Preserving!

With the abundance of beautiful ripe fruits and vegetables seems to come the overwhelming need (or, sometimes, guilty conscience) to preserve said produce and save it from over-ripening and being destined for the garbage bin... Couple that general urge (or guilt) with two super-preservers (yep... I mean you, Heather and Amanda) and this wannafoodie got her butt kicked thoroughly into preserving gear.

My first foray into preserving was last summer with my good friend Heather. She and her husband turned their thumbs green and yielded a corner garden full of lovely things. In particular, there was a great abundance of green beans. And Heather and I, being Heather and I, thought immediately of amazing spicy pickled beans to adorn our caesars. The whole escapade was fraught with squeals of uncertainty, splashes of vinegar and several large jars of (pickling) beans.

This year, I was regaled with tales of Heather's preserving (including some incredible tasting apple butter) and Amanda's days of preserving her and her boyfriend's produce. I was inspired. And, thus, I got to work.

Pictured (from left to right): Hibiscus Syrup, Carrot Jam, Bread and Butter Pickles, Corn Relish, Spiced Golden Plum Jam, Peach and Onion Chutney, Spicy Pickled Beans, Dill Pickles, Spicy Dill Pickes, Silk Road Dill Pickles, Pickled Carrots.

No Knead Bread

Despite the warm temperatures and general reluctance to turn on the oven at any point, I had issued a challenge to myself... I was going to bake all of the bread for my household. Or, at the very least, I would bake the majority of the bread required (or desired) for myself, boyfriend and bread-loving cat, Wally.

I have sung the praises of my Momma and her intuitive bread making abilities. I too wanted to create wonderful, yeasty presents and be revered by all who taste it. hahah. Well, maybe that is a bit lofty. That said, I truly do want to hone this skill and become one of those people who can manipulate four simple ingredients (and sometimes a few more) into a wonderfully satisfying, tastes like home, loaf of happy.

As a starting point, I have looked to build my confidence with Jim Lahey's (Sullivan Street Bakery) No Knead Bread. I kneaded (hahaha) some wins before I embarked on some more challenging (or even seemingly challenging) loaves. This was a great starting place.

Truffled Pizza

Ever since the slow rise pizza dough lesson at Eat Alberta, pizza seems to be in weekly rotation. It's just such a fantastic canvas for nearly any ingredient or those fantastic clean-out-the-fridge end of week meals.

If you like earthy, rich flavours (and mushrooms, obviously) then you will enjoy this pizza. If you're not a big fan, then I wouldn't bother. I find that truffles and those intense mushroom-y flavours are not for the faint of heart.

Eat Alberta 2011: Slow Rise Pizza Dough

I was very excited to secure a spot in Yann Chartrand's slow rise pizza dough making class at Eat Alberta this year. Yann is a master breadmaker and owner of Treestone Bakery in Edmonton, so he would be an ideal person to teach us to master our own breads or, in this case, pizza doughs. And really... who doesn't love pizza?!

We were breaking the rules and making this dough in our one hour session but were able to take our little dough balls home and give them a bit more time and kneading to bring them through a roughly three day fermentation process. (If we could wait that long...)

Working in the world of bread, often means that the cups and teaspoons need to be set aside... ratios and weights govern your task here. Your flour can be heavier and densier, requiring less to meet a 300g portion in your recipe. Or conversely, your salt could be lighter... If you've ever embarked on bread or pizza dough making with cups and measures and been disappointed with your result, this could be one of the reasons. Now, I don't have a fancy electric scale, but I do use a kitchen scale... and I haven't been disappointed with my results yet. I urge you to grab a kitchen scale (could be a mere $15) when you're next out and about. It will be worth it.

Aperol Spritz

Picture this: You're in an old piazza in Northern Italy. The sun is shining and a gentle breeze is blowing... stirring the air slightly but not disrupting the scene. Waves of beautiful people move through the piazza and their conversations twirl around you like ribbons, dancing over your skin and fading into the distance. Your companion approaches the bar and points at a striking and vibrantly orange-hued beverage spotted in the hand of one of those beautiful people. "Two, please."

As romantic and ridiculously dramatic as that scene may seem to you, it felt just that romantic and ridiculously dramatic to me when I was in Italy last... though instead of two, the order was somewhere in the forties. hahah. We had a wonderful group together to celebrate the wedding of a fantastic couple (and very dear friend of mine).

This was our spritz after a long day of moving... 

no ice, couldn't find the oranges,

but we managed to chill the Prosecco.

It was divine.

Making these spritzes at home was one way to transport myself back to those special days in Northern Italy and -in particular- Verona, without the costly airline ticket. And with the long overdue (enter: cheers of "finally!") arrival of summer, I can think of no better way to celebrate it than with a spritz!