Author Archives: Andrea

Summer Fresh Tomato Salad Dressing

Posted on by Andrea

summer fresh tomato salad dresssing

Summer’s bounty is coming in fast….I found this recipe and thought it might be a good way to use up those fresh tomatoes that were sitting on the windowsill, as well as a pleasant change from our usual vinaigrette dressing,  This dressing tastes similar to bruschetta, with it’s fresh tomato and garlicy flavour, and the wine vinegar balances it nicely.  Mixed with your salad greens and some cukes and cheese, it’s delightfully refreshing and different on your daily salad…if you eat as much salad as we do, it’s nice to change it up. Give it a try if you’re feeling bored with your usual salad or you want to make something unique for company. It takes a few minutes to prep the tomatoes, but aside from that, easy as can be. (blender required). Continue reading →

Fruity Butter Tarts

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fruit-filled butter tart with walnuts

Just when you thought butter tarts couldn’t taste any more awesome….well, they can. This recipe is inspired by my friend, Marion Ratzinger (who got the recipe from her friend…and she got the idea from her friend and so it goes 😉 ).  This is basically a buttertart recipe with added fruit and nuts. We used fresh seasonal fruit, but they taste great with frozen berries as well. We added walnuts, but feel free to use whatever you like. Customize them to your taste. They are so good! The use of store-bought tart shells makes these a snap, in fact, my 16 year-old daughter made these with no supervision. You can throw these together Continue reading →

Zucchini Pecan Loaf

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zuchini pecan loaf- delish

It’s that time of year again, already! Sheesh, it’s almost August and it seems like it was June about five minutes ago.  Well, the good thing is the availability of  fresh, local produce. One of my daughter’s male friends keeps bringing me giant zucchinis–so I had no choice but to figure out a great recipe for Zucchini Loaf. This one is easy, really tasty and fairly healthy. It makes 2 nice big loaves, everyone likes it, freezes well…and uses up all those zucchinis that everyone keeps dropping off! Continue reading →

Easy Afternoon Platter on the Patio

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Since ‘chacuterie’ (prepared and preserved meats) seems to be the trend these days, this platter of cured meats and old cheeses was just the answer for an afternoon with company on the patio. Try to find a good local  source for some of these delicacies. I love to have some on hand in the fridge — great if company shows up unexpectedly…with a cold beer or nice glass of wine or a spritzer, it’s hospitable and tastes great too.  Put out some mustard, pickles and olives and Bob’s yer uncle. 😉

*For my local readers, these products come from our newest business on Rd. 38 “Seed to Sausage” – no antibiotics/hormones, ethically raised, etc. (amazing breakfast sausage as well). You can sample his products at the Sharbot Lake Farmer’s market (at the beach) on Saturday mornings from 9am-1pm. Continue reading →

French Crêpes

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blueberry ice cream filled crepe with yogurt and berries with lemon zest

ham and swiss filled crepe with mustard sauce

Crêpes are like very thin pancakes that you must handle a little more gently so as not to tear them. The batter is simple, but it needs to ‘rest’ at least an hour after you mix it up. They can be used in a myriad of ways – plain with maple syrup and butter, filled with fruit and cream or even used in savoury applications — ham and asparagus with a hollandaise sauce, chicken and broccoli in a cream sauce – the possibilities are limitless. The crêpes will keep well in the fridge or freezer, stacked with parchement paper in between. Continue reading →