Archives for June 2017

by on June 27, 2017   •   3 Comments Home DIY

Backyard Cookout Tips + Coleman Get Outside Day

Ad. This post is sponsored by Coleman Canada and Canadian Tire.

All across the country, Canadians are counting down to Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation on Saturday. We’ll celebrate our country from East coast to West coast to the Arctic coast, each in our unique ways.

I’m guessing that most of us will be outdoors, because getting out into nature is what Canadians do best. In case you are entertaining friends or family on July 1 (or 4th, for my US readers), I’ve put together some of my best tips for a backyard cookout and I’m sharing them over at GetOutsideCanada.com.

Once again, Coleman Canada, in partnership with Canadian Tire, is championing a national Get Outside Day, encouraging Canadians to step out into the sunshine.

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by on June 19, 2017   •   8 Comments Breakfast & Baked Goods

June camping and a Spring Green Campfire Frittata

The first camping trip of the year was somewhat of a revelation: my kids have finally grown up enough to stay out of trouble while we’re out in the woods.

At ages 5, 9 and 11 they are tearing around the trails, making new friends, climbing stuff, inventing games and working up a ferocious appetite. After a decade of keeping them from falling in the fire or falling off a cliff, I can actually relax and putter around camp – a complete novelty.

Cooking outdoors is how I hygge in summer. I love it all. The camp kitchen set up. The campfire foil dinners. Cooking an early breakfast on the camp stove. Yes, even washing the dishes. It’s a good thing I enjoy the food prep aspect of camping because every few hours my crew was famished.

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by on June 13, 2017   •   6 Comments Main Dish

Black Pepper Beef Filet with Horseradish Cream

We’ve been eating dinner outdoors nearly every evening – now that the spring rains have let up – making the most of June weather, with its light breezes and warm temperatures.

The intense heat and humidity is starting, but I’ve still been able to turn on the oven to bake a rhubarb galette or roast a slab of beef and not cook us completely out of house and home.

Today’s recipe is a fantastic do-ahead main dish for a weekend picnic, backyard gathering or a Father’s Day spread this coming Sunday. Just pair it with a salad or tray of roasted asparagus and call it lunch.

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by on June 5, 2017   •   18 Comments Bakeshop

Rhubarb & Orange Frangipane Galette

I hope you still have some rhubarb on hand, because we’re baking with it today.

I wasn’t originally going to share this galette with you as it is more of a hodge-podge of recipes than an original creation of my own, but it was so delicious, I knew I had to at least point you in the direction of my inspiration and hope that you are similarly compelled to bake.

As is the custom, it started with an over abundance of rhubarb in my garden and a not much time to fuss over a dessert. Rhubarb cornmeal muffins are delicious, as is my upside down cake, but I was contributing the sweet finish to a family dinner and wanted to contribute something light and pretty. Something that said “Spring!”.

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