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!

Some Call it Tzajiki

1 Quart
25 Calories per Tablespoon

We have a cookbook in our collection called, "The Best Book of Greek Cookery," by Chrissa Paradissis.  It's annotated on the flyleaf, "Bought on the ship Stella Maris, June 26 - 73 in Greece," in my grandmother's precise handwriting.  Jean Cioran was a world traveller, cook, baker, and and talented crafter of stained glass, fabric, and metal, all packed into a five foot tall, ninety-eight pound package.  Recipes from the book prepared by her hands served as my introduction to Greek food as a child. 

Thirty-eight years down the road we find ourselves living in Greektown on the Danforth, home of hot and cold running Greek restaurants, supermarkets, and specialty stores, which makes cooking out of this little gem as easy as can be.  My daughter loves tzatziki as much or more than she does guacamole, and so yesterday Aija and  I prepared a batch from my grandmother's modified recipe for, "Cucumber Dip, or Tzajiki."

To make this recipe my grandmother had to make and press her own yogurt, I can go to the corner and buy it from a Greek lady not so dissimilar from her, all things considered. 

In a large bowl combine:
2 medium english cucumbers, peeled and finely chopped
1 pint of pressed yogurt
2 tbsps of olive oil
2 tsps of lemon juice
1 tsp of coarse salt
2 tsp of chopped dill
1 tsp of chopped chives
2 cloves of fresh garlic, mashed

Chill overnight to allow the garlic to mellow and serve with pita, roasted meat, fish, or vegetables, or crudites.

Jean would always ask if you wanted more when you were done a helping.  If you said no she would look hurt and say, "what, you didn't like it?"

To Market, To Market



Lettuces, garlic, snow peas, potatoes, onions, and oyster mushrooms... Oh my!



Roberta, the market manager.

Saturday has come around again, and 8:30 saw the family heading off to the market to see what has come into season.  No plum buns, plum cakes, or fat pigs were to be had, but as summer has come in, there are plenty of things starting to turn up on the tables at Withrow Park.  We quickly filled up our bags with snow peas and new potatoes from Dave at Haystrom Farm, Ben Sosnicki provided lettuces and fresh garlic, and Laurel's Small Potatoes stand had green and purple new onions and oyster mushrooms.  We also picked up a couple of new cheeses from the Montfort Dairy to try out, a goat's milk cheddar and a herbed brie.  We also checked out a new vendor, This Ain't Your Momma's Bread.  While gluten etc free aren't really our bag (baby), we did pick up a loaf of their very nice looking bread for a friend of Suzy's who's coeliac to try out.  We're looking forward to serving them all up over the next few days.  I had a pleasant follow up conversation with Roberta, and she will be adding a link to this blog on the market site.  What fun!

Not Just Any Other Guacamole Recipe

8 cups
100 calories per tablespoon

Guacamole is one of the worlds most popular dips, and the internet abounds with recipes for it.  So why, you may well ask, would I go to the trouble of posting another recipe for it?  First, with the obvious exception of the avocados, many of the fresh ingredients can be had from the market on Saturdays in the late summer.  Second, and perhaps most important, our guacamole is widely complimented by guacamole afficianados of our acquaintance.  All in all enough to make the effort, and hopefully you will agree.

Halve, remove the pits, and spoon into a bowl:
6 medium Haas avocados
Add:
Scant 1/2 cup of coarsly chopped cilantro
1 tbsp of mashed garlic
1/2 a jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (add more if you would like it spicier)
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 dashes of hot pepper sauce
1 1/2 tsps of salt
Mash with a potato masher until the avocado is coarsely broken down but still chunky.  Halve and remove the seeds and pulp from:

2 medium tomatoes 
and finely chop.  Stir in the tomatoes and:
1/2 cup of thinly sliced green onions

Serve with tortilla chips.  If you have access to Mexican tortilla chips they are a good option as they have far less salt than their Canadian counterparts.

Tip: Chop and prep all the ingredients in advance and this is a great recipe to prepare with your three year old.

Blasts from the Past

It looks like we're not entertaining for a week, so it's time to regroup and get caught up on the backlog.  A new water filter arrived from Phoenix today despite warnings that it might be delayed due to dust storms that would have kept Paul Atreides home at the sietch.  It's installed, and the self-clean is running on the oven, Suzy, Aija, and Nyls are all tucked in for the night, and I'm not far behind them. 

So, for now here's a handful of blasts from the past for your viewing pleasure!



Suzy's Castle Subtlety for Aija's Third Birthday Party




Aija's third birthday again. 
Real weiners from Fresh from the Farm, our local Mennonite butcher
are just the recipe for twelve three year olds sitting still and eating at the same time.




A Christmas subtlety for a potluck at my work. 
The star is 24K edible gold over a sugar cookie.  It was delicious :)



Another cake courtesy of Suzy.

Sometimes all you need is a little icing sugar and

a LOT of chocolate.



A little stack of tea sandwiches and scones. 



The Perfect Pot of Tea

Teapot by David Clarke of Glen Cross Pottery -
the best pouring teapot we've ever had...

Scarcely a day goes by without a pot of tea at the Hotel Cavell, and often two on weekends and holidays.  It's one of those rituals that helps bind the family together, warms you up on a blustery day, and gives the opportunities to explore the nearly infinite varieties of tea.

That said, we're talking about black teas, and occasional oolong here.  Tisanes or infusions lacking vital caffeine need not apply. Even then there are so many varieties and sources that I doubt we'll make our way through them in this lifetime, or possibly the next.  Our favourite sources are Tealish and the Mariage Freres.

We also strongly believes that you can't simply pour hot water over a couple of bags in a pot and call it tea.  It requires careful preparation and a bit of ritual.

In a large kettle bring:
Filtered water
to a full boil.  When boiling pour some into a good teapot, your mugs, and the infuser to warm them.  Swish the water around the pot an pour out.  Put:
1 level teaspoon of loose leaf black tea per cup
in the infuser, put in the pot and fill with boiling water, cover.  Turn the pot around three times clockwise for luck, and then steep for 3 minutes. Briefly stir the pot with the infuser to make sure the flavour is fully expressed.  Drain, and remove, and empty the warm cups of water and fill with tea.  Sweeten or flavour with:
Milk to taste
Sugar or honey to taste.

Suzy and Aija like milk and sugar, while I prefer a bit of honey.

Blood Sports

Some computer problems are standing in the way of my planned posting for the day, which leaves me free to ask, "what was I thinking?" when I invited some friends over for a barbeque four days after doing the same for Canada Day. 

Don't let the smile fool you... Suzy is plotting culinary mayhem!

That said, friends only come in from St. Johns every so often, and Suzy is wont to say that her idea of a blood sport is a dinner party for twelve on four hours notice.  Well, a month old baby, and plumbing problems that have expanded to include a defunct sink (fortunately in the master bathroom, not the kitchen), and blood sport it is!




So, to tantalize your tastebuds here is the menu for tomorrow:

Cocktails
Grilled asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
Potato and egg salad
Green Salad
Home made hamburgers with English bacon and a selection of cheeses
Individual strawberry shortcakes (courtesy of Mara Svenne)

All the ingredients are on hand, and the timer just beeped to say the eggs are done...  Time to get back to work!

Deja Vu - Times Two!

While I can't recall ever experiencing an episode of deja vu, were I prone today would have had me tripping on the feeling time after time.  Like last Saturday the order of the day was to pickle the asparagus we picked up at the market, only this time there were twenty-four pounds instead of twelve, plus the leftovers from Saturday's cancelled appetizer. 

With a job like that ahead, a solid breakfast was required, and I whipped up an asparagus, prosciutto, and green onion fritatta with olive-cilantro bread and the strawberries from the night before.  It's worth mentioning the source of our prosciutto at this point.  We get ours from the Masellis Supermarket on the Danforth.  It's a family run shop, and they make their own.  It has recently been written up in several places as the best prosciutto in Toronto, and we would have to agree.

After breakfast was over one of Suzy's friends, Jen, stopped by with her two daughters, and they headed into the back with Aija to play, and I set down to work.  Things went very much as described in Asparagus Anyone?, only this time there was almost twice as much asparagus.  It made fifteen jars of pickled asparagus, six quarts of cream of asparagus soup, and an awful lot of asparagus stock.  That said, there were a couple of small variations and incidents and variations worth mentioning.

First up, I had planned for twelve jars of spicy spicy pickled asparagus by adding a third of a seeded jalapeno pepper to each jar.  I was also using 750 ml jars so I could have longer spears, and differentiate the spicy and non-spicy jars easily.  Things went relatively smoothly except the jars took more asparagus than expected, and one jar chose to crack when I started to pack it, the first I can ever remember doing so.  Unfazed I switched gears and packed a fourth quart jar instead, as I had one on hand.

Revisiting the asparagus soup recipe also proved valuable, as I realized on review that I had made two small typos in transcribing the recipe - it cooks for ten minutes, not twenty, and it should have been tablespoons, not teaspoons of fresh tarragon.  I am correcting the recipe now.

So, all in all a very productive day despite having to hand wash everything, as it appears the dishwasher needs professional help.  I'm also starting to build up a bit of a backlog of recipes to post.  Stay tuned in and I'll get another out tomorrow, and more later in the week!

These Things Are Sent To Try Us

Ben Sosnicki

Dave at Haystrom Farm

Saturday morning started off with everyone tired from being out late the night before and a little muggy, but otherwise excellent.  Our first destination was the Withrow Park Farmers Market, which was as lovely as ever.  It being the last week we picked up 24 pounds of asparagus from Ben, peas and rhubarb from Dave at Haystrom Farms, green onions from Laurel, and a loaf of olive-cilantro bread from the St. John's Bakery.  I also had a lovely chat with Roberta, the market manager while Suzy, Aija, and Nyls hit the playground.

We returned home by a roundabout route, and I whipped up a quick breakfast of fried egg and prosciutto on a crumpet to set us up for the day ahead.  It was then that things started to go wrong.  First the water filter, which has served us well for six years, started spraying water instead of filtering.  Fortunately my brother-in-law John, a professional plumber, had stopped by with a flat of strawberries from the Stouffville Strawberry Festival for us.  After my failed attempt to diagnose the problem I had high hopes he could set it right...

They were quickly dashed when he showed me where the casing was irreperably cracked. 

With this setback fatigue caught up with me, and I took an afternoon nap for the first time in ages, and hoped that when I woke I would have the energy to carry on.  No such luck!  Further trouble ensued when I started to empty the dishwasher for washing the jars for the pickled asparagus, and found that it wasn't draining.  Didn't it know there were twenty-four pounds of asparagus that needed to be done?  Apparently not.

In situations like these my mother would say, "these things are sent to try us," and then expect us to carry on despite.  So, I bailed out the dishwasher, cleared the trap, reset it, loaded it up, and it's running again now in hopes that the problem is solved...  Knock on wood.

Dinner was a hodge-podge of leftovers, and once Suzy, Aija, and Nyls were all off to bed I made one more stab at being productive, and the least I could do is prepare the strawberries and set them down to freeze.  Fortunately they were beautiful berries, and only a half-dozen out of six quarts were unusable, and even good parts of the sketchy ones only made a small batch for breakfast.  The rest were carefully laid out on a large tray so none were touching to ensure they freeze properly. 

The strawberries are down in the chest freezer now, and I've laid in a couple of big jugs of spring water for pickling tomorrow, and the asparagus and rhubarb are in water to keep them crisp and fresh.  It feels like progress, so I'm going to put the challenges of the day behind me and chalk it up as a win.

Good night!

Canada Day 2011

 It was a busy day on and off Cavell Avenue as friends and neighbours prepared to celebrate Canada's 144th birthday.  We were up a little earlier than usual, with Aija popping in just after 7am to see what was going on.  It was a good thing, as there was lots left to do to get ready for company in the afternoon.  Our first stop of the day was a treat; breakfast at Rahier, Toronto's finest french bakery.  I don't give that praise lightly, we've tried them all, and there's every reason to sing the praises of the quality of the food and service at this popular Bayview and Moore destination.  Aija had a pain au chocolate, Suzy a tortillion, and there was a bichon for me to set us up for the day. Delicious!

We also popped into Badali's Fruit Market (which is right across the street from the bakery) to pick up some local strawberries and some asparagus for a planned appetizer (that was later cancelled).

Next we popped up to Markham's Victory Fireworks, as how better to celebrate the birth of our nation than by blowing up a small piece of it?  Victory makes it all the more affordable by having all of your pyrotechnical needs on had at the best prices in the city.  A crate of barrages and cakes were soon loaded into the car, and then it was back down the Don Valley to the Hotel Cavell to finish getting ready. 

Aija was eager to help, and between the two of us we had a lot of things to get ready.  First we hulled the strawberries and made strawberry ice cubes to add a little of the old red and white to the drinks, and then it was time for a specialty of the house: guacamole.  Aija particularly loves avocados, and is always keen to have a hand in the making of a big bowl. 

By the time that was done we had a surprise visit from Suzy's dad, and then it was time for lunch, and the left over strawberries became strawberries and cream by adding some of the leftover cream for last weekend's soup.  Not long afterword Aija, Nyls, and Suzy all went off for a nap, and I carried on, whipping up a green salad and dressing, and set up the back yard and prepared the grill.

By five we had fourteen people from the ages of four weeks to forty-something in the back yard celebrating the hundred and forty-fourth.  The format was a potluck, and when all was said  all shaped up the menu looked like this:

Guacamole with red and white tortilla chips
Crostini with goat's cheese, roasted garlic, and arugala (courtesy of Jen and Doug Tooley)

A selection of sausages from the Friendly Butcher with home-made Tewkesbury mustard and Sauerkraut.
Thai noodle salad (coourtesy of my cousin Lee)
Green Salad

Shortbread
Mini cherry cheesecakes
Strawberry-rhubarb crumble (All deserts courtesy of Lisa Mallia)

Drinks were iced tea and lemonade and a selection of Canadian beverages courtesy of the LCBO:  Steam Whistle, Mill Street Organic, and William Cider.  The sole import was Innis and Gunn's, as this Scottish brewery produced a special Canada Day 2011 brew that was lovely.





Plenty of good conversation, eating, drinking, baby cuddling, and playing ensued, including emergency repairs of the play structure, trips to the park by the kids, and general merriment.  As the sun went down we repaired to Withrow Park, which was a beehive of activty as dozens of families and groups set off fireworks displays.  All in all it was a blast!