Two bedroom house with studio space

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This is my first completely non-related food or drink post since I started this blog, so you will have to forgive me for stepping outside of the lines just this once.

I have a 2 bedroom house with a basement studio space that is coming available for mid August or September 1st. It is a great house in the Leslieville, Little India, Upper Beaches corridor. It doesn't really fall into either neighbourhood but is surrounded by all 3, which means you are walking distance to some pretty fantastic shops, restaurants, farmers markets, public transportation and the beach! The rent is $2200 plus utilities for the entire house including the studio space

The amenities are as follows:

- hardwood floors throughout

- laundry facilities

- dishwasher

- beloved airconditioning :)

- one 4pc bath with clawfoot tub

- one 3 pc bath

- fenced and completely private backyard

- basement studio space with walkout

- cathedral ceiling in the master bedroom

 

Why don't I quit talking and just show some pictures, right?

 

If you are interested drop me a line at misscackles@gmail.com

Lavender ice cubes

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I have been on vacation this last week and it has been amazing. Gorgeous weather and not a lot of commitments or plans. Everyday we just kind of woke up and made a plan from there. Some of the week was spent in the garden; staking the tomatoes, weeding, replanting certain items we have already eaten, etc.

One of the other things that I spent some of my time doing and I am not ashamed to admit it, was trying different recipes with the lavender that is currently in bloom. I plan on drying some of it, but the rest just simply can not go to waste. I have tried the lavender lemonade, which was refreshing and tasty...but I wanted something that would be ready at a moment's notice so I decided to make some lavender ice cubes.

Lavender Ice Cubes

1/4 cup fresh lavender flowers

2 cups water

5 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp lemon juice

 

Place the lavender flowers, the sugar and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes or longer depending on how strong you want the lavender flavour to be. Strain the liquid and remove the flowers and discard. Add the lemon juice to the liquid and stir.

Pour liquid into ice cube trays and freeze.

These ice cubes taste great added to sparkling or still water or even a gin and tonic :)

Scarborough Sangria

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I have served this drink over the past 2 summers and almost every single person that has tried it has quite honestly loved it and most have ended up asking for the recipe and serving it themselves. Not a lie.

If you plan on having friends over for a bbq or up to the cottage or over to the pool for an afternoon of splashing and relaxing and you want to serve a refreshing beverage, this could possibly be the drink of your summer.

There are a couple of fantastic things about this drink and I will list them here in no particular order. It takes barely any time at all to make it. You make it by the pitcher, not by the glass (however you could downsize the recipe and make a glass just for yourself if you wanted), it won't break  the bank and it tastes delicious.

I have called it Scarborough Sangria.

1 bottle or inexpensive red wine (you choose whether that is a Malbec, a Shiraz a Cab Sauv)

1 L bottle of Fresca

Chopped strawberries and grapes (totally and completely optional)

Ice

Now here come the instructions though you almost don't need them. Open the bottle of wine and pour into a pitcher, add about half of the bottle of fresca, throw in the fruit and the ice and serve.

May this become the drink of your summer!

Quick Pickled Onion

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I adore pickled onion and let's be honest you don't always have the time to soak them in brine for a week, pickle them and let them sit for 6-8 weeks before you enjoy them. Sometimes you want instant satisfaction. So if you are ever craving pickled onion and want to be able to enjoy within the hour, this recipe is perfect for you.

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup white wine

3 tbsp white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

one red onion finely slices

Bring vinegar, wine, sugar and salt to a boil in a pan. Place the sliced onion in a jar and add brine. Cover for 20 minutes and then serve.


Serve them on a burger, taco, in a salad, etc. You will find no shortage of uses. ENJOY!

The last jar of peaches

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Today I did it. I broke down and opened the last jar of clingstone peaches that I preserved last summer. Canned peaches are up there on my list of favourites and each year when I get down to the last jar a small sense of panic begins to settle in. Because once it is gone I know I will taste nothing like it again until peaches are back in season.

And this year, with all of the talk about what a horrible season it is going to be for peaches, plums and all other soft skinned fruits, I have wanted to hoard that last jar.

But this morning I caved. It is going to be in the 30's today. I am on vacation at the end of this day for the next 10 days and I was feeling like I needed to start this day off right.

I would like to introduce you to the star of my breakfast....

Lavender in bloom

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I am a gin n' tonic girl if you must know. I enjoy this bitter refreshing drink quite a lot and if asked if I want an adult beverage it would always be my first choice. And then something strange happens to be about this time of year and I start to crave fruity drinks. Not crazy fruity drinks with umbrella's in them, but I still want something with just a slight taste of summer in them. Last night I decided to make rhubarb syrup. I took 2 cups of sliced rhubarb, one cup of sugar and one cup of water and simmered over high heat for about 20 minutes and then strained and added a touch of this syrup to some gin, lime and tonic. It was pretty tasty.

Today, when I got home from work I walked out to my backyard to check on the garden. The arugula, beans and peas are all coming up nicely which makes me happy. Then I glanced to my left and noticed that my gigantic lavender bush (is it a bush really? I don't know, but just roll with me on this one) and noticed that all of it's flowers are in bloom. This got me to thinking. What could I make with lavender.

 

After about 30 minutes of googling I settled on these as the top 3 with a 4th that is TOTALLY not a drink but sounded so good I had to share.

I will try these over the summer and if you comment on this post and perhaps vote for the one you think I should try first I may even share with you.

 

Lavender syrup

I love the idea of adding a splash of this to a glass of champagne or to cookie dough or ice cream. It seems so versatile and makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

 

Lavender Haze

A nice iced lavender drink on a day where it was close to +40 sounds about right

 

Lavender Ghost

This recipe had me at 'fancy version of gin sour'

 

Rhubarb fool with Lavender Cream

I am not going to say anything about this one...just read it and you will know why I chose it.

Let's Get Pickled Or Jam Together

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I have heard from several people that they have always wanted to learn how to make jam or pickles, some have even told me that they find the process intimidating. It always seems strange to me because I come from a family with a mom who always made home made jam, an aunt who makes the best pickled onions I have ever tasted, a sister who makes her own tomato sauce each year and another sister who can turn around a batch of jam while roasting a turkey or running outside to help deliver a cow :). I guess you could say in my family preserving is second nature.

So I am pretty excited that on Monday, June 25th from 6-9pm I will be teaching a preserving class in conjunction with Withrow Park Farmer's Market. This year Withrow Market is offering up From Scratch Cooking Workshops so my preserving class will be the first in a series of great classes throughout the summer.

The class costs $45 and that includes materials and ingredients which are guaranteed to be fresh as we will be getting them from the market on the Saturday before the class from one of the many farmer's who bring their gorgeous product to market. Pre-registration and a 50% non-refundable deposit are required and if you are interested in joining the class you can reach out to Roberta at info@withrowpark.ca.

I hope to see some friendly faces in the crowd but I am equally as excited to see some new faces and just have the chance to talk preserving with people who share the interest.

 

Raspberry Jalapeno Jam

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The truth is, I love to pick raspberries. I have done it almost every summer of my life. From my youth when I used to go out into my Nona's garden and pick bucket full after bucket full of fresh ripe berries to my adult life where I annually go to Whittamore Farm and once again pick bucket after bucket full. I make jam (of course) but I also freeze a lot of berries so that throughout the long, cold winter I can go to my deep freeze whenever I feel like a burst of summer and pull out a bag of berries I froze in the summer and make freezer jam or simply defrost and stir into a bowl of yogourt.

I have been hoarding my last bag of berries, almost afraid to eat them until berry season was so close that I knew it wouldn't be long before I could refresh my 'fix'. Tonight I finally broke down and decided it was time to do something with the last bag that has been taunting me every time I opened my deep freeze over the last few weeks.

At the start of the year I had a wonderful conversation with a woman named Barb, or Mrs V Preserves as she is also known. She was giving me some tips on where to get pectin in bulk and what type of jar she uses for her preserves and what she has found sells well for her at the markets she attends. She mentioned Raspberry Jalapeno Jam and to be honest that has been stuck in my brain like a burr ever since our conversation. But there has always been something more pressing in season that I was making.

Well tonight, that bag of berries screamed out "Mix me with Jalapeno's pretty please". I was powerless to resist.

What you are looking at here is my very last bag of frozen fresh raspberries from last summer. It is hard to admit that I have no more, but it is made easier by the fact that I know it won't be long before I am once again in the raspberry patch breathing in that delicious scent of fresh berries, picking ripe berries and placing them in my basket. Getting lost in the simplicity and repitition of the process and glowing from the inside out.

I adapted my favourite raspberry jam recipe to make this and the end result is something that I never quite expected. You still get the sweetness of the berries but it ends with a heat that dances across your tongue. I picture it with a sharp cheddar. In fact the entire time I was making it I was imagining it with cheese. Let's be honest, I imagine almost every savoury jam with cheese, it is a weakness I am not ashamed to admit. But because of that, I chose to use slightly less sugar so the consistency of the final product will be slightly runnier than my usual somewhat firm raspberry jam.

Raspberry Jalapeno Jam (makes 3-250ml jars)

Wash and prepare your jars and warm your lids accordingly.

3 cups frozen or fresh raspberries

2 jalapenos

2 cups sugar

Cut the jalapeno's in half and wrap them in cheesecloth seeds and all. Set aside

Pour the berries into your pot and place over medium heat and mash frantically (you don't have to get quite that into it, but I get some sort of strange enjoyment over beating up my raspberries :) ) until liquified. This helps release the natural pectins in the seeds and eliminates the need for pectin in your jam.

Add the jalapenos wrapped in cheesecloth and simmer over low heat for approximately 20 minutes. Remove jalapenos from the liquified berries and remove from the cloth. Cut the seeds out of 2 halves and place the jalapeno back into the pot. Discard the second jalapeno.

Add the 2 cups of sugar and stir until the sugar completely dissolves and then increase the heat to medium high and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. As soon as the fruit begin to foam, remove the jalapenos and skim off the foam. Once the jam has reached the desired consistency remove from heat, ladle into hot jars and seal with lids. Place jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

This Saturday at Withrow Market you can guarantee that I will be buying some sharp cheddar cheese so I can try my new jam!

The Butcher Shop

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Three years ago when my husband and I bought our house east of downtown Toronto we were both nervous about what it meant for us as far as good food was concerned. We were moving from an up and coming neighbourhood in Toronto (Leslieville) out into an area we didn't really know (Guildwood) and were used to a variety of great butcher shops, cheese shops, olive stores, etc. What would Guildwood have for foodie's like us?

It didn't take us long to discover The Butcher Shop. Located in a strip mall on the south west corner or Kingston Road and Markham, the first time we entered was with trepidation. But were we ever pleasantly surprised. It was a bustle of activity with friendly staff calling people by name. I loved it immediately. In the past 3 years we have made many a trip to the Butcher Shop. It has by far the best bacon I have ever tasted. Amazing sausages, great frozen chicken pot pies, etc.

I am excited to announce that on Friday, June 15th I will be spending the day sampling an assortment of my jams and pickles at The Butcher Shop. If you are in the neighbourhood come on by and give them a taste.

My spicy zucchini relish would be fantastic on a kobe beef burger or a hot italian sausage. My spicy pickled green beans or carrots will taste great with the cold beer you have while you bbq the delicious t-bone you pick up and my ploughman's pickle is a great addition to the cheese plate you will serve the friends you have up to the cottage :)