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I haven’t made this in ages, but now that I’ve reminded my taste buds, I’ll be making it again soon. This is a twist on traditional pesto, with a base of tomato. It’s so easy to make, and works well on pasta, spaghetti squash, or steamed julienned zucchini, which is pictured.
What you need:
1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted and chopped (use pumpkin seeds if you don’t like pine nuts)
1 small can of tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
What you do:
1. Mix all the ingredients together. If you have time, let it sit for about an hour. If not, serve it on top of your favourite pasta or one of the other suggestions above.
In France this summer I enjoyed eating duck on many occasions. One night Corey and I made our own confit de canard dinner at a B&B. We had this gorgeous outdoor space to cook and eat our meal in. Duck confit is cured in salt, then cooked in its own fat. And is amazing! In France it is readily available, but not so much at home. If you’re in Vancouver, I’ve heard you can buy it at Oyama Sausage at Granville Island. The excess fat can be saved in the fridge to cook potatoes in the future.
What you need:
two legs of confit de canard
potatoes
1 zucchini, sliced about 2 cm thick
butter
2 tomatoes
salt and pepper
What you do:
1. Heat a frying pan on medium high and put the duck legs in it. Cook them until they are nicely browned.
2. To cook the potatoes you can begin by either boiling them, or pierce with a fork and pop them in the microwave. Then cut into thick slices.
3. Remove the legs from the pan and keep them in a warm oven. Remove some of the fat from the frying pan, then add the potatoes. Fry them until they are browned on each side. (If you want to make Perigord style potatoes, add some garlic and lots of parsley. We didn’t get to try this, but our B&B host told us it was amazing, so that is how I’ll try it next time).
4. In another pan, heat a tablespoon or so of butter, then add the zucchini slices. Brown them slightly on each side, then add salt and pepper.
5. Cut the tomato into slices and salt and pepper them. If you have some balsamic reduction you can add some of that too.
Plate the duck, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes and enjoy a gorgeous meal with a glass of red wine. Ours was a Bordeaux.
This summer I went to Nana Restaurant and Bar in Brooklyn, New York and had the most amazing lychee mojito. Along with some fabulous appetizers like homemade ravioli and seared tuna… yum! This is my attempt to recreate the mojito, and it’s pretty good! A nice drink to sip and escape the heat on the patio.
What you need:
limes
canned lychees
white rum
fresh mint
club soda
What you do:
For each drink, squeeze half a lime and put it in a short glass with about 3 tablespoons of the lychee syrup. Add a shot of white rum. Take a spring of mint and squish it up a bit, then put it in the glass. Add some ice, then top it up with club soda. Give it a little stir and enjoy!
If you love seafood, this one’s for you, a nice summery dish. It’s as easy as cutting up some stuff and letting it sit for a while. You don’t cook the shrimp; that’s what the lime juice does. It’s a nice appetizer or part of a light meal that you can serve with nacho chips. It’s important to get really fresh shrimp!
This brilliant, fresh soup is the perfect thing for a hot summer’s day. I made it up ahead of time, stuck it in the fridge, and just ladled it up for an appetizer. I topped it with a little feta and cilantro, but you could also chop up a little watermelon, tomato or cucumber to sprinkle on top.
I found the recipe on One Perfect Bite. I just used less olive oil.
What you need:
4 cups watermelon
2 cups tomatoes
1 small jalapeno pepper with the seeds removed, diced
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 tablespoons cilantro (plus a little more for garnishing)
a tablespoon or two of olive oil
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
salt and pepper
feta for garnishing
What you do:
1. Puree everything (except the garnish!) until it is smooth. I used an immersion blender, but a regular blender would do a great job.
2. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Serve with your choice of toppings: feta, cilantro, chopped tomato, cucumber or watermelon.
This is a summery twist on a standard comfort food. It’s just some raw zucchini strips with a delicious tomato sauce. I served it with chicken, but it makes a nice light and healthy meal on its own. The sauce only takes about a half hour of cooking, and the zucchini just needs to be julienned, and you’ve got a great meal!
What you need:
1 zucchini
1 – 796 mL can of pureed tomatoes
1 small onion
a few tablespoons of butter or olive oil
a few garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil
What you do:
1. Throw the whole onion, garlic cloves, butter and tomato sauce into a pot and cook for about half an hour, or more if you’ve got the time. Take the onion and garlic out when it’s done, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Julienne the zucchini and plate it. Pour some of the hot sauce on top of the zucchini, and top with some fresh basil.
Many times over the past few decades I have made these potatoes. When I made them for Mother’s Day recently, and my mom said she loved them, I knew I needed to post the recipe.
I have no idea where this recipe came from, since it was so long that I wrote it down. I know the inspiration to make them the first time came from a Greek restaurant in the small town I lived in for a while, where they made awesome lemony potatoes. Add a few olives, Greek salad, pita bread, tzatziki, and a bit of a protein, and you’ve got an amazing meal.
The only think I changed in this recipe was to use less olive oil. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of olive oil.
The recipe is not difficult to make, but it takes a very hot oven for almost an hour. Be careful when you open the oven to turn the potatoes halfway through the roasting – there will be a lot of steam that could be very hot on your delicate skin!
This is a large recipe, for 8 people, so halve it if you need to. You might want to make extra so you have leftovers – it’s that good!
What you need:
4 pounds Russet baking potatoes or Yukon Gold
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 500F.
Clean and quarter the potatoes and place them in a large baking dish.
Toss the potatoes in the other ingredients until they are well coated.
Bake uncovered for 50 minutes, turning the potatoes after 25 minutes so they brown on all sides.
The potatoes will be browned on the outside and soft in the middle when they are done.
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