Summer bummer

How’s your summer going so far? As you might have noticed from the smattering of posts this month, ours has been off to a good start and shows little sign of letting up.

We’ve drank beer outside and danced in the sweltering heat of packed shows. We've met another young couple through The Stop’s Yes In My Backyard program with whom we will be developing a vegetable patch. And we’ve endured the day jobs that make all these shenanigans possible. In just a few weeks we head back west for three weeks of fun, family and friends in Edmonton, Vancouver and the Island. Busy times. However, lost by the wayside in all this activity has been time in the kitchen.

Friday aspirational blogging: cool kitchens edition

Ice, ice baby

This weekend was pretty much perfect: lots of sun, lounging in the park, some park soccer, plenty of beers and this cold, refreshing treat to cap it all off.

Espresso Granita (via Bon Appetit)

2 cups hot espresso or very strong coffee
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
Bittersweet chocolate shavings

Stir espresso, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Pour into a 9x9x2" metal baking pan. Freeze for 1 hour. Stir, mashing any frozen parts with the back of a fork. Cover; freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Using a fork, scrape granita vigorously to form icy flakes.

Before serving, beat cream and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a large bowl until peaks form. Put in fridge to cool for a bit. Later, divide granita among bowls or glasses, top with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings

Hello sunshine

Friday afternoon in Trinity Bellwoods Park with a 1/4 roast chicken with green bean, arugula and potato salad from Inigo and a couple of local cold ones.

Summer's off to a good start

Eat your broccoli

After an extended streak of failures and disappointments in the kitchen, I figured maybe I was overextending myself and perhaps it was time to dial things back. A good place to start was one of the first recipes I learned how to make: kung pao chicken. Now I have no idea how authentic this recipe is, but it seemed that a bit of tasty nostalgia could break me out of my culinary funk. To mix things up a little (a little), I'd try my hand out at cooking gai lan (aka Chinese broccoli aka regular broccoli's sweet and leafy cousin). Gai Lan in oyster sauce has long been a favoured Chinese restaurant side dish of mine that I'd never attempted at home.

Basement meat report

Sad news today from our experiment in charcuterie. A recent spike in temperatures resulted in our little ducks developing a unpleasent growth of mold, so we've had to bin them. Boo. We're going to try again, but I'm thinking about looking for a small used bar fridge so we can control the environment a bit better. Stay tuned.