Roasted Zucchini and Asiago Dip

It's harvest season! This is one of my favourite times of the year and really when I give my thanksgiving to the Earth (and farmers!) for all the wonderful produce put forth. It's really been a great summer. This past weekend Percy and I went to the Crossroads market here in Calgary and there was fabulous array of fresh, Canadian produce to choose from. Walking amongst the stalls farmers were calling out to shoppers shouting out prices for big bags of fresh potatoes, peaches from B.C. , the famous Taber corn and much more. I had a great time!

When we were last visiting our cabin one of our new friends gave me a pale green zucchini from his garden as he had heard me discussing ways to use zucchini with another friend. So, I just had to try out this dip I'd thought up: it turned out perfect.

Baked Zucchini and Asiago Dip

• 1 large zucchini (or fresh summer squash, with the soft skin). You don't want to use a monster zucchini here as it would compromise the taste, look for one about a foot long.
• 3 large shallots
• Extra virgin olive oil
• White balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago (you could use any sharp cheese here)
• Salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375◦

Wash zucchini, trim off stem, and slice lengthwise down the middle. Lay round side down on baking sheet.

Peel and cut shallots in half. Place next to zucchini on baking sheet.

Drizzle all with olive oil and drizzle shallots also with white balsamic.

Place in oven and bake for about 1/2 an hour or until all is soft and the shallots are barely golden on the underside (and I mean barely as any overly brown bits will be too much for the delicate flavour of the zucchini).

Cut zucchini into large pieces and put everything, including any juice or leftover oil or balsamic, into a food processor. Process until all is nicely blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour half of zucchini mixture into an oven safe dish. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of the Asiago. Pour in the rest of the zucchini mixture and sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Asiago on top.

If you are serving this right after you make it, simply place the dish under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese bubbles and turn golden. If you are making this ahead of time, keep covered and refridgerated until ready to use. Bake in a 350◦ oven for 15 minutes or until heated through then turn on the broiler to get that cheese bubbling and golden.

Serve with pita slices, pita chips, tortilla chips or dip some veggies into it. This is a pretty healthy dip so Enjoy!

Chicken Mirabilis

The inspiration for this dish came from a book that I was reading about Vesuvius' explosion and the fall of Pompeii. In it were many detailed dinners and feasts with Roman decadence and opulence being the main course. Chicken skewers are of course not your typical "fancy" fare; rather it is the ingredients used in the marinade that were the result of my inspiration. Honey, wine, lemon, herbs - all these ingredients, being simple alone, yet rather lavish together, bring my thoughts to the Mediterranean.

The name for this dish is inspired by the Piscina Mirabilis - the pool of miracles I believe is the translation - which is a large cistern that is the terminal outlet of the Serino aqueduct that was built during the Augustan age. I hope the flavours in this chicken are a miracle to your tongue as this feat of engineering was a miracle to the Romans!

Chicken Mirabilis

• 4 chicken breasts, skin removed and cubed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup white wine (try a pinot grigio, trebbiano or sauvignon blanc)
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cup mixed, chopped fresh herbs (I used oregano, rosemary, lavender and thyme), mint would also be nice
• salt and pepper

Place the chicken and all marinade ingredients in a large shallow dish so the chicken is well covered in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours or longer if time permits.

Thread the chicken cubes onto skewers. Heat your grill to medium and grill chicken skewers until golden brown and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes per side.

Wine pairing: serve with the same wine that you used to marinate the chicken with. I suggested a pinot grigio, trebianno or a sauvignon blanc, but if you can get one try a Frascati. This "golden wine" has been drunk in and around Rome for almost 2 thousand years. It comes in either dry or sweet varieties, even as a spumante. Look for a young frascati as this type of wine is not made to age.

If you would rather drink a red you may - try a light red like a dolcetto or a pinot noir.

Enjoy!

Paneer!

I tasted paneer for the first time about 2 months ago at our friends' Shashi and Anu's house. When I lifted the first bite to my mouth I was expecting the taste and eggy texure of tofu - instead I was met with a creamy texture and mild taste - could it be cheese?? Well, I wasn't too far off. Paneer in an unaged, non-melting cheese that hails from the Indian continent. This protein-rich food is a great subsitute for meat, tofu or beans. You can of course buy it at some supermarkets but once you see how easy this is to make you won't bother. Plus, I think it's important to know what's in your food - and what better way to control what goes into your body than making your food yourself?

Paneer

• 1 litre whole milk
• 2-3 tsp white vinegar (you can also use lemon juice, which might require more or citric acid, which will require less)

Pour the milk into a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil (not a rolling boil mind you, but you want to see it bubbling!), stirring often.

Have a colander ready in the sink lined with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth (*some people keep the whey as they prize its healthful qualities and I've read that some water their plants with it rather than waste it - you be the judge).

Maintaining the milk at a boil, slowly add, one teaspoon at a time, white vinegar. Stir well with every teaspoon that you add until you see the consistency pictured below. What you are seeing is the whey separating from the curds.

Once you reach this point remove the pot from the heat and pour all the contents into the lined colander.

Twist the cloth up to squeeze out the excess whey, all the while running it under cold water as it will be hot. Continue to squeeze and run under cold water until the paneer feels cool through the cloth. Finally, stop running water over the paneer and wring out any excess water.

Open up the cloth and scoop out the crumbly paneer out into a dish. You want to press the paneer so that it will be solid like a soft cheese so that you can cut into cubes or as you please. The lid should fit snugly inside the dish and then be weighted as in the picture below.

Put pressed paneer, weight and all, into the fridge and let set for 2-3 hours.

Turn out the cheese, you may need to gently loosen it from the edges of the bowl with a knife.

I like to serve this in a curry, adding at the last and gently stirring it in to warm through. In this form you need to be gentle with it or it will fall apart. You can also fry it up as it does not melt, creating a pleasing look and adding more to the texture. Add paneer to any dish that you might add cubed chicken or tofu too, and especially to curries.

Enjoy! And remember...this IS easy, just try it!

Maple BBQ Wings

One of the easiest, most economical and tastiest snacks - wings. Everyone has their favourite; whether they be dripping with sweet sauce, rubbed in spices or served suicidally hot! Now, we all know that wings are not the most low fat food (someone once told me that one deep fried wing was equivalent to the fat content of one Mars bar - not sure if that's true!), but every once in awhile it's OK to indulge and your tastebuds will rejoice!

I've opted to pick a method of cooking the wings that would remove some of the fat, rather than adding to it. The BBQ is a good choice, especially in the summer heat, plus there is hardly any mess to clean up (just the chicken bones!).

Maple BBQ Wings

• 2 lbs wings/drummies
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp maple syrup (if you don't like the taste of maple you can replace this with agave nector for a healthy choice, or sugar).
• 2 cloves crushed garlic (either buy it crushed, or use a mortar and pestle, or the back of your knife, to crush).
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• salt and pepper

Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients, except for the wings and salt and pepper, in a saucpan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste. At this point also taste to see if the balance of the ingredients tastes right - you might want more vinegar or more syrup. Let cool.
3. Store in a jar in the refridgerator for up to a week.

Wings

1. Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Season the wings with salt and pepper.
2. Grill wings, turning occasionally, until they are nicely browned and almost cooked through.
3. Place a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil on the grill and scrunch up the sides so it looks like a bowl (you want to keep the sauce from escaping!)
4. At this point you could either: a) put the wings in a metal or glass bowl (because they will still be hot do not use plastic, you do not want to ever heat plastic) , toss them with the sauce then pour it all into your foil bowl, or b) put the wings in the foil bowl, pour the sauce on and stir it around gently making sure to coat the wings well. If you use option B you can always slowly add the sauce, saving some for near the end to ensure they are really saucy!
5. Close the lid and let the wings cook for about 15-20 minutes, gently stirring/flipping the wings to ensure they are well coated and sticky.

Remove from the heat and enjoy!

p.s. I leave for Ontario this Friday to visit my family. So there will be no posts next week, but definitely the week after.

Pineapple Salsa

Well, Percy and I rolled back into Calgary around 8:00pm on Sunday. It's pretty crazy going from a very secluded, serene and beautiful location to a city, but the drive on the #1 highway back into town pretty much warms you up to it (picture almost bumper to bumper traffic going anywhere from 100 km/hr to 150).

At the cabin we had some friends come stay with us. Generally when with friends and on vacation, eating and drinking can get a little out of control when it comes to calories. This pineapple salsa, served with slightly salted natural corn chips, is one of my more healthy summer recipes and is always a hit. Plus, it's a great way to get kids or men to eat fruit and veggies! (I swear most men I know are trying to catch scurvy with the lack of vitamin C in their diet!) We even served this to some other friends as a side to go with barbequed chicken without the jalapenos.

With all the wonderful produce available right now this is really a treat to make - and to eat of course! We found some of the most delicious tomatoes, cucumbers and fruit in BC. In fact, the great tomatoes in this salsa came from the same nursery/hothouse as our new walnut tree!


Pineapple Salsa

• 1 pineapple, peeled and cored, chopped into small pieces
• 1 pint worth of cherry tomatoes, or about 2 large tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
• Half of one large red onion, finely chopped
• 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 jalapenos (or more or less to taste - 2 large makes it pretty hot!), chopped into small pieces.
• Juice of 2 limes

Prepare all ingredients, and combine! I like to let this sit, covered, on the counter for an hour or so before serving. The reason I don't refridgerate it until after the first day is because I don't like cold tomatoes - chilling them does nothing for them. If you find there is too much liquid just strain some out before serving.

For those of you that don't like hot food, cilantro or can't eat tomatoes (mom!), here are some ideas for variations:

• Use red bell peppers instead of tomatoes.
• Use mint instead of cilantro.
• Replace all or half of the pineapple with mangoes.
• Use sweet onions instead of red to cut down on the heat (although the lime juice does a pretty good job of that).
• Or, if the pineapple it too sweet for you, cut down on that and double tomato/bell peppers.

Any other ideas?? Please share! And remember to try this with chicken, pork or fish. A friend of ours can't eat corn so he enjoyed the salsa with water crackers instead.

Below is a picture of our favourite beach to swim at on Slocan Lake - the salsa tasted REALLY good there!

Enjoy!

Grilled Marinated Tofu

With summer upon us and tanktop and short skirt season now in full swing, I've really started thinking about low fat meals. Further, I think that a lot of people eat too much meat, including Percy and I. But to a man that likes his meat for dinner, tofu can be a little bit of a challenge. So, I set out to make a tofu dish so good that he would not only be satisfied in eating it, but would request to have it again!

I picked up this particular tofu through my spud.ca delivery. Soya Nova is run by Debborah Lauzon who uses the traditional Japanese slow cooking method to make this delicious tofu in Salt Spring Island, BC. If you ever see this brand you should pick some up, it is truly delicious and puts all grocery store brands to shame. Plus, I love supporting small family run businesses. If you can't find this brand look for any other artisan made tofus. And if all else fails, the grocery store brand prepared the right way will taste just fine. Just try this recipe:

Grilled Marinated Tofu

• 1 lb firm tofu, drained and pressed, and sliced into horizontal slices about 1/2 inch thick
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• juice of 2 limes (if they are rather dry use 3)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp mirin (if you can't get this sweet Japanese rice wine you can substitute it with white wine (if using a dry wine add a little sugar), or sherry (if using a dry sherry add a little sugar)

In a shallow bowl combine soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and mirin and marinate tofu slices for 15 minutes.

Drain tofu and grill over medium heat for 1-2 minutes per side, just enough to leave grill marks and heat it through.

Serve with grilled sweet potato slices, vegetable skewers or a salad.

Wine pairing: Sake!! I am no expert on Sake (I better get drinkin'!) but from what I've read a milder Ginjo sake pairs well with many dishes. If any readers have a suggestion regarding the sake I am all ears! For those that prefer wine, I would suggest a white. Tofu doesn't have a very strong flavour on its own so you must consider the marinade ingredients when choosing a wine. I would opt for a crisp white like a Sauvignon Blanc or maybe a Reisling.

I am gone on vacation this weekend for 2 weeks! We're headed off to our cabin in beautiful Slocan, BC. I will post some great cabin/vacation recipes when we get back!

Enjoy!

What's In Season?

I was going to post a marinated and grilled tofu recipe today but I forgot it at home! I will try to get it up tomorrow - it's a really good one and Percy took a beautiful picture of the finished product. But, I think a "what's in season" email is overdue so I'll take this opportunity to write about that. I find this time of year very exciting with all the available fresh produce coming into season. And if you have the choice, please shop at farmers markets and support your local and provincial farmers!!!

I wrote in a post last year about my love for Vidalia onions, and guess what? They are back! When I was at Coop this past weekend I noticed a heaping basket full of them and threw a bunch into my cart. If you have never tried this sweet onion that is named after its birthplace in Georgia you are missing out. This onion is mild and sweet and can be eaten raw without offending any delicate taste buds (or noses!) As you can see from the picture above the Vidalia onion is rather squat compared the average yellow or white onion. So, next time you're at the market look for these onions and then go back to your kitchen and get creative! Think mild or fruity salsas and chutneys spiked with chunks of sweet onions, a Moroccan inspired salad of thin sweet onion slices with orange wedges, or brush them with a little olive oil and toss them on the grill in great big slices to serve alongside your steak.

Some other fantastic summer items to look for, listed with their availability in most Canadian markets, are:

Fruit

• Apricots (July to August)
• Avocados (April to August)
• Blueberries (July to September)
• Cantaloupe (July to September)
• Cherries (late June to early August - But! In Creston, BC you can get cherries up until labour day!! Just in case you're in the area)
• Honeydew (July to September)
• Peaches (mid-July to mid-September)
• Plums (mid-July to late September)
• Raspberries (July - some available until September)
• Rhubarb (early May to July)
• Strawberries (early June to mid/late July, and some available until September)

Vegetables

• Artichokes (spring, fall)
• Asparagus (April to Late June) - hurry!!
• Beans, green/yellow wax (July to late September)
• Beets (July to mid-October)
• Broccoli (July to late October)
• Cabbage (July to November)
• Carrots (July to late September)
• Green Onions (July to September)
• Lettuce, Boston (June to September)
• Lettuce, Iceberg (July to end of September)
• Lettuce, Romaine (June to end of September)
• Peas (mid-June to late July)
• Potatoes, new (July to September)
• Radishes (June to September)
• Spinach (June to October)
• Zucchini (July to late September)

Some of the items I listed you may have already seen available at markets. When produce appears early on the shelves I generally do not rush to buy them as they flavour I find is often lacking. Nothing is worse then buying the first strawberries or corn of the season only to find the strawberries are sour and the corn is far from sweet. Be patient and you will be rewarded!

If you have any questions about other fruits and veggies not in this list please post your questions or send me an email and I will be happy to help! Enjoy!