Archives for June 2015

by on June 29, 2015   •   8 Comments Salads

Bloody Caesar Shrimp Salad for Canada Day

From coast to coast, Canadians are making plans to celebrate our national holiday on July 1st, be it by watching the Snowbirds fly over Parliament Hill, marching in a parade, or making merry while poolside with friends.

It’s also Danny’s birthday, so we party extra hard, celebrating him and our fair country all at once. We’ve been lucky enough to receive an invitation to a barbecue at Tim and Angela‘s place in Montreal, and I say lucky, because Tim is the master of the Webber.

I’m slotted to bring a salad to this gathering, which is perfect because I’ve been cooking up something very patriotic for Canada Day – a Bloody Caesar Shrimp Salad. Inspired by one of our most famous cocktails, it’s light, fresh, and best of all, very simple. Oh, and if you have ice, there’s a cocktail to be enjoyed at the end of the recipe.

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by on June 23, 2015   •   12 Comments Kids in the Kitchen

29 Summer Survival Tips for Families

School’s out! Upon finishing Monday afternoon, my boys’ excitement was so palpable, I was immediately compelled to lay out a survival plan of action.

For the next eleven weeks, we will all sleep in as often as possible (yeah right). There’s no screen time before noon, so don’t even ask, thanks. Lunches are made on your own most days and there’s a mandatory quiet time following lunch so mama can get some work done. Oh, and we’re outside as much as possible, especially for meals.

Amidst this quasi-structure of the day-t0-day, there’s plenty of fun planned as well. Also a great deal of learning, and a handful of daily chores, too. Of course I made a list. And then decided to share it here. It’s a bit of a summer bucket list, but contains plenty of practical sanity savers. It’s just basic survival as we hunker down until September.

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by on June 16, 2015   •   33 Comments Field Trips

The Best Camping Foods (a round-up)

So far, the seemingly endless rains of June have kept us from packing the car, heading to a lake and pitching a tent; but we haven’t given up hope.

Weather permitting, we’ll have our summer solstice camp out again, perhaps just in the back yard, with dinner over the open fire. Then later in the summer we’ll camp for real: fish for our dinner and sleep deep in the forest. It’s our favourite family activity in summer for nine years and counting.

The weather generally dictates how much food we consume during a 2-day camping trip. If it is gloriously sunny and we are busy hiking trails or swimming, food takes a backseat until about six in the evening, when we regroup around the campfire and devour a hearty dinner. On the other hand, if we are cold and damp, much time is spent stoking the fire and eating our way through provisions. Either way, it is safe to say that food is an important part of a camping trip.

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by on June 12, 2015   •   Giveaways

Bite this Book: The Canning Kitchen

My preserves pantry is beginning to look a little sparse as we’ve been finishing up all the pickles, jams and canned tomatoes from last summer.

It’s time for another exciting season of canning, and there’s a brand new cookbook from PRH Canada to motivate us all to get our act together.

The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes is newly released by my friend and fellow food blogger Amy Bronee. She’s a West Coast mother of two who has long been addicted to preserving the harvest and shares over one hundred of her favourite recipes in a beautiful debut cookbook.

Both nostalgic favourites and new creations shine in this warm and helpful guide to canning at home. Through Amy’s careful tutelage and vibrant photography, novice and experience canners alike will find inspiration for every season in this cookbook.

Read on for a fun interview with Amy and a chance to win one of two copies of The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes!

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by on June 8, 2015   •   25 Comments Salads

Spinach Salad with Grilled Strawberries, Asparagus and Walnuts

One warm evening after dinner last week, we found the first wild strawberries ripening in our small patch out by the garden. Clara, barefoot and hatless as usual, parted the thick leaves with her small hands and there they were, as bright as rubies and as sweet as candy.

Earlier that same day, I picked up two baskets of the first locally cultivated strawberries, and henceforth there will be strawberries on our table for as long as the season flourishes. We really only eat them when they can be grown ourselves or bought locally, so the arrival of the red gems is much celebrated.

I’ve promised the children an upcoming dinner devoted entirely to strawberries, as soon as the fruit is at its peak. Today’s scrumptious salad will definitely be on the menu, perhaps alongside strawberry-glazed grilled chicken, with fresh strawberry pie or roasted strawberry sundaes for dessert.

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