watermelons cuke me up!



Plated on arugla, topped with feta



Sounds like an odd combo here, doesn't it?  I had (no, have, since I still have 3/4 of it) a watermelon, and of course the garden fresh cucumbers and beautiful Roma tomatoes and basil from my backyard.

I was inspired by this recipe:  http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/watermelon-cucumber-feta-salad-113980.aspx

I was also inspired by the recipe in my runners world magazine, it's not online yet, but I'll post a link to it (actually, I sort of wish I made that one, but it would need a firmer melon since it calls for yogurt based dressing)



Watermelon, Cucumber, Tomato salad



Most of the ingredients!



INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of cubed peeled cucumber (if not seedless, take the seeds out)

1 cup of seeded roma tomatoes (Cherry, grape can also be used)

2.5 cups of seedless diced watermelon

1 T of basil leaves, sliced thin

1 T of scallions, minced fine

3 T of Renee's spring herb italian vinagrette

Juice of half a lemon

Lamb-tastic

Alright vegetarians this post is NOT for you.

grilling it up! naan ready to be toasted

Adam once upon a time bought me a book by Ted Allen, called "The Food you want to eat"  I've made a couple recipes from this book and I remember reading this one several times, "The ultimate burger is a lamb burger" and I thought 'riiiiiiiiiiight'

Anyway, the last time I had a lamb burger was at one of my favourite pubs and i didn't like it, it was lamb burger sliders, the seasoning wasn't good the taste was far too strong, almost inedible.  So what possessed me to make one?



I have something of a motto or way of being, I prefer to order things that I can't do or haven't done myself. in other words, I often order new foods, or order things that aren't my strongest methods or styles of cooking (or even cooking I would probably never do - like sushi for instance).   So I had this less than stellar lamb burger, and I keep reading lamb is the ultimate burger...conflicted, I took this s**t on and I WON GLORIOUSLY!

The lamb was from Aubrey's meats in the market, and it was good.  real good.

Inspired very heavily by Ted Allen's ultimate lamb burger

INDIAN SPICED LAMB BURGER



(with cucumber sauce on naan)



some of the spices used...



INGREDIENTS:

1 LB of ground lamb

2T finely diced green onion (white parts too)

1/2t garam masala

1/4t of cumin

1t of coriander seeds, crushed

1/2t turmeric

1T fresh grated ginger

1/4t salt

1/4t pepper

1/8t cayenne pepper



Chicken Bacon Brochettes, Baby!

I had fresh chicken, I had some bacon (no babies though) - and we needed dinner.  I've made this before and renditions of it, and it's always good.  Generally in life when you add bacon, you can't go wrong.  Here it is:

CHICKEN BACON BROCHETTES

I followed this recipe almost exactly:  http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/chicken_bacon_brochettes.php

INGREDIENTS:



A fine summer supper!

1 LB of boneless skinless chicken breast

1 TBSP of olive oil
1 TBSP worcestershire sauce
1 TBSP of soya sauce
dash of white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves pressed
Few grinds of fresh black pepper

4 slices of bacon cut into 3

CHARIZO! (Chard, Chorizo, Orzo)



At the end, colourful and just lovely!

Chard Chorizo Orzo.

Ever think of doing these three together? YOU SHOULD!  This was good and an homage to 'use what you have in the fridge' kind of cooking.  The names of the ingredients had a slight influence on being included in the dish, I must admit.   I was going to make risotto, and this is actually very much like risotto, except more straightforward and I dare say easier.  Actually Risotto was my backup plan in case I didn't have enough Orzo, but I had exactly the right amount of Orzo (I mean, to the gram - it was meant to be).

Orzo is not rice! It's pasta shaped like rice.  It's something I forget I have when I have it....and that's too bad, because it's really good.  Great for cold salads as well.

One pot meals people!  They make the world go 'round and dinner easy and delicious.

Very much inspired by the ingredients (and the looks) of this recipe:  http://jillianskitchen.com/2011/05/04/sausage-orzo/

CHARIZO! -or- Orzo with Chard and Chorizo

Here is what I did



The main star of the dish! Nice chard.

INGREDIENTS:

- 8oz Orzo (about 1 1/4 C)
- 1 bunch of white swiss chard, leaves separated from stems.  Stems chopped into 1cm pieces, leaves chopped.
- 1/4C fine diced onion (about 1 small)
- 2 cloves of garlic fine dice
- 2t olive oil
- 2t butter
- 2T fresh sliced sage
- 4 oz chorizo sausage, casing removed, thinly sliced
-1 C of white kidney beans (drained, rinsed)
- 1/4C fresh grated parmesan
- 2c chicken broth
- 1-1.5C of water (as needed)
- Fresh ground pepper

positively RIBbing

I've never made good ribs at home.  It's true, I tried once using the boiling method and they sucked ass.  Like, sucked.  These sucked alot less.  Not exactly fall of the bone OMG best ribs ever, but meaty, not fatty, and quite tasty.  Tasty enough to make them again.


Finishing tasty ribs on the grill

I bought back ribs.  Now you can get side ribs as well but they are fattier, tougher, and not as meaty.  These are not what i would consider "baby" back ribs, as they were enormous.  BUT I did like them alot.  Good stuff.

As Adam said "MMMM *smack* these are good!...For home-made ribs" (basically alluding to nothing can touch the ribs you buy at a place like Baton Rouge).  So last night we saved some money, as these ribs cost less than $8 TOTAL. :)

Inspired here but with changes, of course i made half (so I'll post what I did):
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/brew-house-baby-back-ribs-113752.aspx



BBQ BACK RIBS

INGREDIENTS:



Dinner is served!



RUB (there may be some leftover):

Whisk together:
4t unsweetened cocoa powder
1t garlic powder
2t onion flakes
1/4t cayenne
2t grated sea salt
1/4C packed brown sugar

Other ingredients:
1/4-1/2C smoky thick BBQ sauce
2-3 lb of ribs (you'll have leftover rub)

Pizza is (never) Perfect

I'm not going to post a recipe for pizza, there are millions out there, each of them have their merits...

But a few words on pizza, if I may.

All food flavour, texture, etc are subjective to the eater, no question.  But most foods generally need a certain calibre and method of preparation if you will in order for anyone to consider them decent.  Pizza is one of those foods where I've seen what I consider total crap with prep and ingredients be completely revered and loved by other eaters, and vice versa as well "why would you want a thin crust in a super hot oven?" my answer is BECAUSE IT'S PERFECT, DUH!


Pizza 1 - Bruschetta style!

On the crust alone people have their opinions!  How sweet should it be, how doughy? how crunchy? Thin or bready edges? Dense or light? Whole wheat? Maybe naan bread even? or pita?

Oh, and the sauce? Lots of it, little, sweet, tomatoey, no sauce? white sauce? pesto? cheese sauce? Dip it in sauce?



The toppings are endless.  Traditional? Meat lovers? Veggie? just cheese? No cheese? Broccoli (by god!) what kind of cheese? Do you chop or slice the veg? under or over the cheese (I'll save it for you, OVER THE CHEESE PEOPLE!).

The oven? BBQ? Pizza stone?

2 BITES OF CANADA!

Happy Canada Day!

OK, well the only thing that really makes them Canadian is that a Canadian made them and ummmm, there are Canada sprinkles on them and I'm sure the eggs and much of the ingredients originated in Canada.  It's just like the radio, I've got me some "Can-Con" in there to keep me in business! HA HA.

It was Canada day, and I didn't want to make cookies, I was going to, but I didn't want to.  I've never made good brownies as far as I can tell, so I thought instead of changing the 'what' change the 'how' so instead of a pan that gets overcooked on the edges and soupy in the middle, how about mini versions of that?  Perfect. 

They worked out.  Good recipe, would make again.  Was inspired by the celebratory theme on this site http://www.kitchenparade.com/2009/06/two-bite-brownies.php (which is also where I got the recipe, save for some minor mods I made)

TWO BITE BROWNIES

Makes 24 (or a few more!)

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4C of Sugar
1/4C of light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1 cup flour, whisked with:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch processed, but I mean, you CAN use dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Add-ins:  Go for some nuts but if you like DOUBLE CHOCOLATE and I know you do, 1/3 C of mini semi-sweet chips is a nice touch!