chopped vegetable salad with zesty ranch dressing

Just as I had hoped, summer is back. Two days of grey skies and rain is okay by me and it's more than good for all the gardens and farms out there too. But I'm so happy to have back the sunshine and warm summer evenings. Ahhh, now it feels like July! And the perfect meal for those hot summer nights is a crunchy refreshing vegetable salad. I love chopped salads because they're just so easy: chop the vegetables into bite-sized chunks, pour over some homemade dressing, et voilà, a fresh and tasty meal.

This time, I tried something different: ranch dressing. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of ranch...it's too creamy and bland and I miss the tart pucker that only a vinaigrette provides. But then I saw a photo on Gluten-Free Girl's blog and it made me want ranch dressing. Like really, really want ranch dressing. So I bought some buttermilk and got to work. I modified her version based on the ingredients that I already had and the results were deliciously wonderful. Yes, the ranch dressing was creamy but it had a good balance of flavour between the tang of the buttermilk, the bite of the lemon and all the earthy spices. This recipe makes a lot which is so perfect to have in the fridge when CSAs & farmer's markets stuff your crisper with more vegetables than you know what to do with. When you've got a mason jar full of homemade dressing, it's easy to whip up a quick salad to make use of your greens or snack on a platter of raw vegetables. And – if this is something you might be into – this ranch dressing doctored with a habanero hot sauce is just perfect for dipping your take-out pizza crusts into. You know, if you do that kind of thing.

Want more summer salad ideas? Let me dig deep into my archives...
Colourful chopped vegetable salad
Green bean quinoa salad
Marinated vegetable salad
Mixed bean salad
Raw vegetable salad with yogurt-feta dressing
Vegetable slaw with jalapeno-lime dressing

chopped vegetable salad with zesty ranch dressing
(adapted from Gluten-Free Girl)
2 c snowpeas, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into coins
3/4 c corn
1/2 green cabbage, shredded & chopped
1/4 red onion, finely diced
dressing:
1 c buttermilk
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c mayonnaise
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
1 t honey
1 fat clove garlic, minced
2 T freshly grated onion
1 large pinch each of dried dill & oregano
1/4 t sweet Spanish paprika
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
a shake or two of hot sauce

Chop all the vegetables and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.

To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients until combined. Taste & adjust seasoning if necessary. This makes a lot of dressing, so just use enough dressing for the salad. Pour dressing liberally (or not, depending on taste) and toss salad to combine.

Place remaining dressing into a tightly lidded container and keep in the fridge for about a week or so.

baked mini corn dogs

Last night I posed a question to my husband: would he like a stir fry or corn dogs for dinner? Obviously not a very fair question. Sorry, stir fry, your time will come. After my husband closed his gaping maw, I got down to work. After a bit of Google-ing, I spotted this near-perfect recipe. I made it more perfect by adding in some chili-powder for flavour and a kick of spicy cayenne for bite. These would be a perfect addition to your Canada Day or July 4th holiday party.

The end result isn't the cylindrical n' greasy meat-pop of your carnival dreams, but it does satisfy any food-on-stick craving you might be hankering for. These corn dogs are flat at the bottom, but they are crispy and the flavour is just right. I wasn't sure about adding all that sugar, but it actually helped them taste more authentic. I liked the sweetness but feel free to cut it down or leave it out completely.

I had some lollypop sticks leftover from some fall-time caramel apple making and they worked perfectly for this meal. Please note that this recipe makes a lot of batter! So feel free to increase the hot dog amount to 8 if you are feeding a crowd or do like we did and use the batter the next morning to make a really great corn bread. Just fry up a small amount of bacon - or just heat up some vegetable oil or bacon grease in a cast iron pan. When hot, pour in the batter and place in a pre-heated 375F degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Slice into quarters and eat hot.

baked mini corn dogs
1 c cornmeal
1 c flour
2 T brown sugar
1 T chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c milk (feel free to use almond/soy/rice milk)
1 egg
1 T canola oil
4-8 hot dogs, cut in half (use tofu or veggie dogs, if you like)
8-16 lollypop sticks

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In a smaller bowl, mix together the milk, egg and canola oil. Pour the wet into the dry and mix gently with a fork.

Cut your hot dogs in half (mini-dogs not skinny-dogs) and pierce each half with a stick. Dredge each half into the cornmeal batter and place onto a silpat-covered cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the batter becomes golden brown.

hello summer & other seasonal ramblings (+ a recipe)

The weather in Vancouver has been nothing but spectacular with it's blue skies and sunshine. I want to say that this summer is actually pretty rad, but as a seasoned West Coaster I have to amend that to, "this summer is pretty rad....so far". We're jaded when it comes to the weather and it seems we are always looking for the grey clouds in the silver lining. But I'm excited because summer is here and it is awesome. Really.

Now here's a grey cloud – I told you, I'm a Vancouverite. I know, I know, these pancakes look amazing. I tried to create a delicious coconut and lime pancake, but instead these were tough and biscuit-like. Not the yieldingly soft and fluffy pancake of my dreams. The flavour was pretty on par, but the texture needed work. Next time, I think I'll just modify these truly sublime coconut yogurt pancakes (made with my favorite yogurt) with some lime zest and juice and call it a success. But hey, throw on some fresh organic raspberries and I can forgive pretty much anything.

The next kink in my week was cold-brewed coffee. It seemed like a great idea, but I was let down. It was a bit too weak for my liking and it was just too much waiting around. I'll try it again to be sure, adding less water to the final "coffee concentrate", so I'm not going to knock it down to the ground. Yet. However, saving already brewed left-over coffee in the fridge is my kind of easy and it makes a good cuppa iced joe.

But back to the good things because if you know me, I actually like to look on the bright side. Yesterday there was the new Wednesday farmer's market near the Main Street skytrain station where I picked up some very lovely peonies along with garlic scapes and some lettuce. There's also summer bike rides in skirts and cold lemony Hefeweizen with friends. And take note, this coming Sunday, I'll be taking part in the Got Craft? Bite Sized fair happening on Main Street (luckily coinciding with the car-free festival!) So please stop by, say hello & check out my wares why don't you?

If you've stuck through this post long enough, here's a quick little recipe for lemon marinated olives. I was served these recently at a party and loved them so much that I had to make my own. This recipe includes caper berries which I found in a glass jar near the capers in my local Chinatown market. If you don't have the caper berries, you can skip them, but do try to find them. They are delicious and even non-olive lovers will love them. Trust me. These go nicely on a hot day with some of my most favorite lemony-garlic green beans that I've been making for almost 20 years now. Crack open a cold beer, invite a few friends over for some patio hanging and you've got yourself a nice little party. Open your arms and give a lemony, salty hello to summer.

lemon-marinated olives & caper berries
1 c your favorite green brined olives
1 c your favorite kalmata or other black olives
1/2 c caper berries
4 large lemons, juiced and zest peeled off with a vegetable peeler*
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 dried chilis (or 1 t of red chili flakes)
olive oil

Drain off any brine from the olives and caper berries and place them in a sealable jar. Stuff the jar with peel from 1 or 2 lemons, the rosemary sprig, and the chili. Pour in lemon juice so that it fills the jar. Top with olive oil if you like. Close jar and let sit in the fridge over night or for two weeks. The longer it sits, the more intensely lemony the olives are. This is a good thing. Spoon out the solids and serve.

* careful, you want a good vegetable peeler or a knife, so you don't get any of the bitter underside pith. Just peel enough from 1 or 2 lemons.

summer holiday: cannelli bean dip with lemon & rosemary

I'll be away for most of this week. We'll be bike touring/camping on the San Juan Islands in Washington State which are pretty much just a Southern continuation of Canada's Gulf Islands. It seems every 2 years we go on a bike trip, but I'm a bit nervous with this one. The main reason is that I'm so out of shape this summer, but I guess there is nothing like biking with all your camping gear, clothing and groceries strapped on your bike to kick-start your way to being active again! Also, ever since my nasty spill on Denman Island a two years ago, I'm pretty nervous biking downhill. I know, crazy, since downhill should be the funnest thing ever. Instead, I'd rather climb up a 13% grade hill than ride down it. Luckily, Cornelius will be switching out my old brake pads on my bike for new ones and installing my brand-spanking new tires, so I should be a bit more confident riding the hilly San Juan islands. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, why not snack on some delicious protein. This bean dip is very similar to one I've made before with cannelli beans, parlsey and oregano, but this time I've swapped in my favorite herb...rosemary. It's a very flavourful dip filled with lemon, garlic and fresh rosemary and it's a perfect no-cook lunch on those hot summer days. I've made this several times this summer and I'm not sick of it yet. Use it as a dip to eat with pita, chips or crackers or spread onto some bread and use it as a base for your favorite veggie sandwich. Enjoy!

cannelli bean dip with lemon & rosemary
1 can of cannelli beans, drained & rinsed
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt & pepper
2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves only (not stems)
1/4 c (or less) good olive oil
water

Blend everything using your blender, adding a bit of water in case things get too thick. Once it's smooth as silk, it's done. Taste and re-season if necessary.

summer refresher: raspberry limeade

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. I'm not going to get too down on this weather since after weeks and weeks of blissful sunshine, I'm sure the tinder dry forests and thirsty crops could use a bit of moisture. But back when it was hot outside, my friends and I took a little roadtrip to Westham Island for a little berry picking. You can read all about our trip on Hag's blog, The Urban Repast. My own version will come out next week on the Food Network blog. I'll keep you posted for when it makes it's debut.

But, oh the berries! We picked lots of them: raspberries, boysenberries, tayberries and black currants. While picking, I had dreams of berry pies, baked goods studded with ruby goodness, and even just the thought of tossing them into some granola and yogurt made me giddy. But the very first thing I made from the raspberries when I got home was some raspberry-limeade. Judging by colour alone, the ruby red liquid is truly stunning. Taste-wise? Oh boy, it's good. Really, really good. Refreshing and not too sweet (but if you prefer a sweeter -ade, please add more sugar syrup!), it's the perfect refresher for a hot day.


raspberry limeade
1 c fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 - 1/2 c simple syrup*
3 juicy limes, juiced
5 c cold water

Puree the raspberries and put juice into a pitcher. Discard seeds. Add in lime juice and simple syrup and cold water. Stir and taste making any adjustments to sweetener or lime juice. Serve over ice.

* Simple syrup is an equal mixture of water and white sugar combined over heat to make a syrup. It's simple! I usually take 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar and mix them over medium-high heat until it just starts to boil. Once it completely melted, remove from heat and cool. I store it in a jar in the fridge to use for all kinds of drinks.

coolio

Vancouver is in the middle of a heat wave and I couldn't be happier. For some crazy reason, even though the temperature is climbing, we haven't needed to turn on a fan. Our apartment seems to exist in some crazy netherworld of cool. Not that I'm complaining one bit. It doesn't hurt that we've got a few pints of homemade ice cream in our freezer too.

For the Canada Day long weekend, Cornelius and I decided to pull out our ancient (but oh-so-pretty!) teal-coloured Sears ice cream maker out of storage and put it to good use. Wanting to rival our favorite gelato at our neighbourhood shop, I decided to make a coconut chocolate chunk ice cream and just to be on the safe side, we also made a mexican chocolate version. Actually, my mexican chocolate version started out being only cinnamon-flavoured, but when I told Cornelius I was making cinnamon ice cream, he balked. I gave in to pressure and turned the cinnamon into something pretty special. 2 different kinds of hand churned ice cream? Oh yeah.


coconut chocolate chunk
3/4 c shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1 t cornstarch
1/4 t salt
1 c half and half
1 1/2 c unsweetened coconut milk
1 c heavy cream
2 t vanilla
1/2 bar of dark chocolate rittersport, chopped

1. Take 1/2 c of the coconut and toast in a small cast iron pan until it turns golden. Set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, beat the sugar into the eggs. Add in cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium sized pot, heat the half and half with the coconut milk over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Slowly beat the hot liquid into the sugar/egg mixture, then pour the entire mixture back into the pot and place on low heat. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Be careful not to let it boil or you'll end up with an egg scramble. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. Cool slightly and then add in the toasted coconut, the remaining untoasted coconut, cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

4. Take the cooled mixture and pour it into your ice cream maker and start churning. Add in the chocolate chunks when the ice cream becomes semi-frozen. Keep churning until it gets very hard and then it's all done. Pour into containers and freeze.


mexican chocolate ice cream
3 c half and half
2/3 c sugar
1 egg
1 t cornstarch
1/4 t vanilla
1 t cinnamon, heaping
2 T dark cocoa
1/8 - 1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 bar of dark chocolate rittersport, chopped

1. Heat cream in a large pot over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, vanilla, cocoa, cinnamon and cayenne.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix egg and cornstarch together. Slowly pour hot liquid into egg mixture, whisking to make sure the eggs don't scramble. Pour back into pot and gently heat until the mixture thickens somewhat. Cool to room temperature and then cover and place in fridge overnight.

3. Take the cooled mixture and pour it into your ice cream maker and start churning. Add in the chocolate chunks when the ice cream becomes semi-frozen. Keep churning until it gets very hard and then it's all done. Pour into containers and freeze.

wait, there's a flower in my drink

I love summer! It's hot enough to get that nice sweaty feeling (something my high school gym teacher referred to as a "glow") and when all the windows are open, the drapes billow and swoon in the most pleasing way. Amazing things happen in the summer. People seem to smile more and even when they complain about just how goddamn hot it is, you know that it's all part of the friendly summer conversation. Right now, my windows are open, the drapes are billowing and a block away there is a Chinese marching band doing it's thing. Cymbals crashing, trumpets blaring and a constant staccato drumbeat to keep everyone in line. Man, what's not to love? Got an icy beverage in hand? Well, you should! Yesterday I wanted an ice-cold lemonade so I went out to my container garden, snipped some mint leaves and a few sprigs of lavender and decided that not only would my drink be refreshing and herbal, but it would be extra pretty to boot. It was.

I'm new to gardening and I'm already in love with it all. I've definitely got the gardening bug! My garden may only be in containers on my small balcony but I'm making the most of it. Read about my container gardening adventures on the Food Network Canada blog, Food for Thought and give me your opinions, tips and share your own small garden experiences!

lavender-mint lemonade
1 c sugar
1 c water
1/2 c mint leaves
1 large handful of lavender stems (leaves & flowers)
1 - 2 T dried lavender flowers
1 c fresh lemon juice
1/4 c fresh lime juice

1. Create a sugar syrup by bringing water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add in the mint and lavender. When the syrup is cool, add the lemon and lime juice.

2. Strain syrup and pour into a pitcher along with 5 - 8 cups of cold water. Add enough water to suit your tastes. I like a lot of water, so I usually fill up my pitcher with the full amount. Serve over lots of ice and decorate with fresh mint and a few extra springs of lavender.

summer licks

First off, may I direct you to the mp3 blog, Shake Your Fist, where I was asked by the lovely Amy to write a guest post about music. I LOVE music but haven't written about it in ages, so it was a bit nerve-wracking and I was sure the moment that I finished the post I'd be hit with regret for not including this song or that song. But it was a fun post to write and thank you to Amy for asking!

iced coffee
It's summertime and the living is easy. I may drink my coffee hot in the morning, but by the afternoon, I take any leftover coffee out of the fridge and serve it up right. A little simple syrup (which is just equal parts water & sugar that have been boiled together), some milk and lots of ice and I've got a drink that Mr. Brown would be proud of.

strawberry-pineapple popsicles
Another thing I can't get enough of are popsicles. At all times, our fridge is stocked up with these homemade icy treats. I wrote about these last summer and I feel it's time again for a refresher, because they are beyond simple to make and so refreshing. Last time I added some vanilla yogurt for creaminess, this time I just blended up some frozen strawberries, pineapple juice and fresh lime juice, poured the mix into molds and into the freezer they went. Yum.

an angel peed on my tongue

I don't quite understand the Dutch. Cornelius is part Dutch and take it from me, they're a bit wacky. They wear wooden shoes, their national food is the Indonesian rice dish Nasi Goering and then they exclaim a Dutch phrase that when translated means "an angel peed on my tongue". This Dutch phrase is uttered after eating something so wonderful that it verges on heavenly. This is what Cornelius said to me after last nights dinner. No doubt, we both laughed hard.

This recipe for jerk chicken isn't exactly traditional as I didn't have any scotch bonnet peppers laying around, but it did pack quite a punch in the spice department. It was so tasty and pretty and colourful that I'm sure all the angels everywhere let out a communal sigh of relief.

We used boneless skinless chicken thighs, but breasts would work too. We also grilled these using our cast iron grill pan, but on an outdoor grill these would be amazing. We served these over rice and a side of asparagus. Yum!

jerk chicken pineapple skewers
marinade:
1 t cayenne powder
1 T fresh ginger, crushed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t thyme
1 t sage
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T oil
1/4 c orange juice
1 lemon, juiced
1 T brown sugar

6 skinless chicken thighs, cut into managable peices
1 red pepper, large dice
1 green pepper, large dice
1 yellow pepper, large dice
1/2 red onion, quartered
1 pineapple, large dice

1. Mix together the marinade ingredients and pour most of it over the chicken. Put the chicken in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate. Pour the remaining mixture over the chopped vegetables and toss.

2. Skewer the chicken and vegetables using bamboo skewers making a pretty colour-coordinated mixture of vegetables, pineapple and chicken. If using an outdoor grill, soak skewers in water for at least 1 hr. Add skewers to lightly oiled grill and cook for about 4-6 minutes per side.

3. Boil up the left over marinade until it has reduced by half. Plate the skewers over rice and pour the jerk sauce over the skewers. Let the angels do their thing.