not missing.

Friends, it is going to be Labour Day!

This coming weekend!

I have to say it: How did this happen?

Actually, I have a pretty good idea of how it happened, but it still seems incredible that even my time to make up for lost time this summer is coming to a close.

In response, my husband and I have spent the past few days tearing around our city and its surrounding areas in full staycation mode, dragging our children from one picturesque location to the next, camera at the ready, trying to eke out as much carefree living as we can before getting down to the serious work that will come with September.

In spite of the summer's having fled by at an astonishing pace, with me and my apron flapping haplessly along behind it, I am determined to make the most of what is left of its bounty.

And what a bounty it is! This has been the most dreamy of seasons for produce in our area, and we have been gobbling up blueberries, peaches, corn and tomatoes by the handful.

So it isn't that we haven't been eating the good stuff.

It's just that I haven't really been cooking it much - unless you consider grilling to be the same thing as cooking, which I do not.

I do support the popular notion that really good, fresh food needs little adornment to make it tasty and lovely, but I have to admit that I am ready to get seriously back into the kitchen.

So much so that yesterday, after a day at the beach and despite the high temperature outside, I made this lovely curry. We ate it out on our deck, the smells from our neighbours' barbecues wafting around us.

And, for possibly the first time this summer, I didn't feel like I was missing a thing.


Zucchini Curry

The best part of this dish is the curry paste. You pound it together yourself, using a mortar and pestle, which is equal parts aggravating and gratifying - but so worth it!

3 cloves garlic, chopped
a 2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tbsp Madras curry powder
1/4c vegetable oil
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp brown sugar
6 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise then cut crosswise into slices 1/2" thick
1 can (398ml) coconut milk
a handful of roasted cashews
a handful of fresh coriander leaves

To make curry paste, first bash together garlic, ginger and sea salt in a mortar and pestle until a coarse paste forms. Add cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, and curry powder, and keep pounding until mixture is fairly smooth and cohesive. Set curry paste aside.

In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion slices and sugar and cook, stirring, until golden, 8-10 minutes.

Turn heat down to medium-low and add curry paste to pot. Cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about a minute. Add zucchini to pot and stir well. Add coconut milk.

Bring just to a boil, then stir well, cover and simmer until zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in cashews and fresh coriander.

Serve with steamed rice.
Serves six.

Getting Away

I had the good fortune to be able to get out of town this weekend. Jess' family has a lovely property in Grey County. It's just enough space to feel like you can get a little lost if you want to. Just enough out of earshot that you can't be blamed for not hearing your name being called. The kids love it. There are rabbits hiding around every corner, and adventures to find without my apron strings tugging at their heels.

It always takes me a little while to wind down when we get to the farm. I need to leave my city ways behind and be a little more relaxed about rules. Jess is always trying to convince me that there is a city clean and country clean. I'm not sure I buy that one but sometimes it's a necessity up there. I always seem to think bedtimes should still be imposed. But I'm slowly realizing that maybe seeing a sky full of stars is more important. I don't want my kids growing up thinking there are only 4 stars in the sky come nightfall.

A friend came up last year, and we went to a cow penning competition. His daughter kept asking if the animals were cows. He was mortified. He felt so city, and was convinced the country folk were snickering about his daughters lack of animal identification skills. I'm sure the largely Mennonite crowd barely noticed. Their list of chores is probably so long that they don't have time to ridicule the city folk.

Since we lack refrigeration in our little cabin up North our fare is usually pretty simple. It borders on boring and I have yet to figure out a weekends worth of delicious cooler food. So I will post a curry that I made last weekend at a dinner party in the city. Curry is hard to photograph without it looking like vomit. Please don't let this deter you from trying it. I guarantee it taste better than it looks.

Trinidadian Chicken Curry

6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
juice of 1 lime
3 scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp curry powder
handful of cilantro
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp canola oil
2 large onions finely chopped
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
4 large tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and chopped
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Marinate the chicken with the lime, chilies, cumin, turmeric, half the curry powder, cilantro and garlic. Coat chicken well, and let stand in refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
In a large saucepan saute onions with oil for about 10 minutes. Add remaining curry powder, tomatoes, and stock. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add marinated chicken and sweet potatoes, stir well, and let simmer for 30 to 60 minutes until chicken and potatoes are cooked and sauce has thickened.

Kale

I hate kale. Well, that's not entirely true, I just don't know what to do with it. I rarely buy kale but it tends to show up quite frequently in my organic box. I know all the wonderfully boring things about how good it is for me, but that still doesn't make me excited about seeing it all smiley faced in my fridge. I am ashamed to say that in my past, I've let many well intentioned bunches of kale go limp with neglect until they are a sad pile of limp in the dark corners of my crisper. I will abuse kale no more! I have a few recipes that might help us get through all that damn kale that gets planted.

Kale and Sundried Tomato Pesto

1/2 bunch of kale
250 ml jar of sundried tomatoes in oil
1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts
juice of half a lemon or to taste
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup of grated parmesan

Steam kale until desired consistency. Combine all ingredients and blend with a hand blender. Serve over pasta. My daughter actually cheered when I served this to her.

Kale and Chickpea Curry

1 bunch of kale chopped
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic crushed
3-6 tsp of curry powder
1 can of diced tomatoes (796 ml or 28 fl oz)
1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
chopped coriander (optional but I feel like it's essential)

Saute onion until golden. Add garlic and curry powder for another minute. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and kale. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or until kale has soften to your liking. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice with chopped coriander.

Kale and Almond Butter Sammy

1 leaf of kale
1 tsp of oil
2 toasted slices of light rye
1 tbsp of almond butter
Salt to taste

Lightly saute your kale in heated oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt or as much as your heart can handle. Spread almond butter over your toast and assemble in typical sandwich formation.

I love the Nightlife, I got to Boogie

Okay who's kidding who, with three kids who has the energy to have a nightlife.
Geez I can barely stay up past 9:30. Well, it turns out that was true before I had kids so maybe I should grow up and marry a pillow. Instead of a nightlife, I have an early evening life. My early evening life usually revolves around food, and tend to be kid friendly so as not to discriminate among those who lack after hours childcare. A dinner party with kids is simply not the same as one without the little munchkins. Remember the days when you'd sit for hours grazing, drinking good wine and conversing. Believe it or not, I may have the formula to get those dinner parties back into your life.
I had the pleasure of hosting two dinner parties this past weekend. Friday night, my two neighbours on the other side of the laneway came for dinner. Only adults were allowed, and it was a potlatch so it was very low stress for all of us. I made mushroom risotto, and a salad. Amanda made tilapia with fresh tomatoes and roasted red peppers, and Lisa brought lovely stinky cheeses, smoked oysters and a flourless chocolate cake. Now here's the catch, all seven kids were at Lisa's house with 3 pizzas, two babysitters and a stack of movies. It costs each family $52 for the evening and we had our leisurely dinner with rich conversation from yesteryear.

Saturday night was also fun and we had lots of kids. Two other families came over around 4:30, we fed the little ones spinach lasagna at 5, and put a movie on at 6:15 with rice crispy squares in each grubby little hand. The adults sat down to eat at 6:30, and again we had our leisurely dinner with rich conversation from yesteryear.
So two dinner parties and two formulas. Try it with your neighbours, your friends, your family. It should guarantee an exciting and fulfilling early evening life for all!

Now for the recipes. I am trying to conquer Asian food, so my menu for Saturday night was inspired by foods from Malaysia and Singapore.

Fish Curry with Coconut Milk

3 tbsp oil
2 cups (500ml) coconut milk
1/4 cup tamarind water
Salt to taste
1 lb large fish fillets (red snapper or salmon) cut into chunks
1/2 tsp brown sugar
juice of 2 small oranges
handful of baby spinach

Tempering
1 tsp brown mustard seed
6 dried curry leaves
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seed
2 medium onions, chopped

Spice Paste
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 medium length dried chilies or more to taste, diced
2 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
2 gloves of garlic, chopped

Heat oil in a pan, and add mustard seed, curry leaves and fenugreek and onions. Fry until onions are golden. Add spice paste and fry until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, tamarind water, and salt to taste. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes, then add the fish, brown sugar, spinach and orange juice. Simmer until fish is cooked and the gravy has reduced slightly and thickened. Serve with basmati rice.

Cauliflower and Tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
3 tomatoes chopped
6 tbsp oil
1 large cauliflower, separated into florets
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
4 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Garnish
1/4 cup cashew nuts toasted
1/4 cup raisins

Puree the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes in a food processor.
Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and saute the cauliflower until it is beginning to brown and soften. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.
In a saucepan, saute the onions mixture with all the remaining spices. Return the cauliflower to the pan and coat well, and heat through. Serve with toasted cashews and raisins.

Steamed Greens

1 bunch swiss chard
5 bunches baby bok choy
1 tbsp sesame oil or to taste
1 tbsp of soya sauce
fresh ground pepper to taste
juice of half a lemon

Steam greens in a large closed pot with half a cup of water. Once steamed toss with the remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Eat much and enjoy!