Aug 27 2011
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Eat

Beer Marinades

Here is a triple hit of some of my recent adventures marinading meat while back on Vancouver Island. By marinading meat for several hours before grilling you get to infuse it with delicious flavour without much work at all, just whip up the marinade in a large zip top freezer bag, toss your meat into it and throw it in the refrigerator. Make sure to drain and discard all the marinade before bbqing and preheat the grill on high heat for at least 15 minutes to make sure you get a nice seer on your meat.   Another tip for perfect BBQ is giving your meat five minutes to rest after cooking, put your grilled meat on a plate and cover in a double layer of aluminum foil so the juices can calm down and redistribute throughout the meat. Enjoy the last days of summer with these BBQ marinades! Let me know what you think of them by commenting on this post!

Spicy Sesame Maple Marinade

  • 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup of maple syrup
  • 1 bottle of beer, Domestic Lager
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp pure toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp sambal oelek
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • Optional: 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds for garnish.

Mix all ingredients in a large zip top bag. Add your meat and marinade 8 hours or overnight. Discard the marinade, grill your meat and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Honey Tequila Jalapeno Lime Marinade 

  • 1 shot of tequila, stay away from the blanco use the aged stuff for more flavour.
  • 1 bottle of beer, use a Mexican lager
  • juice and zest of one lime
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 jalapeno pepper sliced thinly
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Course ground black pepper

This one is a favourite of mine for grilled chicken. Mix the marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Add chicken and let marinade 4-6 hours.  Discard the marinade and grill the chicken. I like to leave some of the jalapeno on the surface of the chicken to char up on the grill.

Habanero Molasses Marinade

  • 2 thinly sliced Habanero peppers
  • 1 bottle of beer, domestic lager
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3 tbsp molasses
  • 3 tbsp ketchup
  • Course ground black pepper
  • Optional: Freshly chopped ginger root

Mix ingredients together and marinade meat for 8 hours. Discard marinade and cook meat as desired on the BBQ.

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Aug 23 2011
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Eat

Greek Yogurt Tzatziki

Tzatziki is one of those zippy, rich, creamy dips that can make or break a Mediterranean spread.  This recipe is extra special because Greek yogurt has been recently coveted as a trendy “super-food” because of its relatively high protein to fat ratio. Additionally it packs  a heavy hit of calcium. When you consider that this dip is more delicious than your average super market crudites pairing, you’ll fall in love with this Tzatziki and will have no reason to try another super market dip.

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod - Tzatziki Sauce

  • 2 cups of plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 large, long English cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated and strained
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • the zest of a lemon
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped dill (or 1 tbsp of dried dill)
  • 4 cloves of minced garlic (roughly 2 tsp)
  • Salt, Pepper

1. In a colander lined with cheese cloth, add the yogurt. Suspend the cheese cloth, above the sink or a bowl, I tied it to the faucet above the sink, and allow the yogurt to release its excess moisture for about an hour. This step is the most important to create a thick and luscious dip, instead of a watery sauce.

2. Prepare the cucumber and squeeze it to release it excess moisture. Add the remaining ingredients and let sit until yogurt is ready.

3. Drain the excess moisture from the cucumber mixture and stir in thickened yogurt. Taste the tzatziki and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice if necessary.

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Aug 23 2011
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Eat

Roasted Tomato Bruscetta

My favourite food on the face of the planet is the holy tomato. In the heat of the summer, the smell of tomatoes growing on the vine is intoxicating to me, the fragrance can take me back to my childhood, spending time with my Nana in her garden. This recipe is perfect for the end of the summer when you’ve plowed through the bounty of fresh tomatoes and you don’t think you can eat another. Roasting the tomatoes slowly brings out their sweetness and is a great alternative to the standard bruscetta. Roasting tomatoes is also a great way to use up tomatoes that are past their prime. You can even roast a large batch, which I highly recommend doing, and store them in the freezer to add to pasta sauces, soups or other dishes.  Use the bruscetta as a topping on burgers, instead of ketchup, or on a pizza instead of sauce. You will love it.

  • 1 pint of grape tomatoes – or several pints, just sayin’ you’ll be making more tomorrow :D
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt, pepper
  • 12 Basil leaves, sliced in thin strips
  • 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Additions: Diced red chilies, toasted pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, chopped kalamata olives

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the tomatoes in half and combine them with the garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread them evenly on the baking sheet and roast slowly for 1.5 – 2 hours, or until they have lost most of their moisture. Once roasted, let the tomatoes cool thoroughly before combining with basil and Parmesan cheese. You can leave this recipe as is, or you can change it to better suit your taste. The real star of the recipe is the slow roasted tomato, get roasting.

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Aug 22 2011
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Eat

Banana Nut Bread

Banana-Nut Bread

Adapted from All Recipes.com – Banana Banana Bread

  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup of room temperature, unsalted, butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
  • 1 cup of chopped mixed nuts (I used a combination of cashews, almonds, hazelnuts and pecans)

Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. and grease a 9×5 loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and nuts. In the bowl of a mixer cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mashed bananas and mix thoroughly. Create a well in the flour mixture and stir banana mixture into it until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Bake the banana loaf for 60 – 65 minutes, rotate the pan half way through baking. Let the bread cool for ten minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Additionally, you can create a crunchy nut topping for your loaf by combining a 2 tbsp of granola, 2 tbsp of chopped nuts, 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp brown sugar, and sprinkling it on the top of the loaf before baking.

Enjoy!

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Aug 12 2011
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Eat

Cheddar Cheese and Onion Bread

Making bread is something that I love doing; the rewards of breaking into a warm yeasty loaf after the labour intensive process of kneading and waiting for the dough to rise into a soft pillowy cloud just to be knocked back down again. The reward that comes from making your own bread isn’t just the sense of accomplishment that comes from the process, economically speaking it just makes sense to DIY instead of spending several dollars on artisan bread from your local bakery. That being said, knowing very well that most people don’t buy bread from a bakery, I can guarantee that you will find making your own bread to be better than any pre-sliced supermarket “wonder-whats-in-it” loaf. Give it a try, and have the patience of a ninja, bread doesn’t take kindly to rushing it.

This bread makes 2 x 1.5 litre loaves or you can do what I did an make a loaf plus six buns using muffin tins. Make sure to oil your baking devices well, as the cheese has the tenancy to adhere to even the best nonstick surfaces. This bread would be great with a salad at lunch or could be used to make a really intense sandwich with slices of thick cut smoked bacon, fresh tomatoes and spicy grainy mustard.

I recommend starting a second  batch immediately, I’m sure the first won’t last very long!

Cheddar Cheese and Onion Bread

Adapted from Robinhood.ca Canadian Cheddar Cheese Bread

  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup oil ( I used safflower oil but melted butter would probably make this recipe even more delicious)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 3 1/2 – 4 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
  • 2 cups shredded aged sharp cheddar cheese, reserving 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top of the loaves
  • 3 green onions, finely sliced

In a large bowl, dissolve honey in warm water and add the yeast. Let it sit for ten minutes until it starts to foam.

Beat in eggs, cayenne pepper, oil and salt.

Stir in two cups of flour and Parmesan cheese, add flour 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture becomes too stiff to stir, and the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and begin kneading, adding more flour as necessary to form a soft dough. Keep kneading for about ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until the dough doubles, approximately an hour.

Punch the dough down, and place on a lightly floured surface, knead 1 1/2 cups of cheese and the green onions into the dough until they are well incorporated. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaf shapes.

Place the dough into the well oiled pans and let the dough rise again until the dough rises about an inch above the top of the pan. Bake the loaves at 375°F for 30-35 minutes in the lower third of the oven. After the first 15 minutes of baking, rotate the loaves to ensure even baking and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

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Aug 10 2011
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Drink

Blueberry Basil Lemonade

Hot summer days leave us all craving something cold to quench our thirst. Ottawa has been extremely hot this summer and coming back to Vancouver Island has been quite an abrupt change; I’ve rediscovered the need for sleeves on my shirts and socks on my feet. However, I think that this will make the perfect sunny afternoon beverage anytime of the year (even if Islanders need to wait until September to see the sun again).

Feel free to sooth your sorrows by spiking this recipe with vodka, and serve it over plenty of ice.

  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 cup of superfine sugar (or use your favourite sweetener)
  • 1/2 cup of blueberries, sliced in half
  • Sprig of Basil (Use mint if you’re scared)
  • 4-5 cups of water
  • Vodka, if you want… you know, to pretend its summer?

In a pitcher, combine blueberries, basil, salt and sugar and let macerate for 30 minutes. Add lemon juice, lime juice and water. Chill overnight for the best infusion of flavours, but it is good to drink right away. Fill glasses with lots of ice, add vodka and pour lemonade over garnish with a basil.

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