Grilled Plums & Nectarines

How about THIS for a summery side dish? Grilled plums and nectarines. Good good good. Slightly charred and smoky sweet, they made a great accompaniment to the chicken and red chard we ate them with.

Prep took 2 minutes, grilling took maybe 8, so this is definitely a quick and easy treat for a hot summer night.

Grilled Plums & Nectarines

Ingredients
2 plums, quartered
2 nectarines, quarterd
2 tbsp canola oil
fresh ground black pepper

Directions
1. Toss cut fruit with oil and pepper a few minutes before grilling

2. Carefully arrange fruit on a VERY CLEAN grill and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until a bit mushy looking

 

AND... Paul and I had a house guest this evening. Meet Rocky! She lives with my neighbours, and runs our 'hood with claws of iron. Sometimes she wanders into our house instead of her own house, but that's because she's the King of our street...and no one you'd ever want to mess with!

   

Steak Sandwich

I don't know how you make your sandwich, but I make mine on garlic cheese bread and with balsamic mushrooms and onions. You really can't go wrong. 

First, I bake garlic bread for about 12 minutes. Then pull it out, break open the bag and make sure the butter is spread around well. Top the bread with parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, and oregano. Broil on low for a few minutes, until the cheese melts and the top of the bread is slightly browned.

Meanwhile, grill your steak to whatever grade you like. I prefer medium-rare. Take the steak off the BBQ and wrap in foil while you prepare the rest of the well.

Around the same time I start the bread, I'm sauteing some white onion and mushrooms. Once they are nice and tender and slightly caramelized, toss in about a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar and cook until reduced.

Slice up your steak, arrange it on the garlic bread (I use about a quarter per person) and top with your balsamic onions and mushrooms.

 

Marinated Bacon-wrapped Scallops

These were really good. Nothing tastes better than something wrapped in bacon.

Marinated Bacon-wrapped Scallops

Ingredients
8 fresh scallops
8 pieces of bacon
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
8 tooth picks

Directions
1. Mix maple syrup, soy and dijon. Marinate scallops for an hour in the fridge.

2. Heat oven to 350 F. Lay strips of bacon flat on baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. The bacon should still be pliable. 


3. Wrap scallops in bacon and secure with a toothpick. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes. 


4. Allow to cool, and then dive in!

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage and Vegetable Sauce

I miss pasta. I really do. Unfortunately, Paul won't eat it so there isn't much point in making it for dinner. Sure, I can have it out at a restaurant if I want to, but there are usually so many other delicious things on a menu that pasta isn't ever what I choose. 

I got the idea somewhere to make spaghetti sauce.. which, get this, turns out like spaghetti when you cook it. So I got Paul to roast the squash while I was on my way home from work and then whipped up some home made pasta sauce when I got home. Turned out really well! The squash is a lot crunchier than pasta and I don't feel like a fat sack after eating a pile of it, so all in all, I'd say its a success.

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage and Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, roasted and shredded with a fork
4 Italian sausages, grilled 
1 zucchini, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
12 green beans, snapped in half
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes


Directions
1. Heat large pot to medium-hot. Sautee onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil

2. Throw in vegetables, sautee until tender crisp. Maybe 6 minutes.


3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato puree and seasonings


4. Simmer for 45 minutes on LOW HEAT. If your heat is high, your veggies will get soggy

5. Serve on top of spaghetti squash and eat like pasta

Steak Salad

Dear Readers,

So sorry I've forsaken you again. I just haven't been cooking anything lately. Thankfully, Paul is there to pick up where I left off, so I haven't been starving.

The other day we had steak salad. It went a little something like this: spinach, cherry tomato, bacon, red onion, green beans, blue cheese, steak and sauteed mushrooms. It was absolutely delicious.

 

I haven't forgotten you.

Dear Readers,

I promise I haven't forgotten you. I honestly haven't cooked anything all week. Hopefully this will change on the weekend.

Love,
Kim

Tomato Peach Chutney

Today is an experimental sort of day. I took ground pork out of the freezer this morning intending to make Curry Pork Burgers. I have made these before and follow the recipe in that link pretty much to the letter. I don't usually make the spicy ketchup, though it's not bad. Usually I make a 'tandoori bbq-sauce' to baste the burgers with on the grill. I'm using quotes around that term because it's basically just tandoori paste and ketchup. 

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to top the burgers with a chutney. I found a recipe for tomato peach chutney, which I THOUGHT I followed, but I just discovered I used cumin instead of curry powder. I think I'll refer to this as a fusion-style chutney, where the mysteriously fragrant sauces of India meet a good old fashioned Mexican salsa. It's actually not that bad. It sort of tastes like chutney, but not exactly. I'm going to post the recipe as I made it, but feel free to substitute curry powder for cumin if you're into a more standard chutney. 


If you made large quantities of this, you could can it. I only made a small amount because I fear canning, as I fear diseases such as botulism.

This chutney would taste good on chicken or pork, or even on top of cream cheese on a cracker. 

Tomato Peach Chutney

Ingredients
2 fresh peaches, peeled and chopped 
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground ginger


Directions
1. Mix everything in a pot

2. Bring to a boil, simmer until thickened (about 30 min


3. Allow to cool before serving