If you read my blog, you know I am all about fresh local ingredients.  Whatever I can not grow myself, we then shop at our local Farmer's Market just down the street.  I live for summer and fresh ingredients - nothing makes me happier.
Lately, much of my work has been Friday through to Sunday which means I miss the Saturday Market.  No way can I miss out on such deliciousness.  Luckily my sweet Dear Husband has been going to the market with list in hand.  This is no easy feat!  You see, my DH works nights - he is a night owl and does his best work at night.  It is just his own personal clock, where as with me, I like early mornings - I am up with the birds.  Most nights he does not go to sleep until 3:00 a.m. so to get up at 9:30 to stand in line at the market by 9:45 is truly to be commended.
Now the story gets interesting.  If you could attend our local Sooke Market on a Saturday a.m. you might get a rude awakening.  You see, many people, many of them elderly, (bless their hearts) are quite brutal - they budge in line and they use their elbows.  They can be surprisingly aggressive!  So my poor DH has to fight off these aggressors not to mention, the farmer's saying "Oh, here comes the guy with "the list". All done with too little sleep and barely awake at that!
Each Saturday after work I ask "so how did it go today"?  Then I proceed to hear about the vigorous work out he survives feigning off the elderly folk. (honestly, the produce is so darn good, I don't blame them!)  He also has to suffer the taunts from the farmers about "the guy with the list".
So then I asked:  "Why are you so willing to go to the market each Saturday, on so little sleep?"  DH responds, "Because I love my wife and she wants me to".  Ahem...Okay...I might "buy" a little bit of that, but honestly?  He is in love with those Red French Fingerling Potatoes.  Just ask his sister and brother - they will tell you.   Maybe I should be jealous....yes, jealous of Red French Fingerling Potatoes....but then on second thought after 23 years, I don't think I have anything to worry about....this was one mighty fine Frittata.
Now here is some majorly organic goodness:
These Farmer's eggs are as Organic as they can possibly be - just laid the day before - love those bright yellow yolks:

Why can't summer be forever????
1-2 Tblsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 organic eggs
3 Tblsp. Milk - we used Soy Milk
7-8 Organic Red Fingerling potatoes - steamed then sliced
3 Patti-pan Zucchini sliced
1 Tblsp. Balsamic Vinegar
big handful of minced fresh Basil
6 slices of Bacon, diced
1 large Shallot, sliced
1 1/2 cup grated aged Cheddar Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Steam the potatoes, drain and set aside to cool.  Heat up a frying pan on medium heat, and brown the bacon bits.  Then transfer the bacon to a bowl and set aside.  Drain off some of the bacon renderings, and add the sliced cooled potatoes.  Fry about 5 minutes per side or until each side is golden.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In another frying pan add in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on medium heat.  Add the sliced pattipan zucchini's, season with salt and pepper.  Saute, about 2-3 minutes per side until golden, then add in the basil, and balsamic vinegar.  Remove from the heat and set aside. In another bowl, whisk up the eggs, milk and season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Once the potatoes are golden, add the squash and shallots over top, then sprinkle in the chopped bacon.
Then sprinkle the grated cheese over top, and pour in the egg milk mixture.
Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes until cooked through.
If you can get all of this organic goodness...you will be in heaven!  Thanks DH for being brave enough to face the wee early hours of the a.m. and to fiend off the aggressors - young or old!  🙂

Knowing I was going to be busy the following day at work, I decided to attempt my second slow cooker meal:  Swiss Steak.  In the afternoon, (so the day before), I made a dry rub for the steaks to marinate in the refrigerator until the following morning - about 12 hours.
Then I prepared all of the vegetables and placed them in covered containers in the refrigerator as well.  It occurred to me when preparing a slow cooker meal, one really needs to be organized the day before, or first thing in the morning.  I also realized I usually cook intuitively -  by looking in the refrigerator and throwing things together.  Slow cooking somehow seems more methodical and organized which is not my usual method. Having said that, it was really nice to come home from work, throw on some potatoes and vegetables to steam and dinner is ready.  This Swiss Steak just fell apart it was that tender, and the sauce was tasty too!  Maybe I am finally getting the hang of slow cooking after all!

SLOW COOKER SWISS STEAK:
Dry Rub:
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika
1/8 tsp. Chipotle Chili Pepper
2 Sirloin Steaks - ours weighed 1 1/4 lbs.
2 Tblsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
9 Crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 Shallot sliced
1/2 a large Onion, sliced
1/4 cup chopped Green Pepper
6 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 large Bay Leaf
handful of Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley - chopped
28 oz. can of whole Tomatoes, chop the tomatoes and save the juice
2 Tblsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tblsp. Tamari Sauce
1 rounded Tblsp. of Corn Starch
Salt and Pepper
Mix up the dry rub and sprinkle over the steaks rubbing in well.  Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, heat up a grill pan on medium high heat with the EVOO.  Sear the steaks - just to get grill marks on them, about 3 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate.
Turn down the heat to low medium and add in the onions, mushrooms, shallots, garlic, green pepper.  Saute until the onions and mushrooms begin to caramelize.  Season with Salt and Pepper.
Pour in the tomatoes and juice with the Balsamic Vinegar and Tamari sauce and bring to a simmer. Sprinkle in the Corn starch, stirring well to incorporate and lightly thicken.
Then pour it into the slow cooker adding in the Bay Leaf.  Place the steaks into the sauce and slow cook on low about 8-10 hours.  Mine cooked for 8 hours, then sat on Warm for another hour.
This actually made quite a lot of sauce - so tomorrow, I will do a reduction to have with Salmon.

When ready to serve, remove the steaks to a plate and add in the minced Flat Leaf Italian Parsley.  (which I forgot to do - I was too hungry!)  🙂

The original recipe for this yummy dip came from our local newspaper.  I changed it up quite a lot - a great dip for veggies or a spread on flat bread or crackers.  If you read my blog, you will know I use dripped Yogurt, or Yogurt cheese often - it is such a great replacement for cream cheese.
2/3 cup of Yogurt Cheese (drip for 48 hours)
1/2 cup chopped roasted Walnut pieces
3 rounded Tblsp. real Mayonnaise
juice from a quarter slice of fresh Lemon
2 finely minced garlic cloves
3 Tbslp. minced fresh Basil
1/2 tsp. minced fresh Rosemary
1 Tblsp. minced fresh Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
1/2 cup of crumbled Feta Cheese
salt and fresh cracked Pepper to taste
Place the walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat and lightly toast about 3-4 minutes.
Place in a bowl and set aside.
Finely mince the garlic, basil, rosemary, and place in a bowl.  Add in the yogurt cheese, lemon juice and the mayonnaise mixing well.  Then add in the cooled walnut pieces, feta cheese, salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Mix well to combine all of the ingredients and serve with fresh vegetables, crackers or flat bread.  Refrigerate for one hour so all the flavors will come together.

We love stuffed Chicken Breasts in this household.  This recipe is really a "take" on all of my stuffed Chicken Breasts - just a different and yummy version.
In this recipe I used fresh Lambs Quarter, but spinach or kale would work wonderfully too.
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts - pounded out to 1/2 inch thickness or so
4 slices bacon
Marinade:
3 roughly chopped garlic cloves
1 1/2 Tblsp. Tamari Sauce
1 Tblsp. water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
Mix up the marinade, and place the pounded out chicken breasts into a container.  Pour over the marinade, cover and marinate for 4 hours.
Filling:
1 Tblsp. butter
3 small chopped crimini mushrooms
2 smashed garlic cloves roughly chopped
juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp. fresh minced Rosemary
1/2 tsp. ground Fennel
1/4 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 cup Lambs quarter, chopped or spinach or kale
4 large Sun Dried Tomatoes - blot off oil, and chop finely
2/3 cup finely grated Swiss Gruyere Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tblsp. Organic Yogurt
salt and pepper
Heat up a frying pan on low medium heat with the butter.  Here is a picture of the mushrooms and greens - chopped fairly small:
Add in the chopped mushrooms, sauteing until lightly golden.  Then add in the Lambs quarter or spinach, juice and zest from 1/2 a lemon, fresh Rosemary, Fennel, Italian Seasonings, garlic, salt and pepper.  Saute about 3 minutes or until the greens are wilted.  Set aside to cool.
Chop up the Sun Dried Tomatoes and transfer to a bowl.  Add the now cooled greens and mushroom mixture to the bowl.
Add the cheeses and yogurt mixing to combine.
Remove the chicken from the marinade to a working plate.  Add in a generous portion of stuffing and roll up.  I used 6-8 toothpicks to hold the chicken breasts together.  Then wrap each breast in two slices of bacon, slightly stretching the bacon.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Heat up an oven proof frying pan on medium high heat.  Add the bacon wrapped chicken and sear all sides.  Place in the oven to roast - mine took about 40 minutes or until an internal temperature reaches 165-170 degrees.

Here is yet another fresh salad.  During the spring and summer - we have salads of every kind almost every day.  The Sugar Snap Peas will not be around much longer so we have been eating them in every salad we make.
Every once in a while I have a huge craving for shellfish.  As my DH will not eat shellfish, I usually purchase small amounts for myself.  This salad hit the spot, and with fresh Sugar Snap Peas from my local market it gave a nice sweetness to the salad and some great crunch.  A quick, easy, yummy lunch, and there was enough left over for lunch the next day!
1 cup of fresh baby shrimp, rinsed well
1/2 a celery stalk finely diced
1 green onion, diced
7-8 Sugar Snap Peas, chopped small
3 rounded Tblsp. Mayonnaise
juice of a lemon wedge
1/2 tsp. Curry Powder
salt to taste
1 Tblsp. finely minced fresh Cilantro
lettuce leaves
cherry tomatoes
Add the shrimp, celery, green onion, sugar snap peas, mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder, cilantro and salt to a bowl and mix until incorporated.
Lay down some fresh salad greens onto a plate, (these lovely greens came from our garden) and serve a generous helping of the Curried Shrimp on top.  Garnish with fresh Cilantro and sliced cherry tomatoes on the side.

Oh how I live for summer!  This is such a simple, beautiful, and tasty salad to have during the summer.  Using yellow and red tomatoes gives this salad such vibrant color. The key to this salad is to marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, then remove from the fridge to come to room temperature for one more hour.
Also, there will be leftover salad dressing/marinade - just use as is on other salads, maybe adding fresh lemon or more red wine vinegar.
2 Red tomatoes
2 Yellow tomatoes
2-3 Tblsp. roughly chopped red onion
2-3 Tblsp. roughly chopped fresh Basil
Salad Dressing Marinade:
2 Tblsp. Organic Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tblsp. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
To a bowl, add the chopped tomatoes in equal size chunks.  Add in the chopped red onion and basil.  Mix up the dressing and pour over the salad.  Toss to coat well, check for seasonings and refrigerate.

This is the second cauliflower from our garden!  Who knew we could grow cauliflower in our ever challenging garden?  Now I wish I had planted more - next year.  As it turns out, DH is not all that crazy about cauliflower, but he did say it is much more sweeter and tastier than store bought.  Personally, I think this lovely vegetable does not get enough credit.  It may be somewhat simple in flavor, but that is where you can do so much to it to enhance the natural flavors of this lovely vegetable.
How about a 1-2 minute boiling bath, then submerged in an ice bath.  Add similar blanced vegetables, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, then add fresh red onions, fresh parsley with a vinaigrette to marinade - yum!  Think I will do a post down the road with this idea!  Or in a chicken ginger stir fry, or blitz up and smother in a great Marinara sauce - so many possibilities.
So today I thought in terms of a cheese sauce to boost up the flavor.  A 3 cheese, mushroom, garlic, onion cheese sauce.  Oh and with a pinch of nutmeg - it was so so good!  With three types of cheese and a pinch of nutmeg - magic!  DH was pleasantly surprised and asked, can we have this every night?  Not!  This is a fairly rich cheese sauce, nice to have once in a while.
This recipe makes quite a lot of sauce - great for more steamed vegetables tomorrow.
CREAMY THREE CHEESE MUSHROOM SAUCE:
4 Tblsp. butter
5 small crimini mushrooms, chopped small
4 minced garlic cloves
1/2 a small onion, minced
1  3/4 cups of Soy Milk - unsweetened (or milk of your preference)
1/2 cup of grated Asiago cheese
1 cup of grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2-3 Tblsp. cornstarch and soy milk to make a slurry
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of Nutmeg
1 Tblsp. fresh minced Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Heat up a medium sized sauce pan on low medium heat - add butter to melt.  Meanwhile chop up the mushrooms, onions and garlic.
Add the mushrooms to the pan, and saute until lightly golden.  Then add in the onions, garlic, salt and pepper, sauteing until translucent.  Add in the pinch of Nutmeg, stirring well, then pour in the milk.
Bring to a light slimmer, and mix the cornstarch with a little milk to make a thick slurry.  Pour in the slurry stirring well to thicken.  Add in the cheeses, stirring to melt, then remove from the heat and add the fresh Parsley, stirring to incorporate.
Serve over cauliflower or any other steamed vegetables.  We had this with grilled pork chops, organic steamed French Red Fingerling potatoes and my Marinated Tomato Salad...recipe pending.  So delicious.

These Coconut Date Balls are quick and easy to make, plus they make a great healthy snack.  No baking either.  The inspiration for this recipe came from The Healthy Dish - so yummy and I extend a big thank you too!  A great healthy snack to have in the middle of a busy day when you need some extra energy to keep you going!
This is a recipe where you must use a Food Processor to get a fine grind of all the ingredients.
2 cups chopped pitted Dates
1 cup Almond Meal
3 Tblsp.  unsweetened Medium Shredded Coconut
1/2 tsp. Pure Almond Extract
1 Tblsp. Honey
2 Tblsp. Tahini butter (almond butter would be good too)
Unsweetened Medium Shredded Coconut - to roll the date balls in
Add the chopped dates and almond meal to the food processor.  Blend until the dates are fine.  Then add in the coconut, almond extract, honey and Tahini butter.  Blend very well until it begins to come together and look moist.
Roll into balls, and then roll in shredded coconut.
This recipe makes about 20 Coconut Date Balls - enjoy!