ZUCCHINI NOODLE SALAD

We tried our hand at gardening this year, and I can confidently say that we totally rocked it. Neither of us knew what we were doing, but we read books, asked friends and family, and just went for it. It definitely wasn't easy, and the quantity and abundance of weeds were far more than we could have ever expected, but nothing felt more satisfying than picking and eating produce that we grew, straight from the earth. We had rainbow chard, snap peas, cucumbers, beets, radishes, green peppers, kale, some herbs and onions, wild dill and tomatoes. We were also able to reap the benefits of perennial rhubarb, asparagus, raspberries and blueberries. The little garden that could. It was amazing.

Last weekend's garden haul led to tons of basil and juicy red tomatoes. Then a friend gifted us a giant summer squash, and from there, this salad just came together. It was on repeat all week, and always with a side of garlic bread. Don't forget the garlic bread.

STRAWBERRY QUICK JAM

One can never prepare for bad or unsettling news, or how we might handle it. Six pounds of strawberries later, I can tell you that I buried myself in the kitchen and let the strawberries be a distraction. Some were chocolate dipped, others were pulverized with campari, lemon and sugar and turned into popsicles, some were diced and frozen for smoothies, some we buried and baked into a whole-grain galette crust, and the final pound were destined for jam. This jam.

It's been a hell of a week, and I'm glad to know its Friday and we'll soon be cruising into the weekend. Here's to health, strawberries and quick jams.

RHUBARB COCONUT ICE CREAM (VEGAN)

I don't talk about it very often, but I'm lactose intolerant. For years I fooled my body into thinking otherwise by popping a dairy pill just before devouring a pizza, a soft serve cone or a big bowl of yogurt. On the cusp of turning 30 though, my body has decided that its done with the pills and now chooses to just reject dairy all together.

Sure I'm a bit bummed, but I'm taking this on as a new culinary challenge. Pizza toppings need to be more exciting to make up for the lack of cheese, breakfast can't just be yogurt and granola, and ice creams need to be coconut based. So here I am, almost exactly one year later, trying to replicate last years rhubarb ice cream goodness, but without the dairy.

If you've been around here long enough, you'll know that my love for rhubarb runs deep. We inherited a garden that's bursting with perennial rhubarb (winning!) and I couldn't be more excited. This week alone there's already been crisp, compote, this ice cream, and dreams of this cake. Its going to be a good couple of weeks. Happy end of Spring friends!

CUCUMBER, GIN + CHARTREUSE COCKTAIL

A few years back, I traveled to the French Alps to visit a dear friend. It was the first time I visited the French Mountains, and the first time I was spending any real time with her man. A few days in, post dinner, he took out a bottle of Chartreuse, a common after dinner drink in France. "Enjoy it straight, on ice," he said. I tried, I really did, but with its intense green colour, earthy tones and potent flavour, I knew I wasn't going to be able to drink it straight (sorry Matt). I returned home from that trip with my own bottle of Chartreuse, determined to develop a pallete for it. Three years later, I'm still working my way through the bottle, tucking it into cocktails whenever I can, and if I'm feeling bold, sipping on a small glass post dinner.

When I decided to join in on #drinkthesummer, I immediately knew my drink had to have chartreuse as the base. From there, I added some puréed summer cucumbers (they're looking so fine at the market right now), and some gin (because cucumber + gin, always). Then a little lime and simple syrup to round off the flavours.

Be sure to check out all the fabulous blogs taking part in this year's #drinkthesummer, and mega shout-out to Sherrie for organizing such a fun party!

SUMMER PASTA WITH HEMP SEED + BASIL PESTO (V+GF)

Between a wedding weekend away, a week of working in the Toronto office and a long weekend cottage getaway, it was beginning to feel like I'd been away from home for a while. When I stepped out onto our balcony on Tuesday morning and noticed the size of our basil plant, I knew right away that I'd been gone for too long. Summer getaways are fun and all, but sometimes, all I want is a home-cooked meal and a good night's sleep in my own bed.

My Italian girlfriends tell me that an abundance of basil always means pesto, so I took the overgrown plant as a sign. I invited my gluten-free, dairy-free sister over for dinner, and then set out to whip up a pesto that she'd eat -- void of dairy and packed with protein. I had a bag of Trader Joe's gluten free pasta that I picked up in Vermont a few weeks back, and swung by the market for some plump quebec tomatoes, and some perfectly sweet ontario peaches -- ideal summer pasta add-ins if you ask me.

DAIRY-FREE FLUFFY "BUTTERMILK" PANCAKES

My new laptop allows me to shut down for the night with webpage tabs still open. At first, I thought this was great - I could read things at a more leisurely pace and not worry I'd forget about a new post, or hot article.

But now, mid summer, when the last thing I want to do at the end of a work day is face my computer, I find myself struggling to keep up with all of my favourites, leaving 20+ tabs looming week after week. It sounds ridiculous to say that I feel stressed about having too many blogs to read, but that's how I feel. The blogger community is one that I feel very lucky to be apart of, and a huge part of that is reading, commenting, liking, and supporting one-another. I got through a handful of them this weekend, more coming up this week. Baby steps, right?

We celebrated 4 years yesterday, and though we had a celebratory dinner planned, breakfast needed to feel a little special too. These pancakes, doused in all the summer berries, just felt right.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP (GLUTEN FREE + DAIRY FREE)

We spent the weekend up at the cottage and it was absolute bliss. We were outside practically the whole time, hanging en famille, boating, drinking and playing cornhole with friends.

When the whole family is up at the cottage, meals can often be a little challenging. Everyone has their preferences, and everyone has their dietary restrictions -- no dairy, no gluten, no cinnamon, no tomatoes. Breakfast is easy, everyone kind of does their own thing, depending on what time you wake up. Lunch comes together as a giant salad with a side of protein (for those who want it). Then there's dinner - always barbecued and always delicious. Finally, dessert. Often just fruit and dark chocolate, but not this weekend. This weekend, I was on dessert duty. Using what I could find in the kitchen, I tweaked my go-to crisp recipe it into something dairy and gluten free. Not sure if it was the country air, the last of the season's rhubarb, or the fun of being all together as a family for the weekend, but the crisp turned out better then I could have imagined. Do your best to swoop up some of the last of the rhubarb before it disappears; if not, no stress, bookmark this recipe for next year!

GINGER RHUBARB ICE CREAM

Somehow I got caught up in the kerfuffle of Passover, work trips to Toronto, and hosting Mother's Day and Dad's birthday dinner, blinked, and it was already mid-May. I'm not entirely sure how that happened, but I'm rolling with it. We're doing our best to maximize our time outside and enjoy the sun. We've already downed our first patio caesar, fired up the barbecue, and have taken a few walks/bikes/runs along the canal.

In the spirit of "summer is coming," I decided to take the ice cream maker out of winter hibernation. Last weekend's festivities (and my first attempt at strawberry shortcake) left me with heavy cream in the fridge, so the timing just felt right. What started as a simple ginger ice cream, quickly morphed into something amazing when I spotted Ontario rhubarb at the store (I may or may not have squealed with excitement). The result was far more delicious then I could have ever imagined. If you don't have an ice cream maker, make this cream instead, but either way, do not miss out on this lip-smacking flavour bomb!

GRILLED TOMATO PASTA SALAD

Its crunch time around here. T minus 10 days until the movers arrive and whisk off all of our belongings (eek!). Books and baking supplies have already been packed and we're trying hard to use up all the odds and ends in the pantry (I'm thinking rice paper rolls may be in our near future).

Its also been mega hot around here, so we've been trying really hard not to use the oven. This basically means everything either gets eaten raw, or barbecued. If you've never barbecued a tomato, you're seriously missing out. Perfect as a simple side dish, or chopped up in salads, its become our go-to as of late. It helps that the Ontario tomatoes are looking so darn sexy at the market. Call this pasta salad, or packing fuel, but either way, I'm totally having seconds.

LAKESIDE SANGRIA

This past weekend was an extra long weekend. My office added a few extra vacay days to the Canada Day long weekend, giving us ample time to mission to the cottage. It was a fantastic 5 days spent with my family; celebrating big birthdays, eating good meals, overdosing on sugar, and of course, indulging in the mandatory lakeside cocktail hour.

That's where this sangria comes in. It's my favourite recipe -- really simple to throw together, laced with boozy fruit, and quite forgiving based on what you have in the fridge. I promise it tastes equally delicious whether or not you have a dock to drink it on. Happy Summer friends!

PIMM'S CUP WITH GINGER BEER

There's been a haze of humidity looming over the city lately. The air has felt stuffy, heavy and downright unpleasant. But come night time, the humidity lifts, and leaves behind a perfectly magical summer evening, begging for a relaxing drink on the back deck. Usually its a simple glass of wine, or a beer, but sometimes, we go the extra mile and put our bar cart goodies to use.

Pimm's Cup is an ideal refreshing outdoor bevvy. Typically made with lemon soda, we swapped out the soda for a delicious local ginger beer that we're mildly obsessed with. Try to track down some authentic ginger beer, it makes all the difference.

EASY CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH SUMMER BERRIES

The weather may not elude to it, but for me, June always screams summer. Between my birthday, the first cone of the season, and spotting Ontario strawberries at the market, I couldn't be more excited that summer has arrived!

The past few weeks have been BUSY (weddings, more weddings, and building a food cart), and posts have been somewhat less frequent, but there's always time for dessert, right? Especially when covered in whipped cream and fresh berries.

SWEET CORN SUMMER SALAD

August is always a startling reminder that September is just around the corner (eek -- scary!), but -- August also means that sweet corn season has arrived -- and for that, I couldn't be more excited! 

Corn is quintessential summer to me; I have such fond memories of watching my dad at the cottage, shucking corn until he was surrounded by a pile of husks, and then the whole family chowing down on far too many cobs; or the annual neighbourhood corn roast, where the only appropriate way to eat your corn was rolled in butter and doused in salt.

When corn is in season, I will make every effort to consume as much of it as I can. We made a barbecue, slightly more complex version of this salad last summer from the best bbq cookbook. Since then, the recipe has been tweaked, simplified and made so many times, it seemed only fair to share it here. Go buy some corn while you can, and enjoy it while it lasts!

SWEET CORN SUMMER SALAD // serves 6 as a side

This recipe relies entirely on quality sweet corn - so do your best to track some down. And whatever you do, don't skip the 'milking' step, its what brings this whole dish together.

Ingredients:

4 cobs corn, husks removed
1/2 pint (~1 cup) grape tomatoes, halved (easily replaced with shredded red cabbage)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
juice from 2 limes
1 T olive oil
s+p

What to do:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Gently drop the corn into boiling water and let cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, immediately remove from the hot water and run under cold water to stop the cooking.

Once cool enough to handle, use a sharp knife to slice the kernels off the cob - being careful not to cut too deep or the end of the kernels will be tough. Transfer to a large bowl. Standing over the bowl, carefully run the dull side of your knife along the cob to extract any extra juices ('milk').

Add the remaining items to the bowl, toss to combine and taste for seasoning. Adjust oil, lime juice, salt and pepper accordingly.

Best made ahead of time, giving the flavours and juices time to mingle.

A SUMMER PANZANELLA

Today kicks off a long weekend in Ontario. We are heading to my parents cottage and I couldn't be more excited. Hopefully the sun will be shining, meals will be eaten outdoors, beers will be consumed on the dock and as per usual, I'll never want to leave. Though I'm not quite sure how today marks the first day of August (where is the summer going?!), I am determined to consume as much summer produce as possible before its too late. With that in mind, I leave you today with a super simple summer panzanella -- a Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes -- with a few added summer fixings. A perfect side for long weekend summer gatherings. Happy August y'all! (can you tell I just got back from NOLA?!)

A SUMMER PANZANELLA // serves 4-6 as a side

Set oven to broil.

Ingredients:

2 cups day old bread, cut into cubes
2 peaches, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 shallot, sliced thinly
4-6 large basil leaves, roughly chopped
4 large handfuls of leafy lettuce, chopped
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt + pepper

What to do:

In a large bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, peaches and scallion. Toss to combine and set aside.

To make the croutons, toss the bread with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and broil for 4-6 minutes, or until browned and crispy -- keeping a close eye to avoid charring. When ready, remove from oven and set aside.

Add the basil and lettuce to the bowl, then the warm croutons. Dress the bowl with roughly 1-2 T olive oil, 1-2 T balsamic vinegar and a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper. Toss, taste and adjust quantities accordingly.

Serve immediately.

RAW NECTARINE SUMMER TART

Raw tarts seem to be all the rage these days. Though I have a hard time dropping over ten dollars on nuts and dates, the fact that I can whip up a killer dessert in very little time, without having to turn my oven on, is genius. During these muggy summer days, the last thing I want to do is pump more heat into the house, and my sweet tooth seems to crave anything cold and raw (vanilla ice cream and fresh cherries? yes please!). There are a variety of different recipes on the web (caramel apple, berry, fruit pizzas, peach and ginger coconut), but I gravitated towards nectarines after tasting some from the market the other day that I had bought for a green rice and corn salad. The nectarines were perfectly ripe, juicy, sweet and totally destined for this beautiful summer tart.

RAW NECTARINE SUMMER TART // serves 8-12

Adapted from Oh, Ladycakes

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups raw walnuts
13 medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw nut milk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2-3 nectarines, halved, pitted and sliced thinly

What to do:

Soak the almonds and cashews in a small bowl covered in water for 6 hours, or overnight.

In a food processor fitted with the s-blade, pulse the walnuts and 9 dates until chopped and combined (~45 seconds). Pinch the dough -- if it holds together you're golden, otherwise, add another date or two and pulse again. Place the dough in a tart pan, pressing down firmly and spreading evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer until ready to use.

Drain the almonds and cashews and transfer into the body of a food processor or high speed blender (a blender would probably be best, but I don't have one and my food processor worked just fine). Add the remaining dates, milk, vanilla and cardamom. Blend/pulse until combined and 'smooth'. Transfer to a tupperware and store in the fridge until game time.

When ready to serve, or just before your guests arrive, scoop the cream onto the crust and spread evenly. Begin to lay your nectarine slices in a circle from the outer perimeter working your way to the centre.

Store in the fridge until ready to serve -- for breakfast or dessert. Will keep in the fridge for about a week.

A VERY GREEN POTATO SALAD

I grew up eating my grandmother's potato salad -- skinless potato rounds smothered in a vinegar, dill and mayonnaise vinaigrette. Though I'm a huge fan of Oma's recipe, one can never have too many summer salad recipes in their back pocket. Potato salads are great for large crowds at bbqs, travel well for picnics, and keep well over night so they can easily be made in advance. Last summer, I found a potato salad I really loved -- warm golden potatoes covered in all the herbs. I was determined to find an equally delicious contender this year. This potato salad, if I can even call it that because really, its only 1/4 potato, hits all the right notes -- crunchy, tangy, herby, easily eaten as a side or main and equally delicious warm or cold. Definitely the detox I needed after such a fantastic weekend.

A VERY GREEN POTATO SALAD // serves 8-10 as a side

Heavily adapted from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day

Ingredients:

4 red potatoes, diced into 1/2"-1" cubes
2 handfuls green beans, cut into 1" pieces
4-6 celery stalks, diced small
1 english cucumber, seeds removed, diced small
2 green onions, roughly chopped
1/4 cup dill, roughly chopped

2 T whole grain mustard
2 T sherry vinegar
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp brown sugar
dash salt and pepper

What to do:

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, plus 3". Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the beans, celery and cucumber and toss into a really large bowl (trust me -- this creates mass volume).

In a small skillet, heat a dollop of olive oil over medium heat. Saute the green onions and dill for 2-5 minutes, until fragrant. Add to the bowl with the veggies.

In a small glass jar, combine the dressing ingredients and shake vigorously.

When the potatoes are ready, transfer to a colander and let drain to release any excess water. Once drained, yet still hot, add the potatoes to the bowl, dress and toss well. The potatoes will slightly steam the other vegetables, and absorb more flavour when hot.

Serve warm (or cold) as a side, or for dinner topped with a soft-boiled egg.

CHICKPEA, DILL AND YELLOW SQUASH FRITTERS

This past weekend felt like our first real summer weekend. There was an outdoor music festival, late night barbecues, balcony drinks amongst friends huddled around a candle, and a few hours relaxing with the new cookbook my sister's bought me for my birthday. Though I accomplished nothing on my weekend to-do list (that seems to be rather typical in the summer months), I was able to tag about half of the book, totally tantalized by her fabulous seasonal recipes. These fritters are a riff on Kimberley's "Sweet Corn and Squash Fritters" -- corn isn't around yet, and I can never get enough dill. Serve with a bed of greens or a side salad, and you have yourself a perfect summer lunch!

CHICKPEA, DILL AND YELLOW SQUASH FRITTERS // makes 8 fritters

Method adapted from Vibrant Food.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (slightly less then 1 can)
1 cup grated yellow squash/zucchini
1 small thai chili or jalapeno, thinly sliced, seeds removed
4 green onions, only white and pale green parts, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped dill
dash of salt

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup flour

2 T olive oil

1 avocado, for serving

What to do:

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, and, using a fork, 'smash' through to create a mash - not totally smooth, but smooth enough. Add the grated squash, chili, onion, dill and salt and toss to combine.

In a separate, smaller bowl, beat the egg. Transfer to the chickpea mixture and mix thoroughly. Add 1/4 cup of flour and stir to combine. If mixture is too wet, add a bit more flour. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium heat with 1 T olive oil. Measure about 1/4 cup of batter and transfer it to the pan, lightly flattening with your spatula. (I fit four in my pan at a time, but use your judgement.)

Allow the fritters to sit, undisturbed for 3-4 minutes, then gently flip, and let sit for roughly 4 minutes until edges are golden and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Add another tbsp of oil to the skillet and continue with the same method until you've used up all the batter.

Serve warm, with a heaping scoop of smashed avocado and a sprinkle of dill.

A FALL SOLSTICE LOBSTER BARBEQUE

Since moving into the new place at the beginning of June, we have been wanting to host a dinner party. As per usual, the summer got busy, and people's schedules just didn't align.

September 21 was the 2013 fall solstice, and we saw this as the perfect opportunity to have people over and pamper them with good food. What better way to wrap up bbq season then with a feast from the sea?

On the menu, a seafood smorgasboard from Bill's in the east end: lobsters on the barbie (and tofu steaks for some), moules a la mariniere - inspired by A little safron, fresh oysters with homemade horseradish, a simple potato salad, an end of summer tomato orzo salad and an apple crisp for dessert.

We ate well, drank well and ended the night with bourbon cherry manhattans, jelly bellies and a pretty solid game of balderdash!