sunday freshness

After we finished dinner this evening, Cornelius turned to me and said, "We ate really well this weekend". So true. Everything we ate was fresh and didn't require extensive cooking or baking or heating. Our morning started off right with light and crispy waffles topped with fresh and juicy peaches. Since we had a relatively late breakfast, lunch wasn't necessary. Dinner was tomato and red onion and feta sandwiches (because everybody likes sandwiches, right?!) served with fresh refrigerator pickles and accompanied by some icy cold homemade lemonade. As for dessert, the previous night we worked up a sweat the old fashioned way as we whipped up a batch of homemade coffee ice cream with a touch of cinnamon, some roasted pecans and some dark chocolate shavings. Oh my!

I'm not sure if I'll post the ice cream recipe because I found it was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but the rest of my Sunday cooking adventure can be found below. Enjoy.

crispy waffles
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 c milk
1/4 c vanilla yogurt
2 T vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1 envelope of vanilla sugar

1. In a batter bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

2. Measure yogurt, milk and vegetable oil in a 2-cup measuring cup.

3. Whip up egg whites into soft peaks.

4. Beat egg white in a small bowl with an electric hand mixer to almost soft peaks. Sprinkle in sugar and continue to beat until white and glossy.

5. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Fold in egg white to batter in dollops. Fold in with a spatula until just incorporated.

6. Add batter to waffle irons and cook as usual. Serve with syrup or fresh peaches.

lemonade
1 c sugar
1 c water
1 1/4 c lemon juice (use fresh only! approximately 6-8 large lemons)

1. Create a sugar syrup by bringing water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add in lemon juice.

2. Pour into pitcher along with 4-5-6 cups of cold water. Add enough water to suit your tastes. I like a lot of water, so I usually fill up my pitcher with about 6 cups of water. Serve over lots of ice. Decorate with fresh mint, if desired.

refrigerator pickles
I spotted these refreshing pickles over at Kitchen Parade and decided that I'd start making some right away. It seemed like the most perfect summertime snack. Tangy and sweet and crispy fresh. I made these in the morning and ate almost a whole jar by the afternoon! What can I say, I love pickles! I made one batch according to Alanna's recipe (subbing the mustard & celery seeds and tumeric with dill, garlic and hot peppers since its' what I had on hand), but then decided to make a second version with different vegetables and different spices altogether. Both versions tasted great and I'll post my version here.

1 c white vinegar
1 c water
1 c white sugar
2 t pickling salt
1 long stick of cinnamon, broken into 3 peices
1 t hot peppers
3 cloves garlic
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 small red onion, cut into quarters
baby carrots

1. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, salt, water and sugar to the boiling point. Remove from heat. Add carrots to simmer in the hot liquid for 5 minutes.

2. Add green pepper, red onion and garlic and spices into a glass jar. Add carrots to the jar and pour in the hot liquid. Cap off jar and let cool before putting into the fridge.

Once you are finished the jar (and I've already polished off one), you can add more vegetables into the liquid. I've added in some radishes and yellow peppers for my next batch. This should keep for about 1 month in the fridge.

tomato sandwich with lemony-feta spread
I like my sandwiches with a bit of a bite. If you want a fresher taste, then you can skip marinating the tomatoes and onion in the vinegar and just add them fresh to the sandwich.

Please note Cornelius' lovely handmodeling duties!

2 red + ripe tomatoes
1/2 red onion
2 T red wine vinegar
handful of fresh basil, torn
1/2 avocado, sliced
romaine lettuce
1 small block of feta cheese
1 T olive oil
1/2 c parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced & zested
salt + pepper
good bread, toasted

1. Cut tomatoes and onions into slices. Place in a shallow bowl and drizzle with vinegar and add some salt & pepper over top. Tear some fresh basil over top and marinate for 30 minutes. You can skip this step if you don't like a tangy sandwich!

2. In a small bowl, mash together the feta, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley together.

3. Toast the bread. Add feta mixture to one slice and mash avocado on the other slice. Add tomatoes and red onions and lettuce to the feta side and cover with the avocado side. Add salt & pepper if necessary.

Serve with fresh refrigerator pickles.

holiday beach picnics

This weekend was all about relaxation, fun times, good food and great friends. Holiday weekends, you are perfect! Cornelius and I missed out on the largest Critical Mass bike ride because we had free tickets to see the Vancouver Whitecaps soccer team play. Despite not knowing anything about soccer, it was good times all 'round and the bbq hot dogs and icy cold beers didn't hurt either. Canada Day was pretty much spent at a friend's house party where we played Pit ("Corner on wheat!") on the lawn and ate vegan curry. Sunday we gathered with a group of friends and had a bbq picnic out on the beach where we grilled up veggie dogs & meaty sausages, drank margaritas & strawberry-pinapple daiquiris. Hello, summer!

Besides making the stealth daiquiris, I also made a delicious pasta salad and promised to post the recipe on this ol' blog. It was that good. The roasted tomatoes are the key to success for this salad. They add such a sweetness and a lovely smokey flavour that can't be beat. If I could eat roasted tomatoes all day, I most certainly would. The day before I had made a similar salad, but added grated parmesan cheese to the dressing and chunks of boccocini to the salad. But this was a salad for mixed company (ie. vegans!) and I left out all dairy. The picture above also includes some blanched cauliflower which I didn't add to the picnic salad because I had run out...but if you've got some, add it. It was tasty too!

roasted tomato pasta salad
8 grape tomatoes, halved
sea salt
pepper
crushed garlic
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

1. In a small tin or a piece of tin foil folded to give it sides, place the haved tomatoes cut side down. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

2. Place under broiler for 15 minutes or until the skins blister & char. Using tongs, flip tomatoes and broil for another 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven.

For the salad:
Radiatore pasta or other short chunky pasta
1/2 sweet Vidalia onion, chopped fine
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 green or orange pepper, chopped
2 T capers
1/2 c spicy green olives, chopped
roasted tomatoes with their juices
a bunch of fresh basil leaves, torn

For the dressing:
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
juice of 1 lemon + zest
1 T dijon mustard

1. Cook pasta according to directions. When ready, rinse under cold water and dump into a large bowl. Add the onion, celery, peppers, capers and olives and mix well.

2. Prepare dressing mix until emulsified. Toss with salad. Add roasted tomatoes with their juices and the fresh basil. Chill for at least 1 hr or if you can't wait, just dig in!