But wait, he's a butcher, no?

I know, I know...years later she reappears!
Well, I have some pretty delicious stuff to discuss today, so it may be worth it.

The butcher and I have been trying to make fish. We have made seared tuna, which was amazing! We make shrimps  and scallops all the time - because that is the fish that he was OK with at the beginning. The other fish, I was told, was out of the running at the time because (and I could not make this up if I tried) it was "too fishy"...

But- it's gotten better! One of my all-time favorite brunch foods is bagels and lox - is there anything better?

I have recently found that I love any fish when it's smoked, not just salmon!

We made this salad a while back with some smoked trout that we found at the Jean Talon market, it was as fresh as it gets!

Excited, we went home to make an AMAZING salad that you should all try! I promise, even if you're iffy on fish this salad will be a hit!

What you will need:

2 smoked trout filets
1 bag of fresh mesclun greens
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 cup of fresh Feta
1 english cucumber
Lemon juice (fresh or other)
Capers

Prepare the salad as usual.
Add the crumbled smoked trout
Cube the feta and add
Squeeze fresh lemon juice on the whole bowl  until everything is lightly covered
Mix the salad
Add the capers (to taste)
Add cracked black pepper

You will notice I did not add salt nor vinegar, the fish and feta are quite salty and you will not need the extra kick of flavour.
The lemon juice and pepper adds balance.
I would say you could try an arugula with this, the peppery leaves will balance nicely with the saltier tones.

Now...grab a fork and enjoy! Delicious!!

Spring Salad

Alright, so it's happened. I have had to call it quits with meat for a while. Luckily, the butcher is super supportive and on board...what a catch he is!
(ha! inadvertant pun!)

In any case, here is the latest in our meat-free adventure!



Spring Salad with udon noodles

2 packs of udon noodles (delicious and lower in carbs)
A dozen shrimp (shells removed and cleaned)
A bushel of asparagus
1 1/2 cups of snow peas
1/4 cucumber, julienned
Salt
Pepper
Shallot paste (you can use real if you don't have)
Chili paste (any hot sauce you have will work)
Rice Wine Vinegar
1/4 tbsp of brown sugar

(I used the same pot of boiling water for the noodles & the veggies)
Blanche both the asparagus & snow peas
Let them stay cool in the fridge while you cook the noodles & the shrimp
Place the noodles in the boiling water, let sit for 4 minutes while stirring to prevent from sticking.
Once the noodles are done, drain them in cold water and let them rest in the fridge with the veggies.
In a small sauce pan, heat the shallot & chili pastes
Add the shrimp and cook until done (pink with upturned edges)

Dressing:
With the shrimp & paste remnants mix them into a bowl with about 1/4cup rice wine vinegar.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
If too tart, which I found it to be, add 1/4tbsp brown sugar to the dressing.

Once the dressing is done, mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and top with the julienned cucumber.

So fresh and tasty! A perfect spring salad!

A feast!

Hello my lovelies!
It has been a very long time since I posted anything, and I really do apologize.
I would love to tell you that the butcher and I have been travelling the world, and there simply hasn't been any time, but that is not the case.
In fact, we've been apart in 2011 more than we've been together. I have been travelling (only within Canada, sigh...).
And that, I can tell you, is not a source of much joy! However, it does mean that when I am home we indulge perhaps a little more than we should...
One of these instances would be when we invited a couple of friends over, and we had wine, they brought wine...in short, it was a night to remember (albeit somewhat hazily...).

In any case, we started the night with just some nibbles on the table for everyone to pick at...



Some of the butcher's favorites were in the mix:

A nice salami, some locally-made sausage - one brined in dark beer, the other with blue cheese in it.


Mozzarella di Buffala with a good olive oil and an aged balsamic.


And of course...



Prosciutto di Parma

Oh, there was more! Much more but, I will save the rest for another post. I think for now you're all as full as we were after just this portion of the feast!

Coming up, the best chicken wings you'll ever eat and a dessert pizza- yes, it's a dessert and it is DEEEElicious.