Fresh Grilled Fish

Jesse and Sam enjoy some refreshments after a big day on the water

Each summer, we look forward to a visit from our friends from Sackville, N.B.  When Owen, Sam and Jesse came to Wolfe Island this year, they brought perfect fishing weather.  So, armed with a box of dew worms and a lot of enthusiasm, we set out for a day on the water.  We hit a lot of the Schumacher boys "secret spots", but had the most luck just off the cottage point, drifting past the lighthouse. By the end of the day, Jesse had hooked the most fish, but it was Sam’s smallmouth bass that became dinner that night!

Sam and Owen worked hard to land this beauty!

Grilled Bass

We filleted the bass and rubbed it with a paste of olive oil, orange zest and fresh herbs.  We placed the bass in the refrigerator for half an hour, then grilled it for 5 minutes per side, with the closed barbecue set at MEDIUM. Using a grilling basket made especially for fish helps preserve the shape and makes turning the finely fleshed fish a lot easier. You do not want to lose a single morsel of this hard-earned feast!!

Maddy raids the garden

The only way that we could make this feast any better was by raiding the garden. The garden is bursting with everything “green” these days. We are eating peas and beans everyday, and the lettuce, kale and herbs are so plentiful that we dream of recipes that include them.  This is a very hardy salad that has a lovely fresh, piquant flavour, thanks to the apple and fresh herbs. It travels very well and stands up for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, so would be a good choice to take to a pot luck, on a picnic, or if you are invited to a friends cottage for the weekend.  It was perfect to bring along on our fishing trip!!

Quinoa and Kale Salad with Green Apple and Herb Vinaigrette

I cup quinoa

1 cup kale, remove tough spine and finely chop the leaves, pack into the cup

1 granny smith apple, diced

2 green onions, chopped

¼ cup toasted pumpkinseeds

1 lemon, zest for salad and juice for vinaigrette

Lemon and Herb  Vinaigrette:

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup fresh Lemon juice

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp salt

½ tsp red chili pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Prepare quinoa:  Bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil in a large, covered saucepan. Add quinoa, cover, stir and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, remove lid and fluff quinoa with a fork. Set aside to cool.

Vinaigrette:  Combine olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, basil, Dijon mustard, red chili pepper flakes,  salt and pepper in a blender and blend for 15 seconds.

Combine the cooled quinoa, finely chopped kale, green apple, green onions and lemon zest in a large bowl. Toss with Lemon and Herb Vinaigrette and garnish with toasted pumpkinseeds.

 Salad:  Combine quinoa, kale, green apple, green onions and lemon zest  in a large bowl. Toss with vinaigrette and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds.

We stopped to visit our friend, Mike, the boat-builder, on Horseshoe Island