Strawberries! Strawberries!! Strawberries!

This posting is a few weeks late, but I thought I would share it anyways.

I work at a various farmer's markets throughout downtown, and for the past number of weeks I have had the pleasure of selling strawberries to people.  I watch as they approach our tents scanning our fruit... I love how much their faces light up when they spot the juicy red berries sitting so beautifully on the table in their quart baskets.

What I love most is how the children have no reservations in dipping their hands into a basket and popping one or two berries in their mouths.  This all happens so quickly that their parents can't stop them.  I think they must trade techniques on the playground, because these children are skilled.

Naturally, I brought home a huge basket of berries to do a couple of things:  crepes & freezer jam.

Teri-lynn joined Dan and I for a very yummy breakfast of Dan's crepes with strawberries and whipped creme.  Later that day, we made strawberry jam.

mmm mmm mmm

If you haven't tasted Daniel's crepes, 

you must come over one Sunday morning and join us. 

Daniel and Teri-lynn wishing I would just stop photographing 

them so they can enjoy their breakfast.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Freezer Jam is the easiest jam to make.  It only takes thirty minutes, I promise.  

The most time consuming part of it is cleaning and de-stemming the berries!  

I used a 3L basket of berries for crepes and 12 - 125ml jars of jam.  Not a bad deal.  

I use Bernardin recipes, which are super easy to follow.  

Look for the Freezer Jam Pectin at the grocery store and try it... you know you want to!

http://www.bernardin.ca/

Garden update.

A couple of days ago Dan and I made an exciting discovery... we had beans that were ready to be picked!  So, this morning, armed with coffee, we spent some time admiring and then picking our first crop to come out of the garden.  It was a lovely way to spend a Wednesday morning.

Wowzers!

 Dan busy picking our beans

a very enjoyable morning in the middle of the week

Beautiful Zucchini!!

tiny little peas!

hot pepper!

a mysterious garden creature munching on our lettuce.. wait, it's only Dan!

You might be thinking that Dan did all of the picking and gardening while I did the photo-taking, but I just want to say that I did pick my fair share of beans!

He just happens to be very photogenic in the garden that I can't resist taking photos of him!

Our Garden is Growing!

Our garden is growing quickly! 

It is exciting to see vegetables start on some of our plants. 

Luckily, we haven't spotted any potato bugs...yet...

  teeny tiny peppers

our peas are growing fast and wild!

Sweet & Simple on a Sunday afternoon

Dan's parents were stopping by for coffee last Sunday.  We wanted to make something to enjoy with our coffee.  Both of our parents always have treats and homemade goodies out for everyone to enjoy.  As we were thinking about what to make, Dan looked in our freezer and found peaches from last year.  We thought we should use them as peach season is fast approaching us.

Once again I turned to Simply in Season and found "Four Fruit Crisp" recipe.

1 and 1/2 cups each of your fruit of choice (we used peaches, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
3/4 cup flour (we used buckwheat flour)
3/4 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil (if you want, you can always use more butter)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup nuts (if you like, we didn't add nuts)

Mix until crumbly and evenly sprinkle topping over fruit.  Bake in 375 degrees until fruit bubbles and top is brown, about 30 minutes (this may take longer if fruit is frozen)

recipe credit: Simply in Season. Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert, 2009.

Our Garden

Daniel and I planted our first garden.  We both grew up with gardens and we both have fond memories of weeding and pulling rocks out of them.  This time, we designed the layout and chose the bounty that will (hopefully) fill our kitchen, and we hope to recruit many of our friends to do the weeding and rock pulling.  

For us, it's an experiment... our plants continue to grow and reach for the sun and we hope they will produce many wonderful veggies when they feel ready.  Our neighbours are super stoked and compliment our garden almost daily (which is a huge boost for us as first time urban gardeners).  I will continue to post photographs and updates on the progress of our beautiful garden...

Stay tuned...and enjoy.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burrito Goodness

This is one of my most favourite recipes. ever.

It's not my creation, but it is worth sharing, over and over again.
You must make it.
Trust me, you will love it, with a capital l.

3 cups sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)
Saute in large frying pan in 1 tablespoon oil just until tender. You can add water/apple juice as needed to prevent sticking

2 cups / 500 ml cooked black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add to sweet potatoes and onions and cook until heated through

8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)

Divide bean mixture and cheese among the tortillas and roll up. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350F/180C for 20 minutes, or until brown on top.

Dip in sour cream and salsa ~ garnish with cilantro.

You can make any amount you want, this recipe is really adaptable.

Enjoy!

---
recipe credit: Simply in Season: A World Community Cookbook 2009
by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert

a new beginning...

I love cooking, baking, and creating in my kitchen.
I have always had a love for making delicious meals and treats. I get this from my family.


Growing up we had a huge garden where my grandpa would grow veggies and then my grandparents and parents would spend entire weekends canning and preserving.  We had many apple trees on our property and I have an old memory of venturing out with huge baskets and coming back with each basket filled with beautiful red apples.  These apples were turned into delicious apple pies and applesauces.  Our backyard was a field full of wild strawberries. My grandmother would spend all day picking each strawberry in the field, and she would often enlist our help.  I don't remember seeing her eat any berries while she was picking, either she had amazing willpower or was really sneaky.  I definitely ate my share of bowlfuls before the end of the day. These fresh berries would become a variety of jams, dried fruit, and frozen, to be used later, once the season changed.


I grew up with freshly baked breads, cookies, pies, cakes, everything was made from scratch.  My mother and my grandma would often whip up a batch of maple fudge late at night, and even though I didn't really like fudge, I loved the magic they created. Weekend breakfasts were a huge deal.  We would often have company, my aunt Pattie, uncle Steve and my two cousins, Chris and Chelsea.  We would make eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes or french toast.  I always looked forward to these huge breakfasts, with too many people trying to make breakfast and a table that couldn't quite fit all of the food on it, or people around it.


We also had a small farm.  This would be a good time to share my love for farm animals.  Actually, it is more honest of me to admit that I am in love with farm animals, of all kinds.  We used to have sheep, chickens, pigs, pheasants, miniature goats and ducks.  After one of our sheep gave birth, she wasn't feeding her little lambs, so the two lambs stayed in our house.  These were some of the best weeks of my life.


Collectively, these few experiences I have shared contribute to my love for cooking and being in the kitchen.


When I decided to start my own blog, I wasn't quite sure what I would write about.  Well, here I am, writing. It looks as though you are in for a blog about my love for cooking and baking...along with some other stories and fun experiences.


I hope what follows in the weeks and months to come are stories that will inspire you to love being in the kitchen, to love creating and doing things that nourish your appetite.


Enjoy