We are a hardy crew in Winnipeg and this is one way that we cope. About the middle of January, we head away for sunny beaches and if we cannot, we at least dream about them. Another way is to ditch the winter stews and prepare food that is typically enjoyed in the summer time.  I have a gorgeous cookbook entitled “flavours of PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND a culinary journey” by Jeff McCourt, Allan Williams and Austin Clement. The over sized photos are expertly taken and breath-taking. To really sweep you away, imagine this scenario as described in the cookbook, taking place on one of those sandy beaches…..

Assemble a small charcoal barbeque  and start the coals burning. Let them burn for about 15 minutes then rake them to distribute them evenly. Cover the bottom of a large roasting pan with seaweed, making a layer about 2 inches thick. On top of this arrange the clams and mussels. Put in the onions, garlic and ginger and then cover them with a 2 inch layer of seaweed. Load on the potatoes, corn and hotdogs or sausages. Pour half of the beer over everything and cover with a clean, damp potato sack (or lid). Place this on the barbeque and begin steaming.

Once the steam starts, let everything cook for 1 hour. Add some beer if steam is escaping and add more charcoal if the fire degrades.

Serve family-style (that is, letting everyone help themselves) with melted butter and lemon.

Can’t you just feel the heat from the fire, smell the yeasty steam escaping the roaster, hear the fire snapping and taste an ice cold beer while you await your feast to cook?  Of course, the seaweed would have to be replaced with tinfoil on the prairies but other than that, there is nothing stopping you from enjoying fresh P.E.I. seafood next summer on the beaches of Lake Winnipeg. If you don’t care to wait, you could place your roster in the oven or dig out the barbeque and place the roster in there.

Our extended family celebrate each Labour Day weekend with a dinner on the beach. The menu is typically comprised of local delicacies like chicken, veggie kabobs and the like. The fun is in the cooking process itself and the time spent together in anticipation of our upcoming meal. When the sunsets, we sometimes wash our dishes in the lake and then head back to our beach house for a round of crib or a televised football game.

But we also dream of eating authentic clambake again, having done so years ago on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. With the current state of the Canadian dollar a more realistic alternate to the Cape would be the shores of PEI- a journey that we would love to make as we have only ventured to Nova Scotia and never set eyes on the other maritime provinces.

The good folks at WOW Hospitality must be dreaming of summer too, because they have decided to host the first PEI Seafood Festival right smack in the middle of winter. See here for everything you need to know:

Members of the Prince Edward Island seafood Community will be descending on Winnipeg January 16th, 17th and 18th with their products for the first ever PEI Seafood Festival. Take in one event, two events or all the events and enjoy the feel of PEI.

Friday, January 16th
Gala Dinner – 6pm at the Pavilion Centre in the Pavilion in Assiniboine Park
Tickets are $250.00 with net proceeds going to SOS (Share our Strength), a charity that works to alleviate and prevent hunger and poverty in our city including a program near and dear to my heart: St. Aidan’s Christian School in Winnipeg’s North End.
Tickets available by calling 204-942-1090 ext 230

Saturday, January 17th
9am Black Box Competition
Come out an watch top Winnipeg Chefs compete in the Black Box Competition. What will they creative with the products they are given in their box?
Yours truly is a judge.
Tickets: $25.00 Available by calling 204-942-1090 ext 230

1pm Oyster Schucking Championship – The Forks Centre Court
A competition to find the best Oyster Schucker in Manitoba.
Winner will represent Manitoba at the Canadian championship.

6pm East Coast Kitchen Party – 295 York
A Kitchen Party in East Coast style.
Enjoy sampling the best of PEI at different food stations while listening to East Coast Entertainment, Watch the Best Caesar Competition and meet members of the PEI shellfish Industry.
Tickets $40.00 and are available at any WOW Restaurant or by calling 204-942-1090 ext 230

Sunday, January 18th
1pm Best Mussel Competition – 295 York
Come Out and Watch Top Manitoba Chefs compete in the Manitoba Best Mussel Dish
No charge

3PM Best Seafood Chowder Competition – 295 York
No Charge

6pm Champagne & Oyster Tasting – 529 Wellington
Tickets are $100.00 and are available by calling 204-949-1090 ext 230

Kath’s quote: “We found some large clams…which the storm had torn up from the bottom, and cast ashore. I selected one of the largest, about six inches in length, and carried it. along…..We took our nooning under a sand-hill, covered with beach grass…I kindled a fire with a match and some paper, and cooked my clam on the embers for my dinner…..Though it was very tough, I found it sweet and savory, and ate the whole with a relish. Indeed, with the addition of a cracker or two, it would have been a bountiful dinner.”-‘Cape Cod’ Henry David Thoreau

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

 

A week ago Monday my brother-in-law helped us out when we catered the Christmas volunteer dinner for one of our cherished local charities.  On that evening we all enjoyed our fill of turkey with all the trimmings and then we sent all our family who helped us with the dinner, home with left overs. We put our own left overs in the freezer so that we cold serve another special Christmas dinner to our “Young Families” group that we host at our home once a month. On Saturday we were on the way out to our little beach house because the weather was so balmy.  We asked my brother-in-law and Sister #2 over to share the left overs of our leftovers.

Sister #2 suggested that we switch things up in a couple of ways: we go to their place instead – we affectionately have dubbed their place “Reshmajal” as it will be absolutely splendid when construction is complete. In the meanwhile their “unfinished” abode is far more splendid than ours.  “Splendid” when compared to bare-bones simplicity means that the furnace was temperature programmed as opposed to us needing to continuously stoke the fire in our wood-stove and we got to use one of the two inside bathrooms instead of our outdoor biffy (even on a warm weekend that toilet seat was mighty chilly!)

In addition, she asked permission to repurpose the turkey into a long-loved family recipe: turkey croquettes. Sister #2 was lovingly instructed how to fashion this recipe by her Mother-in-law who was Italian and married to a gentleman (still ticking and over 90) of German descent.  When I asked them both where the recipe originated, neither could say for sure but suspected that it was through the German influence.  Wikipedia suggests though that the origin of croquettes is actually French.

As is often the case with family recipes passed along through generations, it is less of a “recipe” than a process or method. So, here’s what you do: take leftover turkey (or ham) and cut super finely to a minced texture.  Prepare a thick béchamel sauce of butter, white flour (this took some effort as neither Sister #2 or I keep white flour in the house) and milk. Mix the béchamel paste with the turkey and then form the mixture into sausage-like tubes. Next the sausages are dipped into an egg wash and rolled in bread crumbs. Lastly, they are fried in olive until crispy and golden brown.

I love the recipes of generations past as they ensure that no food is ever wasted, a concern that I maintain on a daily basis.  Besides, the results are so delicious! On Sunday evening we took a batch of Hamburger Soup and cheese buns over to Beep’s to share as a family, but the piece de resistance was the leftover turkey croquettes.

Kath’s quote: “Rational habits permit of discarding nothing left over, and the use to which leftovers (and their economic allies, the wild things of nature) are put is often at the heart of a cooking’s character.”-Richard Olney

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D and I have been on a week’s vacation at our beach house.  The first few days of our time were cold and windy and although we told ourselves that we didn’t mind being snuggled up inside, we were yearning for some beach weather.  Our routine when the weather is fair, is a lovely one.  D spends the morning playing tennis at Grand Beach which if you walk along the water is only minutes away and by bike on the Trans Canada trail just a wee bit longer.  If you have to drive a car though, it takes twenty minutes to get there.

This leaves me with a leisurely morning to sleep late, read in bed or just stare at the forest that surrounds our little place.  Once I get going, I love to “putsky” in the kitchen and assemble some ingredients for a beach picnic.  Often times, I have a leftover as the pivot to build a lunch.

On this morning I had lean ham, chevre and sautéed spinach for D’s sandwich and some brie, pecans and maple syrup to have on a cheese biscuit, with slices of cucumber and carrots, fresh from the garden, it came together as a nutritious and satisfying lunch.

While I was still in the kitchen, I prepared little bowls of pitted cherries for our dessert.

I have this fabulous little kitchen gadget from OXO called a cherry-pitter.  I use the well-designed contraption even more often to pit olives for Greek salads.

The brie was so delicious that I enjoyed another smear of it on a biscuit and the cherries for my afternoon snack.

On this day I set up in our usual spot so D would know exactly where to find me when he rode his bike from the courts to the beach.  My beach chair is set way off by the trees as we often trek to Grand Beach when it is too windy on our beach.

But this spot proved to be too still, so we moved to catch the breeze on a sandbar.

A glorious afternoon was spent right here with delicious treats, frosty cold beer, walks, naps and reading.  Ah, summer is bliss on Lake Winnipeg.

Kath’s quote: “That last cherry soothes a roughness of my palate.”-Robert Browning

Love-that is all.

 

Sister #2 had surgery this week and is now recuperating at their home at the lake.  In an attempt to increase her rest time but also give her the excuse for an outing, we have invited them over to our place for dinners this long weekend.  This is easy to achieve since their place is a mere three cottages away with a cut through of the kind neighbours at a 4th house.  At the appointed hour, they (two adults and one beautiful old white lab) mosey on over to assemble in our solarium if the bugs are pesky or el fresco if they have subsided.

I had a couple of pork tenderloins in the freezer and we often prepare them in a brine, the recipe of which was given to us by Sister #3.  But to mix things up a bit, I saw that my gifted copy of “The Kamado Smoker & Grill Cookbook” written by Chris Grove (Ulysses Press)
had a version close to ours but with a Mexican influence.  Since we all travel to Isla Mujeres together, chilies and cilantro is just our “cuppa tea”.

As is often the case when I am cooking at the Beach House, I had to modify a couple of ingredients to make this dinner all come together-some out of necessity and some because of preference.  We prefer wheat tortillas over corn ones and to be specific whole wheat wraps are our favourite.  The recipe book also recommends having Mexican toppings on hand such as Mexican crema and cotija cheese.  For these I substituted Greek yoghurt and feta cheese.  Regular white sugar replaced piloncillo (Mexican sugar) and other than that my recipe list was complete.  Whether you specifically recreate this recipe or not, the pre-amble for this and every recipe in the book is extremely detailed and helpful for your general reference.

A brine is a simple solution of salt, sugar, and some type of aromatic.  Just remember this one rule and you will be on your way to making your own brines: use 2 to 5 tables of kosher salt per quart of water and equivalent amount ( or less) of sugar.  ….Add whatever aromatics you like.  If they dissolve in water, then you don’t have to heat your brine first.  But a lot of seasonings (such as black pepper) aren’t water soluble, and you need to heat the brine for 5 minutes to release their essential oils.  Then you need to cool it back down to 40 degrees or below to make it food-safe.  To do that, I put one of those blue freezer packs in a zip-top bag and put it in the brine in the refrigerator until the mixture comes down to temp.

More tips from this excellent reference cookbook:

To get an extra boost of flavour, try grilling citrus ingredients for marinades and cocktails.  Cut them in half and grill direct, cut side down, over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

OMGoodness-the refreshing lime taste went to an entirely new level.  A fabulous tip that we will use often.

The tacos were served to rave reviews along side grilled pitty pat yellow squash and sautéed coloured swiss chard. A meal that was huge on flavour, low on fat and best of all -full of protein, nutrients and anti-oxidants to help my amazing sister heal.

I love this new cookbook in my repertoire.  The next step will be acquiring a Kamado Smoker & Grill!  Here’s what the book’s publicist had to say about it:

Designed to do everything from slow smoke at 250 degrees to flash sear at 700 degrees, the kamado-style grill is the most versatile and powerful backyard cooker. Are you ready to become a Kamado Pro?

Introducing “The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook,” the first all-encompassing guide to the wildly popular egg-shaped ceramic cooker currently blowing up the world of barbecue.

This cookbook is organized into 52 tutorials that combine a valuable kamado cooking technique with a delicious recipe that are sure to transform you from casual griller to kamado masterchef!

You’ll learn the steps and secrets to perfectly grilling Cajun Strip Steak, smoking Hickory Smoked Chicken, brick oven baking Wood-Fired Pizza, salt-block grilling Tropical BBQ Tuna, and so much more.

With gorgeous full-color photographs as well as loads of tips and tricks, this is a must-have manual for anyone (like Dad!) looking to spend their summer enjoying tasty barbecue!

Kath’s quote: “Cookery, or the art of preparing good and wholesome food, and of preserving all sorts of alimentary substances in a state fit for human sustenance, or rendering that agreeable to the taste which is essential to the support of life, and of pleasing the palate without injury to the system, is, strictly speaking, a branch of chemistry; but, important as it is both to our enjoyments and our health, it is also one of the latest cultivated branches of the science.”-Frederick Accum (1769-1838)

Love-that is all.

 

 

 

When I am tasked with regularly cooking up brunch items for weekend breakfasts at the beach house, I try to stretch my repertoire passed bacon, pancakes and eggs.  On this particular weekend, I had lugged along a bag of Brussel sprouts and then ran out of opportunities to cook them for dinner.  At a Beach House you have to be flexible and use your fresh ingredients when they are at their maximum.  As a result, this dish was born.  J2 thought that it tasted like the Brussel sprouts on the Segovia menu and I couldn’t think of higher praise than that.

I love using my Mom’s mandolin for jobs like this.  My kids always called Brussel sprouts, baby cabbages.  They actually ate them as youngsters.

Check out this nutritional info about Brussel sprouts (from http://www.brussels-sprouts.com/): They are a very good source of many essential vitamins, fiber, and folate. They are especially high in Vitamin C. They, along with their other cruciferous cousins, have been shown to have some very beneficial effects against certain types of cancer, as they contain many different ingredients that are believed to help prevent the disease.

The combination of pungent sprouts, salty bacon, nutty crunch, sublime maple syrup and the rich oozing of the egg yolk make this one a keeper in my mind.

Kath’s quote: “We kids feared many things in those days – werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School – but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts.”-Dave Barry

Love-that is all.