Oh Happy Day!

I spent most of the weekend, in the backyard tending to my humble vegetable garden... finally. The heirloom tomatoes & tomatillos are now in and my peas, radishes, and beets now have their early leaves. Yes, I know it's already June and it is a little bit late, but I have a decent excuse. Our backyard renovations have just been completed. It was a total gut job. Unfortunately, it was not a renovation we had planned, but nevertheless had to be taken care of. In the end, we have a space at the back of our house we can claim as our home.

If that was not already enough to contribute to my joyful mood, my husband and I drove across the city to pick up this



It's an alpine strawberry. Perfect for container gardening and apparently superior in taste to the mass-cultivated sort. (I know it may be a little late - it's practically strawberry season around here. But I am an optimist.) While I love all my plants, my strawberry plant is my most precious. She is my pride and joy.

Oh happy day, indeed.

Onto this week's recipe...

For dinner this evening, my husband put steaks on the grill. I went into the fridge to rummage around for something else to go with dinner. Then an unusual guest made it to dinner last night. The previous day, I had summoned the courage to try Belgian Endive again after watching a review of a local restaurant on tv. I don't normally like bitter vegetables but, I thought I would give it a go.

Roasting vegetables seems to be such a natural way to eat them when it's warm out and the bbq is already on. The hot hot heat softens crisp vegetables, intensifies their inherent sweetness and exudes a wonderfully smokey aroma. There is nothing like the summer's bounty roasted on a hot barbie and why should endive be any different? The result is bittersweet, slightly crunchy and perfectly complemented for an unctuous bbq'd steak.


Grilled Belgian Endive




Serves 4

2 Belgian Endives
olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Heat BBQ on high heat (this can be prepared with a hot grill pan on a stove)
2. Clean & quarter Belgian Endives
3. Toss with olive oil & salt & pepper
4. Place on hot grill until grill marks appear & slightly caramelized. Flip and repeat on all three sides.
5. Serve immediately.