Grilled Portabella Mushroom Salad with Halloumi and Quinoa

Did you greet the arrival of summer with a great big grin like I did?  Oh, what a feeling!  Things have been bonkers busy around here for the month of June.  My mom came to visit for a few days, then I was consumed with working on the first round of edits for my cookbook - and now I'm on to round two.  With not much time on my hands, meals have been quick and simple, and that's another reason I love this time of year so very much - you can throw stuff on the grill and dinner is essentially done.  Take this salad I made for the fine folks over at Mushrooms Canada.  I grilled some meaty portabella mushrooms and thick slices of halloumi cheese, which I then served over a mixture of quinoa, arugula and plenty of herbs from my kitchen garden.  The result was a delicious, healthy and satisfying summer salad.  For the recipe, head to the Mushrooms Canada blog.  Enjoy these days, friends.  I'll be back soon, once the edits are done and I have just a little more time on my hands.   Until then, eat all the ice cream and wish on the shooting stars.

Warm Mushroom, Bacon & Lentil Salad

This summer is already memorable for so many reasons - many of which I'll delve into later this month - but one thing that stands out already for me is the HEAT.  Oh man.  It's been so hot in Saskatchewan.  And dry.  I heard someone say that it rained more in Vegas than in Sask last month.  Yes, that dry.  So, when it's super hot the last thing I want to do is turn my oven on - I don't have A/C in my house, you see.  I make a lot of big, simple, creative salads like the one I'm featuring over on the Mushrooms Canada Blog.  It has all of my favourite things - mushrooms (of course!), bacon, lentils, arugula, garden fresh tomatoes and a fried egg.  Makes a killer light lunch or supper, or even a hearty breakfast.  Go grab the recipe here!

Go Green: Pesto Three Ways

Pesto is one of the most versatile sauces you can make in your kitchen, and with the plethora of lovely green leafy things hitting your garden and farmer's market right now, you don't have to limit yourself to making it with the usual basil, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil.  My recent article over at Culinaire Magazine (pg . 24-25) is all about pesto and ways to switch it up.  Like with arugula and pumpkin seeds!  Slather it on roasted asparagus and hot damn you've got a good thing going. 

Grilled Cheese with Apples, Arugula & Fig Jam

Oh goodness, I've been gone far too long.  We really need to catch up, don't we?  First off I'm happy to report that the foot is healing nicely; just a week or so longer in the sexy walking boot then I should be back to "normal" walking.  Cross your fingers.  This also means I can ditch the crutches and go back to work in a limited capacity.  Last week I went back for four days and it was great; good to get back into the rhythm of things again, though I'm still taking it easy.  Plus I needed a little more interaction with humans than felines, if you know what I'm sayin'.  Speaking of felines, I adopted another one, making me an official member of clan cat lady, or cat woman, as I like to call it.  My neighborhood is chock-full of strays at any given moment and there must be some secret code among them that says "hey, go to her house, she'll feed you and if you're super cute she'll take you in."  A couple of weeks ago there was a wee grey kitten among the bunch.  Tiny, adorable and in good shape, he was hanging around the yard, making his cuteness known.   I didn't have the heart to let him suffer through the cold nights, plus my fat orange guy already loved him to bits.  So a trip to the vet and a clean bill of health means he's now snug as a bug in my house, wreaking havoc like kittens usually do - climbing up trees and refusing to come down unless you open 8 cans of cat food and call their name in all sorts of sing songy ways. whilst cursing under your breath.  And then there is the constant counter jumping - I even caught him lapping up a bowl of Sriracha mayo while my back was turned for 2 seconds.  Apparently he liked it.  But these are the small things; he gives good cuddle and makes me laugh all the time.  He must have known I saved his life because he follows me everywhere.  In fact he's curled up beside me now as I type this.  I call him Rocky. 

But enough cat talk!  (The dog people probably already dozed off.)  In between adopting kittens and shuffling around the house, I made a sandwich.  A really great sandwich.  And I made it a lot.  And I would have told you about it sooner, except my computer was in the computer fixing place for 8 days.  You know when they say they'll have it back in 4?  Yeah, that.  But like most things, this is worth the wait.

Grilled cheese is the best comfort food.  Raise your hand if you love crispy, cheesy bread.  Seeing as these are the two most important ingredients, it's key to use the best you can find.  Good sourdough from your favourite bakery will suffice, as will a sharp, aged white cheddar, or any other cheese that packs a decent punch.  I sliced crisp, sweet apples and layered them in once I had buttered and broiled the bread in all of its cheesy glory.  A slather of fig jam and garnish of peppery arugula bring this into grown up grilled cheese territory.  Remember that other grilled cheese with fig jam?  Yeah, this is just as good.  Bacon lovers, yeah, I'm looking at you, feel free to add a few crispy slices if you like.  Amen.  Now you'll have to excuse me while I get the kitten off the bookshelf.  He's eating the plants again.  Oy.
 

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Apples, Arugula and Fig Jam

4 thick slices of fresh sourdough bread
4 tbsp butter
12 slices aged, white cheddar
10 thin apple slices
2 tbsp fig jam
2 handfuls of arugula

Butter the bread on both sides.  Fry all slices in a large pan over medium high heat, flipping over and frying the other side as well, just until golden.  
Remove bread from heat and place slices on a bakesheet.   Divide cheese among the slices.  Place under broiler and broil until melted and golden.  Remove from oven.  Put apple slices on 2 sides, dollop fig jam on the other two.  Put a handful of arugula on top of the apples and top with the fig jam cheese slice.  Cut in half.  Eat.  Makes 2 sandwiches.  Adapted from Flourishing Foodie

Seriously.  How could I say no to that face?  And those paws!

Win! Warm Lentil, Bacon & Asparagus Salad with Fried Eggs

This is a sponsored post, but there is no shortage of love for lentils on these pages.  And you guys know me - I wouldn't tell you about something unless I really was in love with it.  So here we go!  

First things first.  May is Love your Lentils month (but I'm crazy about them the whole entire year - just scroll through my recipe index and you'll find the love) and to help celebrate Canadian Lentils has created a really fantastic contest.  Here's the part where I tell you about the good stuff:  the grand prize is a trip for 2 to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (my hometown!) and the heart and soul of the world's lentil production.  We love our lentils here.  Not only will you get to hang out in my beautiful city, but also take a tour with famous chef Michael Smith, stay in a posh hotel by the South Saskatchewan River for 3 nights, and you get $500 to spend on fun stuff while here.  All you have to do is enter your lentil recipe - you can be a blogger or a home cook - and just by voting you have a chance to WIN.  I won't bother you with all of the particulars - you can read them here.  But I urge you to enter, and while you're there, throw a vote my way too, because I really, really want to stay in that hotel (and meeting Michael Smith wouldn't be too shabby either.  Oh, and the cash, yeah, the cash, that would be nice.  And I've got a hankering to tour a farmer's field like nobody's business.)  So go vote!  Pretty pretty please and thank you.