinated in a Chateau-Neuf-de-Pap vinegrette.
• Healthy Choice Farm Carrot and Edamame Salad (including Ben Sosnicki's garlic).
• Fresh from the Farm cucumber and yogurt salad (a hot weather favourite)

• Haystrom farm potato salad (including Haystrom Farm peas, Potager du Kanada radishes and Small Potatoes Farm parsley)

All complemented with a Fresh from the Farm traditionally smoked Mennoite sausage and some leftover tzatziki and pita for the girl.  It was just the thing for a hot day, and the leftovers carried us through a week featuring the hottest weather on record for Toronto (and it's not even midsummer yet!)

So, the update done, some recipes will follow over the weekend.

Stay cool!

The Land of Plenty

Beans, raspberries, potatoes, apricots, onions, garlic,
broccoli, olive-cilantro bread, chocolate cookies, cheeses,
radishes, and carrots, oh my!

Forecasts of a drought that may stretch into the decades in the American Southwest, famine in Africa, and other news of the world frequently reminds me of just how fortunate we are to live in Canada.  In particular, our weekly trip to the Withrow Park Farmer's Market truly drove home that we truly live in the land of plenty.  So, I count myself fortunate to be able to lay out this weeks spread before you.  A summer waxes towards peak so does the variety of produce available.  Apart from the usual suspects, we purchased from a couple of new vendors who are part of the Farm Start Program at Brampton's historical McVean Farm.  The radishes come from Iqbal Mauthoor, who came to Canada from Mauritius 25 years ago dreaming of having his own farm.  The carrots are Manmeet and Rupinder Singh's, and the product of generations of farming experience in India now transplanted to Canada.  I wish them both success in their endeavours, and am looking forward to some of the produce they have coming up.  We're also planning on seeing them and Laurel next Sunday at the McVean Farm 2011 Open House.

I need smaller hands...

The perfect batter!

It's also worth noting that a very special offering at the market drew us out the door early this morning.  Growing up on the north shore of Owen Sound we had wild raspberries growing up and down both sides of the quarter-mile lane way.  I still have fond memories of harvesting the small, tart black and red berries as a boy until one year they just didn't come up.  Imagine my delight when Roberta posted that the Riverdale Meadow Community Garden would be selling Black Cap raspberries grown only a couple of kilometres from my home.  It's often said that things aren't as good as you remember, but in this case that is most certainly wrong.  We purchased three litres.  While I stowed away half in the freezer for enjoying this winter, Suzy prepared a batch of batter to develop overnight for pancakes for Sunday brunch tomorrow.

While chatting at the Market today Roberta asked if I'd be interested in presenting a meal made entirely from market produce.  After some consideration today, tomorrow night's dinner will feature a, "mostly market meal," where all but some naturally smoked Mennonite sausage from Fresh from the Farm will come from our purchases at the market today.  I'm still working out the details, but it will be simple, it will be fresh, and it will be colourful!

Suzy's Strawberry Adventure

Suzy and Nyls set forth to Fresh from the Farm this morning on the promise of freshly picked strawberries from an old order Mennonite farm.  The trek proved worth the effort as it yielded up a flat of berries that taste like only local Ontario produce can.  No tasteless, woody California strawberries grown on sterilized soil a yard deep and shipped a 2700 miles for us!

The return leg proved to be a bit more of a challenge between Nyls and the load in her shopping cart, which also included eggs.  Despite having three delicate loads she made it home safe and sound.

After Christian Cameron popped by for a pot of tea and a Portuguese custard tart, we whipped up a quick dinner of rotini with Canadian bacon (also from Fresh) as well with green onions, peas, fresh herbs from the garden, and goats cheese was in order, and then the kids were off to bed.


Some of the berries suffered in transit, and there was not going to be a moment to lose in preparing them.  Suzy and I set to work, and between another flat of strawberries for freezing, a bowl for breakfast, and quite a few that made their way into our bellies, the job was quickly done. 

Lavender Lemonade - Pretty in Pink?

12 cups 50 calories/cup

I've always wondered what the point of pink lemonade was.  The off the shelf kinds don't seem to taste any different, nor should they, as the various red dyes used to colour them are flavourless.  When we set off to make lavender lemonade last night my imagination painted the finished product... well... lavender.  Imagine my surprise when it turned out a lovely pink colour, with a delightful lemon-lavender flavour, if not colour.

Make:
Lemonade
holding back two cups of water.
In a heat proof cup or pot add
1/4 cup of dried lavender
2 cups boiling water
Steep for ten minutes, and pour through a sieve into the lemonade.  Press the lavender to get all of the liquid into the lemonade jug.  Stir, chill, and serve with ice.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

Well, it's official.  Despite my best efforts over the weekend the pump on the dishwasher is officially pooched.  That said, the new water filter is in, and there is a shiny new sink in the master bath, so I'm going to chalk it up as a win. 

Now that is a beautiful bird!

While there was a lot of unscheduled maintenance going down on the Hotel Cavell, meals still had to be cooked.  Sunday dinner in particular requires a special effort, with leftovers planned to make for easier weeknight dinners.  For this one I promised Suzy her favourite; roast chicken with rice.  The chicken was a six pound roaster from Fresh from the Farm, which cannnot be beaten for the quality of their meats.  The bird was prepared using the Joy of Cooking's recipe straight out of the book (with the optional lemon in the cavity) as it is both foolproof and delicious. 

How am I supposed to stir and take
a good picture at the same time?

The excitement came when the bird was out and resting, and it was time for the gravy to be made.  A certain young man decided at that very moment that it was time to be fed, and Suzy was left with her hands full.  The sky was falling, as now I was tasked with making the gravy, which is her specialty, requiring home-made stock from the fresh giblets and neck, carefully separated pan drippings, and the juice from carving the carcasse (my specialty... I'm good with knives...)  Despite my trepidation, and under her careful supervision, the deed was done, and everything turned our perfectly.

The lavender and tea steeping.

Sunday passed on to Monday, and the realization that we were actually entertaining twice this week: Tuesday and Thursday hit.  Fortunately, Suzy has ordered a sushi platter for tomorrow night, so we just whipped up a couple of pitchers of drinks.  We're trying out a couple of new things, including lavender lemonade and an herbal tea called Fruit Explosion from the Tea Emporium for iced tead. 

We'll see how they are received!