A Life, Lived

Happy Mother's Day

Here's to all of the fabulous women out there who make such a difference in the lives of so many and of course, my own amazing mom!

A Sign of the Times . . .

Would You Drink This?

Pickle juice-flavored products have been a popular trend over the past few years—there's pickle juice in a can, pickle juice soup and pickle candy canes—and now a chain of shops in Pennsylvania and Ohio is taking that obsession to a whole new level. Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop announced that it will start selling Pickle Juice Soda in stores and online.

According to the site, it's made with pure cane sugar, and so far, people have mixed feelings about the news and taste.

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

I LOVE a black bean salad.

How strange is that?

This salad is bright, colourful, and has an interesting contract of flavours and textures. Normally I reserve black bean salad for the summer months but this seemed to be a great side for our Cinco di Mayo feast last Friday.

I pretty well followed the recipe as written but I added some grilled sweet potato which I had in the fridge and wanted to use up.

This recipe makes a lot - perfect for bringing to a summer BBQ to feed a crowd. It also serves double duty - as a salad or you can eat it like salsa with chips. Heck, it can also be used as a topping for a taco salad, a filling for quesadillas, or as a topping for grilled meats.

OK - I guess that is considerably MORE than double duty!

And BONUS, this salad is low in saturated fat and loaded with antioxidants. A perfect summer side dish for grilled meat, fish or chicken. It’s best when you use sweet fresh roasted corn, but if corn is not in season, frozen, thawed corn will work just fine in it’s place.

Enjoy!

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
9 oz cooked corn, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 1/2 – 2 limes, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh minced cilantro (or more to taste)
salt and fresh pepper
1 medium hass avocado, diced
1 diced jalapeno (optional)

In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, tomato, onion, scallion, cilantro, salt and pepper. Squeeze fresh lime juice to taste and stir in olive oil. Marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes. Add avocado just before serving.

Makes about 6 1/2 cups.

Travel Tuesdays - Rome

Friends of ours are in Rome right now and posting the most fabulous pics on social media. I am jealous. It has been three years since I was last in Italy. SIGH

If I can't get there in person I can certainly travel there for Travel Tuesdays.

 

Our New Painting

A few months ago we attended an art show where one of our favourite painters was exhibiting. We have six of her paintings - three in my office and there here at home. After the art show we have two more. You know how that works.

One is currently unwrapped and waiting to be hung . . . the other might well turn into an anniversary gift for Paul.

I have to see if I can find the perfect spot for this piece today while Paul is at work.

The artist is Vicki Carruthers. A lot of people assume she is a FNMI artist but she is not. Her art is similar to the work of Norval Morrisseau with his bright colourful shapes, each carefully outlined in black.

Asparagus Morel Risotto

Fresh morel mushrooms are one of the fleeting gifts of spring. For this reason you'll often find them paired in dishes with asparagus or ramps - other seasonal treats. If you are unable to find fresh by all means used dried morel mushrooms (although I'd use some of the soaking liquid in the risotto for added flavour).

I made this recipe, developed by Charlie Palmer for Food and Wine magazine, on Good Friday and we all thought it was amazing.

I served the risotto with grilled veal chops. Any Italian would tell you that was unacceptable - risotto is a primi and veal chops a secondi and you would never blend the courses. Not being in Italy I did it and the reaction from the food police was minimal. :-)

Risotto is not the daunting task that some folks seem to think. If you've never tried it I'd encourage you to do so.

If you wish to make your risotto a vegetarian meal use vegetable stock instead.

Asparagus Morel Risotto

5 cups strong chicken stock
3/4 pound fresh thin asparagus stalks, trimmed and blanched
1/2 pound fresh morels
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

In a heavy saucepan, bring the stock to a slow, steady simmer over moderate heat. Lower the heat and maintain the simmer.

Cut the asparagus tips to 1-inch and set aside. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.

Trim the stems from the morels and reserve them for another use (in stocks or soups). Brush any debris from the morels and, if they are very large, cut them in half.

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed, broad, medium saucepan over moderately-high heat. Stir in the onions and saute for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the asparagus stalks and the morels and saute for about 1 minute, or until they are well-coated with the fat. Add the rice and saute for a few minutes to thoroughly coat the grains with the fat

Add 1 cup of the simmering stock and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, about 5 minutes. As each addition is absorbed, continue stirring and adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice is tender but still al dente. You should begin tasting the rice after it has cooked for about 20 minutes. Just before the rice is ready, stir in the reserved asparagus tips, 1/2 cup of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Meme Celebrity - Where is he Now?

It is funny how random pics posted online can turn viral.

This one is a good example - I bet all of you have seen it at one time or another.

The baby's mom posted it on flickr (to the kids this is what old people used before we had instragram) and it went viral.

This is the same kids as an 8 year old  . . .

Glad they seem to find the humour in meme fame (since I'm betting there is no money in said fame).

Travel Tuesday - PEC

A year ago Paul, mom, and I took off for a few days of wine tasting and eating in Prince Edward County. It was dull and dreary but we made the best of it!

 

 

Charred Corn Salsa

Now that we are on the cusp of grilling season I'm digging out some of my favourite grilling recipes. They are plenty of folks who prefer a sweetish fruit salsa as an accompaniment to grilled meat and while I'll never turn my nose up at that, I tend to prefer a savoury salsa. This corn salsa is a perfect example of this.

Grilling the corn before you make this salsa recipe gives the dish great depth of flavor. Use this charred corn salsa as a side or incorporate it into your next taco recipe. It also makes a great topping for grilled meats and fish. I grilled a marinated Tri Tip a few weeks ago and this salsa went well with it.

One of the unexpected treats from grilling fruits and vegetables is that like roasting the grilling process can bring out depths of flavours in produce that is not at the peak of freshness. The corn on the cob that I bought for this salsa was from the US. Now I know their sweet corn season finished up last fall so those ears of corn had been sitting in a cold storage for more than 6 months. Once grilled, you'd never know the corn wasn't more fresh than that.

Charred Corn Salsa

4 medium ears corn, husks removed
1 pint red and/or yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, very finely chopped
Juice of 1 medium lime
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt

Heat an outdoor gas grill to medium or prepare a charcoal grill for indirect heat. A grill pan over medium heat will work as well.

Grill the corn uncovered until some the kernels are bright yellow and a few are charred, 2 to 3 minutes per side, for a total of 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the corn from the grill and cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cob, and add to the bowl. Season with salt and stir to combine.