A Summer's Lunch

In everyone's kitchen, there is one appliance that is indispensible. It's the one appliance that never collects dust. It works harder than all the rest, while the others are relegated to dark corners of the kitchen. In our household, it's our panini maker.

Perhaps the reason our panini maker gets quite a workout is our love for warmed, toasted sandwiches with delicious savoury fillings. In our household, there are few lunches that are as satisfying as a savoury cup of soup and a grilled sandwich oozing with melted cheese. No matter the season, our lunch-time mood always suits a grilled sandwich.

This week, I share with you one of my absolute favourite summer sandwiches. It includes a thick (read: generous) smear of tangy softened goat cheese, roasted sweet red pepper, and fresh fragrant basil leaves sandwiched between fresh toasted ciabatta melded together in my trusty panini maker.

Grilled Sandwich with Goat Cheese, Tomatoes and Roasted Red Peppers
1 4" slice fresh ciabatta bread sliced cross-wise
1-2 tbsp soft goat cheese (chevre)
1/4c roasted red pepper slices
1 small tomato sliced length-wise
3 large sized basil leaves

salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat panini maker. Toast ciabatta slices cut side down until toasted & grilled markets appear.
2. Once toast is ready, spread goat cheese onto bottom slice of hot toasted bread.
3. Top with roasted red pepper & tomato slices. Sprinkle with sea salt & pepper. Then layer basil leaves and firmly place top of the ciabatta on top.

Serve with a spring mix salad or a small cup of roasted tomato soup.
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Strawberries In Full Swing

Another week gone by... and what a week it was. We spent the Canada Day "extra" long weekend in Montreal visiting friend and my in-laws. (It's extra long because Canada Day fell on a Wednesday this year and we took Thursday and Friday off to give us five wonderful days away from work.) As usual, it was a non-stop buffet of food. Quebec seems to bring out both the gluttons and connoisseurs in us. My mother-in-law is a great cook and of course, this is a province that prides itself on wonderful outdoor markets offering up great local fruits and vegetables and time honoured artisan breads, cheeses and meats.

We stocked up on our favourite cheeses, chocolates, Montreal-style bagels, smoked meat, and kosher pickles. Of course, we also must take advantage of seasonal produce when possible and right now, the local strawberries have arrived. Oh happy days.

If you're about my age, maybe you grew up only savouring fresh strawberries in early summer. However, times have changed and cheap strawberries now are available all year around in the supermarket. However, these supermarket citizens are not known to be all that tasty. (And that is being kind!) No, in fact, they tend to be watery, sour and mealy. But around late June to early July, a small window opens and local strawberries make an appearance. These little rubies seem a world away from their year-around siblings; they are delicate, smaller in size but lusciously red and intensely juicy!

We bought half a flat and picked them off one by one all the way to the car! I wondered for a moment if they would even make it home...

The stars must have aligned for this week's posting... The inspiration came to me as we drove through picturesque Quebec countryside and in the first place we stopped in, an Trappist monk gift shop, meringues appeared. Divine intervention, perhaps?

(While meringues are so easy to make, it is nice to run across light and crisp meringues you can pick up and take home.)




Eton Mess is hardly a recipe - because if I told you to macerate strawberries, add some whipped cream, crumble in some meringue cookies, and throw it all together, you'd have an Eton Mess, too. It's that simple.

Eton Mess


1 pint fresh strawberries, cleaned & sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar

1 c whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

meringue cookies (use as many as you see fit) (I used 180 grams for this recipe)

Directions:
1. Slightly mash strawberries and brown sugar. Set aside for at least ten minutes or longer.
2. Whip cream and vanilla until soft stiff peaks.
3. Crumble meringues coarsely. Gently stir into whipped cream. Add about half of strawberries and liquid. Fold gently.
4. Spoon large spoonfuls of strawberries into a serving dish. Dollop with generous amounts of whipped cream mixture. Top with strawberries and drizzle with remaining juice. Serve immediately.

*I didn't sweeten the whipped cream because I wanted the natural flavours of the strawberries to come through.
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Dining Al Fresco: Greek Salad

Finally, summer has arrived! The signs are clear: the farmer's market was open for business this week, and of course, we turned on our air conditioning for the first time this year!

The most apparent sign, of course, is my garden is starting to take off.... I see flower buds forming on my tomatoes plants, the mizuna is lush and the cucumber seeds have finally sprouted. My radishes have shown their true leaves and we can't wait to snack! (Fingers crossed.)



Unfortunately, none of my lettuce sprouted (I had to re-seed), but I found this nut growing in the lettuce beds likely planted by some wily squirrel last autumn.



Summer is a natural time for salads. Cool, refreshing and light-tasting made with in-season produce. When it's hot in the kitchen, I love a fresh salad with a side of grilled garlic bread for dinner. However, one of the salads I never like was Greek salad. In my defense, my introduction to Greek salad was not exactly inspiring: Insipid soggy iceberg lettuce, weighted down by grainy tasteless tomatoes and oily dressing. But that changed for me about two years ago, when my future husband and I went to Montreal to visit his parents. They took us to a fantastic Greek restaurant where I was properly introduced to Greek salad: Fresh sweet tomatoes, crispy crunchy peppers, graced with lightest touch of olive oil, and delicate salty feta. I came home that weekend with a new love and made that salad almost every weekend last summer. This salad has easily become one of my favourites.

In the warm days of summer, this is such a beautiful, colourful and clean-tasting salad to eat. It's a perfect accompaniment to chicken soulvaki and lots of tzatziki.

The secret to this salad is to slightly pickle the red onion for at least half an hour. The onions remains crunchy, but the onion's sharp taste muted. It takes away the bite (and also the bad breath!) The rose-tinged vinegar doubles as part of the vinaigrette.




Greek Salad

1 small onion - sliced thinly
1 c white vinegar
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into bite sized chunks
1 small sweet yellow pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 seedless cucumber, cut into half moons
1/4 tsp ground oregano (or a small handful of fresh oregano leaves)
1/3 c Kalamata olives
1/3 c crumbled goat's milk feta

extra virgin olive oil
large flake sea salt

1. Soak onions in vinegar. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Toss peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and oregano together.
3. Top with olives and drained red onions.
4. Sprinkle feta.
5. Drizzle 1.5 tbsp of the vinegar and olive oil on top.
6. Serve.
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In Search of a Manly Man's Cupcake: The Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

It's my younger brother's birthday this weekend and we needed a birthday cake to celebrate... and I was in the mood to make cupcakes. Unfortunately, my brother is a manly man & the strawberry cupcakes with pink icing I wanted to make (yay for Ontario strawberries!) are way too girly for him.

Then I remembered one of my favourite movies from the 90s, Steel Magnolias. (It has a great cast & goes down as the ultimate chick flick in the best possible way.)

Now, the girl relationships in this movie aren't the real inspiration for this cake. But in the movie, Julia Robert's character, Shelby, makes a mention of an armadillo-shaped red velvet groom's cake. Now, that sounds manly, non?

Maybe in your neck of the woods, red velvet cakes were always popular... but it seems to me red velvet cupcakes seem to be quite fashionable these days... making the requisite rounds on the food blogs, and in the boutique bakeries. Although it's a dramatic looking thing, the red velvet cake is a simple cake with a hint of cocoa and bold dash of red food colouring. Certainly good enough to celebrate a manly man's birthday.

Martha Stewart has a beautiful recipe for Red Velvet cupcakes on her website which is what I have used here.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
From Martha Stewart

Makes 24
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1.5 oz red food color (about a small bottle)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Spread cupcakes with frosting. Eat at room temperature. (Store in the fridge if not eating immediately.)

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 lb unsalted butter, room temperature
250 grams cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.
(This recipe is adjusted from Martha's - the original recipe calls for 1/2lb butter & 4 c of confectioners' sugar.)

Note: Food colouring isn't my favourite thing - you could potentially get the colour for grated beets.
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Fried Rice Noodles with Shrimp & Beef (Char Kway Teow)

When we were growing up, my Mom made this noodle dish every weekend for lunch like clockwork. It involved wok-frying creamy white rice noodles with assorted seafood, beef and vegetables, a dousing of soy sauce and it is transformed into an easy popular Singaporean lunch. Of course, it would not be complete (for me, that is) without a proper dosing of fiery chili sauce.

It has been years since I lived with my mom but if I pop by any given weekend, my mom has some Char Kway Teow on the go. Since my mom is spending her summer in Singapore and New Zealand this year, I am left to make my own weekend lunches. (Not that she makes me lunch every weekend, but when there is a visit.... let's just say there is food...)

This meal is a very common noodle dish you will find in the local (often al fresco) eating establishments in Singapore called, "hawker stands" but I have also had in also eaten this dish in some of Singapore's finer dining establishments.

This recipe is inspired mostly by my mother's recipe but also by Kylie Kwong (a food goddess amongst us mortals!) Kylie's cookbook Simple Chinese Cooking is my go-to Chinese recipe reference guide. Many of Kylie's recipes use malt vinegar as part of the marinade for beef and I think it is excellent. It adds a nice tang and cuts the saltiness of the soy sauce while still lending a complex flavour to the beef. Also, I am a big proponent of using what you have in the fridge. This recipe often uses Chinese green vegetables, if you don't have them, use spinach. (It may not be exactly traditional, but hey, traditions evolve.)

Making this dish, reminds me of eating meals with my family. I remember the gorgeous smell of the beef browning in the wok (sorry, my dear vegetarian and vegan friends, meat is good!) followed by the sizzling and sputtering of the rice noodles hitting a hot wok. When that happens, you know it's only a matter of minutes until lunch is served. (Of course, you can always have this for dinner as well.)




Fresh rice noodles are found in the refrigerated section of the Chinese grocery. You can use the dried ones that are used for pad thai. They tend to be a little more toothy, but nevertheless still equally delicious.


1 lb beef fillet (or you can use the cheaper cut, flank steak*)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4c malt vinegar
1/4c soy sauce
1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)
1/2 garlic clove minced

1 lb fresh rice noodles
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined
4 1/2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs beaten
1/4c soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 large handfuls baby spinach (very unscientific, I know)
3 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch logs

1/4 lb bean sprouts, rinsed
1/2 sweet red/orange pepper thinly sliced

sesame oil

To marinate beef:
1. Thinly slice beef and toss with cornstarch. Add malt vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic and chili flakes. Mix well, cover with cling wrap and return to the fridge for at least 30 minutes(or more if you have the time.)

To make the noodles:
1. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Add the fresh rice noodles and gently untangle them. Drain immediately and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a wok or a large wide fry pan with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil. Drain the beef from the marinade. Lightly pat dry. Working in batches, saute the meat until the outside is browned but not thoroughly cooked. (This happens fast so make sure you have a fresh plate before you start.) Remove beef from pan and cook the next batch until you have cooked all the meat.
3. Then do the same for the shrimp (it can go on the same plate as the beef.) Set aside.
4. Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to the pan. When the oil shimmers, turn down the heat & add the garlic until fragrant. Add drained & separated rice noodles. I resist the urge to immediately start to stir fry. (I let always allow a litle bit of the noodles to get crisp to add to the texture. But that is definitely not traditional.)
5. Make a well in the middle of the wok/pan. Add the beaten eggs and cook for a minute. Slowly, fold the noodles into the center.
6. Add soy sauce, & oyster sauce and continue to toss with the noodles. Return the shrimp & beef back to the dish along with the thin slices of pepper and bean sprouts.
7. Toss together to incorporate.
8. Serve immediately with additional sprouts and peppers and a drizzle of sesame oil.

*flank steak is one of those meats seem to be quite expensive in the mainstream grocery stores around here. If you venture into a Asian grocery store, you may be able to find flank steak is alot cheaper here.
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Breaded Artichokes

The artichoke does not look like the most inviting of vegetables. It's reminds me of an armadillo or something with its hard shell and many layers. Aren't vegetables supposed to be luscious, juicy and easy to eat?

How do you even prepare one? I don't know the answer to that, since I've never prepared one from whole vegetable. But my fellow blogger, V, has tackled this intimidating vegetable well so I leave that to her.

Although I am intimidated by such a vegetables, I still love artichokes and thankfully, they come readily available in little tins, marinated or in water.

This is a little appetizer we had recently that was absolutely delicious and such a great way to start a meal.


Breaded Artichokes

6 artichoke hearts, halved lengthwise
zest from 1 medium sized lemon
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/3 c panko breadcrumbs
1/3 c grated Parmesan and or mozzarella

olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place artichoke hearts in a large baking dish halved side up.
3. Sprinkle lemon zest on top of each half followed by the juice of half a lemon. (If you prefer a less lemony taste, use about a quarter of the lemon.)
4. Mound panko on each half, followed by the cheese mixture.
5. Drizzle with olive oil
6. Bake for ten minutes. Then turn on broiler until cheese is fully melted and golden. Serve immediately.

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