chili, chowder & croissants

garlic & leeks from the Lunenburg Farmers Market / I made Prince Edward Island dinner rolls / chopping, chopping / I use chicken broth or vegetable broth instead of water / the most delicious potato leek soup / a mug of soup in the kitchen window & another mug at my desk avec collage-a-thon + photos at bottom - blogging friends who live nearby (ish) Sara Hartley & Sybil Nunn came for lunch this past Tuesday, my first company in my new home / Sybil's very sweet & super smart dog Wendy - I've got a big crush on Miss Wendy xoxo

Since moving to Lunenburg, NS 3 weeks ago tomorrow and living the mostly single gal life (Doug & Samuel visit every week) I've been obsessed with cooking things I can eat with a spoon. Chilis, chowders & soups. I hosted my first little lunch party this week with Sara & Sybil both friends I've gotten to know through blogging. I was originally thinking I'd make a haddock & scallop chowder with homemade rolls but I made instead my version of Jamie Oliver's Potato Leek soup. This soup is so delicious I made another big pot of it again yesterday - yum.

Oh & croissants, uh huh !!, every Thursday at the Farmers Marke there are TWO french bakeries - sigh.

My adaptations below

I blended half of the soup and then added it back to the pot, making it a bit creamier • I also added 1 cup of coffee cream making it more like a vegetable chowder • the next day I sautéd in olive oil (or butter) 1 small zucchini, 1 red pepper & I large broccoli spear all chopped into bite size pieces then added this mixture soup prior to reheating - you can add as many vegetables as you like. I'm thinking roasted butternut/buttercup squash cubes would be delicious ;-)

that nutty granola

the very best nutty granola that I've ever tasted ! of course I combined gardening & making granola last Saturday ;-)

I adapted my recipe from one of Molly Wizenberg's @ Orangette's granola recipes. I'm one of those cooks who uses a recipe as a guideline (at best) and I'm not so good at measuring - I usually eye ball quantities and measurements so if you're feeling insecure about a dash of this and a dump of that I'd suggest following one of Molly's recipes. I'm kinda guessing here at my quantities ;-)

that (best) nutty granola

3 cups oats
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped unsalted cashews
1 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
1 cup of maple syrup
1 tbsp salt
1-2 tbsp cinnamon
1- 2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract

1 cup of raisins (add after baking)
1 package of toasted coconut chips (add after baking)

Add everything but the raisins & already toasted coconut chips to a bowl and mix well. Spread onto 2 large cookie sheets/pizza pans. Bake in a 300 degree oven for an hour. Stirring & flipping granola every 15 minutes. Let cool on pans. Add raisins & coconut chips (I love coconut and these toasted chips made this granola), store in jars (or extra in freezer). Yum !

* Molly has a brand new book I'm anxious to read Delancey, her other book A Homemade Life is amazing !

& a recipe

Well Bonjour Spring ! & lovely mossy back garden + panko crusted salmon, asparagus with almonds & feta & oven fries

Leisure is only possible when we are at one with ourselves. We tend to overwork as a means of self-escape, as a way of trying to justify our existence …
Joseph Pieper

One of my most favourite leisure activities is cooking. I love to boldly, persistently experiment in my kitchen ;-)

Panko Crusted Salmon (serves 2)

1 large salmon fillet sliced in 2
2-3 tbsp dijon mustard
1-2 tsp honey (or to taste)
1/2 cup panko crumbs*
salt, pepper
1 tbsp butter
dried or fresh dill

Preheat oven to 425. Mix dijon & honey together and slather liberally on all flesh sides of salmon. Mix dill, salt & pepper (I used a lemon pepper blend) with panko crumbs then dredge/press crumbs onto salmon. Cut butter into 6 little smidges and place 3 down each top side of salmon fillet. Place skin side down in an oiled pie plate/pan. Bake at 425 15-20 minutes depending on size of fillet. Finish with squeeze of fresh lemon.

Asparagus with Almonds & Feta

1 bundle of asparagus (ends snapped off & stalks cut in half)
1 tbsp of canola/coconut oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced almonds
1 fat clove garlic
1/4 cup Feta cheese (or a little less)

Heat oil in a high sided large pan (I use a wok) 'til quite hot. Add asparagus, stir fry a minute or so. Add almonds & garlic, stir fry another minute or so. Taste a piece of asparagus for preferred doneness (we like ours quite crunchy). Add Feta stir just to melt cheese. Finish with a good squeeze of fresh lemon.

Oven Fries (the best !)

2-3 large potatoes (sliced into fries)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
garlic powder, salt & pepper

Toss everything well in a large bowl. Arrange fries spaciously on two pizza pans. Bake for 10 mins oven temp. 425. Take out flip fries dust with a little more seasoning pop back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until golden & crispy.

* look for Panko crumbs in the Asian section of your grocery store or make your own

a nest, cats etc.

oh my, cats, gorgeous light, vintage bedding in the chocolate brown nest / omg ! a bloom, a bloom bedroom geranium / air traffic controller / vintage pillow slip / Bleet helping me out with some typographic collage / itty bitty sweetie / breakfast at my desk - western omelet & clementines / thought bubble above Oliver's head - "errrgggghhh she's sleeping in MY bed. I want to puff up like a racoon, torment & tease her then beat her up but I'm not allowed -so I'm playing it cool … for now - hehehe" / adapted from this wheat free Martha recipe / Virgil deep in thought ? in his penthouse pad / heaven-LY

Do you wake up as I do, having forgotten what it is 
that hurts or where, until you move? There is a second 
of consciousness that is clean again. A second that is you, without memory or experience, the animal warm and waking into a brand new world. There is the sun dissolving the dark, and light as clear as music, filling 
the room where you sleep and the other rooms behind your eyes.

Jeanette Winterson

a delicious life

66 square feet - a delicious life - one woman, one terrace, 92 recipes by Marie Viljoen

The act of cooking has satisfied the hedonist in me; it is an act that gives 
me pleasure. But it also provided direction, occupation, and a sense of achievement when my life has been unhappy, method when structure has been needed. It has been a practical form of escapism, masking my tendency to withdraw. It has consummated celebrations in happy times and has always been a reward to look forward to at the end of a day. Cooking now is less about following recipes than about imagination, memory, desire, and inspiration; the latter often grows on the terrace outside, on the roof above my head, or is brought back from the day's market or foraging trip. 
In one dish I try to create a small pocket of perfection, an unassailable space in time when giving and taking pleasure in the present is the only goal. Even if it's just melted cheese on toast.

from the introduction of 66 Square Feet - a delicious life - one woman, one terrace, 92 recipes by Marie Viljoen

A delicious life & a delightful book. Our Marie's book arrived yesterday, I say our Marie because I know many of you that stop by 29 Black Street regularly also visit the (former) Brooklyn address (now Harlem tres exciting) of her long time blog 66 Square Feet. A blog about gardening, a 66 ft square terrace, foraging, nature, life, love, food & one incredible cad cat (Estorbo who has his own hilarious blog & facebook page).

I have been visiting Marie's, Storbie's & Beence's Vince's blogs for as long as I can remember. Like many of the blogs we come to love with a passion we're never quite sure how we ended up visiting them that very first time but we do remember that feeling of kinship, inspiration & delight that has kept us returning day after day after day ... year after year.

Vince, Estorbo & Marie from a Martha Stewart magazine article on bloggers who garden with passion

The writing is beautiful, funny & warm and if you've been reading her blog it's just more, another big fat yummy slice of Marie's unique, delightful & humorous take on life, gardening & food. Many of the gorgeous photos, spreads and cityscapes are taken by Vincent (her husband) a spectacular photographer, the rest mainly food & flora by Marie herself. I knew when I added it to my Indigo/Chapter's wish list ages ago, pre-publication, I would like this book but when it arrived yesterday ... oh my it was pure instantaneous love. The physical book itself is beautiful - it's the perfect size & heft, a well designed layout & concept (a month by month memoir style with a complete menu and cocktail for each month), smooth, luscious paper & gorgeous images.

I love this book. I just want to carry it around hugging it I feel so proud &  so very thrilled for Marie. I feel like we're old friends, she, Estorbo & I,  like often happens when you fall hard for a blogger. I'm relishing in this amazing success. Plus they've just moved 12 miles north to Harlem and to a way bigger terrace - I visit her blog now each day with a kind of crazed, new enthusiasm & anticipation of what's to come next, a new neighbourhood, new stories, new recipes, a new huge terrace, new shops ... I'm gushing I know but this book really is gush worthy ;-)

& Estorbo's blog (her big, black Dominican cad cat) with the very tick, very difficult to understand accent completely cracks me up and makes me snort loudly at my desk I love him as if he were my own cad cat - if you love cads cats and you know I sure do !! be sure to visit Storbie. Thank you Marie !

a gorgeous kitchen ranunculus & daffodil bouquet photo from the inside cover off 66 Square Feet by Marie

tom kha gai

this soup WOW ! - so easy, so delicious - it's a taste sensation

Blogger won't allow me to flush left my text - errrgggghhhhh ! Blogger blogspot blog your day's are so numbered ;-(

a smidge of sweet

today's early morning blizzard walk / new blue powder room / dried blossoms looking out to sea / explorer extraordinaire / shrimp dinner salad fixins / Virgil snuggled up in my studio-office chair / we ♡ lichen / another view of new first floor 1/2 bath / oh my Missy D I love you / chili spiced shrimp salad

the secret, or at least my secret to delicious never fail vinaigrette is always a smidge of sweet

I hear so many people say they can't seem to make a vinaigrette dressing that they love - I bet they're not adding any sweet. Maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, orange juice, stevia, splenda .... here's my current favourite which I always mix up with a whisk in the bottom of our tres utilitarian dented & dinged stainless steel salad bowl.

Susan's fav vinaigrette
olive oil (or any oil you like)
apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar you like, or lemon juice)
one crushed clove of garlic
1-2 tsp maple syrup (to taste)
a good plop of best Dijon mustard
cracked pepper
salt

chili spiced shrimp
thaw & peel 10-12 large shrimp, pat dry & dust with a mixture of 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika and another smidge of sweet - 1/2 tsp brown sugar. Toss the shrimp 'til well coated and sear ina non stick pan with a lil' grapeseed or canola oil.

salad
1/2  thinly sliced small sweet onion (add the onion to the dressing in the bowl to marinate)
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
12 or so Kalamata olives pitted & sliced
1 cup frozen peas thawed & drained well
8-10 spears of raw young asparagus sliced thin on the diagonal
1/2 a medium zucchini sliced
2-3 small Kirby or mini cucumbers sliced
1/2 a small red, yellow or orange pepper sliced
a big pile of the best baby green mix you can find (we love a spicy mix with lots of arugula) 

I chop the shrimp into bite size pieces toss everything well & enjoy !

* oops I forgot the nuts I sometimes add chopped unsalted cashews, toasted sliced almonds ... any nut you like ;-)

oven fry

12 scenes from recent days - the gorgeous golden, orange light of sunset / do you oven fry ? / Sam / Virg / windowsill thyme / playtime with Oliver / Sam in the back fenced in yard / sweet lichen / Winnie Dixon ridin' shotgun while we run some errands / more golden from the second floor window / a mix of sweet & white potato oven fries, roasted salmon with lemon & broccoli / Samuel & his bunny

Do you make oven fries ? - yum & as good as the chip truck

Pre-heat oven to 425. 4 large white potatoes* peeled & sliced into fries, tossed well with a good glug of olive oil. Spread spaciously on 2 cookies sheets (do not overcrowd). Place in oven flipping fries once after 8-10 mins. Watch them carefully and turn again if needed so that all sides are crispy & golden. Sprinkle with garlic powder or italian seasoning or malt vinegar & sea salt. I love mine dipped in ketchup ;-) for a mix substitute 2 of the potatoes with sweet potatoes - sweet potatoes cook quicker so add the white potatoes first then after 7-8 mins add the cookie sheet of sweet potatoes.