Blackberry Turnover

I got the last basket of blackberries today from Hopkins Harvest and OMG were they ever good. Ripe and juicy and needing to be baked into this fabulous quick dessert. Thanks again to my handy dandy package of puff pastry. This only took about about 30 minutes to make including bake time. You could use any fruit really. Ice cream is the perfect accompaniment!

What you need
One sheet(1/2 package) of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 1/2 cups or so of fresh, ripe berries of your choice
1/3 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon
2 Tbsp of flour
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp of vanilla or almond extract(optional)
Milk for brushing pastry and sugar for sprinkling

PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees F.

COMBINE berries, sugar, lemon juice, flour, salt and extract and gently mix until combined. (its ok if you smush the berries slightly)

ROLL out puff pastry into a square and cut into 4 equal squares and add a large spoonful of filling on the center of each square. Fold over pastry to make a triangle shape and press to seal edges. It's ok if some filling leaks out. Slice some vent holes in the tops of each one, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
BAKE for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 4 turnovers.

Cornmeal Crusted Salmon in Pesto Mussel Broth

This is a variation on a recipe from my Chef at Home cook book by Michael Smith. I added some garlic and lemon steamed rainbow chard to the plate and set the broth and salmon on top of that. It added some delicious green goodness and made it a little more filling. I also used a courser type cornmeal. If you want a thicker crust you should use finely ground cornmeal. I also added some more herbs to the cornmeal mixture. It turned out awesome. It amazes me how something so simple can be so delicious! (Serves 2)

Pesto Mussel broth
12 mussels in the shell, rinsed and scrubbed
a big splash of any white wine
a smaller splash of heavy cream
a heaping tsp of store bought or homemade pesto
salt and pepper to taste

Toss mussels, wine and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and turn heat to medium high. Cover with lid and let cook for about 5 minutes until mussels pop open. When cool enough to handle, shuck them and discard shells. heat and stir in the pesto before serving and season to taste. set aside.

Steamed Rainbow chard (optional)
1 clove of garlic, very thinly sliced
1 bunch of rainbow chard, stems sliced and leaves roughly chopped
a pinch of chili flakes
juice of half a lemon

Saute garlic, chili flakes and chard stems in a tbsp or so of butter for a minute or so then add leaves and cover to steam for about 4 more minutes or until leaves are wilted. Stir in lemon juice. cover and set aside

Cornmeal Crusted Salmon
2 salmon fillets
1/3 cup of cornmeal
A few grinds of salt and pepper
A couple tsp of poppy seeds or your favorite herbs like basil, tarragon etc. I used some of Epicure's fish and seafood seasoning.
(Chopped fresh parsley, basil or tarragon works too)

Combine all ingredients in a large freezer bag or shallow dish and coat each salmon fillet in the cornmeal.
heat a medium size frying pan* over medium-high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom in a thin layer. When oil is hot add slamon fillets and cook a few minutes on each side until crisp, golden brown and cooked through.

To assemble: Place a handful of steamed chard in the middle of a shallow bowl, then add the pesto mussels and broth then top with a piece of fish.

*This is a time when a real, NOT non-stick frying pan is so much better. It just not possible to get such a lovely crispy crust in a non-stick pan. Invest in one for dishes like this or when you want a really nice caramelization on a steak or porkchop, or to get an amazingly crispy skin of a piece of fish. The bits that stick to the bottom can be deglazed into a lovely sauce too. save the teflon for fried eggs or omelets.

Summer Corn Chowder

The last of the Taber corn :( An ode to the end of summer. Where did it go??? Well we may as well enjoy what's left of it before the snow flies.....It's all very depressing....... until you try a bite of this sweet, creamy soup. fresh corn off the cob is best of course but frozen will also work well. On the upside it's a whole new season of veggies to try and blog about so I will have something to look forward to I guess. Keep smiling!
Make this vegetarian by easily omitting the bacon and using some vegetable oil instead. It's still amazing without it.

Summer Corn Chowder
3 slices of bacon, sliced (optional)
1 Tbsp butter
2 bunches of green onions, sliced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
Salt, pepper and 1 1/2 tsp of thyme
3 1/2 cups of chicken stock
5 ears of corn, corn sliced off the cob* (reserve 2 cobs)
1 Large yukon gold potato, diced small
2 Tbsp cream

Directions 
SAUTE bacon in a large soup pot or saute pan on med. heat until browned and crisp. Transfer bacon to a small bowl lined with paper towel. Remove all but 1 Tbsp of bacon fat from pot.
ADD butter and heat until melted. Add white and light green parts of the green onion and the jalapeno. Saute until onion is softened.
ADD chicken stock, corn, 2 corn cobs, potato, salt, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer until potatoes are tender. About 15 minutes.
REMOVE cobs and blend about 1 1/2 cups of the soup in a blender then add back to pot along with the cream. season to taste and sprinkle with bacon and remaining dark green onion.

*An easy way to slice corn off the cob without getting it everywhere is to get a very large bowl and place a smaller bowl upside down in the big bowl. Hold each cob upright on the little bowl and slice. The big bowl will catch all the corn.

 

Shrimp and Mango Noodle Salad

I think I might start buying mangoes more often. I never realized how much I liked them! Paired with one of my other favorite things, shrimp, this might be my new favorite summer salad. Simple, easy and delicious! Feel free to adjust if you like it more or less spicy or add your own ingredient or spice. You could try sweet chili sauce instead of hot or use orange juice instead of lime. Mandarins instead of mango.....You get the idea! Make it your own!

What you need

 

250-g pkg bean thread noodles or rice vermicelli
1 large ripe mango
1/4 cup lime juice, about 1 to 2 limes
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp hot chili-garlic sauce
1/4 tsp salt or 1 tbsp fish sauce
350 g package of cooked, peeled medium shrimp (or uncooked, peeled)*

1/2 cup finely shredded fresh mint, basil, cilantro or a combination 

 

PLACE noodles in a large bowl and cover with very hot tap water. Let stand until tender, about 8 min.(Rice vermicelli takes longer) Drain, then rinse well with cold running water. Drain again.
Peel mango, slice off the flesh and dice it. In a large bowl, stir lime juice, brown sugar, chili-garlic sauce and salt until sugar is dissolved. Add drained noodles, mango, shrimp and herbs. Toss to coat.

*IF using uncooked shrimp, thaw them in a bowl of warm water and then saute in a small pan with a bit of butter until cooked.  

 

Roasted Tomato Tart

This is super easy and VERY delicious. Store bought frozen puff pastry is so versatile. It can be sweet or savory. Hot or cold. It's definitely a staple at my house. The flavour of roasted tomatoes is like none other. Amazing!

What you need
One sheet of frozen puff pastry(from a 171/4 oz. package), thawed for 2 hours at room temp or in the fridge overnight
About 2 lbs of plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
Olive oil
thyme
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese(preferably shaved)

PLACE your oven racks in the middle and lower 3d of your oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F.
Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface into whatever shape you want. Round, square, oblong. Doesn't matter! I do this part directly on my silicone baking mat and transfer it to a baking sheet easily. If you don't have one you will have to carefully wrap your pastry around your floured rolling pin and unroll it onto the baking sheet. Chill pastry until ready to use.
Toss tomatoes with about 2 tbsp of oil, 2 tsp of thyme and 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper until well coated.
ROAST tomatoes, cut side up in one layer on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet in the middle of oven for 1 hour.
BRUSH pastry with olive oil then sprinkle with more thyme(about a tsp).When tomatoes have been roasting for 45 minutes move them to the lower 3d of oven and put the pastry onto to the middle rack and bake about 15 minutes. The pastry should look slightly browned and puffed and the tomatoes browned and juicy.
WHILE pastry is still warm sprinkle it with about a 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese shavings. Top that with the roasted tomatoes, cut side down in an even layer and another sprinkle of thyme, salt and pepper to taste and additional cheese shavings. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

From Scratch.....a mountain kitchen

Doug and I came here for our 3d anniversary. I was curious and excited to try it because of their food philosophy. Local, organic, from scratch etc. Right up my alley. So we get there and grab a couple menus from the front counter. There are racks of condiments they make and syrups and other local things. Honey, chocolate bars, tea etc. They also have freezers full of take home foods, elk and venison pies and even some Canadian fois gras (hopefully it's from a farm that's humane. I didn't ask) :s The kitchen is all open and they have a wood oven that they use for many of their menu items. Anyway it was smaller inside and fairly noisy so we sat out on patio. The wine list was decent. Some local, some organic, some not. We chose a bottle of organic prosecco, which is a white sparkling wine from Italy. Very good, floral and fruity.
Now for the food...I always am curious about new things and so I tried the chicken pate. Trusting it was local and not tortured. It didn't have a bad flavour, but it reminded me of cat food somewhat and it was wrapped in something that looked like grey, raw bacon. Not a good choice. Now that my curiousity is satiated I don't think I'll order that again. So then we tried the cheese and charcutterie. It was good, standard fair. The wood oven bread is VERY crunchy though. Beware cutting the roof of your mouth.
Doug ordered the full rack of ribs and they were smoky and rich. They came with beans, coleslaw and fries. Beans were good but slightly bland and Doug liked the coleslaw but I didn't at all. Not sure of the flavour?? I think it has celery seed in it and I really hate celery so I am probably biased! I ordered the duck confit with mashed potatoes and a juniper sauce. I think it's something I would of enjoyed more in the winter. Very rich and heavy but good. The duck skin was crispy and the potatoes were creamy. Beautifully plated too.
I really had to try the wood oven pizza though so I got one to go. Tried one bite and it was the best bite of the night. It was chorizo, spinach, roasted garlic and olives. Awesome. I want to come here again to try more! They had a whole mess of different pies and tarts to choose from too. I tried the fig and almond tart. Buttery and delicious!
Soooooo long story short....Go there! It's definitely good food for a fair price and you can tell they really take pride in it. Awesome. Local. From scratch... 'nuff said.



Sorry the pics aren't the greatest from my phone but you get the idea right??