There was a time — and not too long ago at that — that a plate of watermelon and feta salad would have garnered the same reaction from me as my (former) reaction to fish tacos. No way, no how, that’s just plain weird.

I found my way on a hot and sticky night in July. Jeff and I had reservations at Barque, a delightful little barbecue joint in our neighbourhood that serves up a set menu, family style, on Sunday evenings. You can guess what was on the menu the night of our visit.

We were both reluctant to try the little rectangle of watermelon, about the size of a domino, topped with crumbly feta cheese, a few slivers of basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Maybe it was the heat, or maybe it was the mint juleps, we decided we’d give it a try. We threw back the neatly assembled little dominoes and the result was pure revelation.

Salty, cool, fresh. Just a few words to describe this wonderful combination of tastes and textures. I know this combo has been been around for about a million years now and I’m probably the last person on earth to try it, never mind blog about it. But I just had to, I had to share just in case there were a few folks out there that had yet to be converted.

This week in our CSA, along with a thousand pounds of tomatoes, we received a beautiful, perfectly ripe watermelon. Two, actually, since we volunteered to take in our neighbour’s share since they’re out of town for the week. One is pink, the other is yellow. Both are complete and utter perfection.

I knew immediately that I’d pair the melon with a salty feta and fresh basil from our rooftop garden. We enjoyed this salad when it was stinking hot, as a starter before bowls of cold, refreshing gazpacho and then on its own for a light snack, even after it got chilly. We do have a load of watermelon, after all.

A note about feta. I recently learned that much of the feta made in Canada is made with cow’s milk. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t enjoyed it often over the years, but if you can find a feta made from sheep and/or goat milk it will be amazing.

Watermelon and Feta Salad
Serves 1

This is a very easy salad to scale up or down, depending on how many servings you want to prepare. I’ve set out the ingredients to serve 1, so just multiply the recipe for the number of servings you need.

Ingredients:

1 cup watermelon, cubed
1 oz. feta, cubed
Handful of basil leaves, torn or sliced into ribbons
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
Your best olive oil

Method:

Combine first four ingredients on a plate and drizzle with olive oil.

So yeah, I was happy to wake up on September 1, the date I’ve always considered to be the true New Year’s Day. What a relief, I tweeted. I’m ready for cardigans. For root vegetables and pot pies. And even though there was still a full three weeks of true summer left, the temperatures had dropped, the cloud ceiling lowered, gray. It felt, mercifully, like fall.

Then, just as quickly as they had fallen, the temperatures started to rise again. And rise, and rise, until it was more than 30C! Overnight! It felt like summer came back just so it could stick out its tongue out at me and taunt, neener, neener, neeeeeeener.

When it came time for dinner, it was too hot to turn on the oven – even with the AC blasting. Just as the weather started to heat up again I happened upon that great gazpacho recipe I made last summer and then promptly misplaced. And then our CSA was overflowing with beautiful field tomatoes. 

So in the end it all worked out, but I won’t lie – when the heat broke and temperatures returned to a much cooler, much more sane, 18-ish, I was happy as a clam. A clam in a cardigan, that is.

Get the recipe for Refreshing Gazpacho Soup at Bitchin Camero.

It’s been a summer of road trips; of Saturday afternoons on docks next to lakes and road-side picnics and watching loved ones exchange their vows. A summer of books (I’ve read more than a dozen since Solstice alone) and tacos and long, weekday lunches in the sun. A summer of the best ice cream sandwiches.

It’s been a summer too hot for cooking. So this is the kind of thing we’ve been eating for the last two months: fresh vegetables from a nearby organic farm, delivered to our doorstop every Saturday afternoon. Tomatoes and herbs plucked from our rooftop garden. Parmesan cheese and a little pasta, beans, maybe some good bread that’s been grilled and brushed with garlic. Sometimes all three. A drizzle of unfiltered, Italian olive oil from the bottle that I bought while Jeff was in line at Fairmont Bagel in Montreal.

More than anything it’s been a summer of change. And now it’s almost over.

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach
Adapted from Michael Smith
Serves 2-ish

Ingredients:

12 small or 6 large plum tomatoes, halved
1 head of garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
8 oz penne or other short pasta
2 generous handfuls baby spinach
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Toss tomatoes and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in one layer on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tomatoes and garlic are soft and starting to breakdown.

2. While tomatoes are roasting cooking pasta according to package directions. Drain and place back in pot.

3. Combine tomato and garlic mixture with hot pasta. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Adjust seasonings and serve with ribbons of fresh basil and cheese.

I don’t know Jennifer Perillo. Not in real life. I don’t follow her on Twitter. Sometimes I read her blog, but gosh, I don’t even leave comments. I certainly do not know her husband, and yet the news of his passing moved me — to tears. And to pie.

I read Jennifer’s post on Thursday, while I was reheating leftovers for dinner. Immediately I thought of my own husband, who at that moment was probably riding his bike somewhere between his office and our home. I couldn’t even bear the thought of him not coming home one day; couldn’t even begin to think what Jennifer and her family must be going through.

And while I’m not usually one to join in, I knew I would make a pie. For Jennifer’s Mikey. And for my Jeff, who got hugged extra tight when he came home that afternoon.

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie
From In Jennie’s Kitchen
Serves 10 to 12

8 ounces chocolate cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 ounces finely chopped chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs.  Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well.  Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use.  Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar.  Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.

4. Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream).  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan.  Drizzle the melted chocolate on top, if using, and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.

Oh, ramps, those elusive little harbingers of spring. For the uninitiated, ramps – also known as wild leeks, spring onions, rampson or the very proper allim tricoccum – are an early spring vegetable, available for only a few short weeks at the farmer’s markets. They come around the same time as the fiddleheads and the garlic scapes (if you’re lucky). And they taste. like. heaven. Part onion, part garlic, all delicious.

I usually reserve my ramps for breakfast. Sautéed in a little butter — bacon fat I’ve stored in the freezer if we’re feeling decadent, which we often are — and then scrambled with farm fresh eggs and sharp cheddar. Good bread on the side. There’s nothing better.

This year I thought I’d use up my half pound bunch a little differently. This is how we’ve been enjoying our pasta lately, simple and unfussy. A few simple vegetables, butter, good Parm. I’ve been on a breadcrumb kick since my dinner at Woodlot, where my plate of creamy white beans was transcended to heaven with the addition of a smattering of toasted breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs had the same affect on the pasta.

I know, I’m late. So late that I’ve heard from Twitter that Ontario strawberries are out, which means that we’re well past ramp season and in to full-on summer. Even the humidex agrees. But I’ve meaning to share this for some time now, we’ll just consider this planning ahead for next year, yeah?

Fettuccine with Ramps
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Half a pound of ramps, roots separated from greens and thinly sliced
Half a pound fresh fettuccine
1 Tablespoon butter or bacon fat
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs
Olive oil, for drizzling

Method:

1. Cook pasta according to pasta directions in well-salted water. Drain well, reserving about 1/4 cup of pasta water and set aside.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add white part of ramps and sautee until tender. Add red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add green parts of ramps, stirring until cooked through and wilted.

3. Add drained pasta to the skillet with a splash of the reserved pasta water and toss to coat. Divide among two bowls and top with Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil.

When we lived in the loft on Richmond Street, we didn’t entertain much. I do love to entertain, but that apartment never felt right for having company. The kitchen table was too small. And broken. The couch sat too low to the floor for the loft ceilings. Jeff’s editing suite sat in the middle of the open concept living space, wires strung every which way.

In the two and a half months since we’ve moved, we’ve entertained more than the entire three years we lived in the loft. A new house, and I suspect this is especially true when it is your first, means visitors. Friends and family are eager to come by and see your new place; toast to a happy home, help you settle in, and I am happy to oblige. There are few things as satisfying as cooking a meal for loved ones. Sometimes, they bring gifts!

Our first dinner party in our new home happened to fall on a Sunday. I had been eagerly trying to schedule a dinner with the two strapping young men brave enough to help us move all our earthly possessions into a three story, stacked townhouse. Sunday was the only day free for all of us, and I agreed albeit wearily. Sunday is our get ready for the week day. Entertaining would surely knock me off my game, my entire week would be doomed.

As it turns out, I was wrong and having guests over for Sunday night dinner turned out to be one of the best ideas I’ve had in a long time. We’ve since hosted several Sunday dinners, each one more relaxed and satisfying than the last. Having two days to prepare for your guests changes everything, and if you use that time wisely when your guests arrive, all you have left to do is enjoy a cold glass of white wine.

Back in April we invited my cousin Ashleigh and her partner Bryan over for dinner. I had been anticipating their visit for weeks as I had our meal planned out well before we even started packing to move. Ashleigh and Bryan are both vegetarians, and I thought of them immediately when I found this recipe in the Tartine Bread cookbook. Our home was filled with the aroma of a pot of tomato sauce simmering all afternoon, making for a perfect dinner on an unseasonably chilly Sunday. The perfect end to the weekend, and the perfect start to the week.

Involtini
Adapted from Tartine Bread
Serves 6

From Tartine Bread: Involtini, derived from a word meaning “to wrap or bundle,” are preparations in which meat, fish, or vegetables are wrapped around a filling.

Give yourself lots of time to prepare this dish. It really is the perfect Sunday dinner as you will need to give yourself lots of time to sweat the eggplant and stuff and roll your involtini. The original recipe says to slice eggplant into 12 slices, but I had well over 20 with stuffing and sauce to spare.

Ingredients:

Tomato Sauce
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 ounces tomato paste
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
Red wine vinegar
Sea salt

Stuffing
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 cups whole ricotta
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2-3 medium globe eggplants
Sea salt
Olive oil
1 cup cream
1/4 cup Asiago cheese, finely grated

Method:

1. Prepare the tomato sauce. Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Add remaining olive oil and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and raise heat to bring to a boil. Reduce head to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Break up tomatoes and season with vinegar and salt.

2. For the stuffing, combine bread crumbs, ricotta, lemon zest and juice, thyme and salt.

3. Wash and trim your eggplants. Using a mandoline, cut the eggplant lengthwise into slices 1/8 thick. Sprinkle both sides of each slice with salt and layer them in a colander, in a criss-cross. Let stand. This draws our the moisture and keeps them from getting mushy in the oven. After an hour or so, blot eggplant dry with a towel.

4. Brush each slice of eggplant with olive oil. Using a grill pan over medium-high heat, grill each slice until they begin to take on some colour, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Set aside grilled slices.

5. Preheat oven to 425F. Cover the bottom of a medium-sized baking dish with tomato sauce. Place a spoonful of filling at the end of each eggplant slice. Role the slice around the filling and place, seam-side down, in the baking dish. Generously drizzle cream over each roll to moisten it. Bake until the sauce begins to darken and the rolls are caramelized, 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with any remaining tomato sauce and Asiago cheese.

While I consider myself an adventurous eater — I’ll try just about anything once — I do not posses that same sense of adventure when it comes to cooking in my own kitchen. More often than not I find myself drawn to “safe” recipes and ingredients; chilis, pesto, pasta, a whole chicken roasted to perfection in my slow cooker. So these simple, sushi-inspired rice bowls made for an exotic weeknight dinner at our house.

While sushi is not exactly exotic by any stretch of the imagination (in Toronto you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an all-you-can-eat sushi joint or three), these are simply not flavours I’ve ever been drawn to when cooking. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the Asian flavour profile, quite the opposite — but if I’m honest, it probably has more to do with fear. I’m comfortable with pasta and cheese and chicken, so that’s what I find myself cooking time and again.

I bought Super Natural Cooking on a whim. Desperate to find some new kitchen inspiration, I decided to pick-up the Tartine Bread cookbook, thinking I could be inspired by bread. If I wasn’t inspired by the staff of life, I was done for. On my way to the cash I spotted Super Natural Cooking out of the corner of my eye, and when I picked it up the pages fell open to the Sushi Bowl recipe. As it turned out, nori and brown rice vinegar turned out to be just the inspiration I needed. I’ve made this meal way more times than I’ve made bread so far (it’s about 3-0, to date).

These bowls make for a simple, light weeknight dinner and are equally delicious cold from the office fridge the next day. While slicing the avocado and tofu as I have here made for a beautiful photograph, I’ve found that bite-sized chunks are actually easier to eat and enjoy.

Sushi Bowl
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups short-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt (I prefer fine-grain sea salt)
6 ounces extra-firm tofu
zest and juice of one orange
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I like tamari)
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
4 green onions, sliced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced or diced as you like it
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Toasted nori, chopped or crumbled, to taste.

Method:

1. Rinse rice until water runs clear. Combine rice, water and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently under water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.

2. While the rice cooks, toast a sheet of nori in a pre-heated 300F oven. Chop with a sharp knife or crumble between your fingers. Set aside.

3. Drain tofu and pat dry. Cut the block to make four 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick sheets. Cook in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to pick-up some colour, about 4 minutes. Flip, then cook for another 2 minutes until golden. Let cool, then cut into matchsticks or chunks. Set aside.

4. To make the dressing, combine juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, then add the soy sauce and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.

5. When the rice is done, stir in dressing. Serve in individual bowls, topped with nori, green onions, tofu, avocado and sesame seeds.

On New Year’s Day I was horrified to discover that my favorite jeans, my coveted, size 12 jeans that I had once worked very hard to fit into, wouldn’t zip up.

Having spent the night at our friends new home in London, Ontario, I had two options:

A. Grab a coat hanger, lie down on the bed and pray I could suck in hard enough to get those bad boys to zip; or,

B. Put the clothes I wore the night before back on and hope that the other guests were too bleary eyed to remember what I had worn.

In utter denial I of course went for option A, but no amount of sucking in could hide the hideous muffin top that spilled over the waistband of my jeans, which if we’re honest wasn’t just any ordinary muffin, but a Costco-sized one. And so I showed up for breakfast in my party outfit. That morning I was thankful I finally had a chance to register for Eat Well Feel, love child f holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy and Michelle Uy, a yoga teacher.

While you might be hard-pressed to find evidence of it on this blog, I do try to eat clean when I can and take a holistic approach to health. I’ve admired Joy’s sensible approach to nutrition and wellness and her supernaturally shiny hair on Twitter for sometime, and so was looking forward to getting back to a healthy routine and a weekly yoga date with myself. I had wanted to take the course last year, but time and money and energy had never seemed to align.

Of course we ended up buying our house just days before classes started, which was my excuse for why I cheated my way through the entire six weeks, continuing to indulge in my afternoon sugar hit and greasy, Saturday morning everything-bagels with fried eggs, cheese and mayo. I recognize I still have a lot of cleaning up to do, but I have made a lot of positive changes so far this year and I am feeling no less than one million times better than I was on January 1. I wore my size 12 jeans last weekend;,my muffin top reduced to the size of what you might find on a continental breakfast buffet at a Days Inn.

Tuesday was our last class and to celebrate we had a potluck. Joy had mentioned the idea of a potluck early on in the course and I of course penciled it into my calendar right way. When Heidi Swanson released the recipe sampler from her yet-to-be-released cookbook I knew right away what my contribution to the spread would be. She called it Avocado and Mustard Seeds, but in my book (on my blog?) it will forever be known as Eat Well Feel Well Avocado Dip.

Eat Well Feel Well Avocado Dip
Makes about 2 cups
Adapted from Super Natural Every Day: Six Recipe Sampler

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 white onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 jalapeno pepper, or to taste, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped

Method:

1. Cut each avocado in half, remove the pit and scoop the flesh into a small bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt and cilantro. Mash avocado gently with a fork, keeping the mixture chunky. Set aside.

2. Heat coconut oil in a covered-skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds (Heidi warns to keep a lid on hand as the seeds will pop out of your pan. She was right). After a minute, stir in onion and saute 2 to 3 minutes, until translucent. Stir in garlic, curry powder and the jalapeno pepper.

3. Count to ten and remove from the heat. Stir in the avocado until just mixed, you want it to keep its shape. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with a few more cilantro leaves.

4. Serve warm or at room temperature with your favorite dip vehicle. I served ours with Food Should Taste Good Olive Chips.

One of my personal Secrets of Adulthood is that it is often better to just do it. Don’t bother asking! Go ahead! Do what you think is best!

This little lesson has served me well in two particular areas of my life. The first, in my work. Bosses are busy and it turns out they like it when you do brilliant things without being told or better yet, without interrupting to ask in the first place.

The second, is in my marriage. Coincidentally this is also where I learned another secret: sometimes not asking permission means you have to beg forgiveness. Like when you purchase a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer when your almost-husband is conveniently on an airplane, unreachable by telephone or email and therefore unable to weigh-in on the financial implications of such a purchase. The situation was diffused quickly once he realized that he would benefit greatly from me having unfettered access to high-tech baking equipment. But it was a close call.

Since then I’ve stuck to applying my secrets to less expensive things, like breakfast. I didn’t bother asking Jeff if he’d like a bowl of baked oatmeal for breakfast. Jeff believes that he knows what he does and does not like to eat. For instance, he does not like nuts (unless finely chopped upon a sundae or brownie) or seeds (except sesame, on a hamburger bun, and only then if there’s no other option). Had I asked, the answer would have been a firm “how about scrambled eggs?”

But because I vehemently disagree that he knows what it is he does and does not like to eat, I went ahead and made it anyway. Even with the walnuts! And the hazelnuts! And the pumpkin seeds! Jeff ate it all, with nary a pumpkin seed or a hazelnut or a walnut crumb left in the bowl. And he ate it all the next week when I made it again.

See? Sometimes it’s better just not to ask.

Baked Oatmeal
Adapted from So Good & Tasty via Green Kitchen Stories
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled and diced
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup hazelnuts (I kept them whole but you might like them chopped
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 cups milk (see note above)
1/4 cup agave syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Maple syrup, to taste, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Grease the bottom of a 10×8-inch baking dish and set aside.

2. Place oats, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add milk, agave and vanilla and stir well to combine.

4. Spread the apples evenly in the baking dish. Pour oat mixture to cover the apples, then pour wet ingredients over top, making sure everything is evening soaked. Drizzle melted butter over top and bake for 30-35 minutes until the oatmeal is set and lightly browned.

5. Let cool and serve, drizzled with maple syrup.