Beatin' and Cheatin' the Heat With Cool Beverages...

LiFe is just a bowl of cherries... Juicy Bing cherries are blended with fine black tea leaves in this dark delicious blend from Harry & David served as a refreshing iced tea! Keep Calm and Cherry On 🍒🍒🍒...

Here are some of my favourite fun bevies to cool down the summer heat ...

Seriously who doesn't love lemonade? And with the summer in full effect, strawberries locally produced, ripe and extra sweet adds a pretty red and sweet twist to puckery lemonade served over ice! Try my cinchy and refreshing home brew that is sure to have yours coming back for more.

Strawberry Lemonade
Makes 9 cups for about 8 to 10 servings

3 cups strawberries, hulled
5 large lemons to yield 1-1/2 cups lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
5 cups cold water
3 cups ice cubes

In a food processor, puree strawberries until chunky. In medium pot, bring strawberries, lemon juice and sugar to a boil; simmer over medium-low heat for three minutes. Strain through cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing out liquid. Let syrup cool. In serving pitcher, combine syrup with water; stir in ice to chill. TIP: Garnish each glass with mint and strawberries if desired. Make Ahead TIP: Store sealed in the fridge for up to one week.

Strawberry Lemonade

Cold & Refreshing Korean Watermelon Soup (Hwachae)... When the humidity of the summer air creates parched throats everywhere, Korean Hwachae`s refreshing soothing cold fruit soup is guaranteed to quench and quell! Asian cuisines often call this kind of dessert a soup-- a dessert you can eat and a beverage you can drink in one! I am amazed at the unlimited varieties you can make with a simple punch base-- water sweetened with honey or syrup, and any fruit(s) you wish. The consistency could be thin or chunky. Traditionally, Omija tea (known as the five-flavour berry) was used as the base sweetened with honey, added with in-season fruits, pine nuts and flower petals. These days, part of the base has since been commonly replaced with a simple punch base as above or fruit juices, carbonated beverages such as ginger ale, 7up or Korean carbonated milk beverage Milkis  for its creamy taste, or regular, flavoured or condensed milk or make it truly an adult drink with alcohol-- soju, a Korean vodka. 

Here is my version using strawberry milk blended with juice from a watermelon and mixed with fresh strawberries and watermelon chunks presented in a watermelon half, hollowed and carved as a punch bowl. See my post for how to carve and more ideas on this delicious and fun refreshing drink/dessert.

Korean Watermelon Soup (Hwachae)

From top left clockwise: Traditional Omija with pear flowers and pine nuts, Mixed fruit medley Photo Credit: Galleria:
Korean Food WITH Flair Aug 2015 issue, Mixed fruit with milk, and Mixed fruit in carbonated juice (Galleria).

Vietnamese smoothies, or sinh to are thick creamy shakes-- made from blending peeled fruit, crushed ice and a touch of condensed milk until glossy-- and do double duty as drink and dessert. Next time you have a bowl of beef noodle pho at a Vietnamese restaurant, try cooling or washing it down with a jackfruit smoothie, which is made with canned fruit. To make your own Vietnamese-style jackfruit smoothie at home for one, blend 1/3 cup canned jackfruit pieces, 1/2 tsp. sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup jackfruit liquid from can. Add 1-1/2 cups crushed ice and blend until smooth. Serve with a straw and spoon. 

You can also make similar smoothies with a nod to Vietnam using fresh avocados, mangoes, durian and sour soup. Just add 1/2 cup water first to blend and add more if needed to achieve desired consistency.

Vietnamese Jackfruit Smoothie

Ginseng yogurt juice is a quick healthy, energy-boosting drink that is super in hot weather to help deal with the heat. In Korea, ginseng (insam) has long been treated as a rare but excellent medicinal food, so much that some say, "it is the best gift that God has given man," with its rejuvenating properties valued as a booster for the immune system and a source of energy and vitality. The best grade is fresh cream-coloured wild ginseng roots; it has a deep mystic fragrance that tastes bitter at first, but after, the lingering taste in the mouth is sweet; ginseng is commonly blended for drinks and used for cooking. 

Lightly frothy, smooth, slightly sweet with a pleasant hint of fragrant bitterness from the ginseng. Refreshing, easy to drink and delicious!

Ginseng Yogurt Juice

Makes one serving

1 root ginseng, stem removed, rinsed well and thinly sliced

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp. honey

1/3 cup plain yogurt

ice (optional)

Blend well in a blender to finely grind the ginseng or you will taste the particulates or gritty texture. Add ice. 
TIP: You can pour it through a strainer before drinking it!

The best grade is fresh cream-coloured wild ginseng roots.

And of course, we can't forget about alcohol! Try my lovely friend from Phoenix, Arizona Amy Baker Wambold's refreshing Cucumber Jalapeño Margaritas to serve four. You may switch out any orange liquor or tequila you prefer.

1 cup Grand Marnier
1 cup Patron Tequila Silver
1 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
½ cup cucumber, diced
½ jalapeño, diced
optional: margarita salt for glass rim
Lime for garnish

Into a pitcher, add the Grand Marnier, tequila, and lime juice. Recipes are guidelines, so if you want to add more or less of anything that’s fine.

Serve by salting the rim of your glass if you wish. You can do this before you pour that pitcher by filling a shallow bowl with sea salt. Run a piece of lime all around the rim of your glass, then dip into the salt. Add a small amount of fresh diced cucumber and jalapeño to the bottom of the glass, fill with ice, and pour in the fresh margaritas. Add a circular slice or wedge of lime! Cheers! 🍸

Photo Credit: Amy Baker Wambold

What is your fave beverage(s) to beat the heat and to cool down in the summer with?

Ajvar (Warm Grilled Pepper and Eggplant Spread)...

I love Middle Eastern food, especially the countless vegetarian spreads, dips and salads beyond the everyone-knows hummus. Ajvar, in particular made with grilled pepper, eggplants, garlic and red pepper spice is one of my favourites! Ajvar is the Turkish word for fish roe or caviar. It actually originated in Serbian cuisine and was long known as "Serbian salad" or "Serbian vegetable caviar". It became a popular salad (side dish) throughout Yugoslavia after World War II and is nowadays popular in the Balkans and the Middle East. This beautiful chunky red relish is so versatile as a bread spread or served along meats especially grilled. A hostess play-date gift I had received, I busted the jar opened this weekend to serve along grilled chicken at my home's casual family gathering. It reminded me of the ajvar I use to make from scratch entertaining way back sans kids and it was always a hit! Try my homemade version of this delicious warm accompaniment brimming with Mediterranean flavours.

Ajvar
Makes 3-4 servings (Double ingredients to double the recipe)

2 bell peppers
1 fat eggplant or aubergine
1 small red onion
3 to 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (use 2 if you want less garlic flavour)
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 to 3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 to 2 tsp. ground Middle Eastern red pepper
1 lemon, juiced
1 to 2 tsp. vinegar
a handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves plucked and roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

NOTE: Red pepper spice can be crushed or ground. Hotter than paprika and milder than cayenne, it is rich and fruity. Deep red indicates better quality, rubbed with oil keeps it fresh.

Place the pepper and eggplant directly onto a gas flame or grill, and burn the skin all over. Roast using fairly high heat, blacken the vegetables until they start to look like deflated rugby balls. *Prick each vegetable a few times to prevent them from exploding*. Pop into a plastic bag to sweat for a few minutes, and then hold them under a thin stream of running cold water as you remove the burnt skin. 

Put the pepper onto a board, cut in half, remove the stalk, seeds and pith, and chop it to a pulp. Cut the stalk of the eggplant and chop the soft flesh to a pulp. Over medium-high heat, saute onion and garlic with sugar and olive oil in a pan until slightly golden. Stir in the red pepper and add the pulped pepper and eggplant. Beat in the lemon juice and vinegar; stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. 

USES: You can put ajvar in pretty much anything - sauces, breads, dressings, on pasta, in sandwiches, pizza etc. Before serving finely dice or grate some garlic, add a splash of extra virgin olive oil, chopped herbs like parsley or basil and serve alongside grilled or roasted meat (it's AMAZING with poultry) or with antipasta/tapas.

Robust, garlicky, sweet, and tart the taste is pure comfort and hearty smooth tender!

Photo Credit: Food Chomp

Chicken legs were simply marinated in salt, black pepper, garlic and onion powders, paprika, Creole seasoning (or any other flavoured seasoning or omit) and Dijon mustard. Best to marinate at least an hour or overnight before grilling to allow flavours to meld.

HAPPY WEEKEND FAMILY EATING!

Jumpin' for Juicy Jackfruit....

If Durian (see my post) is the King of Fruits, Jackfruit (mít in Vietnamese) must be the Queen! This giant blimp-shaped dense-spiked fruit native to South India which is ubiquitous all over South Asia are available packed with syrup in cans, or if you are lucky like we are over here in multicultural Toronto, you can buy it fresh! Ripe jackfruit is intensely perfumed, and usually cut into large sections for sale at the market. The interior central core is white surrounded by yellow egg-shaped segments of pulp, each containing a light brown seed (which you can eat). A good source of vitamins A, B and C, jackfruit's flesh has a slightly chewy texture, and a flavour combination of pineapple and melon notes.

You cannot compare the taste of imported fruit to fresh fruit picked straight from the tree and with tropical fruits, it even holds more true. However, I feel blessed we are able to access and fondly eat the exotic wares from faraway lands. Their seeds, jackfruit in a can and dried jackfruit are also very delicious and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways!

Standing under a jackfruit tree is not very wise. It is said this fruit is the largest fruit in the world, with the biggest specimens weighing up to 50 kg (110 lbs.)!!

In Vietnam 2004

Fresh jackfruit can be pretty pricey-- I've seen them at $4.99/lb. But when its perfume lured me over in an Asian Supermarket, I was super excited to see the attractive $1.59/lb. price tag, and the pieces were bright yellow-orange (indicating ripeness and juiciness). You can get a lot out of a section like this as the pulp pieces are tightly packed together.

The best is to eat jackfruit straight, however my friends Vimla Hayman in Australia, native to India and Prachi Grover from Dubai also have other culinary uses for them. Unripe jackfruit is used to make curry, usually a vegetarian delicacy and is eaten with Indian bread or with rice and dhal in Vimla's household. And Prachi uses it to make curry, as a dry vegetable prep and also pickles. Sounds too delicious!

Don't throw away those edible seeds. See below.

Wow, that's a hunkin' handsome piece!

We are happy pappy campers tonight!

Like precious golden jewel nuggets piled up on a plate.

Ahhh seeds-- Don't toss them, they are deliciouly edible! My kind of nose to tail fruit eating-- haha! Jackfruit seeds (hột mít) are southern island snack in Vietnam and popularily eaten in South India like most hot countries where jackfruits grow. My bestie and my husband grew up on this in Vietnam.The seeds make an excellent snack when boiled in salted water-- tastes like steamed chestnuts with overtones of fragrant jackfruit. My friend Vimla, tells me her family cooks the seeds when ripe. "We used to boil with salt before eating. So nice. Put the seeds in a pot of sand on stove on gentle heat for half an hour. Taste is amazing.You can also use small stones too. You can roast underground in sand. If you grill them, it is soooo good....though over very low heat. Put jackfruit seeds in a pot with water and simmer on the grill." My friend Chef Manh Tuong, owner of Mai Bistro in Toronto, boils his seeds, toss them in green onion oil and dip in salt crushed with hot pepper-- YUM! Shyamala Vishnumohan in South India tells me she also adds them in curries. I can imagine how sympatico its starchy texture with saucy curry, just like potatoes.

Eating hột mít at my bestie's BBQ.

My favourite thing to do with canned jackfruit is a cold dessert soup. Nothing better to cool off in the summer heat or to cool down the fire (the yang (cooling) to the yin (heat)) than with a refreshingly cold Coconut Jackfruit Tapioca soup dessert with add-ins of prepared palm seeds and coconut gels. Just bring one can of coconut milk to a soft boil with syrup from a can of jackfruit, and adjust sweetness with rock sugar/golden sugar. Let cool and add chopped jackfruit, add-ins and cooked tapioca. See here for a similar recipe.

This is a popular dried snack from Vietnam. I remember buying a few bags while travelling for gifts to bring home, until I realized you can buy them in stores here! Crunchy and addictive, makes a nice tropical sweet alternative to potato chips!

Oh and we can't forget Vietnamese smoothies, or sinh to. The thick creamy shakes-- made from blending peeled fruit, crushed ice and a touch of condensed milk until glossy-- and do double duty as drink and dessert. Next time you have a bowl of beef noodle pho at a Vietnamese restaurant, try cooling or washing it down with a jackfruit smoothie, which is made with canned fruit. To make your own Vietnamese-style jackfruit smoothie at home, blend 1/3 cup canned jackfruit pieces, 1/2 tsp. sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup jackfruit liquid from can. Add 1-1/2 cups crushed ice and blend until smooth. Serve with a straw and spoon.

Jackfruit pieces are typically used in Halo Halo, a unique Filipino dessert made with shaved ice, milk, pandan syrup under layers of assorted fruit, beans, custard and topped with ice cream. Check out my Kamayan experience post, and scroll down for my recipe in Summer 2008 Asian Gourmet Magazine.

Vietnamese Jackfruit Smoothie

Cottage Weekend Food Fun and Fishing with Fab Friends and Family...

Our annual cottage weekend overnighter with best friends and their families up at Marilyn and Charlie's Port Perry cottage home brought yet again bellies filled with laughter, spirits and food.... 

Our parental spidey senses tell us our kids (there were nine) will want to do everything else except eat, so arriving just before lunch makes it a no-brainer to keep food super simple and portable! In charge of lunch, I made an array of easy-pleasing delicious sandwich fillings-- tuna, chicken and egg salads for a DIY pita/bun stuffer, homemade Caesar Salad, potato chips and a platter of mixed berries for sides. 

Love me Somersby Ciders in Apple, Pear and Blackberry! Refreshing!

A perfect day on the cottage dock catching some sun, snacking, boating and fishing!

Fabulous Friends Forever with Marilyn, Kaitlyn and Karolyn and their fab families!

We caught a fish.... :)

Let the BBQ feasting begin..... Cheers!

Vegetables sitting pretty before hitting the grill and my Green Salad with Burnt Almond Vinaigrette

Thank you Charlie for manning the grill!

A cottage evening is not complete without roasting marshmallows over a fire pit!

A very early morning venture out onto the lake with my eldest Etienne, his dad and uncle Charlie.... 

three small catches by my proud son! Bravo! And....

... a 20-pounder Muskie by fisherman Charlie... 

YES, a whoppin' 20 pounder that was released back into the lake (not an eating fish)-- 

What an incredible photo opp and a lucky fish! Win-win for all! :)

A light breakfast back at the house with yogurt granola parfaits before hitting the roads back home...

Looking fabulous one more time for the camera y'all!! Until next time...

Muah Muah!!

Happy National French Fries Day with Pad Thai Fries...

Happy National French Fries Day! I celebrated this fun occasion by trying my hands on popular Toronto Lisa Marie and Fidel Gastros' Matthew Basile's recipe for his infamous Pad Thai Fries. Happily brunched there over a Toronto Food Revolution meeting, tried it, thought I died and went to heaven and excited to find the recipe on Steven and Chris to adapt my own version at home-- instead of deep-frying the fries, oven-baking and toning the key spicy Sriracha sauce down a notch to appease to my young kids' palates! Spicy buttery with crunchy toppings, the tart and hot flavours work in harmony replicating succinctly what you would expect in a fries dish called Pad Thai! All I can say is... Exotically Addictive!

Photo Credit: Steven and Chris

With Matt and the fabulous Toronto Food Revolution crew.

Matt Basile's Pad Thai Fries (adapted from Steven and Chris)
(Double the sauce ingredients if you want it extra saucy)

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 pound oven fries
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, chopped

1 lime, quartered
1/4 cup crushed peanuts, optional

Bake fries in oven according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan over high heat. Stir in the Sriracha sauce and lemon juice. Turn down the heat to low and cook for five minutes, or until the sauce is a nice velvety orange colour. Let the sauce cool and congeal (if the oil separates onto surface-- remove the layer with a spoon) so when you apply it to your fries it's more of a paste than a sauce.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked fries in the sauce. Transfer the coated fries to a serving dish and top with bean sprouts, cilantro, green onions, lime wedges and crushed peanuts.

WOWZERS! As I remembered them... crunchy bean sprouts and peanuts give way to crispy tender fries 
bathed in lemony fiery buttery sauce. As Steven and Chris said, it really is the Ultimate Fries!

This spicy son loves hot foods, even with his front tooth missing :)!

Perfect as a side to hearty meaty burgers! Thank you Matt! My family loved it!

For another fun do-it-at-home restaurant favourite, try my Oven-Baked Onion Blossom to celebrate National Onion Rings Day! :)