The solution for the giant zucchini!

So anyone who has ever taken a stab at vegetable gardening has grown a giant zucchini. I absolutely love beautiful gardens and fresh homegrown produce, but truth be told I am a horrible gardener. I just don't have the patience for it, love to plant hate to weed! I spend more time in my yard then anyone else I know, but really my garden needs some work! This year I grew tomatoes, carrots and beets and didn't grow the giant zucchini of years pass. But I do have two great recipes to share. The other to follow soon!

These we have been selling in the store the past two weeks and they have been well received.

Zucchini Fritters with Goat's Cheese and Fresh Mint

1 large garden varitey zucchini, grated
1/2 cup all pupose flour
1/2 cup crumbled goats cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

Grate the zucchini and place in a colander, salt and allow to sit for 20 mins. Squeeze out all moisture and toss with flour. Mix in egg and then gently incorporate goats cheese and fresh mint.

Bring a pan with 1" of oil to a moderate temperature. Scoop out fritters in either appy size or entree and size and pan fry until golden on both sides. Bite size will be ready to serve but the larger size may need to be packed until cooked through.

Serve with plain yogurt.

Bastilla, Moroccan Chicken Pie

I have been wanting to try out this recipe for awhile as I love Moroccan flavours. The sassy mix of sweet and hot. The mix of cinnamon, curry spices and chili flakes is fantastic. Traditionally it calls for prunes and green olives but I had dates handy and was thrilled with the outcome. They are available for sale at the store and for those of you who want to be adventurous here is the recipe.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN PIE
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp chili flakes, to taste
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp good quality Madras Curry powder
1 tsp fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp grated lemon zest
10 cooked chicken thighs, shredded
½ cup pitted dates, chopped
1/4 cup spicy green olives, diced
1/2 cup chicken stock
juice of ½ lemon
Coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp whole toasted almonds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter
8 sheets phyllo
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (30 ml)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush a 10-inch pie dish with some melted butter.
In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili, cinnamon stick, curry powder, ginger, lemon zest and chicken and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the dates, olives, stock, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, without stirring, for 10 minutes. Remove lid and simmer for a further 5 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, pulse icing sugar, cinnamon and almonds in food processor until coarsely chopped.

Keep remaining phyllo under damp tea towel. One sheet at a time brush phyllo with butter. Lay in the middle of pie dish allowing excess phyllo to hang over edge. Repeat with 4 more sheets of phyllo, changing the angle slightly each time.

Stir beaten egg and coriander into chicken mixture. Spoon chicken mixture into prepared pie dish. Fold the phyllo pieces that are hanging over the edge of the pie dish, one at a time into middle of pie, sprinkling some of the almond mixture between each layer.
Butter 1 piece of phyllo and sprinkle with some of the almond mixture. Place over filling and tuck in any overhang. Repeat with remaining phyllo and almond mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes until top is browned and crisp. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Square Watermelon? Really?

Personally I thought the watermelon was perfect on its own, getting rid of the seeds was great but do we really need to change it to a square and would you be willing to pay 10 times the price for that! Once sliced who would know the difference anyways!


But for those "round" watermelon lovers here is a simple and tasty hors d'oeuvre.


1 small watermelon rind removed and cut into 1" squares. Top with a small piece of feta, 1/2 kalamata olive, sprig of mint, a splash of olive oil and some cracked pepper. Some simple and tasty, assemble just before serving as the salt will pull the water out of the melon.

What to cook when camping

So I am one of those personalities that just never sits still. I love my home but I am challenged to relax there. There are always things that need to be done, so to unwind I love to camp and go to cabins for a weekend, minibreaks! Find a place in nature to relax, cook some interesting meals, maybe read a book or magazine and hang with my daughter.

So when traveling with a cooler these are a few things I keep in mind.

• Marinate any meats ahead of time, bring frozen if possible as it will act as an extra ice pack.
• Bring premade salads: potato, rice or pasta that can we just added to the meal.
• Bring a grill for grilling meats and veggies
• For the first night I always bring frozen meat sauce and spaghetti noodles and garlic bread when you are allowed a campfire. A really simple meal for when you arrive. The sauce can be simmering and the water coming to a boil while you set up your tent!
• things I pack in my cooler: yogurt, fruit, milk, marinated meat, chicken breast, spaghetti sauce, sliced meats and cheese, condiments, salad fixings and corn on the cob.
• Another great meal is curried chicken for camping. Just bring some chicken breast, grab a jar of pataks tikka masala, some basmati rice and you are done. Just simmer the sauce and add the raw chopped chicken, cook a further 20 mins and camping is done curry style!

I love a great burger but really camping can be more than hot dogs, burgers and canned baked beans. Just plan your meals ahead, prep and marinate items and then when you arrive you can spend more time in the lake and less time in front of the camp stove. But never compromise on good food just because you are camping!

Now for the wine! A few suggestions for camping. With the curry I would suggest the Oak Bay Reisling from the Okanagon, very yummy and reasonable. For the spaghetti try the Tinhorn Creek Cab Franc or Castillo de Almansa Reserva 2005 from Italy.