Arts in the City and the Country

Our week was shaped by two hot cultural events, starting with The Red Light District’s production of La Ronde at Toronto’s infamous club, Wicked.  Andrea’s son, Ted translated and directed a modern day version of this 19^th century controversial play.   His talented and enthusiastic cast presented an amazing performance that was both entertaining and thought provoking….the venue, music and costumes all worked to create a really explosive production.  On top of pulling the show together, Ted, with the help of Nolan and Nigel from the Broil King team, put on a great spread for our friends:  bruschetta, beef tenderloin crostini, fries with truffle oil and aioli, summer rolls, and sweet potato quesadillas.    

Lauren Gilles and Beau Dixon

Sweet Potato Quesadillas

2 large sweet potatoes

1/2 - 1 chipotle pepper with a bit of adobo sauce

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing the tortillas

4 green onions, sliced

zest and juice of a lime

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

Generous handful of cilantro

1 ½ cups grated cheddar

1 can black beans

Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil, and bake them on the top rack of a preheated barbecue on MEDIUM until soft right through, about ¾ of an hour.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté diced onion, garlic cloves, and chipotle with cinnamon and ginger over LOW heat.  When cooked through, puree with lime juice/zest and cilantro.

When sweet potatoes are finished roasting, scoop out flesh and add to food processor.  Blend everything together.

Brush the outside of a flour tortilla with olive oil.  Spread a generous spoonful of the sweet potato mixture on a tortilla and sprinkle with a each of sliced green onions, black beans, and cheddar.  (Sweet corn, mango, avocado, etc can be added if desired.)  Top with another tortilla, and brush the outside with more olive oil.

Grill lightly on a preheated barbecue on LOW, turning carefully, and cook until lightly browned and heated through. Serve with sour cream and/or salsa verde and/or guacamole.

                                                ---------------------------------------

The 7^th Annual Joe Burke Wolfe Island Literary Festival was just magical this year. The line-up of authors was unmatched. We heard from  novelist Alison Pick, Priscilla Uppal- poet in residence of the Vancouver Olympics, BC Book Prize Winner and CBC Radio Host – Grant Lawrence, scientist and travel writer Wayne Grady,   environmentalist Andrew Nikiforuk (The Tar Sands),with special guest appearances from  poet laureate Tanis Rideout, super star Joseph Boyden, and writer and musician, Dave Bidini. 

Tanis, Grant, Wayne, Priscila, Joseph, Andrew, Alison and Mark Mattson, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

 Add to that the warm sun, the songs of the birds, the water lapping against the shore, the petals of the apple blossoms blowing off the trees, the sizzle of the barbecue and the delicious salads prepared by  Windmills Café in Kingston, and buzz of excitement when the Vancouver Canucks beat Boston in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Talk about sensory overload. 

With so many people in attendance, we opted for simplicity – meaning: grilling a load of hamburgers and sausages.  When cooking for a crowd, our motto is: have as much ready in advance as possible, so as always, Ed arrived with heaping bowls of Greek Salad, Sundried Tomato and Feta Fusilli Salad and our all time favorite, Windmills Spicy Asian Noodle Salad. The recipe is in our cookbook, Gathering Around the Grill, but we are also including it in today’s blog.

Jackie and the guys!

Joseph is  multi-talented!

                                            Spicy Asian Noodle Salad

This salad is a real crowd pleaser. You can buy chili oil in the supermarket if you like, but if you make a batch of ours, you will have lots left to make more salad dressing ! It is also excellent for rubbing on meat before grilling, and can be stored for up to six months.

                               

      1  300g package dried  steamed egg noodles

      1 cup  broccoli  flowerets 

      1/2   red pepper –julienne sliced

      1/2   small red onion – thinly sliced

2    carrots -- peel and julienne sliced

2     tbsp coriander, chopped

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

salt and pepper , to taste

 For the Asian Noodle Dressing:

1/2        cup soy sauce

 3 tbsp   rice vinegar

3 tbsp    sesame oil

1/2       cup chili oil(see recipe below, or purchase chili oil in specialty food store)

                      

For asian noodle salad:  Cook noodles and broccoli flowerets in a large pot of salted, rapidly boiling water for 3 ½ minutes. Drain and cool down quickly under cold running water. Add red peppers, red onions and carrots. In a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all the dressing ingredients and shake vigorously.

Toss salad with ½ cup of dressing, adding more as desired. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander leaves.

For Chili Oil:

    1 ½ cups                    canola oil

    3                 thai chili peppers

    2 tsp                ginger(unpeeled) -- chopped

    2 cloves              garlic

    ½ tsp              coriander seed

     ½ tsp             fennel seeds

     ½ tsp             black peppercorns

            

Put all ingredients in a pot and simmer for 2 hours.  Do not let boil.

 Turn off heat and let cool. Strain and store in a glass jar, in a cool, dark cupboard.