Sausage & Apple Phyllo Bites

Pies, crumbles, muffins, cakes; It's easy to come up with plenty of delicious sweet dishes using apples, but with apples so abundant this time of year in Ontario, I was itching to move away from familiar sweet flavours and create a savoury dish using local apples. While it's still pretty early, I'm always looking for new dishes to add to my potluck repertoire to bring for my family's Thanksgiving. We always do a potluck format for our big family holiday dinners, so that everyone can contribute to the work and celebration. While a lot of family members have their favourites that they like to stick to each time, I tend to get bored easily and am always looking to switch things up with something new and exciting!

With savoury apples on the brain, I kept swimming around the idea of creating my own version of a sausage roll, but this time with apples as well! I love the combination of pork and apples together, and with sausage rolls as a popular Thanksgiving appetizer (it's such a delicious and comforting way to kick off a meal!) I knew I could create something special that I would be proud to serve to my family!

To make my own sausage rolls a little bit different, I first added sweet and sour Granny Smith apples to aid in rounding out the flavour of the sausage meat. I also added some fresh rosemary still kicking around in my garden, and chose to wrap my rolls in phyllo dough as opposed to the traditional puff pastry, to give them more of a crunchy exterior. I also spread two different types of mustard (one dijon and one with lots of texture) right on the interior of the phyllo to allow the flavours to blend during baking. I love mustard, but I find that sometimes sausage rolls can be a bit bland, and when dipped in mustard, the flavour is improved, but can overpower the roll all together. Adding the mustard right into the roll avoids this, and gives a much more rich and well-balanced flavour.

I was so happy with how these sausage rolls turned out, and cannot wait for my family to try them! These will be so easy to transport to my aunts house that we are hosting Thanksgiving at, as well as reheat without losing their texture or flavour.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, small dice
1 large Granny Smith apple, small dice
1 lb. fresh Italian sausages, casings removed
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
Metro Irresistibles Frozen Phyllo Pastry, thawed
about 1/2 cup Kozliks Triple Crunch Mustard
about 1/2 cup Metro Irresistibles Traditional Prepared Dijon Mustard
about 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Maldon Salt, for garnish (optional)
salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Heat olive oil and add onion, apple, and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. 
2. Add sausage meat and break up with a spatula, and cook until browned. Add rosemary and stir to combine. Taste and season as needed with additional salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. Filling may be made in advance.
3. Preheat oven to 375ºF. 
4. Stir together both mustards in a medium bowl. Lay out your phyllo pastry and cut into four even strips widthwise. Take one stack of phyllo strips and place them on a work surface. Cover both stacks of phyllo with damp cloths. 
5. Working one at a time, lightly brush one sheet of pastry with butter and layer another sheet on top. Brush lightly with butter once again, and lay a third sheet of pastry on top. Leaving a 1/2-inch border from the end of the strip, spread about 1 tsp of the mustard mixture. Top with about 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp sausage and apple mixture. Roll in the half-inch border on the end and both sides, like you're wrapping a present, and carefully roll up. Place on a greased baking sheet, and continue this process with the remaining pastry and filling. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and score with a knife. Sprinkle a little Maldon Salt on top of each one for garnish (optional). 
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Serve immediately or refrigerate. To reheat, place in a 200ºF oven for about 10-20 minutes, covering with aluminum foil if they start to get too dark. 

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario. 

Listening To:
Darling - Real Estate

Raw Shaved Asparagus Salad Two Ways

Being such a food-focused province, the winter months have a way of taking its toll on us Ontarians, having to endure months and months of minimal options and repetition when it comes to local produce. There's no better sight than the first discovery of local asparagus at the market, as it has become a signifier for the beginning of Spring and all of the seasons big, fresh flavours for Ontarians.

With asparagus at its peak in the Spring, there's no better time to turn off the heat and play around with different raw preparations for this healthy and flavourful green. Serving asparagus raw allows its true flavours to shine through, as well as taking advantage of its fantastic  crunchy texture. This recipe lets asparagus act as the star, dressing it in a light vinaigrette that highlights asparagus's natural flavours, without overwhelming it. More than that, this recipe gives you the option of serving the salad two ways; standing along, garnished with pistachios and parmesan cheese, as a light accompaniment to lunch or dinner; or as an appetizer, using it as a topping for goat cheese crostini.

This article was originally posted in Fredi Magazine. CLICK HERE to check out the spread!

Tip: Save any remaining dressed salad to add into an omelette the next day!

Ingredients:
2 lb thick asparagus spears, trimmed & peeled into ribbons
Salad Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp mint, cut into very fine ribbons
salt and pepper to taste
Salad
2 Tbsp. chopped pistachios, lightly toasted
shaved parmesan cheese, for garnish
Crostini
8-10 thin slices baguette, cut on a bias
olive oil
about 1/2 cup goats cheese

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, and mint, and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a medium bowl, add asparagus ribbons. Add 3/4 of dressing and toss. Taste, and add remaining dressing as needed. 
3. Divide salad in half. Plate half garnished with pistachios and parmesan cheese shavings and serve as a salad.
4. Use the remaining half of the salad for topping the crostini. Lightly brush baguette slices with olive oil and lightly toast or grill. Spread evenly with about 1-Tbsp. goats cheese each, and top evenly with remaining asparagus salad. Serve immediately. 

Listening To:

Kendrick Lamar - Loyalty 

Mulled Cranberry Baked Brie with Spicy Candied Pecans

Holiday entertaining is all about ease of preparation, allowing you to spend less time in the kitchen, and more time with your friends and family. My Mulled Cranberry Brie with Spicy Pecans is as easy as can be and is a total showstopper, featuring the festive flavours of the holiday season. Sweet, spicy, warm, and comforting, you may want to prepare two of these, because your guests are sure to gobble it all up! Prepare the nuts and sauce in advance to have everything ready to go when your guests arrive.

Ingredients:

For The Pecans

3 Tbsp. golden corn syrup

1 1/2 Tbsp white sugar

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp (heaping) ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 cups whole pecans

cooking spray

For The Mulled Cranberry Sauce

2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. orange juice

2 Tbsp. red wine

1/4 tsp orange zest

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice 

1 whole star anise

2 thin slices fresh ginger

1 wheel of brie (200g)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together corn syrup, white sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. Stir in pecans.
3. Spray medium baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread out coated pecans in one even layer and bake for 5-minutes. Stir to combine, and place back in the oven for an additional 10-minutes.
4. While pecans are baking, prepare a medium baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Right as the pecans come out of the oven, use two forks to begin transferring, separating, and spreading the pecans on the prepared baking sheet to cool. Store in an airtight container for about 1-month. 

Listening To:

Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Oh joy! Spring has arrived! Or...has it? There's a thick blanket of snow on my balcony and a chill in the air. Excuse my language, but what the f**k?!?! I guess there's nothing left to do but embrace what little time we have left of soup weather by indulging in a cheese-and-cream-filled soup. Enter Broccoli Cheddar Soup, one of my favourite excuses for eating melted cheese. Some soups I get sick of after the first bowl, but Broccoli Cheddar, I could eat that shit for days on end! It's just so comforting, hearty, and stick-to-your-ribs-delicious that I don't think I could ever get sick of it.

You can always add but you can never take away!

Though I've listed ingredient amounts with this recipe, I encourage you to forget about your measuring cups and spoons and just eyeball everything. Soups are so incredibly forgiving and are a great way to practice your improvised cooking skills. It's all about adding little bits at a time, tasting as you go, and remembering the golden rule of "you can always add, but you can never take away."

Tweet me @thisgingerrose to let me know what you thought of my recipe, or tag a photo of your soup on Instagram @gingerrosefood! 

Remember:

- Why do we cut our vegetables into the same size? So they cook at the same time! 

- Soups are so forgiving, so ingredient amounts can be flexible based on what you have. You can also play around with using other vegetables that you have on hand such as carrots and celery.

* If your soup tastes like it's missing something ask yourself is it salt? Pepper? If it's not salt and pepper, it's likely that it's missing some acid. Try stirring in a little bit of fresh lemon juice and see if that does the trick! 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 dried bay leaf

4 heads of broccoli, chopped into 1-inch pieces

2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

3 Tbsp sour cream

3/4 cup half-and-half cream

salt & pepper to season (preferably white pepper)
cheddar cheese, grated, to garnish (optional)
soup cream, to garnish (optional)
walnuts, toasted, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot or dutch oven set to medium-heat, heat butter and olive oil. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook, while stirring, for 30-seconds. 
2. Add stock, bay leaf, broccoli, and potatoes and cook for about 30-minutes or until broccoli and potatoes are very tender. Let cool.
3. Remove bay leaf and discard. Pour soup mixture into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour back into pot along with cream and re-heat. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper. Stir in sour cream. Taste and season once again, if needed*. 
4. Serve immediately garnished with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chopped walnuts, or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Listening To:
Disclosure - Omen ft. Sam Smith

Asparagus Prosciutto & Ricotta Crostini with Arugula

My Opa (my grandfather) has sold his home and is moving in less than a month. Besides the many photo albums, fancy barware, and furniture that needs to be cleared from his home, is much of my immediate family's belongings. When we sold our family home almost four years ago, there were so many special treasures that we wanted to keep but had no room to store in our new tiny apartment. Alas, my poor Oma and Opa were left with a basement full of all our old memories (which may be a euphemism for "old junk") until we could figure out what to do with it all. Though we still haven't a clue what to do with all of our old mementos, the time has come to take it all back, which inevitably means a nostalgic walk down memory lane. 

Each time I see my mom I get a delivery of some of my old memories (*cough* junk!) for me to sort through and store in my own home. Though there's surely been a lot of useless crap that I've come across that I haven't a clue why I ever saved, there have been some really memorable and personal belongings that I'm so, so glad I held onto (or my mom coerced me to hold onto). The most special boxes I've come across so far are the ones that contain old sketchbooks! 

For as long as I can remember I have kept a sketchbook. Actually, I should correct that to for as long as I can remember I have kept numerous sketchbooks! I always have one for concentrated illustration, one for practicing my handwriting, one for scrapbooking, one for a journal, one for recipes, one for brainstorming, one for painting, one for - oh dear lord, there's too many to count, and you get the gist! The point is, I clearly have too many sketchbooks for my own good, but my sketchbooks are the main destination where I get to express myself in whichever way I so choose. Coming across an old sketchbook from University, when I first began my blog, was really interesting. Tucked between carefully-written song lyrics (so emo!) and drawings of quirky villains were brainstorming sketches of future recipes. 

It was so amazing to be able to look back on the many different recipe and flavour combinations that I had come up with while my blog was still so new and fresh. Some of them turned into great blog posts and recipes that I've shared right here, though so many of them have remained just a dream. Looking back, I can't help but want to kick myself for never making so many of these fantastic recipe ideas a reality! Though I can't turn back time, I can catch up by reigniting my inspiration for recipe development by making all of my old recipes concepts a reality! 

One of my old recipe concepts that I was really eager to create was a crostini topped with ricotta, roasted asparagus, prosciutto, and arugula. I could tell just by reading it that it was going to be great! I love this combination of ingredients for the way all of the different flavours and textures contrast with one another. I love how the creamy and subtle ricotta plays off of the super salty prosciutto, crunchy asparagus, and peppery arugula. These crostini made the perfect casual weekend lunch for my boyfriend Chris and I, though thanks to there beautiful appearance, these would also be fantastic served for guests! If you plan on serving these for friends and family when entertaining, I recommend making the ricotta mixture in advance and keeping in the fridge until ready to assemble so that you can whip these up in under 10 minutes when ready to serve! 

Note: I chose not to include ingredient amounts in this recipe to encourage you to learn how to taste and season on your own and be able to adapt this recipe from a lunch for two to a party for 10!

Ingredients:

ricotta

lemon zest

asparagus, trimmed

good quality bread (I like to use either a multigrain or light rye loaf from Stonemill Bakehouse), sliced thin

prosciutto

arugula

good quality extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to season

Maldon Salt, to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together ricotta (you will need about 1-Tbsp/crostini) with some fresh lemon zest (about 1-pinch/crostini) and some salt and pepper to taste. Keep covered in fridge until ready to assemble. 
2. Lay asparagus (2 spears per crostini) on a toaster oven-sized baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 350º in a toaster oven until tender (about 5-10 minutes). Cut each spear in half and set aside.
3. Toast bread until crisp and golden. 
4. In a small bowl lightly toss a handful of arugula with a very light drizzle of olive oil. 
5. Spread each toast evenly with ricotta. Top with asparagus and then a slice of prosciutto. Top with arugula and drizzle lightly with good quality olive oil and a light sprinkle of Maldon Salt. Serve immediately. 

Listening To:

Leon Bridges - River

Arugula & Egg Salad Crostini & How To Get Excited About Choosing "Yes" Foods

You know how every few months I go on a "health-kick" and write about 3-5 posts on my new healthy lifestyle, just to post about how I gorged on pie right after? Yeah, I'm right in the middle of one of those. 

While this may seem to be just another repeat of the same somewhat toxic pattern of healthy vs. unhealthy eating that I've gone through more times than I can count, what sets this time apart is my expectations of myself and my perspective. Previously whenever I would begin a new health kick, I would start by cutting out the bad foods, the foods that were absolute no-no's for my new diet. That, my friends, would be mistake number one. Instead of taking the time to focus on the "no" foods, I should have changed my perspective to get excited about all of the vibrant and flavourful "yes" foods that I was opening up my palate to! How could I ever expect to keep up a healthy diet with such a negative perspective? The trick I've found is to find new ways to get excited about all of those yes foods! 

So how does one get excited about clean eating? I mean, kale and lentils aren't exactly the most thrilling ingredients on paper, so what can we do to encourage ourselves to reach for ingredients that aren't hanging out at the "cool table" as opposed to the easy, ready-to-eat, big flavour bombs that can satisfy in seconds? I believe that for many people, myself included, the key to getting excited about healthy eating is all about convenience and building flavour. 

The only way that I can keep up a healthy diet is by having healthy, flavour-building ingredients right at my fingertips every single day. Sure, that maybe means taking an extra trip to the grocery store each week to stock up on fresh items like leafy greens, fruit, vegetables, and protein, but there are also so many other ingredients that you can keep  for months in your pantry or your freezer that can help to layer flavour for healthy meals and snacks. Nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut, oils, dried herbs,  spices, mustards, and more are all fantastic ingredients for adding a big punch of flavour and texture to a dish in mere seconds! 

I like to take the time at the start of each week to toast up a batch of mixed nuts and coconut to store in airtight containers to have on hand all week to dress up salads, yogurt and chia seeds bowls, soups, stir-fry's and more! Think about it, are you really going to choose a plain mixed green salad that will still take at least seven-minutes to prepare over a juicy and hot burger that you can pay $1.99 for and have ready in less than 2-minutes? If you have those healthy and flavourful ingredients prepped and on hand that can turn that bland mixed green salad into something spectacular, you just might! My go-to quickie salad has become greens tossed in a homemade dressing (prepped in advance) with toasted mixed nuts, dried cranberries and figs, homemade croutons (prepped in advance) and some sort of fruit (apples, mandarin oranges, and berries are all great options!).

This weekend when a late afternoon hunger storm hit my belly, I was tempted to rush out and grab my favourite $2.99 bacon and cheddar perogies with sour cream at the local Hungarian takeout joint. Just as I was about to reach for my coat to give in to the temptation of sautéed bacon, potatoes, and onions, I remembered all that prep I had previously done in the week and realized that I already had a fantastic lunch in the works! With pre-boiled eggs in the fridge, as well as some arugula, and green onions, I could see how easily I could have a delicious lunch ready in less time than it would take me to go out and purchase pre-made perogies. No, an egg salad sandwich doesn't sound as appetizing as bacon and cheddar perogies slathered with sour cream, but an an egg salad crostini with Koslik's Triple Crunch Mustard, and green onions, topped lightly dressed arugula, extra virgin olive oil, fresh-cracked pepper, and Maldon salt sounds pretty freaking wonderful if you ask me! Again, it's all about building the flavour! 

I began with delicious Prince Edward County Rye bread and spread some rich grass-fed butter on top to prevent any sogginess from the egg salad. The egg salad was seasoned to perfection with more than just salt and pepper, but with Koslik's Triple Crunch Mustard, mayonnaise, and green onions. The arugula garnish was given the same amount of care as the rest of the dish, by being tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette (literally just lemon and olive oil with salt and pepper). The whole dish was finished off with a little bit more fresh cracked pepper, Maldon Salt (a crystallized finishing salt that provides both texture and a "clean" salt flavour), and a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. As you can see, this dish is all about building flavour on flavour, and texture on texture, which makes the final result irresistible, satisfying, and positively delicious! Perogies who? Sorry, forgot all about those potatoes and bacon, this crostini is just too good! 

Listening To:

Formation - Beyoncé

Ontario Heirloom Tomato Tart for Fredi Magazine

Ontario's summer bounty is upon us and with it brings a surge of inspiration to create mouthwatering dishes that celebrate our most anticipated season! There's nothing like stalking through your local farmer's market to seek out what fresh treasures await you, and there's no treasure I appreciate more than Ontario heirloom tomatoes! Check out my latest article and recipe for Fredi magazine on one of my favourite ways of taking advantage of gorgeous Ontario heirlooms this summer!

Check out my recipe here!

Listening To:

Real Estate - Easy

A Beginners Guide to Arancini AKA Fried Rice Balls

So you've mastered the art of making risotto, and despite it's delicious results, you've followed my advice and have left yourself some leftovers for the following day...Now what? There's not a chance that anyone could get you to revive the goopy, gluey mess you have in front of you by simply re-heating. Although some of the best leftovers are merely reheated to achieve the same level of flavour from when they were first served, reviving risotto requires completely transforming the rice into an entirely new dish, largely unrecognizable from the creamy risotto it once was. Yes friends, I am talking about the miraculous transformation of renovating risotto into arancini! 

Arancini are also known as fried rice balls (or 'little oranges', referring to their appearance), and are made by forming the sticky leftover risotto into a ball, stuffing with cheese or other fillings like meat, and rolling in a breadcrumb mixture, to be fried into crisp and creamy balls. I had previously made arancini once before last year using leftover risotto from my culinary class at George Brown. Although my results were tasty, they were nowhere near the crispy on the outside, and outrageously creamy on the inside arancini that I had gone gaga over at Italian restaurants and events. I knew a big issue was my not-so-successful attempt at deep frying over the stove for the first time (something that pretty much scared the pants off of me!), but I knew that there was more that could be tweaked. The cheese inside hadn't melted quite as much as I had hoped, and I found the arancini a little on the dry side. What was I doing wrong?

For my second attempt at making arancini just a few weeks ago, after enjoying a delicious asparagus and green pea risotto, I decided to take matters into my own hands and tuck into some arancini research online. The hands-down best resource I found was from Serious Eats, where the chef had gone through some serious recipe testing to perfect the little fried balls. Although this method for making arancini was not meant for using leftover risotto (this recipe skips the risotto all together and goes straight to perfecting arancini), I was still able to take my arancini to a whole new level and gain amazing results using this resource as a guide. 

Although one of the very first things I learned from that resource was the success of using sushi rice as opposed to the traditional Italian short-grain Arborio rice, I stuck with the arborio rice because, well, that's what I had made my risotto with the night before! The recipe also encouraged making a bechamel sauce from chicken stock and milk to stir into the sushi rice to achieve a molten, not dry, interior. Once again, because I was using leftover risotto, I omitted this step, though it did give me a great idea for next time! The next time I make arancini I would love to mimic the method of making croqueta filling, by making a thick roux-like bechamel, cooling it down so it's pliable, and rolling it into balls so it can be stuffed inside the leftover risotto rice, along with cheese. This would ensure that, once heated, the bechamel would become liquid once again, achieving that molten filling that is so desirable. 

Though there were a few steps that I had to stray from in the Serious Eats method, there was certainly lots that I did take away. The first thing was the breadcrumbs. Although the chef found the best results by using homemade breadcrumbs, he stated that crushed panko breadcrumbs were a close contender. I didn't have any homemade breadcrumbs (nor any bread to make them with) but I did have plenty of panko! I pulsed it in the food processor as recommended in order to make the crumbs finer, so that the final result would still have the appearance of looking like little oranges. 

More than just the breadcrumbs, the way in which you adhere the breadcrumbs to the rice will also aid in achieving the ultimate crisp exterior. This method recommended making a 'slurry' out of water and flour to result in a "shatteringly crisp" exterior. To get the creamy and gooey cheesy interior that was lacking on my last arancini attempt, I cut the mozzarella cheese into small cubes, adding several to each ball, so that they would melt at a faster rate. 

The final step to getting the arancini I had dreamt of was learning to control the oil. First off, I used far less oil than I had last time. There's no need to actually deep fry risotto, you can simply add a few inches of oil (about 4-inches) to your deep pot, allowing you to turn the balls as needed to evenly crisp. By adding less oil you will have so much more control over the heat. Have a thermometer handy to keep testing the temperature of the oil so that it stays around 375ºF, and adjust your stovetop as needed. Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the balls, allowing any excess oil to drain off, and place on a paper towel-lined wire rack. While the arancini are still nice and hot, serve them with some good tomato sauce and you're good to tuck in and enjoy all that hard work! 

Yes, making arancini sounds a little complicated, especially when it takes me this long to accurately explain my process, but I promise you after that first attempt, it will all feel like play! It's actually so incredibly simple to make delicious arancini, it just takes a little research (which I've already done for you!) and a bit of practice. I was able to make my arancini in about 30-minutes on a weeknight, along with a main course, meaning it really can't be that difficult at all! If you're concerned about timing, form your arancini in advance, and pop them in the freezer until you're ready to fry. I love this idea for last-minute entertaining! 

Big thanks to Serious Eats for providing me with so much helpful information! I definitely encourage you all to check out the page and see what you can take away from it! Let me know how your attempt at making arancini went and share your results with me on Twitter: @thisgingerrose! 

Listening To:
Alt-J - The Gospel Of John Hurt

Recipe Testing with Roasted Golden Beet Soup

Ever since I was a little girl, my food hero has always been my Oma, my mothers German mother. My foodie admiration over my Oma had to have started with her sneaking me naughty treats that I wasn't supposed to have, behind my mothers back when I was just a wee little gingy. My foodie admiration for my hilarious Oma grew as I started helping her out in the kitchen, rolling and cutting cookie dough, beating eggs, dusting icing sugar on treats, and so much more. I adored my Oma's cooking as a child, but I didn't see her as the cooking and baking wizard that she truly is until I started really playing around in my own kitchen all by myself. It was only then that I realized how special her natural knack for creating the most satisfying of comfort foods really was. She had a way about making flavours explode in your mouth, seasoning and adding her secret little touches until the dish was just so. It was this natural knack for seasoning and flavouring that I always admired and aspired to have myself, and one that comes to mind almost each and every time I find myself in the kitchen.

It was last week after I unexpectedly had a free weekday to myself to play in the kitchen, that I was faced with three golden beets the size of my head, that I purchased from Pete's Fresh Organics at the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market, that my Oma's cooking once again popped into my head. One of my Oma's most beloved signature dishes is her out-of-this-world beet borscht. Made with beef shank and lots of love, her beet borscht is one of the most delicious and satisfying comfort foods to ever touch my tongue. So naturally, at the sight of those giant, golden beets, I could think of nothing else but trying to create a golden beet soup that maybe, just maybe, might compare to my Oma's infamous borscht. 

Having cooked mainly with red beets in the past, and after seeing lots and lots of golden beet salads and not a whole lot else in my research, I was a little weary at whether golden beets would work just well as red beets when made into soup. Some sources stated that golden beets are sweeter and more flavourful than red beets, while other sources stated the exact opposite! I had no idea if the golden beets would work at all, but the only way to find out was to try! 

With a cool chill in the air, I didn't feel like venturing out to get groceries, so I decided to make the soup using only what I had on hand. To mimic the meaty flavour of the beef shank in my Oma's soup, I sautéed some chopped bacon, cooked the onion in the bacon fat, and re-added the bacon back into my soup while it simmered, as well as adding a rich beef stock. I also chose to grate the beets after being roasted to create the same texture that my Oma's red beets had in her borscht. I added basic flavour enhancers like salt, white pepper, a bay leaf, and garlic before and while the soup was simmering, thinking that that would be everything I needed to achieve a flavourful soup. I was wrong. After simmering for a half hour, as I kept tasting and lightly adding salt and pepper, my soup still tasted very bland and lack-luster. It was here that I lost all chance at posting an exact recipe for the blog right away as well as replicating my Oma's borscht, as I began to transfer cups of the soup to various different pots, and play with different arrangements of seasonings and spices in each one, finding the perfect combination that could make soup worthy of serving to anyone but myself. 

A little lemon juice, grated ginger, cayenne pepper, cumin, a whirr of the immersion blender, and a quick strain through a sieve got my soup to a place that I can say was absolutely incredible! It was when I decided to follow my intuition and trust my taste buds, as opposed to trying to copy someone else's dish, that I was able to achieve greatness (yes, the soup was THAT great!) and something that I could be proud to say was uniquely my own. 

This soup was a great lesson in cooking inspiration. It showed me that although something may spark an idea in the kitchen, you have to trust yourself and your taste buds above all else, and be willing to take some chances every now and then in order to get the results you crave. My Oma's tried and true comforting German recipes will always inspire me in the kitchen, but it's her natural kitchen wizardry, and knack for going with the flow and trusting her instincts that has truly shaped me to be the cook I am today. No, my Roasted Golden Beet Soup didn't taste anything like my Oma's beet borsht, but it was just as delicious and may just spark some other passionate foodie to try and replicate in the kitchen!

* Note: Because I have only made this recipe once and there was so much seasoning play involved, the recipe is not exact yet. I am hoping to make it again soon so I can post an exact recipe for you to try, but until then, I welcome those familiar and confident with seasoning to have a try at making this. You're going to have to do a lot of tasting, have a lot of patience, and add your seasonings and spices little by little, but if you trust your intuition, I think you will too will be proud of your final product! 

** Beets may be roasted and grated in advance, and left in the fridge until ready to use.

*** Remember, when seasoning you can always add, but you can never take away! Use a very light hand when seasoning, and always taste before adding more!

Ingredients:

3 very large golden beets (or enough beets to equal 3 very large beets), greens cut off

olive oil

2 strips of bacon, diced small

1 tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced or pureed

4 cups beef stock

1 bay leaf

sour cream stirred with a little lemon juice to garnish

Seasoning to play with:*

salt and white pepper to season

approximately 2 tsp lemon juice

approximately 1 pinch cumin

approximately 1/2 - 1 tsp grated ginger

approximately 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Rub beets in olive oil and place in baking dish. Bake for 1 hour to 1.25 hours or until tender when pierced with a fork. Allow to cool. When cooled, rub with a dry paper towel to remove skins. Grate roasted beets into a bowl and set aside.**
2. In a large soup pot, add the bacon and turn heat to medium - medium/low. Cooking, stirring occasionally until browned and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
3. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil and the butter into the soup pot. When heated, add in the onion and sweat, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent. Add in the garlic in the 30-seconds of cooking.
4. Add in one cup of the beef stock to deglaze the pan, and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits. Add the remaining 3-cups of stock. Add bay leaf and grated beets. When warm, taste, and season with salt and white pepper. Reduce heat, and allow to simmer for 30-minutes.
5. Remove bay leaf and puree using an immersion blender, or transfer to a blender or food processor to puree until smooth. Strain and press the soup mixture through a sieve, and re-heat, if needed, on the stove. Taste and season a little at a time with the lemon juice, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, and salt and white pepper. Continue tasting and seasoning until just right!***
6. Ladle into serving bowls and top with a drizzle of the lemon sour cream. Serve hot. 

Listening To:

Michael Jackson - Beat It (or should I say "Beet It?" hah!)

Market Inspired: Tomato & Cream Cheese Tart

Although it states right up there in the title that this a market-inspired dish, it is actually much more of a Food Hack-inspired dish. These past two weeks have felt like the part of my heart and my head where creativity lies have been hooked up to a defibrillator and have been shocked back into gear. It was only a few short weeks ago that I was crying on my boyfriend Chris' balcony, forlorn over what felt the apparent loss of my creativity and motivation. I was standing at a fork in the road with one direction pointing towards a sensible, steady office job, and the other up in the clouds towards this strange foggy dream that I've been chasing, and I was distraught over the fact that I was just about ready to give up the latter. It's a weird and unexplainable fact of life that Florence Welch so eloquently wrote into one of her hit songs: "It's always darkest before the dawn." No, this past month hasn't been my darkest of times, but it's certainly been confusing as hell, as I've tried with all my might to make sense of combining what I want out of my life (creative stimulation, passion, joy, success, freedom) with what I need out of my life (money and stability). 

Life is like opening that stubborn tight-fitting lid on a jar. Right when you're about to give it all up and quit or ask for help, the lid pops loose! And that's exactly what happened with me. Right when I felt so incredibly lost and unsure of myself, opportunity knocked in the form of a contest that had "this is your dream Danielle!" written all over it! The Kraft Food Hacks competition that I wrote a little bit about in my last entry, would be an absolute dream come true. More than a dream, I can see a reality in it. I can see my future in that role, and that alone was the push I needed to get myself back into gear, and feel that spark that I felt I had been missing as of late. 

On Monday night I participated in Round 2 of the competition, a Twitter party/Interview where finalists and other party guests were asked a series of eight food-hack-related questions to test our originality and creativity, engagement and personal presence, and relevancy of our answers to the questions asked. Although it was my very first Twitter party, and it was at first extremely overwhelming, I feel confident that I put my best face forward and maybe (just maybe!) I could be chosen as one of the three finalists to be judged in Round 3. 

With Food Hacks on the brain last night, I could think of nothing else but creating something hack-worthy and delicious with the leftover Homemade Fresh Garlic & Herb Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese that I made for my Peeling Lots of Garlic Hack that I demonstrated in my video submission. I also had beautiful, colourful tomatoes from the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market leftover, as well as some shallots, basil, and puff pastry that needed to go. A match made in heaven! The tart was quick-as-can-be to prepare and came out looking and tasting restaurant-worthy, thanks to the creamy addition of the flavourful cream cheese and the pop of the sweet juice of the market-fresh tomatoes. This food-hack is a definite winner in my books! 

Note: My puff pastry doesn't look quite as "puffed" as it should because the tart was a very last-minute idea, so I had to do a quickie thaw, which affects the rise of the dough.

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry 

125 g Plain Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese (1/2 a package), softened

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp each basil, dill, flat-leaf parsley, green onions, finely chopped

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

a drizzle of olive oil

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

2 tbsp dry white wine
4 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade 

salt and white pepper, to season

Directions:

1. Stir together the softened cream cheese with the crushed garlic and chopped herbs. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium-sized pan to medium-low heat. Coat the pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the shallots and cook until very soft and translucent. Increase heat to medium and add the white wine. Continue cooking until wine has evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside
3. Preheat oven to 400º. Roll out the puff pastry to make slightly larger and thinner. Use your discretion.
4.  Spread the cream cheese over the puff pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch - 3/4-inch border. Season with salt and white pepper. Top evenly with the cooked shallots. Top evenly with the cherry tomatoes and season lightly with salt and white pepper. Bake for 30-minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden. Top with fresh basil and serve immediately. 

Listening To:

The Muppets - So What'cha Want (Muppet Version)

Market Inspired: Caprese Salad

Is there a more perfect sight in the world than a farm fresh, colourful, spontaneously placed caprese salad? Is there a more perfect taste? If there is, I've certainly never seen it or tasted it. With the first of the colourful, multi-sized, farm fresh tomatoes finding their way into local farmers' markets, I've found myself more and more taken by the vibrant, bright colours and big, sweet, and juicy flavours from Ontario's most loved savoury fruit. My newfound love for the humble, Ontario-grown tomato has me so utterly smitten, that I was even moved to change the header on my webpage to reflect this new inspiration. I recently shared a quote that summed up the experience of eating a farm-fresh tomato perfectly: 

"It's difficult to think of anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard

It's true. Not one bitter thought could permeate the blissful barrier of flavour that tomatoes welcome upon biting into. With dancing, colourful tomatoes on my brain last week at the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market, it was an absolute must for me to stop by the Cookstown Greens tent to chat with my new friend John about all the different varieties of tomatoes we are now beginning to see in our province. There was no doubt that I was walking home with a bag of those red, orange, yellow, and purple balls of perfection, to be utilized in the only way I could imagine, paired with Monforte Dairy Water Buffalo Fresco Cheese (similar buffalo mozzarella, but more crumbly and absolutely divine!) as apart of a simple caprese salad. Toss in my best quality olive oil that I got from an olive press in the Golan Heights in Israel, some leaves of fresh basil growing on my kitchen windowsill, and finish it off with a generous turn of fresh cracked pepper, and one of the most perfect sights and tastes in the world (no hyperbole here) is complete. 

Visit the sip & Savour Ontario Farm & Artisan Market webpage to learn more about our growing community market.

Note: I have not provided the quantity of each ingredient, as it is really not needed. When preparing, just remember that each bite should contain every ingredient. I prefer to go a little heavier on the cheese,  basil, and olive oil rather than not have enough.

Ingredients:

small Ontario farm-fresh tomatoes (a combination of different varieties and sizes)

Monforte Dairy Water Buffalo Fresco cheese

fresh basil leaves

very good quality extra virgin olive oil

fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

1. Cut some of the larger and medium-sized tomatoes in half, leaving the remainder of the tomatoes in tact. Tear off pieces of the cheese and place overtop. 
2. Tear the basil leaves overtop and drizzle over enough olive oil so that each tomato gets a slick coating. Finish with fresh cracked pepper. 

Listening To:

Neutral Milk Hotel - King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1

Quinoa-Stuffed Butternut Squash: Celebrating Celiac Awareness Month with Campbell's

I was probably in grade five or six when I first learned what Celiac disease was. My Zhada was diagnosed with it, which at the time didn't mean much to me other than less challah at our Shabbat dinners. It wasn't until a few months after that when one of my best friends at the time, Nikki, was also diagnosed with the disease that I realized how much it can affect ones life. I witnessed Nikki's frustration at not being able to eat pizza at parties with all of her friends, or eat her moms amazing Israeli couscous salads that drove everyone wild at BBQ's, as well as watching her give in to temptation, and be faced with horrible, debilitating stomach pains for the remainder of her day. I thought it was so unusual that all of a sudden I knew two people who had this strange disease that was previously foreign to me. Being such a big food lover myself, with my favourite foods at the time being pasta, pizza, baguette, breaded chicken fingers, and pie (I swear I wasn't a fat kid) I couldn't understand how my Zhada and Nikki would be able to happily go about their days excluding these wonderful treats that I had taken for granted my whole life. 

Now it seems you can't go through one day without hearing the words "gluten-free," with a huge spike in the Celiac population in Canada, and much greater access to gluten-free products. Although many people claim to be gluten intolerant (which recent research has shown is actually a fallacy), those actually struggling with Celiac disease have much more serious repercussions to going against a gluten-free diet such as the inability of your body to absorb important nutrients (such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, and minerals) as well as symptoms such as anemia, chronic diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, cramps, bloating, and irritability. Not fun. 

For the month of May the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness has declared it to be Celiac Awareness Month to spread information, tips, recipes, and more all about the disease that now affects 1 in 133 persons in Canada. To take part in this health-focused month, Campbell's Canada challenged select Canadian food bloggers to help raise awareness for Celiac disease, by creating a unique, gluten-free recipe featuring their newly launched No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth (that is of course, gluten-free!). Campbell's generously sent myself and the rest of the bloggers participating their brand new broth for us to play around with, and create something we would be proud to share and serve to our Celiac friends and family. After much thought and research I finally came up with a recipe for Quinoa-Stuffed Butternut Squash with sauteed spinach, onions, sage, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese that I knew anyone (Celiac or not!) would go wild for! This is a great side dish to serve at parties thanks to its large portions and striking presentation, and is a cinch to prepare! 

To encourage readers and at-home cooks to play around with their own gluten-free recipes, Campbell's has been kind enough to provide me with coupons for FREE cartons of their No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth for me to give out to my readers! Want to get your hands on some free Campbell's broth? The first 25 readers to comment on this post will have a coupon sent directly to them*!  #CampbellsGlutenFree #promo

*Coupons will only be sent within Ontario.

Ingredients:
1 medium/large butternut squash
olive oil for roasting & frying
1 cup quinoa
2 cups Campbell's No Salt Added Ready To Use Vegetable Broth
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 handfuls baby spinach
4 heaping tbsp ricotta cheese
2 sage leaves, very finely chopped
salt & white pepper to season
about 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut vertically down the centre of the butternut squash. Rub exposed flesh with olive oil and place, cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until fork tender. Cool until ready to handle.
2. In the last half hour of the squash baking, prepare the filling. Add quinoa to a medium pot and add the Campbell's vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover and cook for 15-minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5-minutes. Fluff with a fork.
3. In a medium sauté pan, heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent and softened. Add the garlic and spinach and stir. Cover with a lid and steam for 1-2 minutes, or until spinach has wilted. Remove from heat.
4. Carefully cut a 1/2-inch border around the inside of the butternut squash flesh, and scoop out flesh inside (leaving just enough to allow the squash to stand up and act as a carrier for the quinoa filling). Add the scooped out flesh to the cooked quinoa and combine with a fork while mashing the squash.
5. Add the onion and spinach mixture, ricotta, and sage to the quinoa mixture. Stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and white pepper as needed. Taste again and season once more if needed. Fill hallowed out squash shells evenly with quinoa mixture and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. 
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until re-heated. Serve immediately. 

Listening To:
Misun - Eli Eli

Baked Coconut Shrimp

When your city turns into a snow globe and you have the day off work and school, there's not a chance you're going to go out grocery shopping! It was one of those nights where you scour the fridge and pantry for any possible collection of ingredients that could somehow turn into a satisfying meal, allowing you to forget about your inevitable messy commute come the following morning. When I failed to find any leftovers or raw ingredients in the fridge that I could magically whip into something, I immediately turned to my good ol' standby frozen, raw shrimp. There is never a time when my freezer does not contain at least one bag of frozen, raw shrimp so that on nights such as this, I don't have to reluctantly open a box of macaroni and florescent orange cheese powder to sustain me for the evening. With recent dreams of beaches, sand, and coconuts floating through my red head, I couldn't help but be drawn to the bag of unsweetened shredded coconut in the freezer, just begging to be used as a crispy coating for my frozen shrimp. 

I tend to turn my kitchen into a disaster zone whenever there is any type of breading involved, so I expected this evenings dinner of coconut shrimp to be no exception, especially considering this was my first go at making the sweet and savory delight. Thankfully the coconut shrimp production line proved to be far more tidy than the spaetzle and veal scallopini tornado of 2014, and in less than 10-minutes, my little shrimps were coated in a mixture of toasted coconut and panko breadcrumbs and baking in the oven. When a new dish goes as smoothly as that, I can't help but assume it's going to be a bit of a failure come that first bite, but my baked coconut shrimp was an absolute gold medal winner in my books! A little pre-toast of the coconut and panko breadcrumbs in a dry pan proved to be beneficial, giving the shrimp coating a wonderful crunchy texture, and enhancing the nutty flavour of the coconut. It's that great crispy texture that surprised me and made me wonder why I was ever bothering to purchase pre-made frozen coconut shrimp in the past, which had always left me unsatisfied, disappointed in the flimsy, almost-soggy texture that they would always come out as. With such wonderful flavour, texture, and ease of production I will absolutely be adding this recipe to my "Danielle's Favourites" section of the blog. Now excuse me while I slip back into my dream of sun, sand, and coconuts. 

Ingredients:
1 Ib raw shrimp (fresh or thawed from frozen), peeled, deveined, & patted dry with a paper towel
salt, to season
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 tbsp flour
1 egg, beaten
oil for baking pan
spicy dipping sauce, for serving (I like to use a Thai dipping sauce)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º.
2. In a medium pan, add the coconut and panko breadcrumbs and toast at medium heat until golden. Keep a close eye on the pan as they will go from golden to burnt very quickly! Spoon into a small bowl immediately to prevent further browning. Add a pinch of salt to the mixture.
3. Lightly sprinkle a pinch or two of salt over the shrimp to season. 
4. Pour the flour and beaten egg into two separate small bowls. Lightly spray or rub a medium-large baking sheet with olive oil or coconut oil. Line up your station so you have first your shrimp, then the bowl of flour, then the bowl of beaten egg, then the bowl of coconut and panko, then your baking sheet, all in a line.
5. Dip a shrimp into the flour to coat evenly, lightly shaking off any excess. Dip the flour dusted shrimp into the egg mixture to coat, then into the coconut and panko mixture, pressing to coat. Place the coated shrimp onto the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining shrimp. 
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip shrimp using tongs, and bake for an additional 6-7 minutes. Serve immediately with spicy dipping sauce. 

Listening To:
Beyoncé - XO

Leftover Lovin': Arancini AKA "What To Do With Leftover Risotto"

Risotto has always been one of my favourite Italian dishes thanks to it's creamy texture with that little bit of bite from the al dente arborio rice, and the subtle savoury flavours that are worked into the rice dish. Risotto has this ability to send me up into foodie heaven, keeping me glued to my chair, never wanting to leave, happily eating bite after bite of risotto until the sun comes up. Except we know that can never happen right? You can never really eat risotto all night long, unless of course you are lucky enough to have someone cooking it for you and fitting the bill all night. The reason why risotto really can't be eaten all night long is yes, because it's very starchy and would fill you up mighty quickly, but also because those starches just get starchier and more gluey in texture as the risotto rests. Think of risotto as the Cinderella character of the meal. Risotto joins the dinner all dressed up, looking like a star, with everyone eying it for just a taste. And just when you start to get to know risotto, indulging in its complex flavours, and getting seduced by its comfort inducing creaminess, it begins to change. That beauty that you saw when the risotto arrived at your table begins to diminish, as does that creamy texture that drew you in to begin with, and before you know it, it's gone! Ok, so maybe that metaphor is a bit of a stretch, but you know what I'm getting at, right? Perhaps it's the immediacy in which risotto must be eaten that adds to the allure of the dish, as does the sheer labour involved in making it.

In Chef Skills class at George Brown Culinary College this year we learned how to make risotto in our Rice & Legumes class. Where every other dish that we prepared that night was to be handed in at 9pm, our risotto had a much earlier "service time". Because of that Cinderella syndrome that risotto seems to have, Chef wanted us to call us over as soon as our risotto left the heat and hit the serving dish, so that he could taste it at its best and test it appropriately. As proud as I was to hand in my near-perfect risotto (that's right!! It was fantastic!), it meant that all that hard work standing over the hot stove, never allowing the risotto to leave my sight, constantly stirring so that the starches didn't fall to the bottom of the pan and burn, and adding ladles of hot stock every few minutes would be for next to nothing. All that hard work for only a brief taste from myself and my teacher. By the time class was finished and I trudged to my boyfriends apartment, hoping for his approval of my near-perfect risotto, it has already turned into a pumpkin...I mean, it had already become gluey and tough. I refused to let all that hard work go to waste! 

The next morning I immediately began looking up methods for making Arancini. You might be wondering, what is Arancini? Arancini (pronounced "A-ran-TCHEE-nee") is one of the best ways to use up leftover risotto. The leftover risotto is combined with a mixture of beaten eggs, more cheese, and breadcrumbs, and rolled into little individual balls. These risotto balls are then stuffed with a surprise cheese filling, and fried until crisp and golden, and served, once again, immediately so that cheesy centre remains all ooey, gooey, and melted. So basically, Cinderella found her glass slipper and is the belle of the ball all over again! Thankfully, after all that labour making the risotto, Arancini is much more simple to prepare and can be made up in next to no time, and still give you those heaven-bound results. So the next time you fret over wasting leftover risotto, think about making a batch of crispy ad creamy Arancini to keep that risotto love going!

Tip: Don't want to fry all the Arancini in one go? Simply roll out all the balls and lay out in a container or, if you have the space, a baking tray in an individual layer and freeze. When frozen, place them in a freezer bag or container, and place back in the freezer until ready to fry up! So easy!

* If you don't have Italian-style, just add your own spices and seasonings to regular bread crumbs

Ingredients:

vegetable oil, for deep frying

2 cups leftover risotto

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs*, separated 

2 ounces Mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

salt, to season

marinara sauce, for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the leftover risotto with the beaten eggs, parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs. Place the remaining breadcrumbs in a small-medium bowl. 
2. Begin forming the risotto mixture into balls, just under 2-inches in diameter. Insert a cube of mozzarella into the centre of each ball, and re-form into a ball to seal the cheese inside. Dip the balls into the remaining breadcrumbs to coat the exterior of each ball evenly. 
3. In large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add enough oil to reach 3-inches in depth. Turn the element to medium-heat and, using a kitchen thermometer to test, bring the oil to 350ºF. Lay out a baking sheet lined with paper towel next to your frying station.
4. Working in batches, carefully add a few balls at a time to the oil (do not crowd the pan!) and fry until golden, crisp, and heated through, about 4-minutes. Turn the balls as needed to ensure even frying. Remove from oil and lay out on paper-towel lined baking sheet. Season immediately with a bit of salt.
5. Serve balls immediately with marinara sauce to dip. 

Listening To:

Sleep The Clock Around - Belle & Sebastian 

Mini Potato & Kale Gratins Featuring Summer Fresh Kale Dip

Getting to take part in the Summer Fresh 2013 Blogger Tour was a ton of fun and a great way to learn about how a large and successful company like that runs, but one of the best parts of the day was getting to try out a number of Summer Fresh's new products! All of the products I got to try were fantastic, but the one that I couldn't get off my mind was, surprise surprise, Summer Fresh Kale Dip.

My love affair with kale continues with this new and easy way to make kale apart of your diet. It's easy to get sick of kale when you are continually using it in the same way, which for me is always a mostly raw salad, but Summer Fresh's new Kale Dip allows you to make kale apart of just about any meal in a new and interesting way. Before ending our day-long tour, Summer Fresh handed each of us a large box full of exciting new Summer Fresh products (with the kale dip being a last minute addition) and asked us to play around with them to create an appetizer AKA "Appy" recipe featuring one of the products they sent home with us. The best part about all this? All of the submitted Appy recipes will be voted on by the public, and the winner will win a grand prize worth $850!

With a fridge full of new Summer Fresh products I was inspired to cook up a storm! I tried making a number of different recipes using the products provided, some of which were tasty successes, and others...not so much. The hands down winner in my book was the Mini Potato & Kale Gratins that I made, featuring Summer Fresh's Kale Dip. I knew I wanted my recipe to feature mostly vegetables, with very few ingredients and steps to make. With scalloped potatoes still fresh in my mind from perfecting them at chef school, I had the idea of creating mini potato gratins using Summer Fresh Kale Dip in between the layers of potato and gruyere cheese, as opposed to the most commonly used milk or cream. I had no clue if my recipe would work out, especially after seeing the disaster that was my  baked bloomin' onion that I had intended to be dipped into Summer Fresh's Jalapeno Greek Yogurt Dip, but amazingly, they turned out so fantastic! The tiny gratins, which were made in muffin tins, are the perfect Appy size, were crazy easy to make, and tasted so incredibly delicious thanks to the creaminess that the Summer Fresh Kale Dip added to the dish. Whether I win the contest or not, I already feel like a winner having this great recipe to turn to for my next party or gathering!

See it up on the Summer Fresh site here!

Ingredients:
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & very thinly sliced
1 x 227g/8oz Summer Fresh Kale Dip
about 3/4 cup gruyere cheese, grated
butter, to grease pan
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with buter.
2. Layer one or two potato slices into the bottom of each muffin cup. 
3. Top with about 1/2 tsp Kale Dip, a very light sprinkle of gruyere, and a bit of salt and pepper. Continue layering potatoes with the kale dip, cheese, salt, and pepper until potatoes reach the top of the cup. 
4. Cover tray with tin foil and bake for about 30-minutes, or until tender when inserted into the centre with a knife. Remove foil half way through cooking. Run a knife around each cup and carefully pop out and serve immediately. 

Listening To:

Arcade Fire - We Exist

Kale & Grilled Peach Salad with Goat Cheese & Prosciutto in a Pomegranate Vinaigrette

In typical Ginger Rose fashion, here is another very late recipe posting. I made this salad about a month ago, right as peach season had arrived, after picking up a basket of the most juicy and sweet peaches I could have ever dreamt of from a farmers stand on the way home from a day trip up north. They were the kind of peaches that make you declare that "for the entirety of August, I will eat nothing but Ontario peaches!", a both ludicrous and perfectly understandable statement. So incredibly obsessed with having my all-time favourite fruit in its prime, I found myself adding peaches to just about everything; Peach oatmeal, peach and Nutella paninis, peaches and ice cream, and what may have been my favourite peach usage, my Kale and Grilled Peach Salad with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto in a Pomegranate Vinaigrette, the perfect combination of sweet, savory, creamy, and tangy to make my taste buds go wild. 

The big and lip-smackingly sweet flavour from the fresh peaches, enhanced by a quick pop onto the grill, worked perfectly with the slightly bitter kale. The warmth of the grilled peaches softened the goat cheese even more when all tossed together, adding an incredible creaminess to the dish, and making you forget how healthy this dish really is. To tie in the sweet and tangy flavours found in the peaches and goat cheese I made a pomegranate balsamic vinaigrette made from the most incredible pomegranate balsamic vinegar that I coveted from one of my favourite little shops in St. Lawrence Market. The tart and intense flavours from the Chefjono Pomegranate Balsamic took this dish to a whole other level! If you are unable to get your hands on my new favourite addition to my balsamic vinegar collection, you can simply make a vinaigrette out of olive oil and good quality balsamic vinegar and toss in a splash of pure pomegranate juice to imitate the effect. Finally, the dish is given substance with a bit of prosciutto, which also helps to balance out the sweetness, adding a salty bite to every forkful. I have already made this salad numerous times, trying to take advantage of every last bit of peach season before it sadly comes to an end. Trust me, make this quick and easy salad before it's too late!

Take this pomegranate vinaigrette to another level by getting your hands on Chefjono's Pomegranate Balsamic! I purchased mine at St. Lawrence Market. No need to add any pomegranate juice to your dressing with this punchy vinegar. 

Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 large bunch kale, stemmed with ribs removed
2 peaches, pitted
1/4 cup goat cheese
2 slices prosciutto
5 tbsp olive oil, plus more for massaging kale
5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
splash of pomegranate juice
salt & pepper to season

Directions:

1. In a small bowl pour in the balsamic vinegar and splash of pomegranate juice. Slowly pour in olive oil in a thin and steady stream while whisking constantly. Season with fresh ground pepper and set aside.
2. Heat a grill pan to medium-high heat. Lightly coat peach halves or slices with olive oil. When pan is hot, grill peaches, flat side down for about 2-3 minutes, or until grill marks have appeared. Set aside.
3. Place kale in a medium bowl and lightly drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle very lightly with salt. Using clean fingertips, roughly massage kale for 2-3 minutes, or until kale becomes tender. 
4. Begin adding the vinaigrette, a little at a time, while tossing and tasting to ensure you do not overdress. You may not need all of the dressing. 
5. Plate the dressed kale in salad bowls and crumble over goat cheese. Top with grilled peach halves or slices (one peach per serving) and prosciutto slices (one slice per serving) and serve. 

Listening To:

Lorde - Tennis Courts