Sometimes, when it’s really, really hot, a crazy cool-down idea will take shape around here.
Like injecting a watermelon with vodka — circa Lollapalooza ’93 — which is the last (and more age-appropriate) time I considered using a syringe to introduce alcohol into fruit. Back then it was a scheme to get booze past the festival gate checkpoint — a scheme we never got around to actually attempting… Read the rest of this entry »
A rather delicate looking salad — and a slightly more classic presentation that I gave you yesterday. So what’s on the plate?
Golden beets, soft goat’s cheese and homegrown baby greens dressed in a Roasted Tomato & Jalapeno Vinaigrette. The edible flowers are rocket and calendula — it’s almost too pretty to eat!
I said almost.
A summer salad of grilled halloumi cheese, local heirloom tomatoes, some (very) baby greens from my container garden, a squeeze of lemon, a pour of olive oil, and a crack of fresh pepper — most definitely worthy of a late afternoon lunch on the back deck.
Too bad the weather was more worthy of a sou’wester and oilskin coat ensemble.
(We ate inside.)
We loved this — talked about it for 2 days — that said, once you learn the number of steps involved to get it to its ultimate end , it’s highly unlikely that you’ll want to attempt it — even if you could find some “lamb riblets” – which is what these delectable Lamb Flat Bread Sandwiches started out as before I cooked the bejesus out of them.
A Fridgecleaner Flatbread Pizza that would have had Odysseus home years earlier.
Leftover flatbread dough, partially cooked on the stovetop, then dressed with pizza sauce from the freezer, mozzarella, mushrooms and onions, and browned in our workhorse of a countertop convection oven.
Out of the oven, we dressed them with leftover basil oil, freshly roasted red peppers, cilantro rescued from the vegetable drawer and one of my very favourite locally produced preserves…
Classic bisques are thickened with rice, but all of my culinary instructors used roux to thicken their bisques. Rice, no matter how finely you puree it, will always be grainy.
A roux is a combination of equal parts, by weight, of flour and fat that are cooked together to form a paste. The cooking eliminates the raw flour taste, and the fat-coated starch particles are prevented from congregating together in lumps when added to liquid — making roux the front runner to thicken anything you want smooth and creamy — like a bisque.
Sunday Lunch has been hijacked today, for the sake of shameless alliteration. Truth be told, I’m partial to assonance — who doesn’t prefer a little assonance? — but you can’t have everything.
“Alliteration is pleasant and precious, but some fancy assonance can make you dance in your pants,” that’s what my mama used to say.
Acutally, she never said that. And I (still) call her Mom. But I really do like assonance, if that counts for anything.
Shrimp salad on a toasted kaiser with bacon, lettuce, tomato and cucumber –aka the Shrimp Salad Club.
I like sandwiches. I like sandwiches very much indeed.
No, we’re not on bread and water rations for Sunday Lunch here at Island Vittles.
That said, if I was restricted to bread only, I would choose this flatbread as my mainstay. Do you think they`d let me have a little dip to go with it?
No, probably not. Read the rest of this entry »
Koda and I took a walk up Mt. Norman on South Pender Island last week. The new viewpoint is a lovely place to have a picnic lunch…an open-faced sandwich with cold frikadeller, lettuce, red pepper, crispy fried onions and mayo on MBM’s Seedy Light Rye.
Frikadeller? It’s a Danish cross between a meatloaf and a meatball, you pronounce it much differently than it’s spelled, and it makes probably the best meatloaf/meatball style sandwich in the universe. Read the rest of this entry »
Cold buckwheat noodles in a frozen shot of Asian-flavoured, double strength chicken consomme.
Smoked tuna w/preserved lemon & ancho mayonnaise, tomato & pickled garlic scapes AND
Seared lamb lettuce wraps with romesc0 sauce & mint picada
Montreal smoked meat, lettuce, pickle, mayo and grainy mustard on sprouted wheat bread.
I made this for Howard to take to work, who promptly forgot it. I wrapped it up anyway — it was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for the short scooter ride to his office. Just as I was heading out the door, he called to tell me the whole office was going out to celebrate a birthday. Sandwich not needed…
My version of a Betty Crocker Fire Truck cake. Happy 2nd birthday Big Z!
Cheddar, Monteray Jack, chicken, onions, and peppers loaded on top of Que Pasa Organic Corn Chips. On the side, was a little guacamole and pico de gallo with preserved sweet lime.
Red Barn bacon, Stilton cheese, oven-roasted tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro and mayo on organic sprouted sunflower seed bread. Served with over-processed yummy frozen fries and banana ketchup.
I may of made the dough, but he snuck out of bed 3 hours early to pull it out of the fridge — then snuck back out of bed to make the coffee and bake this raisin focaccia bread.
(Actually, it’s craisin, apricot, date focaccia bread because the cupboard wouldn’t cough up any raisins when I made the dough last week — but that’s a bit of a mouthful.)
Whatever you decide to put in it, just make it. I challenge you to find a tastier loaf of raisin bread ANYWHERE. Read the rest of this entry »
My newly acquired recipe for sushi rice came through again. Two times lucky makes it a keeper for me — I’ve had some very bad past experiences, you understand. For today: Read the rest of this entry »
This one got a little out of control…what started with the idea of using up some leftovers ended up with an internationally inspired feast featuring some A++ local ingredients: grilled radicchio with Qualicum Cheeseworks Raclette, caesar salad, Thetis Queen smoked tuna, moroccan olives and homemade foccacia. Read the rest of this entry »
This post is all about giving credit to a new online friend from Japan. Robert-Gilles at Shizuoka Gourmet is originally from France, but has been living in Shizuoka, Japan for 30 years. He has some real insight into Japanese food, especially from a western perspective, and goes to great lengths to describe even the most esoteric of Japanese dishes. Read the rest of this entry »
Onion & Fennel Soup, MBM Light Seedy Rye, Moonstruck Baby Blue Cheese from Saltspring Island, and (unseen) the very last carrot from our garden.
Medicine Beach Market Organic Ciabatta, Comox Camembert, BC Ambrosia Apple and my friend Jane’s Fig Conserve with Walnuts and Brandy.
And then a trip to Medicine Beach with the Dooze to walk off 28% Milk Fat, amongst other holiday indulgences…
leaving the turkey behind
Aged cheddar cheese, oven roasted tomatoes and red onion with roasted jalapeno mayo and s&p on Medicine Beach Market’s organic sourdough multi-grain. Nuked in the microwave for 45 sec at 75% power to start the cheese melting. Fried with unsalted butter in my beloved cast-iron pan. Served with (of course) a kosher dill.
my secret stash
Don’t tell Howard – I managed to stash these away in the back of the fridge the last time I made a batch of oven roasted tomatoes…I covered them with an olive/safflower oil mix, and layered some thyme branches in as well. Despite my repeated pleadings that these “are an ingredient, not a snack,” I hold little hope that they’ll last much beyond the new year — your best wishes are appreciated.
Pork belly, cooked in the slow cooker with Merridale Cider, rosemary, bay leaves, s&p. Refrigerated ovenight, then meat shredded by hand, and the cooking liquid strained and reduced to a thin syrup. Meat and syrup broiled until crispy and brown.
served in tortillas
pender cheesesteak
Leftover cumin & coriander rubbed flank steak, peppers, onions, jalapenos, mayo, aged white cheddar and s&p on a Medicine Beach Market organic baguette. Broiled in the toaster oven for 6 minutes.
leftovers on pender
