Berry Bonanza!

A solid week after the food fight and I'm just recovered. A pretty quiet week for the Foodie Family and it continued through the onset of the long weekend. It was nice for us to just do things at our own pace, no obligations and a chance for me to get some good cooking in.

The plan was to go berry picking on Sunday. But we woke up and it was overcast with the threat of rain. Instead, we decided to trek out to find where Mina will be going to camp (Singing Brook Farms - clicky click) and then hit Turner's on Hwy 2. I've been going to Turner's forever - great local produce. And they carry London Ice Cream Co. ice cream. Which, in my opinion, is one of the best ice cream makers in the region.

Of course, after finding Singing Brook, Lucy passed out in the car. Leaving me and Mina to fend for ourselves in Turner's while Jim and Lucy hung out in the car. Inside we found a buffet of local produce: tomatoes, peas, beans, corn, cucumbers and a wonderful variety of local berries and fruit. The raspberries and blueberries were just what I was looking for and Mina insisted on a bucket of sweet yellow plums (and of course, I indulged her). It took a lot of willpower to not walk out with a few tubs of ice cream and a fresh pie... maybe we'll have to wait for next time.

Long weekends for me are a time for indulgence. Saturday night we had beautiful T-bones on the grill (I still can't live without that Clubhouse Montreal Steak Spice rub marinade.. perfect) with a tarragon/garlic compound butter (otherwise known as "Robbie O Sauce" - a later blog on that). We paired those with a potato salad with peppery and crunchy radish and lots of egg and mayo. For dessert we kept things simple with maple walnut ice cream. Add in several huge homemade Caesars and a few beers poolside at Donnie and Melissa's (ahhh.. perfect pool day) and it all made for a great day.

After our Turner's trip, we made it home where I prepped all the food for Sunday Dinner: Grilled ribs with Roasted Fingerling and Tomato Salad with Green Beans and Arugula. Dessert was a Frozen Strawberry Pie. Since it was a near perfect meal, I've included recipes below with gratitude for the original makers (I have, however, included my changes).

Breakfast this morning was fresh berry turnovers. The perfect end to a fabulous food weekend.

Coffee BBQ Sauce

You Need:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 1 cup prepared strong coffee
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cup homemade tomato sauce or canned
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses

To Do:

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, and saute until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, and coriander. Saute stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until fragrant and vegetables are softened, about 2 minutes more.
2. Add coffee, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, tomato sauce, vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar, and molasses. Reduce heat, and simmer mixture gently for 45-60 minutes to infuse flavors and reduce.
3. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Roasted Fingerling and Tomato Salad with Green Beans and Arugula

You Need:

• FOR THE SALAD
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds Russian banana fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 4 stems fresh thyme
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 ounces green beans
• 2 cups baby arugula
• FOR THE DRESSING
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 shallot, minced
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To Do:

1. Make the salad: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Puree garlic and oil in a blender until smooth. Toss with potatoes, tomatoes, and thyme on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until potatoes are golden and tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and just tender. Transfer to ice-water bath. When cool, drain beans in a colander.
3. Make the dressing: Combine vinegar, mustard, thyme, and shallot in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified.
4. Toss potato mixture, beans, and arugula with dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
   

Frozen Strawberry Pie

You Need:

• 12-15 Chocolate Chip Cookies
• 1 pkg. (250 g) Brick Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 can (355 mL) frozen berry punch concentrate, thawed
• 3 cups thawed Whipped Topping, or 3 cups homemade whipped cream
• 1 cup crushed strawberries

To Do:

ARRANGE cookies in single layer on bottom of 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in punch concentrate. Whisk in Cool Whip and berries until well blended. Pour over cookies.

FREEZE several hours or until firm. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving. Let stand at room temperature to soften slightly.

Fresh Berry Turnovers

You Need:

• 1 package frozen puff pastry (2 rolls), thawed
• 2 cups of mixed berries (I used blueberries/raspberries, but any combo would work)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2-3 tbsp raw brown sugar
• 1 egg + 1 tbsp water, beaten together for egg wash
• 2 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting (optional)
  

To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 squares

2. Combine berries, sugar, spices, flower in bowl. Spoon into centre of each square.

3. Egg wash around edges, fold and pinch to seal. Place turnovers on rimmed baking sheet.

4 . Egg wash the tops and sprinkle with raw brown sugar.

5. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until pastry is brown and crisp. Remove, allow to cool and serve with mixed berries with icing sugar dusted on top.

Jim is back on afternoons this week, so another week of Mina-and-Mommy dinners. Tonight we're keeping things pretty simple. Meal plan is below.

Monday: Baked chicken wings and french fries with a side garden salad.

Tuesday: Soccer night. Pizza, as always.

Wednesday: Ham and mozzarella quesadillas with melon on the side.

Thursday: Grilled peameal burgers with salad.

Friday: It's Sidewalk Days! We'll be downtown Woodstock to have dinner and see the sights (and score some deals).

Frenetically Fantastic Foodie Fight

Yeah.. I like alliteration.

Several months ago, I sat down with Mina to discuss what she wanted to do for her 8th birthday party. We've done a Splash Pad party, pool parties and, last year, was a Princess-themed sleepover. I tend to leave planning to the last minute and since Mina has a summer birthday our guest list is somewhat limited.

This year, I was determined to be proactive. Lori at work designed us some amazing invitations.
The invitations went out early. I had 12 RSVP's. And Mina's chosen theme? A FOOD FIGHT.

Everyone presumed us crazy. More than one person wasn't all that polite about our perceived insanity. But, in the end, 12 kids showed up and flung food at each other. And, I have to say, I am now the coolest Mom on the block.

Today's blog is dedicated to the Food Fight party. Mina had an amazing birthday party. The only thing I cooked was potatoes and spaghetti to fling at each other. We brought in the pizza and cake for the kids to eat, which made my life far less stressful. It turns out that I've discovered children don't really appreciate my "fancy" food. They just want the easy and good stuff thankyouverymuch.

Without further ado... the FOOD FIGHT:

Loot bags (inside: placemats, food-themed magnets, cookie cutters and a giant bag of GREAT candy - pop rocks, fun dip, tootsie pops...).














The ammunition (whole plum tomatoes, flour, coloured mashed potatoes, coloured spaghetti, Jell-O and whipped cream pies).

The Cake (was NOT thrown) - Cake was purchased at Sobey's in Woodstock. I have to admit - for a grocery store cake, it was delicious. The icing wasn't too sweet, the cake was moist and it tasted great. A very pleasant surprise. Plus, the Sobey's here has a far larger selection of character cakes. This means Mina won't be getting the same cake 2 years in a row (like last year).









Who is ready to fight?!










The fight ensues:









Part of Mina's birthday gift? A whipped cream pie and my face.

Overall, the party was a huge success. And it was incredibly easy to run. The weather cooperated wonderfully (rain just before and just after everyone left). I do think the adults had more fun chucking food at one another than the kids... they had "deer in the headlights" looks on their faces. I don't think they REALLY believed we were going to let them have at it with the food. I would totally recommend a Food Fight party for anyone looking to do something unique. Just prepare yourself for the inevitable claims on your sanity level. And for the clean up after. I'm still picking spaghetti out of the grass, despite heavy rainfall today that I was kind of hoping would wash things up for us. It's a good thing it's all brightly coloured - easy to spot the little bits I've missed.

No Foodie on the Hunt this week. I hunted down all the stuff for the loot bags and prepped all the food. I think I'm still good for raspberries or blueberries, so I think I know what we're getting next weekend.

Meal plan for the week:

Tonight: Moulton Meatloaf (look for the recipe tomorrow!), mashed potatoes and sweet glazed carrots.

Monday: Chicken and spinach three cheese pasta bake.

Tuesday: Mushroom pork chops, refried potatoes and peas.

Wednesday: Jim's "special ham" with broccoli.

Thursday: Chicken stir fry.

Friday: Grilled bangers with coleslaw.

A Foodie Family Feast!

Every summer, right after Mina's birthday, my Mom hosts a family BBQ. A potluck event, this is the time of year that everyone can get together, eat great food, have great drinks and have a lot of laughs. Of course, with 6+ kids running around, it's always truly frenetic.

Today was the day and, as expected, none of us were disappointed. I brought the caramelized onion tartlets with walnuts, thyme and feta and endive spears with herbed goat cheese. And some caviar. I couldn't resist. Recipes below.. of course.

I don't think there was anything that didn't taste fantastic. From meatballs with red pepper and pineapple to the Dijon potato salad and the little prosciutto sticks with herb olive oil... all was superb. Better than the food (shocked I said that, aren't you?!) was the family. I got to see my Great Aunts, who are always enjoyable and fun. I aspire to be JUST like them when I'm into my 80s. Well traveled, know their food and enjoy everything they do.

So.. a huge shout-out to my Mom - who pulled the whole thing together wonderfully. The BBQ was a success again this year and not only is my stomach full, so is my heart. Awww.

Enough with the cheese. Bring on the recipes:

CARAMELIZED ONION TARTLETS WITH FETA AND WALNUTS

You Need:

• 2-3 large sweet onions (or red onions)
• 1 tbsp cane sugar, or raw brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• ¼ tsp Crushed Chillies, dried
• 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Thyme leaves, chopped
• 100g (3½ oz) Feta Cheese, crumbled
• 20g (¾ oz) Walnut Pieces
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Extra sugar and dried crushed Chillies and coarse salt of your choice (I used Himalayan) for sprinkling
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2-3 packages puff pastry - thawed, but cold

To Do:

Preheat oven to 350

1. Thinly chop the onions and sautee with salt and olive oil until caramelized. Add in balsamic and sautee on low for a few minutes. Cool.

2. Once onions are cooled, chop the walnuts, feta and thyme, gently fold into balsamic onions and season to taste.

3. Take thawed puff pastry (still cold) and cut into rounds (you pick what size).

4. Place rounds on baking sheet. Place small amount of onions in middle and gently fold up the sides around the filling. Sprinkle with chilies, sugar, salt and pepper (don't be too heavy handed).

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove and serve warm.

ENDIVE SPEARS WITH HERBED GOAT CHEESE

You Need:

• 4 ounces fresh goat cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill, plus sprigs for garnish
• 2 heads Belgian endive, leaves separated (about 24 leaves)
• Cracked black pepper

To Do:

Stir together goat cheese, cream, and oil in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in chopped dill. Spoon the cheese mixture onto stem ends of endive leaves, dividing evenly. Transfer to a serving platter. Season with pepper, and drizzle with oil. Garnish with dill sprigs. Serve immediately.

ORANGE SLICE JELLO SHOTS

You Need:

• 2 x oranges
• 1 pkg orange-flavored Jello
• 1/2 cup Vodka

To Do:

1. Slice oranges in half. Using a spoon, scoop out all the flesh and divider pith. Reserve.
2. In a medium bowl, add Jello and 1/2 cup boiling water. When Jello has dissolved, add vodka. Pour liquid Jello into orange halves. Refrigerate for approximately 4 hours, or until firm. To serve, slice each half into 3-4 wedges.

Meal planning was a quick affair this week - and keeping things easy since Jim is back on day shift and Mina's FOOD FIGHT party is this weekend.

Tonight: Leftovers from the party and quick nibbles. I'm still full.

Monday: Yogurt marinated chicken thighs, grilled and leftover potato salad.

Tuesday: Pizza, of course. It's soccer night!

Wednesday: Steak sandwiches and salad.

Thursday: Cheese tortellini with mushroom sauce and garlic bread.

Friday: Jim and I are going out. The girls will have something easy like grilled cheese and tomato soup. We'll eat out. Wheee!

... you don't have to wait for the main course

Today I'm thinking about appetizers. Antipasto, hors d'oeuvre, canape, amuse bouche... those little delicious tidbits that start what, you hope, is a delicious meal. It's like the promise of all the wonderful delicacies to come.

What has me chomping at the bit about finger foods? Our annual family BBQ. My time to shine. The entire family, congregated at my Mom's house for delicious food, good drinks and great company.

Usually held as a potluck, a few years back I "catered" the entire event with items like smoked pork roast, grilled ratatouille, BBQ gazpacho, ceviche with avocado crema....

Of course, that way a lot of work and pre-Lucy, so now we're back to potluck since I can barely find the time time tie my shoes, let alone plan/cook for the entire huge family. This year, I'm in charge of apps. So I'm digging up some old tried-and-true recipes (the antijitos never fail to get inhaled) and coming up with some new tasty morsels to try to *WOW* everyone with. Which brings up the question: Stick with what you know, or try something new.

This time, I've opted for "new to me". Tried and true from friends and recipes I've pulled over the years that I think look interesting with flavours I know work together. A bit of a risk, but how badly can I screw it up? (this is where Jim would bring up Lime Chicken...)

Here's my choices (top 13):

Endive spears with herbed goat cheese

Endive spears with grilled antipasto

Prosciutto wrapped figs stuffed with blue cheese

Twice baked potato bites (baby potatoes) topped with caviar

Caramelized onion tartlets

Pear and pecan toasts

Watermelon with feta and black olives

Watermelon with balsamic reduction and pistachio

Skewered bocconcini sandwiches (wth fresh mozza, capers and herbs)

Antipasto sausage skewers (with sundried tomato, artichokes, roasted red pepper, basil)

Red pepper triangles with Italian relish

Roasted red pepper, feta and basil bruschetta

Grilled shiitake mushrooms on rosemary skewers

So far, I'm leaning toward the figs (they're in season! but only if I can find them locally) and the pear and pecan toasts. I'm still wavering.. the caramelized onion tartlets would be mini-versions of my great onion tart... but it's more fitting for a cooler weather gathering. It doesn't scream SUMMER. And my basil looks fantastic right now, so using it would be fabulous.

Decisions, decisions. I'll be back with what I pick (and the recipe).

Dinner tonight? Grilled Korean ribs (shout out to the Memories of Korean BBQ sauce from President's Choice) with sauteed potatoes and sesame broccoli.

Found: Local Strawberries and Shortcake Cookies

Nothing tastes sweeter than ready-to-be-plucked fat, red strawberries. Except when you bust your butt to pick them yourself.

And that's what the foodie family did this morning. We headed out Hwy 2 to Blandford Road, hung a right and followed the signs to the Chesney farm (aka Thames River Berries) to pick our own.
Check out their website: http://www.thamesrivermelons.ca/index.html

After a confusing few minutes of trying to figure out if we just picked and paid on the honour system (we called them.. thank goodness for cellular service.. and yes, this late in the year they just let us roam into the field and drop $1.50/quart into the tin on the honour system - love small towns!!) we headed out to pick away.

It's late in the season, so I was a bit concerned on what we were going to find. Plus, I've heard from just about everyone that strawberries weren't stellar this year. A little small. But it's easy to spot those little red jewels of fruity goodness from the leaves and we quickly picked a couple of quarts - more than enough for us to munch on and cook with.

After an hour or so in the field, we were ready to head out. Truly, a fantastic way to kill an hour with the girls on a Sunday morning. Even Jim had a good time. Mina and I had a competition to see who could find the biggest berry - Mina won after spotting a beauty hidden beneath some leaves far up the field. We were joined by only one other picker, so no busy lines or huge amounts of people to contend with. And, even though late, we got a great haul.

As I'm generally pretty well prepared, I brought some water to wash off the berries so the girls could taste them right after picking. Of course, Lucy managed to get a few in her mouth before I could wash them off. Yum. Pesticides.

Once back home, Mina left with Grandma and Grandpa for a day at Bingeman's. Lucy had a nap and, after, we hung outside for a bit and ran some errands. Strawberries, of course, made it on to her plate after every meal. The kid loves them and these ones are particularly sweet. Testament that the sweetest things come in smaller packages, I suppose.

This afternoon, I attempted yet another Martha recipe - Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. As I often do, I start with the recipe verbatim and find things to tweak and make my own after a first try. Overall, the cookies turned out nicely. I think, next time, I'll add a smidge more salt and go for a different sanding sugar (maybe an unrefined brown sugar...). White chocolate (as a drizzle or in chip form) may be a nice addition as well.

The girls and Jim went nuts for the cookies and I've had to promise Marsha, from work, that I'd bring her in a few tomorrow. I've already had a few people asking for the recipe, so here it is in it's original version. Courtesy of Martha. Who makes a damn fine cookie.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

You Need:

• 12 ounces strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or rub in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing evenly apart. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, and bake until golden brown, 24 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. Cookies are best served immediately, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Dinner tonight? Beer can chicken on the 'que with potatoes and corn on the cob. Corn wasn't bad, but I can't wait for fresh, local sweet corn to be ready!!