Presto pesto.

Few ingredients make summer fresh pesto.

The rain seems to have subsided for a couple days at least and was able to get in the garden and harvest buckets of basil.


In the past I have attempted at growing herbs from seeds but have had no luck starting them indoors as they get attacked by all kinds of ailments. To make my gardening life a little easier I cheat and buy my basil plants early in the spring and plop them in the ground next to my seeds. Luckily this year the plants were growing like weeds. Who wants to weed when the sun is shining and the pool looks so tempting?!

Blended in a food processor.

I don't want my basil plants to go to seed for two reasons: they slow down growing and tend to make the leaves taste more bitter. I made my first batch of pesto to keep up with the amount of basil this year. Since my tomatoes won't be ready until August caprese salads will have to wait. (insert sad face here) 

Pesto is a great to have on hand once winter comes when we need to be reminded of all of the goodness that summer provides. I use it in pasta, pesto aioli, dressings and to even make fish less fishy.  

I've used Jamie Oliver's recipe without the lemon juice and pour the pesto into ice cube trays or little muffin tins and freeze overnight. I pop them out and store in ziploc bags in the freezer when I need a little summer love in my food. 

We be jammin'

Good news! I have planted the entirety of my garden. It took me several hours and a painful sunburn to get everything in the ground. The day began cool and before I knew it I was peeling off my layers of clothes without applying sunscreen. So for the sake of an entire season of veggies I am currently in pain, soaking in a vat of aloe vera as I write this post. 

Seeds galore.

Strawberries have just begun and I cannot miss the opportunity to make jam from the first fruit of the season. My other, older nieces and nephews love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches especially when they aren't in school. Today kids are allergic to everything including the sun which makes for some sad lunches during the school year without the good ol' PB and J.  

I went to market, bought strawberries and my Mom and I canned until our hearts content. We like to use an easy and super quick recipe  from Canadian Living because it doesn't call for hours of simmering. Who wants to linger around the kitchen with the gorgeous days of summer ahead??

Get growing, fellow food lovers. Plant, jam and enjoy!

Welcome landlubber! (An ode to Mila, my little Newfie niece)

Baby Mila 

Baby Mila has arrived and since she is half-Newfie I figured a fish dinner was a fun way to welcome her into this world. 

Mila's grandfather has been a fisherman for his entire life and he has  been fortunate enough to see whales, sea turtles and fish of all kinds, including tuna. 

Local goodness.

Frozen tuna steaks found buried in our freezer and needing to be used became a quick, filling and tasty meal. My mom and I love seafood, we're convinced that we should've been born out East because we love it so much. So thankfully with Mila and Meagan in our lives we will be travelling to the rock frequently.

Using the first of Niagara's asparagus mixed with my baby lettuce leaves from the garden this salad was a warm welcome with all of the rain we've been having this spring. I made a green goddess dressing that I found on Pinterest.....again. It is refreshing, yummy and healthy. Find the recipe here from the Lemon Bowls blog. She has delicious and healthy recipes for all kinds of stuff. Definitely worth a look at if your looking to clean up your eating. 

With BBQ season just around the corner, these steaks would be fantastic done on the grill with a cold one and some good tunes playing by!

Spring has sprung!

Spring is always a rejuvenating time for me.  After a bit of a hiatus I'm back at my blogging and am more excited than a kid in Toys R Us because of my upcoming seed shopping extravaganza!  I know, what 26 year old can't wait to spend a Saturday afternoon at a seed store like Stokes or William Dam Seeds? 

Garden 2013!

Coming out of the long, dark days of winter I look forward to planning garden this summer. I have been fortunate to discover that there are many people in my generation who are beginning to understand and are curious about gardening for themselves and I am always eager to share my experiences. 

I have planned out my garden plot accordingly and look forward to the upcoming growing season, in the meantime it April has been a busy month. We are anticipating the newest arrival of the family and she is taking her sweet time, deciding to chill outside in my sister-in-law's womb it seems they will have to schedule an induction because baby Mila is in no rush to meet all of us. Also my partner's only sister and dear mother have birthdays back to back and just finishing school I am running short on funds. Naturally I decided to make a meal for them in celebration of their birthdays.

Chocolate brownie Reese's cheesecake was the dessert for my evening with the outlaws. What girls (and guys for that matter) of any age could resist chocolatey, cheesy goodness?  The cake was rich, decadent and delightful, having got the recipe from Pinterest it was easy to make. A little too time consuming for me because I prefer desserts that take no more than an hour to make but it was well worth it. 

Click here for the recipe to this awesome cake. Happy Birthday Laurie and Amber!

Tom Yummy

Mommy wow! I vlogged for the first time now. This weeks dinner was Asian inspired again and it was soup because it was a cold, damp, rainy day. This sweet and spicy soup is great this time of year because its has all of the ingredients that ward off colds, spice from chiles, garlic, onion and broth. 

It doesn't normally call for noodles but I added rice vermicelli noodles to make it a bit more filling.

Warm up your heart and feet and find the recipe here.

Asian Invasion

Wrap deliciousness!

I recently found a recipe for Asian inspired chicken wraps on Pinterest. I love anything Asian inspired because it usually so fresh tasting with a hint of spice. I find Asian food has so much depth of flavour. Its probably just because I love citrusy, garlicy, and cilantro so much.

The wrap was extremely easy to make, and I mean easy. All you have to do for this recipe is cook chicken and make a peanut sauce. All of the other ingredients are ready to put into the wrap, you toss chicken and sauce on top and BAM! just like Emeril, you have lunch or dinner.

I have not made any Asian yet for my blog and to be honest its because I used to be a stir-fry whore in university. I would literally make stir-fry's at least three times a week. So I apologize if I am disappointing anyone with this news but this blog is a no stir-fry zone. 
Just to clarify, I do make stir-frys still but since I make them so much and I am trying new recipes in this blog I won't be making one unless its a brand new one that I haven't tried. I'm open to suggestions fellow bloggers.

I would highly recommend anyone to try this recipe because it uses ingredients almost everyone has sitting in their cupboards and it's so damn tasty! If you wanted a vegetarian version I would saute firm tofu in the sauce that I cooked the chicken in. 

Find this awesomely Asian wrap recipe here. 

Enjoy cooking friends! 

Just before assembling the wraps.

Dish 'o' Fish

Having recently returned from Mexico, I was in the mood for some homemade deliciousness. I wanted fish as most of the seafood I had down there was overcooked and unenjoyable. I really wanted to make my own fish that isn't overcooked, dried out and tasteless. Wanting to make something easy because lets be honest, who doesn't like easy?! Having to get back to reality after sitting on a beach all week I wasn't in the mood for spending all afternoon in the kitchen. I'm still in vacation mode and I still can't seem to get myself into gear. I decided to copy our fisherman friend Highlander and make some homemade fish sticks. 

Using halibut we had frozen, I cut the fillets into quarters making them easy finger foods for my family to enjoy later that evening. I was afraid that baking fish sticks might make them mushy but at a hot, hot heat and smothered in panko (Japanese style) breadcrumbs they were very tasty with homemade tartar sauce. Panko is the only style of breadcrumbs I use now because they seem to be courser than most breadcrumbs and everything I have made using them turn out crunchy and delicious. If you've never tried using them I would try it. I make eggplant parmesan from the eggplant in my garden all summer using panko and freezing it too. The panko keeps the eggplant crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside even after spending months in the freezer.

I made a big, green salad to go with it and we had a delightful dinner of fish sticks. Since it was the first time making these I was happy that they came out almost like chicken fingers but with the blandness of halibut, which is why the tartar sauce was a welcomed addition. Highlander couldn't have made them better himself!

This would also be a great way to cook fish for children because its finger foods that are fun and similar to chicken strips. Give them a tasty dipping sauce and they will be none the wiser.

Click here for recipe for fish sticks and tartar sauce.

Tastes like chicken!