Smokin' Hot: Grilled Corn & Black Bean Salad with Pepperoni

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine. And, as usual, I will only write about products that I really love! 

Those mid-August days are creeping up on us, and while it's easy to think that in a few weeks summer will be winding down, I'm firmly planted in the here and now. There are still so many things I want to do before the nights get cooler and the leaves start turning yellow. Road trips! Picnics! Backyard barbecue feasts! These are the days that need to be sucked of all their marrow. Go out there and live your best late-summer life! And bring snacks!

Summer Perfection: Pear & Prosciutto Flatbreads with Brie

This is a sponsored post. I was compensated financially by California Bartlett Pears. All thoughts and opinions about these pears are my own.

My love for pears runs deep. It always has and always will. Pears whisper their flavour, rather than shout it from the rooftops like the stone fruits currently having their moment. Pears are the underdogs of the fruit world, and I kind of love them for that. Their subtle sweetness is still something I crave in this season of peaches and cherries. The pear, to me, is the perfect fruit. I love the shape, the scent and the sweetness. In fact, if I were to ever get a tattoo, it would be that of a pear, somewhere. Pears are what I remember eating as a kid while riding with my mom in the grain truck, as my dad was combining the fields of wheat on our Saskatchewan farm. Pears are what a really cute boy I used to work with many, many years ago would bring me as a token of his fondness. Things didn't work out with the boy, but my fondness for pears lives on.  Funny thing how one sniff takes you back to when you were 5 or 25. 

Tiki Time: Barbecued Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Pineapple

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine. And, as usual, I will only write about products that I really love! 

Raise your hand if you've eaten a hot dog this summer. Of course you have. Now, have you had one wrapped in bacon, grilled until it's perfectly crispy, slathered in barbecue sauce, and snug in a bun with grilled pineapple and diced red onion? If you haven't, then you've come to the right place for a little tiki-inspired hot dog! This recipe is the third installment of my partnership with Grimm's Fine Foods this summer, and I'm so pleased I get to bring you the very best ideas on how to use their excellent products. They are always gluten, lactose and soy free, with no MSG added and contain no fillers or sketchy bi-products. And, they are made in Canada! Grimm's uses a trusted family recipe for the European Wieners and they start with selecting premium cuts of pork and beef and blending them together with the perfect amount of spices & seasonings. It doesn't get better than that. 

Sweet and Spicy: Pepperoni Pizza with Basil and Honey

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine. And, as usual, I will only write about products that I really love! 

You guys. I just made the best pizza. I know, I know, we all think we make the best pizza, but this really is the tops. I mean, just look at it! The golden, chewy, whole wheat crust, saucy sauce, basil pesto, loads of mozzarella - fresh and shredded, thinly sliced jalapeno pepper, heaps of pepperoni, fresh basil leaves that I grew myself, and a good drizzle of honey. If you like your pizza with a bit of heat and sweet, then this recipe is for you. It's the second installment for my partnership with Grimm's Fine Foods this summer, and I'm so pleased I get to bring you the very best ideas on how to use their excellent products. They are always gluten, lactose and soy free, with no MSG added and contain no fillers or sketchy bi-products. And, they are made in Canada!

Get Ready: Banh Mi All Beef Smokies

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine. And, as usual, I will only write about products that I really love! 

Those coveted summer days are finally upon us and I couldn't be happier! Oh how lovely it is to just sit in the sun, feeling the warmth on my face, lighting me up from the inside out. I can't believe how it's already the middle of June, and there are only a few months of these glorious days ahead of us. Time, it goes. So, promise me that you'll make these next few months the best ever, okay? Eat things that make you happy. Get outside and do something that makes you sweat. Travel places you've always wanted to go but never had time. Make the time. You won't regret it. Invite your pals over for food off the grill. Drink cold drinks. Tell stories until the stars come out.

Come for Tea: Ginger & Orange Drop Tea Biscuits

It's Victoria Day here in Canada, and with the long weekend comes the unofficial start to summer. Some of us are camping (or glamping!), or hitting the garden centres, or digging in the dirt, or kicking back and seeing that new Avengers movie. I slide to the more lazy side of the equation, which involved a getting up way past the time I usually get up, making lemon ricotta pancakes for my guy and I, sitting outside in the sun with my second cup of coffee, watching my cats eat grass and chase bugs. It's been a good day, so far. Like many of you, I'm hustling all the time. When a day presents itself with no immediate work to do, I almost don't know what to do. I think regular folks call these "days off", but for someone who has work hustles and side hustles and all the hustles, taking a little time to sit in the sun and watch robins dance in the bird bath is a glorious way to spend a few hours of the day.

Peanut Butter Cookies and Birthdays

"Keep your face to the sun and you will never see shadows."

~ Helen Keller 

In the past week, my cookbook turned two years old, and I crept over to the dark side of 50 by celebrating my 46th birthday. Both are terrific achievements, to be sure. I love how I'm still getting emails from people buying my cookbook, and baking from it. Your messages are true inspiration, and I save every one. Thank you thank you thank you! Those early days of my book baby's release into the world were a crazy mix of emotions, not unlike turning 46. Gratitude, joy, feeling a little overwhelmed, all come to mind. 46 is a no nonsense number. 

The goals are set and there is plenty of stuff I want to do, places I want to go, food I want to eat. You know, the important stuff.