Quinoa Bean Salad

The days are beginning to gain hours of daylight and with this comes the excitement of warmer temperatures and sunshine. I can already feel the 'change' within me that translates into my my longing for foods that need not warm me as they did during the cold winter months but instead are cooling to the body. As the seasons change so do our tastes and desires for different foods.

I went to my repertoire of cookbooks last week and was looking for something to make that would be both quick and nutritious as a side dish. I came across a recipe for Quinoa Bean Salad and I was in! I love chick peas and also kidney beans and the best thing of all was that I had all of the ingredients already in my refrigerator and pantry! I have already made this recipe twice and it is so tasty! It bears sharing with everyone so that you can enjoy it too. I do try to use organic ingredients (which quinoa is most often organic), but any fresh, local ingredients will be delicious also! And when it's made with love it's just the best ever :)

Let's share in some facts about quinoa. It is an amazing food choice!
can be bought as a grain, flour or in flakes

• grains can come in red, black or a white / golden colour
• grains cook up to 3 or more times it's original volume
• cooks up quickly
• an excellent source of protein 
• is considered a complex carbohydrate allowing for easy and slow digestion 
• is gluten free

Quinoa Bean Salad

1 cup of water
1/2 cup of quinoa
One 19oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
One 14 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup sliced green bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 4 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Combine the quinoa, chickpeas, kidney beans, green pepper, celery and onion in a large bowl.
In a small bowl mix the vinegar, oil, garlic, oregano and black pepper until well blended.

Add the dressing to the salad, mix well and serve immediately.

* I do like the salad to sit for a while in the refrigerator for the flavours to blend. I find it gives time especially for the dried oregano to become more flavourful.

Credit must always be given to the authors of the cookbook ~ Quinoa 365 : The Everyday Superfood Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

I hope you add this recipe to your summer meal plans and enjoy it's fresh taste and all of the amazing nutrition it has to offer!

Healthy blessings sent this morning!

Maggie

childhood soup….

It's a funny thing because there is little that I remember from my childhood for various reasons that would relate to a completely different blog post, but one thing I do remember is my mother making us homemade tomato soup that was absolutely delicious! As a matter of fact until I was an adult I never tasted a tomato soup other than this one. When I made this soup for my first husband he quickly said "this doesn't taste like tomato soup at all", because he was used to Campbells soup! I remember being so disappointed at the time but I understood what he meant. It dropped of our menu sadly. As a child we rarely had soup out of a can and I can truly say that I was raised on amazing soups! I was never given the recipe on paper and only learned from watching her make it time after time.

I made it just the other day for our dinner and served it simply with a baguette and some cheese and it was wonderful! All you need are flour, butter, tomato juice, water, a little salt and pepper and this time I added some cream and you will have the most delicious soup ever. I am lucky enough to have my own canned tomatoes which brings the summer flavour home in the cold winter months. I also this time used a few sage leaves that I dried from the garden to sauté in the butter and then added them again while it simmered at the end and the flavour was delicately tinged with the sage and yet did not overpower the tomato. The cream added at the end made it perfect! I wish I could give you the ingredient portions but that is not to be. It is only in my head and depends on how much tomato juice you have. 

I wish you could share in a bowl with me as it's also made with 'Love'……

I hope your day is filled with wonderful flavours and that they might be reminiscent of a time gone by.

Maggie xoxo

best ever cream of mushroom soup….

It was several years back when my daughter Brianne was away at school that she came across this recipe for mushroom soup. She tried it herself and then she passed it on to me after raving about how good it was and I have been making it from that time on and it is the best mushroom soup ever! It is very simple to make, the ingredient list is not long and you might very well have most of them in your pantry except for the fresh mushrooms.

Just this past week Brianne was stopping in for lunch during her workday and she was thinking that mushroom soup might be tasty. I hadn't' made it in a while so off I went to the grocer's and actually found organic mushrooms on sale so I scooped them up right away and returned home to begin making the soup. It really is a quick and easy recipe and before I knew it we were sitting down to a delicious bowl of homemade mushroom soup!

I tend to use the white button mushrooms and have used crimini also, but do give other types a try too.

Here are some mushroom facts & tips:

• a few cultivated varieties such as white button, crimini, portobello, and enoki can be eaten raw
• most wild varieties should be cooked to ensure food safety
• contain potassium, copper, selenium and are a good source of certain B vitamins
• recent research shows they have powerful phytonutrient potential 
• choose only whole and dry mushrooms with spongy, firm, plump caps
• refrigerate in a paper bag, often provided by the grocer
• if they come from the grocer in plastic as mine did, transfer them to a paper bag for storage with the exception of beech and enoki that will do well in their original container
• most mushrooms can be cleaned with a soft cloth or a vegetable brush
• if you need to rinse them use as little water as possible to prevent nutrient loss and changes in texture
• to reconstitute dry mushrooms cover with hot water and let soak for 30 minutes. These mushrooms will have a chewier consistency and the broth can be used in soups or stews.

It's time to share the recipe with all of you now and I hope you give it a try and love it as much as we do!

I think it was the first time I had noticed organic mushrooms at my local grocer and I was not only thrilled with that but they were on sale so that was even better!

Chop the mushrooms up into whatever size you like to serve in your soup. These were quite large so I ended up cutting them in half. I do like the look of whole slices in the soup for a nice presentation.

Saute them in the butter for several minutes until they become nice and soft.

Whisk the flour into the broth. Since my daughter is vegetarian I always use a veggie broth but you can use chicken or probably even beef broth if you want to enhance the flavour at bit more. She is also gluten sensitive so I use a gluten free flour for her and it works just as well.

Stir the broth into the mushroom mixture and keep stirring until it thickens. Add your cream and watch it become a lovely consistency.

Voila! A delicious bowl of soup ready for your lunch or a first course for dinner. I think it rates as good as any soup you will find on a restaurant menu! Yes, it's that good! 

Best Ever Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 tbsp butter

3 cups mushrooms

1 3/4 cups broth (of your choice)

6 tbsp flour 

1 cup cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper 

Melt your butter on medium-high heat and add the mushrooms and stir until tender. Turn the heat down to medium. 

Combine the flour and broth in a separate bowl until smooth. 

Add to the mushrooms and stir until it begins to thicken nicely. 

Add the cream and continue to stir until it is fully incorporated, then add the salt and pepper. 

Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. 

Serves 2 good sized bowls of soup.

I hope you will give it a try and let me know how it turns out! Enjoy!!

Maggie

soul baking…….

We are working again on our tile floor this weekend and it's the kind of work that sometimes can be a tandem job for two or it's for one person only. Yesterday we did all the cutting for the hallway so I did all the measuring and marking while Kelly worked the tile saw. It works as a good partnership to get the job done. Today though is the laying of the tile and it's strictly a one person job which Kelly is the master of and that suits me fine. This leaves me though with time on my hands and can limit me in what I might choose to do since the house is in a state of upheaval. The last weekend that we tiled together the kitchen was the focus of our work but since that is now complete I can busy myself there and create. I truly love baking so I was more than happy to open my cupboards and see what I could mix together in a bowl and concoct. Being in the kitchen creating is my idea of time well spent. I love to get lost in my experiences there and allow it to feed my soul. An afternoon of baking therapy is often just what I need. And I need not worry about all those calories since most of the time when it comes to baked goods I barely even touch a morsel of it since I don't partake of sugar as a rule but I enjoy the process of the creation. I decided since the cookie jar was empty I should possibly fill it with some fresh chocolate chip cookies and then I moved on to a banana walnut bread since my freezer is filling up with bananas. After that was done I flipped some more pages in the recipe book and came up with a quick brownie recipe that will head to the freezer for lunches along with the slices of the banana loaf. I love having a selection of ingredients at hand that will turn themselves into a tasty cookie or loaf or bread etc. and not only does it end up feeding your taste buds and belly, but it also feeds your soul. For me it's called baking therapy and this is a good thing……and I like good things.

Here is my banana walnut loaf recipe that I have been making for probably over 25 years…….

Banana Walnut Loaf

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 9 x 5" loaf pan.

2 large ripe bananas
1/3 cup soft margarine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans if you like them better)

1. In a bowl beat bananas and margarine; beat in sugar, egg, egg white and water until smooth.
2.Combine flour and baking soda; stir into batter and all but a few of the nuts, mixing until just blended.
   Do not overmix. Pour into pan; arrange reserved nuts down the middle of the batter mixture. Bake for
   35-45 minutes or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out dry.

I try to use organic ingredients whenever I can and I have also interchanged gluten-free all purpose flour in this recipe and it turned out great. You could even add some raisins if you wanted to. I usually will make two loaves at the same time since the oven is hot anyway and there is plenty of room for two pans. It's just simply more efficient. One loaf can then stay on the counter for snacking on and the other can head to the freezer.

I hope your Saturday is a good one and that you will do something that will feed your soul …...

Maggie

Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup.....

I came across this soup recipe several years ago and it is now one of my 'go to' soups for the fall and winter. It's simple to make and the ingredients are often in the refrigerator or the pantry making it even easier to make on the spur of the moment for a last minute dinner idea. It's one of our 'comfort' foods here in our house and goes well with a crusty bread and a nicely aged cheddar. The one ingredient that surprised me the first time I made it was the dill weed. It totally makes this soup taste fabulous! Give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

Here the ingredients are all coming together in the soup pot! If only you could have been in my kitchen to smell the wonderful flavours! 

Finished product in the bowl for tasting! Actually this is the last serving of this delicious soup! We had it for dinner one night this week and the rest of the week it went into work with us for our lunch! So yummy! 

Here's the recipe everyone! 

Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup

5 tablespoons butter, divided

2 leeks, chopped

2 large carrots, sliced

6 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

2 teaspoons salt 

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 pounds potatoes, peeled & diced

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 cup half & half

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes, cover, and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove and discard the bay leaf. 

Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir into the soup.

In a small bowl, mix the half and half and flour until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken. 

Serve and enjoy!!

Maggie

quick lunch....

I have been busy canning once again today and took a break from it long enough to have lunch with my son Brandon. I grabbed a naan bread from the store and headed to the garden plot to grab some tomatoes, onions & basil. I was canning tomato sauce this morning so I used that as my base and topped it with the vegetables and a bit of Havarti I already had in the refrigerator. Top that with a little freshly ground pepper and some sea salt and you have a delicious lunch! The freshness of the flavours was incredible !

We topped that off with some fresh sliced peaches over greek yogurt with agave and sprinkled with hemp hearts and it made for a perfect lunch! 

I hope your day is going fabulously! 

Blessings,

Maggie

breakfast changes.......

The morning is cool and crisp today. It is certainly a sign that it is September and we are heading into Fall. Along with this comes our own seasonal transition inside of us and I always find this so fascinating. It was a simple choice this morning to make myself a hot bowl of porridge and enjoy the transition. 

Thats all it took....some steel cut oats cooked and topped in the end with agave, walnuts and hemp seeds. Perfectly perfect! 

Enjoy your day! 

Maggie

savoury peach jam......

I was literally at a loss a few days ago. I have been canning for many weeks now and on this day in particular I had nothing to preserve. I felt empty about that. Odd isn't it? Well for me not so much I can say. There is something very pioneer about my love for preserving and this woman, on that day, was pining to place yet something else on my root cellar shelves. I was browsing online and came across a recipe for a savoury peach jam and it filled the bill perfectly. It included shallots and sage and I already had shallots on hand and the sage was a short trip away to the community garden site. Needless to say my heart was happy and off I went to gather my ingredients. Peaches are in full swing here and I had already put up peach jam and peach halves. I like working with peaches as they are easy to pit and peel so I knew this wouldn't be too intensive for my day. I picked much more sage than needed but I had also planned to dry some of it and so it went into the herb dryer that I recently purchased. The sage was beautiful and its aroma reminded me of the stuffing that I make each year at Christmas. This peach jam will work perfectly with roast turkey!

The recipe is simple in that all the ingredients except the sage are simmered together in a pot until it becomes thick and then the sage is added. It is not intended to 'set' like a jam, in fact I think it's more like a chutney type sauce. Here you can see all the beautiful bits of deliciousness coming together. 

The end result is this gorgeous mix of sweet and savoury flavours that will delight the palate! We sampled it the next evening with a platter of cheese and meats and it was wonderful! I will be happy to share the recipe with you all........

Savoury Peach Jam with Shallots & Sage

2 pounds peaches

3/4 cup minced shallots

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes-optional ( I didn't use them)

Pit and peal the peaches. I poach the peach halves to remove the skin more easily. Finely mince the fruit. Combine the fruit in a saucepan with the shallots, sugar and the vinegar. Place the pan on a burner over medium-high heat and cook stirring regularly until the fruit is quite soft and the jam not watery looking. This could take 15-20 minutes depending on the water content of the fruit. Keep a close eye on it as mine began to stick on the bottom.

When the jam is looking thick and spreadable, stir in the sage, salt and red chili if using.

This jam can be used immediately and will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage it can be funneled into clean, hot jars and processed in a boiling wager bath canner for 15 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 cups.

Enjoy!!

Of note ~ the recipe is credited to Table Matters

Have a great day! 

Maggie

early morning......

On workdays my alarm goes off very early and I begin my routine to prepare for the day. I have always given myself enough time to get ready and then also sit and relax or do something that might need attention such as emails, banking etc. But today I managed to stir up a batch of goodness and filled the cookie jar to the brim. I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, the recipe that I have followed for probably some odd 30 years, and the house is wonderfully scented with both chocolate and vanilla. Now, since I am not one who can tolerate sugar well at all I probably won't even partake of a mere morsel but the scent is enough to fill my being with goodness. My partner Kelly will enjoy them for sure. She always smiles when she sees the cookie jar filled once again.

Fresh out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. 

Still in the dimness of the early morning light the cookie jar is filled and ready to be enjoyed. 

I hope that your early morning time is special for you also. 

Blessings, 

Maggie

 

taco seasoning mix......

I have huge issues with MSG. It turns me into this person who can't sleep and the results of this are not good. It proves itself as an excitotoxin when this happens and I am still discovering for myself which foods it is in, some of which are obvious, and in other foods it is a hidden poison.

A couple of weeks ago we made a quick dinner of tacos from a package spice mix and I thought nothing of it until the next morning after a dreadful nights sleep (actually no sleep) that I put it all together and realized that I had ingested MSG the night previous. I was mad at myself because I had actually looked at the package ingredients and saw that it included 'natural flavour' but I went ahead anyway and used it thinking that it would be ok. I was so wrong.

Out of this experience I decided that I wanted to come up with an alternative to this very popular brand of taco seasoning mix and searched the internet to find one. I found one that seemed to fit the bill and today got the ingredients together and made my own mix.

So here's my MIY (make it yourself) Taco Seasoning mix!

MIY Taco Seasoning Mix

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder 

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

~Mix together all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. 

~Use about 2 tablespoons mix per 1 pound of ground meat. Use more or less to adjust to your own taste. 

~Brown your beef and drain off fat. Sprinkle seasoning evenly over meat and add 1/3 cup of water. Simmer until water is absorbed.

Enjoy!!

Maggie

*Credit for the recipe must go to Family Fresh Meals website.

Spicy Honey Mustard

I've been busy with canning for the last several weeks and have not been posting any blogs so I thought I should catch up a bit. My latest canning project was this Spicy Honey Mustard that I found the recipe for in my favourite and most used canning book this summer. I have shared the book previously in my blog but it bears sharing again. Food In Jars is the name and it's a great one to have in your library of recipe books! It's been my go-to book for the season.

I decided to make the mustard recipe and see how we would like it. I think it's a great way to have total control of what goes into my mustard and know that it doesn't have any hidden ingredients.

Here's the recipe for anyone that wants to give it a try!

Spicy Honey Mustard

1 cup dry mustard

1 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Prepare a boiling water bath and sterilize 4 quarter-pint jars. Place lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water and simmer over very low heat.

Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Whisk to blend and bring to a simmer over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. When the mustard is thoroughly heated through, ladle it into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

By making your own mustard you can design it to your own tastes and make it milder or even spicier if you like. That's the beauty of making your own! I think these 4 jars will probably last us for the winter season and if not then I will just make us another batch. 

Enjoy! 

Maggie

pesto!!

I came across a pesto recipe on a blog that I follow that I found kind of intriguing. There are lots of different variations of pesto out there and this one had a twist that I thought I just needed to try. The 3 main 'green' ingredients are parsley, basil and sage. It was the sage that caught my attention. Sage has such an earthy flavour to it that I thought it would make for an interesting combination of flavours along with the parsley and basil. My jar of pesto was almost empty in the refrigerator so it was time to give this recipe a try!

We are part of a community garden site in our town and I headed there to gather my greens. The basil this year was hit by a late frost, but it came back well and is offering the gardeners lots to harvest. We also have a herb plot where I gathered the parsley and sage from. It wasn't long before I had what I needed and I took my pickings back home to begin making my pesto.

I just love this pic of all these beautiful greens together! Garden fresh and full of so much goodness!

I washed my greens and roughly chopped them up and then processed them in the food processor until they were somewhat finely chopped. Now it was time to add the garlic, parmesan cheese and the nuts, which I chose walnuts today. I have used pine nuts in the past to give it that delicate nutty flavour, but they are a treat for us since they are so expensive and I simply didn't have any on hand. So in the walnuts went along with the garlic and parmesan and it was processed all together. 

Now comes the oil and make sure you have a good quality olive oil that is preferably 'first cold pressed'. This really makes a difference in the taste and quality of the oil. I choose to use organic for our cooking needs.

 So just pour this in the feed tube of the food processor and allow the pesto to become the consistency that you want depending on what you are going to use it for. It's always easier to add more oil to it if you want it thinner. If you are going to use it as a dip or a spread then you want to have it a bit thicker. For a pasta dish you can add more oil to it and then it will mix better with the pasta. 

So mine at this point remains to be a bit thick and that way I can use it as a dip or thin it out for our pasta dinner later this week. I always love the amazing colour that pesto is! Such a beautiful and rich green! 

At this point it's ready to be stored in the refrigerator. It will last several weeks when kept cold. Just always remember that it is all natural and there are no 'preservatives' in it, so it's best to use it while it's still fresh. But remember, you can freeze pesto too! That way you will have the freshness of summer during the cold, snowy days of winter! 

And I must give credit to the blog that I found it on. It's called A Garden for the House. 

So here's the recipe with a few changes that made it my own!

P.B.S. Pesto

Parsley & Basil ~ about 2 cups each, when roughly chopped and lightly pressed down.

Sage ~ 10 large leaves

2 large cloves garlic

1/4 cup of nuts ~ choose whatever kind you like, today I used walnuts

1 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Olive oil ~ enough to achieve the desired consistency. 

Add salt to taste. Mix in the food processor until all the herbs are pureed well.

Now you are ready to store it in your selected container. I just use a mason jar for mine.

Keep it in the refrigerator or freeze measured portions for use at a later time.

ENJOY!!

Maggie

avocado circle....

its always interesting what inspires me......

lunch in a minute........

Last minute lunches can be a challenge when my daughter sends a text in the morning only. I have the dog at home today so shopping is not an option, so I simply had a look to see what was in the refrigerator and it wasn't too bad. Some leftover chickpea quinoa salad, a few fingerling potatoes that I mixed with spring onion, basil and some olive oil & garlic vinegar, quickly boiled some organic eggs to make devilled eggs, lettuce & our first carrots from the garden and organic tomatoes! It all came together perfectly!!.....and was delicious! We topped it all off with a bowl of organic strawberries drizzled with a touch of agave and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate on the side!

lunch time!

 It was a great lunch on the deck under the warm summer sun!! 

I hope you had a tasty lunch as well! 

Blessings, 

Maggie

tasty quinoa recipe......

I somewhat struggle when my daughter comes over for lunch because she is vegetarian, although I adapted pretty quick with that, but now she is also sensitive to gluten. I have come to understand that gluten is in so many foods that I would have never suspected. Of course the flour and its related food products like any baked goods or pastas were understandable, but it is a ingredient in so many other foods that I would have never imagined. Wheat is used in many, many other food products from soy sauce to veggie burgers. A lot of the vegetarian substitutes have gluten in them for binding. This knocked out a lot of the foods that I kept on hand when she would come over. In the winter I would make a lot of soups, even last minute if she came over, but in summer I find it a bit more difficult. I guess one thing is that it needs more planning, but today I managed to quickly put together a delicious salad for our lunch. I have been doing a lot lately with quinoa and this salad had that as one the the key ingredients along with chickpeas and pimento. I thought I would share the recipe with you all. The recipe book is called Quinoa 365 ~ The Everyday Superfood , written by 2 sisters, Carolyn & Patricia, who call themselves the Quinoa Sisters. When I was out in B.C. last fall I came across this book at my friend Mae's home. I should share with everyone that I am somewhat addicted to cookbooks! I can curl up with a good cookbook and have a great time exploring recipes and ingredients. Anyway.....I had not had any exposure to quinoa before and I was curious about it. It is a 'good for you' type of food! Packed with nutrients of which the most important one is protein. I have tried many of the recipes and there is one for a chocolate cake that is a huge hit at our home!! It's absolutely delicious! But today called for a salad since our temperatures here are currently running in the high 30's to low 40's! It called Pimento Chickpea Quinoa and here's a pic of the final product.

Pimento and Chickpea Quinoa ( credit goes to Quinoa 365 )

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

2 19oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 

1- 2 fl oz jar sliced pimento, drained

3 tbsp capers, drained

2 tbsp sliced green onion

2tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic

Pinch cayenne pepper

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for an additional 4 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool. 

Combine the chickpeas, parsley, pimentos, capers,green onion and quinoa in a large bowl and set aside. 

In a separate bowl,  mix the oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic and cayenne until well blended. Pour the dressing over the chickpeas and quinoa mixture and stir well. For the best flavour, let the salad sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to serving.

The only thing I changed was a tablespoon less capers and I added a bit more olive oil as the dressing seemed a bit tart. 

Enjoy!! 

Maggie

lavender time........

My lavender.....so pretty!

There is an area of my garden that stands alone in its beauty. It ranks above all other in colour and scent and it was recently in full bloom. It is my border of lavender that I have cultivated over the last several years. I began with only a couple of plants and it has now expanded to a full border along the back of the deck. Each year as spring begins I await its recovery from winter  as it can look rather bereft from the wind and cold temperatures of the season. It was with some concern this year that I kept a watchful eye on my precious border of lavender. It seemed to have a bit of winter kill from the cold, but alas as the temperatures warmed and as the sun began to shine it came alive and grew to fill in where the winter cold had left barren places. Tender young shoots of delicate pale green sprang forth and soon filled in those empty places. I was able to enjoy it as the border was filled with the palest of lavender buds and then the flowers began to bloom! The pale lavender turned to bright purple yet it still had a softness to it. I loved being able to show off the blooms in a small vase and even the buds were beautiful in a small crystal dish.

I found a recipe for a Lemon Lavender Shortbread and decided that we needed to give them a try. The recipe was not only gluten-free, but dairy free also. They were a great treat and I have saved a small mason jar full of buds so that I can make them again. Here is a photo of how they turned out!

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

I had planned on making a lavender & lemon verbena tincture but the rains came and the blooms were not looking the greatest so I will wait until next year to try again.

I had a small garden statue of St.Francis that I decided this year to move to another location. There was a perfect spot in the middle of the lavender border and I think he looks perfect there! Somehow it just seems like home for him......and when the sun shines early in the morning he looks quite heavenly.

St. Francis in the garden

The time has come when the border now needs to be trimmed back. I managed to keep some lavender buds and will use them for the cookie recipe in winter and recall the beauty of the flowers that sprang from the buds and bloomed beautifully while surrounding St. Francis.

I hope you enjoyed my lavender journey as much as I did. I already can't wait to see it begin to bud again next spring.

Blessings to you,

Maggie

homemade pesto......

Summer time allows me to revel in one of my favourite herbs. Basil is it for me in the summer! The beautiful scent of just picking a leaf from the plant is enough to send me reeling! Can you tell that I so love it! The gorgeous dark green leaves and the scent combined make it my favourite herb in my small kitchen garden. This week I made my first batch of basil pesto and I was quickly reminded of its beautiful flavour and why I love it so much. I did go all out and use pine nuts in the recipe. The pine nuts are a bit expensive but you must at least once taste the difference they make and treat yourself to that each summer. I have also used walnuts and macadamia nuts in my pesto and have had very tasty outcomes. I find that a good quality parmesan also makes a big difference and will factor into a great taste when all the ingredients are combined. Do yourself a favour and if you haven't had pesto before do give it a try. It's amazing! It's also very easy to make and takes no time at all in a food processor. I think a jar of fresh pesto will need to be a basic staple in my refrigerator this summer for sure!

Blessings,

Maggie

Garlic scapes.....pickled!

Garlic scapes are relatively new to me. It was only a couple of years ago that I was introduced to them at our local farmers market. I love how they curl themselves into a spiral and then it ends with the flower bud wrapped in what looks like tissue paper. Nature has such an interesting way of presenting itself! I love it! So, I have sautéed garlic scapes, but apart from that I really didn't know what to do with them. We have a huge plot of garlic at our community garden plot and I managed to get my hands on some scapes this year. I was looking in my new canning book, Food In Jars, and I found this garlic scape pickle recipe! I just had to try it and so yesterday I set out to pickle my garlic scapes. I think that they look great just in the jars, let alone how great they will taste when we open the first jar! Once I open them up and have a taste I will let you know how good they are! 

 I hope that you might be inspired to look for some garlic scapes in your local area. Please shop locally. It's really important for your local economy and keeps the world healthier in a lot of ways. 

It's my last post of the week and I need to shut things down now. The morning hours come early and I have to work one more day before having a few days off. 

Good night all.......

Maggie

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simple pleasures.....

I have decided that in my quest to eat for my wellness, that I will make my own dressings for our salads. It is easy enough to whisk together a mix of oil and vinegar and add some herbs from my small kitchen garden that I have on my deck and voila!! ..... I have a delicious dressing that has only real ingredients in it! It is usually just enough for our dinner serving of salad and so there is nothing to keep that would require all the preservatives that manufacturers put in them. Given that I make my own dressings I love to have different vinegars on hand and there is a gal at our local market who makes them! I love to see what she is going to have on hand for my pantry each time I go to the market. I have had garlic vinegar, herb vinegar and recently she had chive vinegar. I had access to organic chives and I thought I would try to make my own. I happily plucked the chive flowers from the tops of the tall chives and began my journey into vinegar flavouring. It was truly an easy thing to do and I love being able to make my own. There is great satisfaction for me in making my own food and ingredients to cook or bake with. I love looking into my root cellar and seeing all that lines the shelves. Funny to think that this is something that brings me such joy. It is a simple pleasure for me! So this morning I realized the final product and bottled my first batch of chive vinegar. I was proud and pleased to say the least!

Here's what it looked like as I made it and the final product!

I started with the chive blossoms and an organic white wine vinegar.

After it was bottled in a mason jar and stored in my root cellar for a couple of weeks I strained it and it was ready to bottle. 

And here it is folks! My finished product! I just love the pink color that it came out as....so pretty! I can't wait to make some delicious vinaigrettes  to drizzle over our salads this summer and the seasons to follow although I don't think it will last into the winter ;)

My Instagram photo !

So I think my first attempt at a flavoured vinegar was a success! I think lemon verbena might be next on the list of flavours to come! 

Blessings to all,

Maggie

P.S. if you want to follow me on Instagram my user name is 'maggjoy'....have a great day all!

Preserving goodness......

The last couple of days have been filled with strawberries at our house. It has been a rainy season here and the strawberry harvest is small so I was very lucky to be able to get a flat of organic strawberries from Cathy my farmer friend. The fact that they were knowingly grown with love and then turned into sweet, sweet jam is just the best ever! I used a new recipe this year from a great cookbook by Marisa McClellan, who writes the Food in Jars canning blog. I have a real sensitivity to sugar and I used a mix of both organic sugar and agave hoping that it would give me a tasty jam and create a good set. By making my own jam I don't have to worry about us eating anything other than what I stirred into the fruit myself. All the goodness of homemade jam in the jar! I managed to put up 15 half-pint jars from two batches. I can't wait until the snow starts to fly and we can taste the sweetness of a June strawberry!

By all means if you are interested check out the Food in Jars blog at http://www.foodinjars.com

If you've never canned before Marisa's book is a great place to start!

Have a great day!

Maggie