Category: Recipes

Yogurt Panna Cotta with Salmonberry Compote

Shawn 3 Comments

PannaCotta1We’re almost into our third week of June, and our Salmonberry bushes are still producing delicious edibles! But before I go out and brave the teddy bear’s picnic again, I’ve got a whole container full of berries in the fridge ready to cook with.

The rough, acidic salmonberries really pop with other foods that are creamy and mildly flavoured. The first thing I thought of was just pouring ‘em over vanilla ice cream… But as I nibbled on a couple more berries I remembered a well-worn recipe for yogurt panna cotta that might be a bit more sexy. I had paired it with candied lemon peel and green apples before… Delicate, sweet and sour. It would be easy to sub in the salmonberries with a little sugar and orange peel. Panna cotta it is!

Besides, I haven’t got an ice cream maker. Read More

Cucumber-Green Tea Cocktails

Shawn 4 Comments

Cuke1It’s going to be about a week until I can properly cook something again. Our kitchen is currently being torn apart and re-configured in new and exciting ways! I’ll post about that once it’s finished, but yeah… No sink, no counter space, no stove, no problem.

There are always other projects…

For instance, Crystal is madly in love with Italian sodas and had been mulling over how to flavour them in a way that avoids store-bought syrups. Pureeing fruits and herbs seemed like the simplest way to impart a fresh, honest taste, but the syrups she made didn’t last very long in the fridge. So, why not skip the sugar and just freeze ‘em as is? Read More

Kale Top Salad with Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

Shawn Leave a comment

Kale Top SaladIt’s May, and that means the local farmer’s market is back with a vegetable vengeance. This year there really seems to be more farmers in attendance, and I returned home with bags of fresh produce (Chard leaves the size of your head!), and armfuls of starters for my garden (The tomato man was there, whoot!!!) One of the most interesting edibles that I scored was a bag of bright purple kale tops.

Picked during the spring from the tops of over-wintering brassicas, these little bundles of buds are amazingly tender and subtlety flavoured. The perfect foundation for an early-summer tossed salad. This recipe is a classic menagerie of very friendly veg, all balancing the bitterness of everyone’s favourite super-green. Read More

Stinging Nettle Soup

Shawn 4 Comments

Nettlesoup1I’ve got a big heap of Stinging Nettles in the sink waiting for me to make my move. They sit there glowering at me, covered in wicked piercing hairs filled with sting-juice. Not to fear! I’ve stolen my wife’s hot pink dish gloves (sexy!), a strainer to catch any bugs ‘n bits left curled in the stems and big pot for boiling all the fight out of these ornery weeds. Let’s make some soup!

This is a riff on a recipe I found in (of all places) a Tricycle Magazine article from way back. The author explained the beautiful simplicity and austerity of nettle soup in a way that really stuck with me. It’s a really honest, peasant-style soup that invigorates and soothes at the same time. The perfect thing to feed my foraging family during the early spring flu season… Seriously, is everyone in this house sick but me? Read More