check it out... Thai Eggplants!

From the country...

I have been picking these little green aliens (also known as Kermit eggplant) lately. They lend themselves beautifully to a green curry, or a smoky curry or this recipe here.

Also I am over run with the influx of summer squash... you name the variety I probably have it. This basket I picked baby sized for someone's picklin' project. Oh, the joys of harvest!

Miriam and Neil's Wedding

From the country...

So it is not everyday that this country bumpkin makes her way to a fancy wedding in the city... and this one was super special! The August 1st night was beautiful, cool with a light breeze, where we celebrated Miriam and Neil's nuptials with 250 of their closest friends and family. The event was held at the Evergreen Brickworks, which is a pretty exceptional place and the music of the Strumbellas filled the air with their rich folky sound.

And the food, oh my goodness, a true test to all that is local and in season in Ontario made by some of Toronto's best chefs! There was rotisserie lamb from Metheral Farm, grilled chicken from Kawartha Ecological Growers, Fresh Fish from Akiwenzie's Fish, handmade stuffed agnolotti, fresh greens, potato salad, roasted beet salad, and a maple chiffon wedding cake amongst a table of after dinner sweets.Amuse Bouche: a beautiful pickle tray, Monforte cheese gold, mortadella, bresaula, cured duck breast

Congratulations to Miriam and Neil!

Dinner at the farm

Photos in no particular order: Me gabbin' on and on about my basil and turkeys, finished creme brulees, mark at work, zucchinis and pea shoots on the plate, bread and butta, pickled goods, a beautifully fantastic salad

From the country...

Last Sunday we had a delicious peak season dinner at the farm. It was a fairly intimate affair with 11 guests.. and the rain poured! It between rain showers we toured the farm while my wonderfully talented partner, Mark prepared an amazing local Kawartha feast. We dined on salad greens(which I picked hours before...) with a light apple cider vinaigrette, fresh bread with raw milk butter, chicken wings 3 ways with fried eggplant and a cilantro pesto, pickled goods with fresh sausage (both pork and chicken), marinated fennel salad, cucumber salad, fresh baby zucchini sauteed with pea shoots, a unusually tasty cheese course, grilled steak with pan fried potatoes with onions and creme brulee with plum preserves for dessert. Everyone left satisfied and stuffed to the brim. The dinner was a showcase of the best locally sustainable foods made with a true passion for food that only my Mark could deliver.

To view more foodie photos of the day click here.

Our Blueberry Harvest

From the City (temporarily in a small town)...

So we made our annual trip to the blueberry patch yesterday: kids, babies, buckets and all. It was hot but there was a pretty nice breeze which kept our endurance up long enough to pick about 50 litres of blueberries.

I'm in the process of freezing the majority (laid out flat on a baking sheet over night and then bagged in the morning) but I'm also thinking of baking a batch of muffins. Here's my standby recipe that I'll probably use : Bran Muffins but there is also a great recipe that I came across that might help you use up some of those zucchini's you have kicking around:

• 
  
• Zucchini Blueberry Bread
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
• Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Dead Beat Blogger Returns!!!

Whoa, whoa whoa. As you can tell Laura and I have been finding it increasingly difficult to blog, life is busy, there is always something on the go and I'm even finding it hard to cook and create

recipes. Brutal, I know.So here's just a tidbit of what I've been up to:

Camping with the girls on the long weekend

Robyn's Sweet Potato Salad

Camping Feet

Raspberry Bran Muffins: Recipe here

Ruby sunning herself

Tam's chocolate chip cookies

Breakfast

Breakfast

Ali and her gold coat

Of course

Spinach Salad

Black Bean Burritos : recipe here Made without Meat

The View

Robyn

Ali

Amy and Hayley

New Potato

Salad: Recipe Down Below

Grilled Zucchini

Tam in the Sun

Fire Roasted Chicken

New Potato Salad:

1 1/2 quarts new potatoes, washed but of course with the skins, boil gently until slightly soft not mushy, 15-20 min.

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic

a whack of rosemary (large bunch)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Puree everything except the potatoes in your food processor.

Pour over cooled potatoes and allow to chill for atleast two hours.

Enjoy!