Chiles Rellenos

Before I knew Matt, I'd never heard of chiles rellenos, stuffed, fried poblano chiles.  But over the years I've seen him order them any time he sees them on a menu.  It's not easy to find a wide variety of chiles where we live, so when I saw poblano peppers at the grocery store, I snapped them up and decided to surprise Matt with his favourite dish.  

I'm not going to say this was easy.  It's pretty ambitious, but you can prepare it in stages and fry the peppers in the batter at the last minute.  Frying indoors is one of my least favourite ways to cook; it's messy and hot and requires full attention.  But for some things - including this - it's worth it.  

I used this recipe from Chow which calls for an egg batter and claims to be the most authentic method.  Some recipes call for breadcrumbs in the coating.  This was an unusual batter but it tasted great.  

Hawaiian Bacon Sausages

There's a new farmer's market near our house called Ogilvies Food & Artisan Market.  It's just starting out so there aren't too many vendors, but it's growing.  And I love that it's open Sundays because sometimes I can't haul my lazy bones to the market on a Saturday morning.  

Strawberry Ice Cream

Fresh local strawberries are in season and I've been waiting a year to make strawberry ice cream.  I'm positive that I recently read an article or post somewhere about the best strawberry ice cream.  I searched high and low for guidance but didn't find any.  And the strawberry ice cream recipes I did find were so completely different from each other, I really didn't know where to begin. 

Many recipes called for eggs, but some called for two egg yolks and some for ten!  Some recipes didn't use eggs at all.  Some called for whipping cream and half & half, some called for cream and whole milk.  

In the end, I got lazy and decided on a no-cook method based on this recipe, with a few changes.  The texture isn't quite perfect but it is bursting with strawberry flavour and super delicious!

Here's what you need:

Rice Pilaf (Guest Post)

I wasn't feeling well last week so Matt did a bang-up job on dinner. This was so delicious we'll be making it again and again.  Here's Matt...

Sometimes, inspiration strikes and you end up trying something new with wonderful results. We had a pork tenderloin to marinate and had a bottle of souvlaki marinade. Wanting to keep with a vaguely Greek-style flavours, I took to the Googles and quickly surfed through some recipes for rice pilaf.

I decided to use this recipe as a starting point and made a few little changes: 

Chef's Salad with Home Made Ranch Dressing

Having a salad for dinner is in no way deprivation with this meaty, hearty chef's salad.   

I've long known that making your own salad dressing is best.  A vinaigrette made at home from oil, vinegar or citrus juice and fresh herbs beats bottled dressings with their sweeteners  binders and preservatives hands down.  Little did I know how easy it is to make a creamy ranch dressing with buttermilk, sour cream and fresh herbs.  

Pasta with (Very) Fresh Mushrooms

Mushrooms and I have a tumultuous relationship. When I was a kid I hated them more than any other food and would not tolerate even a sliver of mushroom on my pizza or pasta.  The first time I tasted and enjoyed mushrooms was in my 20s when friends grilled some marinated portobello mushrooms for a meatless dinner. It was a revelation, and I've been experimenting more with mushrooms ever since.  I still wouldn't say they're one of my favourite foods, but I do cook with them regularly and always eat them when they appear on my plate.  This is a big relief to Matt, who loves mushrooms.

So I'm sure my teen-aged self would be shocked to know that I not only eat mushrooms, but actually grew my own at home and enjoyed them.

I received this super cool mushroom kit from Mushrooms Canada and was very excited to grow them.  

Soy-Ginger Flank Steak with Sweet Slaw

Grilled flank steak is easy to make and takes on the flavour of any marinade.  This recipe from Epicurious uses a soy-ginger marinade and pairs it with a sweet and spicy slaw.  Extremely refreshing and summery!