Seafood Paella

This week, I am inspired by peas.  I have a ton of peas from my garden, and on top of that, we visited the Calgary Farmer's Market this week-end and came home with another big bag of peas.  We are pea-rich!

Cocktail Week 8: Cherry Mojitos

I don't know about you, but I loooove cherry season!  I think I've brought a bag home from the grocery store almost every week so far this summer!  So this week for our happy hour cocktail, I was debating:  should I do an Olympic-themed cocktail, or should I do a cherry cocktail?  Cherries won!

Key Lime Whoopie Pies

I have been eying this recipe for a few months now.  I wasn't entirely sure what a 'whoopie pie' is, but today I found out!  Apparently it is an amazing icing concoction surrounded by edible pillows!  These little cookies are a really great summer treat.

As the reviewer on Martha's website mentions, the dough is quite loose even after being refrigerated.  I followed this reviewer's advice to put the dough into a ziplock back, snip the corner, and pipe it out onto the parchment paper, and it worked out great!  The 'cookies' ended up looking round and perfect!

The icing was super easy to make, and amazing.  I am wondering what else I can use this icing on, because it is divine!  Another hit for Martha...I keep thinking I need to do a non-Martha recipe, but it's hard when they all turn out so well!

Upside down garden update: July

I thought it was time to show some recent pictures of my upside down garden.  Back in June, my plants were looking a little rough, and I was worried that some of them wouldn't make it!

As you can see, the upside down zucchini plant had a piddley little stem in June and I was worried that it wouldn't be able to support a plant, let alone zucchinis!  However in the past two weeks, this guy has exploded and it putting out zucchinis!  His stem has quadrupled in size, at least.

James Bond Night: food fit for a spy

As you know (because I won't stop yabbering on about it), Sunday night was James Bond night at our place.  I really went all out for the occasion, serving James Bond-inspired cocktails, and serving a 3-course James Bond-inspired meal.

Appetizer:  Casino Royale Caprese Canapes

The inspiration behind these appetizers was poker chips.  Not sure they actually looked that much like poker chips in the end...maybe if you squint they might look similar!  They were super duper easy to make, I used Melba Toast rounds, put sliced tomatoes and basil from my garden, and topped it with half of a bocconcini.  They were fresh and delicious, and didn't fill us up too much, which was a good thing, because there was more to come!

Cocktail week 7: James Bond Edition: Sour Apple Martinis and Crantinis

This Sunday was our James Bond night; we watched the last of 22 movies, so clearly our cocktail this week had to be a martini.  Now I know James Bond is famous for ordering a vodka martini 'shaken, not stirred', but I'm going to be honest here: who really likes the taste of straight vodka?  Yech!  Instead, I made two slightly more 'girly' martinis.

James Bond Night

Last night was an important night around here...the last James Bond night!  For the past 22 weeks, we have had a tradition of watching a James Bond movie every Sunday night.  We watched them in fairly random order (because after watching 5 or so Sean Connery ones we needed a break from him).  Last night, the last movie to be watched was On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which stars George Lazenby in his only Bond movie.

Check out the James Bond themed cocktails and meal we served with this movie!

I want to share my favorite moments from all the James Bond movies.  Criteria:  it had to be completely unexpected and cheesy!  This is James Bond, people, you don't watch the movies for their realism!

Lemon and Sage Baked Chicken Thighs

One of the best things about having a garden is that it can provide you with inspiration when you have no idea what to cook for dinner.  For example, last night I was inspired by the sage and lemon-thyme growing in my herb garden.  I planned my whole meal around it!  I found a wonderful recipe for incorporating these herbs and went with it.

Strawberry Shortcake

Inspiration for today's recipe: Strawberries!  It is officially strawberry season here in Calgary!  I have been crossing a few things off my list:  we did an 'impromptu road trip' which also involved camping this week-end (that's two things on the list!).  We also attempted to go strawberry picking (also on my list), however the strawberry farm had been picked out of strawberries!  I had to settle for store bought.  Oh well...

Cocktail Week 6: Jalapeno Cilantro Margaritas

This week has been HOT (by our sad Canadian standards), and I have been loving it!  It feels like summer is finally here!  For this week's cocktail, I was in the mood for something fun and different.  This cocktail sounded kind of weird to me and I had to try it!  (I like recipes that sound so weird that I have to try them out).

What's blooming in July

I took a chance this year and planted cosmos seedlings I bought at Rona in my deck planter, and in between each seedling I planted trailing plants, such as lobelia.  It looked pretty weird in May, a little less strange in June, and in July, it looked fantastic! I love the height of the cosmos and the way that the lobelia fill in the lower space. (See top left).  I am also loving how my dianthus are looking these days.  I seem to have bought two different kinds (top right and bottom left).  If only the rabbits would leave them alone in the front yard!  Bottom right is cosmos.

A Feast Fit for a Cowboy (and me)

If you've ever been to Calgary during the Stampede, you know how the city experiences a change during this week.  There are pancake breakfasts, everyone wears western wear (I am one of the few exceptions!), and there is a general feeling of happiness and goodwill.  There are also a lot of drunk cowboys!  Having visited the Stampede earlier in the week, I was feeling a little inspired and wanted to cook something 'cowboy-ey' that may not be 'typical' of Stampede given that it is not dipped in batter and deep fried.

Perfect Peonies

How do I love peonies?  Let me count the ways...

I just wish their blooms lasted longer!  Here are some photos of fresh cut peonies from my garden.  They are almost done for the year.  Sigh.

Cocktail Week 5: Cowboy Cocktails

Here in Calgary it is a fun time of year: the Calgary Stampede is on!  And this year, the Stampede is having it's 100th birthday.  So this week, I thought a cowboy-themed cocktail was in order.

This cocktail combines whiskey, tea, lemonade and 7-up....I'm not so sure a real cowboy would want all the extra fancy stuff, he would probably drink the JD on the rocks, don't you think?  Anyway, this is a fun way to get in the spirit for Stampede.

Calgary weather strikes again

I was just thinking to myself that we hadn't had hail yet this summer, and then BAM!  Mother Nature responded!  It doesn't seem like I've sustained too much damage this year (unlike 2 years ago, see below)

Glazed Lemon Cookies

I love all things lemon once summer hits...lemon meringue pie and of course lemonade...and wanted to make something that required not much time/energy.  I found this recipe and it sounded perfect!

Cocktail Week 4: Raspberry Maple Gin Fizz

Since today is Canada day, I wanted my happy hour cocktail to have a little Canadian flare.  This recipe combines multiple aspects of Canadian patriotism: it is red and white, and is sweetened with maple syrup.  Perfect for celebrating Canada's 145th birthday!