Sushi

My little son who is 7 almost 8 is a HUGE fan of sushi...ask him what he wants to eat at any given time and the answer will ALWAYS be sushi.
It started to get a bit expensive feeding his sushi habit so we started making it at home...it may not look as pretty as the ones you get in restaurants or stores, but "so what". We make the sushi together as a family and have a feast at a fraction of the cost.
My philosophy on cooking, is keep it simple, try new ideas, don't be scared and never follow a recipe to the "T".
Enjoy cooking...let your kids try stuff to, doesn't matter if they make a mess. The lifelong skills they will acquire and the time spent together is worth gold people!!
There, that's what I've got to say today :)

Thai Night

Always looking to cook up exciting, flavorful and tasty dishes.
Mom was coming over for dinner so decided to make some spicy Thai.
Used lots of coconut milk,lemongrass, Thai chili`s, galangal, fresh basil,mint,cilantro and keffir lime leaves....everyone loved it, including the kids.

Locally roasted coffee

Buying local is truly something that I firmly believe in....it`s not always possible, but myself and my family try our best. Be it unpasteurized honey from a local beekeeper, local veggies in the summer, locally made sausages, meats etc.
My latest find through a friend of mine is a guy who roasts coffee out of his garage...amazing coffee!!! Firehaus has many different roasts, have only tried two so far, but I`ll definitely be back for more...espresso next I think :)

Maple cured bacon has been smoked and sliced

My first attempt at curing bacon at home was a huge success.
The bacon turned out extremely well.....will definitely be making it again.
I applied apple wood smoke for about two hours...perfect amount, not too smokey just perfect.
We made BLT's for dinner the other night with homemade oat bread, homemade Dijon mayonnaise and of course bacon. Too bad we had to use winter tomatoes....In August we'll use fresh picked romas......Mmmmm!!

Homemade pasta

Started to make homemade pasta a few weeks ago and it's worked out quite well.
We bought a hand crank made in Italy pasta machine, and it's cranked out some wonderful pasta.
So far, we've made fettuccine, ravioli and spaghetti.
to make the dough I've used a 1:1 ratio of eggs to durham flour...adding a bit of warm water along the way if too crumbly.
looking forward to make many different kinds of pastas and different fillings for ravioli!!

100 Mile Potluck

Had a lot of interesting discussions with my Facebook foodie friends last week...and came up with an idea which I hope pans out. I want to plan a "100 mile potluck" dinner. Everyone makes something using ingredients that they've grown/raised themselves, or purchased from local farmer's markets, butchers or picked from fields.
Think it's a great idea...better start planning!!! Any suggestions/recommendations are welcome.

Mama Mia Pizza

Homemade pizza is so darn easy, and a heck of a lot cheaper than ordering in.
If you don't feel comfortable making dough, there are some options, you can buy a frozen ball of dough readily available at your local grocery store or you can head over after work to the local mom and pop pizzeria and buy some dough from them or you can just get your hands dirty and make the dough at home.
Choose whatever toppings you like (be creative)....grilled peppers, leftover chicken, asparagus, feta, anchovies, home cured bacon, grilled fennel..the possibilities are endless.
use homemade or canned sauce and top with your fav cheese.....We use Saputo mozzarella for best results....enjoy

Pulled Pork

One of my Mother's favorite shows on TV is Diners,Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.
She's was hounding me for quite a while for me to make her some pulled pork sandwiches.
As luck would have it Canadian Tire had a half price sale on a electric/digital smoker, so off I went and bought it.
Purchased two 8 lb. pork butts from my local butcher, seasoned with a nice homemade rub and put them on the smoker for about 11 hours.
The meat was soooo tender with a lovely bark on the outside.
The pulled pork sandwiches were absolutely delicious, especially with the homemade Jack Daniels BBQ sauce...Yummy....Guy Fieri would be proud :)

Makin' Bacon

Decided to make some home cured maple bacon this weekend.
I went to the local butcher and purchased 11 kg of fresh pork belly and then went to the sugarbush near our home to buy a litre of amber maple syrup for the cure.
The bellies are currently in the fridge for about a 7 day cure...then I plan on smoking them with apple wood next weekend. Can't wait to try the first few slices...Mmmm.
I'm sure they'll make a nice present for family/friends/neighbors :)