Our Farewell Post!

The first of many treasures from our vegetable patch!

Canada Day Weekend 2015

For the fifteenth consecutive year we celebrated the Canada Day weekend by gathering at the cottage with Tim and Bev and our husbands.  We always love to kick off the summer this way before we go our separate ways until September.  This year we especially wanted to create a “Canadian” menu for the benefit of our Polish guest, Michal, who has been here learning everything about barbecues for the past 2 months.  Maple syrup, blueberries and Canadian whisky popped into our minds, and we combined them all in a sweet and rich barbecue sauce for the ribs that had been smoking slowly on the Broil King Keg all afternoon.  

There were some lovely vegetables popping up in the garden and we served them along with asparagus and beets from the Belmont Local Food Market, and fresh garden peas.

We have really enjoyed sharing our recipes on this weekly blog over the past 5 years, but we are going to be shifting our focus to finishing off some other cookbook projects and exploring other ways to share our love of all foods grilled and smoked.  And for sure we will still enjoy gathering around the grill!  Thanks to all of you who have followed our posts and tried out our recipes.  Hope you've had fun too.

Yes there ARE fish in Lake Rosseau!

Michal braved the rain to get to mass on Sunday

Smoked Ribs with Maple-Whiskey Blueberry Sauce

4-6 racks pork back ribs

Place the prepared ribs on a rib rack above the smokey coals for an hour.

for the rub:

2 tbsp smoked paprika

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried tarragon

¼ cup Dijon mustard

Light the Broil King Keg and set it to a constant temperature of 225°F.  Scatter some soaked wood chips of your choice over the coals, and set a diffuser above. 

Remove the membrane from the back of each rack of ribs.  Mix all the rub ingredients together in a small bowl.  Coat the ribs all over with a thin layer of the mustard, then sprinkle with the rub. 

Arrange the prepared ribs in a rib rack and smoke for an hour.  Move them to a rib roaster or wrap tightly in foil.  Place the ribs back on the grill for 2 ½-3 hours.  Unwrap the ribs, place them directly on the grids, and baste generously with the Maple-Whiskey Blueberry Sauce for 20 minutes.  (see recipe below)

   

Maple-Whiskey Blueberry sauce

Baste generously with barbecue sauce for the last 20 minutes.

1 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots, minced

4 cups blueberries

1/4 cup rye whiskey

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp srirachi sauce

1 tsp each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large shallow pan, sauté the minced shallots. Add the blueberries and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Using a potato masher, crush the berries into a coarse mash. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 40-45 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by a third and has thickened. 

Baby Beet and Cherry Salad with Fresh Mint

This recipe was inspired during a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, home to a thriving local food culture.

2 lbs baby beets(4 cups)

2 lbs cherries, pitted(4 cups)

5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped

1/2 tsp each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Fill a large saucepan with salted water and bring it to a boil. Add the beets, without removing tops or roots, and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain water and let cool for 20 more minutes. Peel the beets and cut into quarters. Place in the refrigerator to finish cooling. In the meantime, remove the pits from the cherries and cut into quarters. Place cherries and beets into a large salad bowl and toss with balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh mint. Serve immediately

Baby zucchinis are delicious lightly grilled and served with shaved parmesan cheese.

No need to add anything to perfectly fresh steamed asparagus.

We braised these freshly shelled peas with shallots, lettuce and chicken stock.

 

It wasn't easy keeping Briar, Baldur, Wally and Sophie out of the vegetable garden all weekend!

Summer’s Bounty

With Eric’s family at our cottage we enjoyed the last long weekend of the summer doing yoga, windsurfing and kayaking.  Eric taught his little brother Evan the finer points of cooking and carving rotisserie chicken, while his Dad whipped up a batch of his world famous scalloped potatoes.  This was the first time a guest arrived with a mandolin in his bag, and we were glad he did!

Budding surgeons at work!

 At this point in the season, it is hard to beat Ontario’s produce, and it seems one of the benefits of our long cool summer has been a crop of outstanding peaches.  Grilling peaches further coaxes out their sweet juicy flavour, and makes this summertime salsa a delicious accompaniment to grilled pork tenderloin.  With Rainier cherries you get the sweet-tart cherry flavour without the red juices dominating the mixture. 

Grilled Peach Salsa

1 or 2 red bell peppers, roasted, skinned, seeded and chopped

6 just-ripe peaches, (preferably freestone) halved and skinned

2 tablespoons olive oil

I pint Rainier cherries

½ cup wild blueberries

1 shallot, minced

1 small jalapeno pepper, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the barbecue on MEDIUM HIGH and toss the red peppers on the grill while it preheats.  Turn the peppers until they are charred on all sides, then set let cool before peeling.  Chop coarsely and set aside.

Reduce the temperature to MEDIUM LOW.  Toss the prepared peach halves in olive oil, and lay them on the grill.  Cook, turning every 2 minutes until heated through and slightly softened with some caramelized grill marks, 8 minutes in total.  Meanwhile, place the cherries on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened and juicy.  Remove all the fruit to a cutting board and chop into bite-sized pieces, being careful to remove all cherry pits.  Place the prepared peppers and fruit in a medium bowl and add the remaining ingredients.  Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop. 

Pork Tenderloin

With such a flavourful salsa on the side, just a very simple marinade is needed.  Even salt, pepper and a little oil would work, but we whipped together this easy combination:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

¼ cup vegetable oil

Toss together in a flat glass dish and add the pork tenderloin, turning to coat.  Let stand for up to 12 hours in the refrigerator, or for up to ½ hour on the counter.  Either way, let the meat come up to room temperature before grilling.

Preheat the barbecue and set to MEDIUM LOW.  Understanding that the pork filets have 3 sides around the perimetre, lay the pork tenderloins on a 45 ° angle and cook for 3 minutes per side, turning twice on the same 45°, then flip to the opposite 45° angle and continue cooking 3 minutes per side turning 2 more times for a total of 18 minutes.  Move the meat to a carving board, cover with aluminum foil and a tea towel, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.  Pork can be cooked to much lower temperatures than previously recommended, with pink meat being not only acceptable, but much more tender and juicy. 

Carve into thick slices and serve with the peach salsa on the side.