by on August 18, 2020   •   4 Comments Traveling

A simple family vacation on Prince Edward Island

Inspiration and ideas for an easy and relaxing family vacation on Prince Edward Island. Created in partnership with Tourism PEI.

This is the year for exploring locally, be it a country road trip, camping excursion or city staycation. Thanks to an Atlantic Canada travel bubble, we’re able to move around from Maritime province to province without needing to self-quarantine.

Last weekend, in honour of my birthday, we enjoyed a relaxing family vacation to beautiful Prince Edward Island. For four days, it was just us, the red roads and endless beach.

So many of you followed along on Instagram and asked questions, so I thought I’d share a quick recap here with helpful links.

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by on August 11, 2020   •   Leave a Comment Bakeshop

Farmer’s Market Blueberry Peach Cobbler

A seasonal, jammy fruit compote topped with a fluffy vanilla biscuit. Blueberry Peach Cobbler is August eating at its best.

Every August, local peaches and blueberries show up at the farmer’s market side by side. These seasonal fruits are painted in extraordinary hues and exquisitely perfumed.

Combining peaches and blueberries in a recipe just makes sense right now. My special take on a Caprese salad features sweet cherry tomatoes, ripe peaches and a handful of wild blueberries. It’s one of our essential August eats, along with these (chicken kebabs).

Today’s recipe is is on the sweeter side, however. It’s a vibrant, jammy Farmer’s Market Blueberry Peach Cobbler, slightly spiced with a little homegrown lavender. These flavours were made for each other! Read on for the recipe.

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by on July 29, 2020   •   4 Comments Preserving

How to Use and Preserve Summer Herbs

Simple recipes and methods for preserving the bounty of summer herbs.

Few gardening tasks make me happier than gathering enormous bundles of fresh herbs and bringing them into the Simple Bites kitchen.

The bouquets of thyme, lavender, rosemary and other herbs feel like such an abundance of wealth. I keenly feel the responsibility to preserve the bounty for the winter months.

We’ve arrived at that time of year when herbs have taken off and home cooks are wondering what else to do besides pesto and um….more pesto. I’ve responded to enough direct messages over the past few days asking how to use and preserve summer herbs that I figured I may as well write a post on the topic.

My tips on how to use and preserve summer herbs will help you waste less, save more, and eat with flavour.

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by on July 17, 2020   •   1 Comment Soups/Stocks/Stews

Garden Green Minestrone Soup Recipe

This vibrant garden green minestrone soup is peak summer eating. It’s full of seasonal vegetables and loved by all.

So earlier this year you found yourself at home on some level of lockdown and decided that now was the time to plant a garden. While we were cooking comfort food, experimenting with tie-dye and home schooling, we also started seeds.

Now, mid-July, many of us are reaping the benefits of that spring planting. I’m getting tons of messages from you asking how to deal with all the herbs-gone-wild (make pesto), baskets of greens (toss this salad) and cucumbers (pickles, duh).

Today’s recipe embraces midsummer produce in a vibrant soup – the garden green minestrone.

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by on July 14, 2020   •   8 Comments Traveling

Family Camping in Nova Scotia

A list of the best spots for family camping in Nova Scotia, including local attractions, top beaches and good eats.

In the two years leading up to our move from Quebec to Nova Scotia, I was an armchair explorer of my future province. Due to circumstances that were beyond our control, it took a while to make the transition, and every day I yearned to be on the coast.

From my laptop, I traveled the Lighthouse Route, memorized provincial parks and bookmarked future trails to explore. I scoped out campgrounds and read their message boards on Trip Advisor.

Eventually, I did find myself on the other side of the Montreal to Halifax journey. I booked those campsites, frequented those cafés and traversed more coastal trails than I ever dreamed existed. It was worth the wait – and I was so glad I had done my research. Our first summer as Maritimers was a complete dream.

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