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.  

Sunset Peach Ribs

On Friday night it was such a pleasure to arrive at the cottage and to be treated to a beautiful dinner prepared for us by Teddy!  In his signature whirlwind style he had 5 different dishes roasting, grilling, and simmering, all of them full of bright and delicious flavours.  We were so overwhelmed, happy and hungry, we forgot to take any photographs, but trust us, everything was as beautiful as it was scrumptious!

We originally listed a "splash" of each of scotch and hard cider as ingredients for the sauce, but Teddy corrected  us saying there was at least 1/4 cup of each.  Noted.

Sunset Peach Ribs

4 racks back ribs, membranes removed

for the rub:

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup kosher salt

1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1 tablespoon oregano

for the sauce:

3 or 4 peaches, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon bacon fat

1 shallot, minced

1 red hot chili, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard

1/4 cup scotch

1/4 cup hard cider

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Light the smoker and set it to 275°F.  To make the rub, toast the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds along with the peppercorns in a small pan until just beginning to smoke.  Whirl them in a blender until finely ground, then combine with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.  Rub it all over both sides of the ribs, saving any remaining rub in a small mason jar with a tight fitting lid.    Wrap the ribs tightly in pairs in heavy aluminum foil.  Cook in this way for 4 hours, until very tender.

To prepare the sauce, heat the bacon fat (or olive oil) in a small saucepan, and add the minced shallot and hot chili.   Sauté gently until the shallots are very soft.  Add the prepared peaches, mustard, scotch, and cider, and simmer until the peaches are very tender and juicy, about 25 minutes.  Add the rice vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes.  Puree in a blender and return to the saucepan to keep warm, tasting to adjust seasonings.

Unwrap the ribs, and lay them on the smoker.  Baste them generously with the peach sauce, reapplying twice more, every 5 minutes.  Serve hot.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons curry powder, or more, to taste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven or barbecue to 400°F.  In a large bowl, toss the prepared cauliflower with olive oil and spices.  Lay it in a single layer on baking sheets and place in the oven or barbecue for 20-25 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. 

Peanutty Sweet Potatoes

This vegan dish is surprisingly tasty and satisfying.

3-4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1”cubes

3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chili flakes

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Preheat oven or barbecue to 400°F. 

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, olive oil, oregano, chili flakes and salt and pepper.  Add the prepared sweet potatoes, and toss well to coat.  Spread the mixture evenly in a single layer on the baking sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes, turning every ten minutes, until evenly browned and tender.  

Wedding Cake Sugar Cookies

The highlight of our weekend was Norah and Andrew’s beautiful Camp Muskoka  wedding.  It was so nice to be asked to bring cookies for the dessert table, and we had a lot of fun baking and decorating these for the occasion.

14 oz. butter, softened

1 ½ tsp. finely chopped lemon zest

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoons salt

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

 4  2/3 cups all-purpose flour

for the decoration:

white rolled fondant (store bought)

1 recipe royal icing (store bought mix)

1 small container piping jelly

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the softened butter, zest, sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat it in well. In three additions, stir in the flour until blended. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm.

When ready to roll, heat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment. Allow the dough to soften slightly. Generously flour your work surface. Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick. Dust off excess flour with a clean, dry pastry brush. Cut out the shapes you want, rerolling the scraps to make more cookies. Arrange the cookies 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake until the edges turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet on a rack before transferring or decorating.

Roll out the fondant with a rolling pin, a section of pvc tubing, or with a pasta maker (I used the latter).  Using the same shape that you used to make the cookies, cut the fondant.  Brush a small amount of piping jelly over the cookie to act as the “glue”, and drape the fondant overtop.  Using a piping bag and # 2 pastry tip, decorate the cookies as desired.