Don’t get corralled with the rest of the herd and buy frozen lamb from New Zealand. The Kiwis rear nice lamb, but that doesn’t mean the grass is greener on the other side of the world. It’s a long flight to Calgary so keep our local free-ranging lamb grounded and don’t get fleeced on the import markup.

Support the local shepherds, it’s exhausting work watching sheep jump over fences…

lamburger

600g ground Ewenique Farms lamb, divided in 4 balls

200g St. Agur Blue cheese (or French blue cheese of choice)

1 Red pepper, sliced into strips

1 Onions, sliced

oil for frying

2 crusty hamburger buns of choice, toasted

1 ripe tomato, sliced

1 little bunch of arugula

rusty mayonnaise

½ cup mayonnaise

½ tsp smoked paprika

1 clove of garlic, grated

salt, to taste

Get started on the sautéed peppers and onions. Pop a frying pan onto the stove over medium high heat to heat up for 5 minutes. When the pan is hot, add the oil and immediately toss in the onions and peppers. Sautee until they are softened and with some nice colouring. If any part of the frying pan starts to get a prematurely burnt, just pour a little splash of water on that spot and scrape up the dark bits as they’ll mix happily in with the onions. When they are soft and lovely, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, make the mayonnaise. Just mix the mayonnaise with paprika, grated garlic. Stir out any paprika lumps and give it a taste. You can add more paprika and salt if you like.

If you’re into the ol’ barbecue, have at ‘er.

If you have a cast-iron pan, it’s actually a better choice than a barbecue. Get the pan on the stove over high heat and let it preheat for at least 8 minutes to get crazy hot. You won’t need added fat if it’s blazing hot.

Flatten the meat into patties that are ½ inch larger than the bun. The patties will likely be very thin. But don’t worry you’re doing a double patty for each burger.

Toast the buns at 425˚F in the oven while you fry the burgers… watch them closely so they don’t burn!

Get the first 2 patties in the pan and cook until the blood pools on top, flip and continue cooking until done. Transfer to a clean plate.

Fry the next two patties and as soon as you flip them pile on the blue cheese and pepper/onion mixture and top with the cooked patty. Cook until the cheese just softens and the bottom burger cooks through.

Mayo-up your buns and get the hot meat in there quick. Top with a slice of tomato, some more mayo, some arugula and the top of the bun. Get some napkins and get into it.

Check out Swerve online for everything relevant, resonant, relentlessly local.

Be extra careful when you are hopping around in the backyard this weekend looking for Easter eggs. Just because it’s brown and came from a bunny doesn’t mean it’s chocolate. Make this funny bunny creamy carrot soup with flavour-packed pickled raisins and carrot top pesto plopped on top. Silly rabbits…

Bunny poop soup

Pickled raisins

½ cup water

½ cup white vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp dried whole coriander

¾ cups of raisins

carrot top pesto

1 bunch of carrot tops, leaves only, no stems

1 bunch of parsley, leaves only, no stems

3 cloves of garlic

1 cup raw walnuts

juice of 1 lemon

soup

1 bunch (5-6 large carrots)

1 can of coconut milk + 1 can full of water

350ml of carrot juice

1 tsp turmeric

2 big Tbsp of freshly grated ginger

salt to taste

PROCEDURE

Start by sorting out your pickled raisins. Place the water, vinegar, honey, salt and coriander in a small pot. Bring it to a ripping boil them pour the hot liquid directly over the raisins in a medium sized bowl. Set aside to cool while you crack on with the recipe.

Sort out you carrots. Remove the greens, and set aside. Peel and roughly chop the carrots.

Plop the carrots in a medium sized pot and pour in the carrot juice, coconut milk and turmeric. Bring to the whole lot to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking for 15 minutes while you whip up some pesto.

Remove all the carrot and parsley leaves from the stems. Give them a good wash and shake off the excess water then pile them into the blender. Dump the nuts on top and pour in the olive oil. Drop the in the garlic cloves and lemon juice. Pop the lid on a take it for a highspeed spin. When the mix is nice and smooth pour it into a serving bowl and give the blender a really good rinse out.

After 15 minutes of cooking the carrots should be nice and tender. Turn off the heat, remove from the hot burner, and let it cool down for 5 minutes. Carefully pour all of it into a blender.

Again, be very careful. You need to blend it while it is hot to make it smooth, but you also have to be careful not to blast molten lava hot carrots all over your kitchen. Remove the little plastic thingy center hole from the lid, and cover the hole with a dry tea towel. (This stops it from being airtight, which would cause an ugly kick at the start—although the steam can sometimes get hot on your hand.) Start on low, and build up the speed incrementally.

When the soup is looking smooth, turn it off.

Pour the soup directly into bowls and serve with a nice big scoop of pesto in the middle and a cheeky scattering of plump tasty raisins.

Had another great night with the Soup Sisters here in Calgary at the Cookbook Co.

Since March 3, 2009 the Soup Sisters of Calgary have been getting together several times a year with the help of a crew of dedicated volunteers and supporters to bubble up a few large batches of soup. This time we had lots of help from Association of Women’s Lawyers.

The soups, are portioned out into glass tupperware containers and sent to the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter to help women and children who have been the victims of domestic violence. Our collective offering of 200 batches of soup will add to the monthly cross Canada sum  of 8000 batches a month. That’s a lot of soup for a really good cause!

Not in Calgary? There are plenty of Soup Sisters affilliates across Canada in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and loads of other cities across Canada. Check the Soup Sisters website for more info. And there are more popping up all the time.

And for the gentlemen there’s Broth Brothers who help support transitioning youth for youngsters trying to make a go at it on their own.

Thanks to everyone who gave their time, money and passion to pitching in with the soup.

All the exotic chicks are flocking back to show off their tanned plumage. Even though chickens have been a steady winter staple doesn’t mean you have to ditch the old bird for the new birds of paradise. Give the familiar chicken a refresher with a little spring makeover that will have everyone clucking for more.

Finger lickin’ Spring Chicken wraps

2 Chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

Yogurt Marinade

Pinch of salt

Fresh cracked pepper

½ cup greek or Balkan-style yogurt

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp tomato paste

zest of 1 lemon (save juice for the sauce)

Yogurt sauce

Pinch of salt

Few cracks of pepper

1 cup yogurt

½ cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 clove garlic, grated

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 sprig of mint or basil leaves, rough chopped

juice of 1 lemon

Lettuce cups

2 heads of butter lettuce or 1 head of iceberg lettuce

Start by preparing the marinade. Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl and mix it all up. Dump the cubed chicken into the bowl and toss in the marinade until the chicken is thoroughly coated. Set aside for ½ hour to get lovely.

While the chicken is marinating, mix up your yogurt sauce. To do the cucumber, first peel it, then split it lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Grate the cucumber into a separate bowl and squeeze out most of the water before adding it to the mix. In a clean bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix it thoroughly.

Preheat the oven on Broil and make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.

Get a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and start placing the marinated chicken on the tray. Keep the chicken evenly spaced. Top each chunk of chicken with a little more marinade and then get them into the oven to cook.

Bake for 7 minutes, then flip all the chicken pieces over. Bake for another 7 minutes. Cut the largest piece of chicken open to see if it is done inside. If not quite done, pop it all back in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the meat is not pink.

Separate all the lettuce leaves and arrange them on a platter. Top each leaf with a nice scoop of the sauce and plop a piece of hot chicken on top.

Grab it like a taco and eat it while the chicken is still warm.

Coronation Chicken

Listen to the radio spot

Coronation chicken is a classic homage to the Royal Family on the brink of the impending wedding of P. Willy and K-Midz. Dice 1 cooked and cooled chicken breast. Place in a bowl and two big scoops of mayonnaise, a little scoop of mango chutney, 15 raisins and a tsp of yellow curry powder. Feel free to add more curry if you like more. Season to taste with salt and serve on really nice bread with some watercress or arugula for a great Coronation Chicken Salad Sandwich.

DAB DAY

Today is International “Draw a Bird” day. Spread the joy by doodling a little birdie while you enjoy your chicken wraps and whistle a happy little tune. You can even submit your drawing to www.dabday.com

The grown up hippies are thinking less about scoring and more about cholestrol. Here’s some real flower-powered savoury granola made with heart-friendly canola oil that will get your motor humming along to the song. Live longer and stick it to the ‘man’ by using Highwood Crossing local, organic, non-gmo canola oil. Canola is also used to make bio-diesel so you can finally dust off the old shaggin’ wagon to offset your carbon footprint.

Savoury Canola Granola

Dry stuff

2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

3/4 cup whole raw almonds

2 Tbsp canola seeds

1 Tbsp mustard powder

1 tsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne

Wet stuff

3/4 cup tomato, V8 or carrot juice

¼ cup honey or maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 275°F.

In a big bowl, mix all the dry stuff together, then add the wet stuff, and mix with your hand. Don’t freak out because it looks like slop. The liquid will all evaporate during baking.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Plop little globs freely all over the baking sheet. Just let it plop, and don’t muck with it—the more you muck with it, the more it will glom together.

Blap it in the oven. Every 20 minutes, take the tray out and with a spatula flip the granola while breaking it up into slightly smaller pieces. By the third flip (60 minutes of baking), the pieces should be ever so slightly damp and bite-sized. Then blap it back into the oven for the last time, baking for 20 more minutes. Without opening the oven door, turn the oven off, and leave the tray in the oven for 2 hours. Cooling it this way is crucial to get the granola crunchy.

Once cooled completely put the granola in a sealable container, and add your nut medley. Shake it all up and you’ve got savoury granola.

Serve it on plain yogurt, or sprinkled on a fresh salad, or munch it straight from the container.

Makes about 3 cups of granola.

For more info about Canola,

go check out the rest of my article at  SWERVE.

Cowboys eat unhealthy stacks of flap jacks while their adversaries eat green, stay lean and get mean. There isn’t much a competition if the cowboy only has to stay on for 8 seconds. If you want to get the big bull advantage you’ll need to step your game up with one of these detox shakes before (or after) Stampede. Get the steer out of your rear and get it in gear.

Green Bull Energy drink

Makes enough for 2 unless you want it all to yourself

1 oz. shot of wheat grass juice (fresh or frozen, see sourcing below)

1 avocado, peeled and pitted

1/2 english cucumber, peeled and seeded

1 kiwi, peeled

1 1/2  cups white cranberry juice or white grape juice

1/2 cup of ice

1 small handful of cilantro leaves (optional)

Here’s a fair warning before you get going. Wheatgrass is full of health benefits, however it can also have some health issues concerning mold and mildew. Buying fresh wheatgrass means you need to check for mold and mildew which can lead to an upset tummy or worse. Use your juicer to extract the juice or simply buy wheat grass juice by the shot.

In a blender, combine the wheat grass juice, a peeled and pitted avocado, peeled and seeded cucumber, peeled kiwi, white cranberry juice and the optional cilantro.

Put a lid on the blender and turn it on low, gradually increase the speed and blend until nice and smooth.

Add the ice and continue blending until totally smooth.

Serve it nice and cold in a clear glass.

More on wheatgrass…

gets along with

apple, basil, beet juice, cilantro, coconut milk, cucumber juice, lemon, honey, most sweet fruit juices, yogurt.

Sourcing

If you have a juicer you can get live wheatgrass at specialty health shops like Community Natural Foods or the Farmer’s Market. It comes in small hydroponic planter boxes with tightly packed blades of grass like a little bunch of turf.

Since wheatgrass is consumed raw it is important to make sure there is no mold or mildew around the roots which can be quite dangerous and give you a devastating bug or at the very least rough and tumble tummy rumble. When in doubt, throw it out.

Get freshly juiced wheatgrass by the shot at juice joints like Jugo Juice (jugojuice.com) and Booster Juice (www.boosterjuice.com). It tastes the way it looks, so get ready to chase it with something tastier.

OR You can pick up of wheatgrass ice cubes at Planet Organic and Community Natural Foods. Convenient portions of wheatgrass juice frozen and ready for use.

quickeat

Make a green tzatziki. Add some wheatgrass juice to yogurt with lots of cilantro, a grated cucumber (squeeze out the excess juice), a clove of grated garlic and a bit of salt. Use it like a sauce to mellow out spicy curries or for dipping warm pita bread.

tidbit

A one ounce shot of wheatgrass is the nutritional equivalent of 2.5 pounds of garden fresh veggies. It’s packed with the full range of vitamins, antioxydants and green chlorophyll which is the first consumable conversion of sunlight energy.

Celiacs need not worry. Wheatgrass is the first stage in the growth of a wheat plant, but until it sprouts wheat berries it remains gluten-free.

Asparagus officinalis has been cultivated and coveted by gastroristocrats since the days of Ancient Greece. Throughout history it has been prized as a difficult to grow, luxury vegetable. If you feel like flashing a little culinary bling you can razzle dazzle some guests with grilled asparagus doused in fancy-pants orange-enhanced Béarnaise. The grass doesn’t get any greener.

grilled asparagus with orange Béarnaise

INGREDIENTS

15-20 small to medium asparagus spears

Orange Béarnaise

3 egg yolks

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed navel orange juiced

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 pound cold butter

pinch of salt

2 sprigs of tarragon, leaves only, finely chopped

serve with a grilled porterhouse and some boiled new potatoes

PROCEDURE

Fire up barbecue and get it screaming hot.

Boil some new potatoes while you get going with everything else.

To make the Béarnaise: Put the yolks, orange juice, vinegar and butter into a cold medium-sized pot. Get out your whisk and put the pot over medium-low heat.

Stir dilligently—you don’t have to stir hard, you don’t have to stir quickly, you just have to stir constantly. Don’t think you can walk away for a second.

You’ll notice the sauce starting to get smooth and creamy, but still quite thin and runny. Just be patient and keep stirring. It will start to thicken up.

When it is nearly the rich, velvety consistency of hollandaise, remove it (and keep it away) from the heat source. Stir in the tarragon.

Ideally you want to use it immediately, but if that’s not possible just make sure it doesn’t sit around for more than half an hour.

If it becomes too thick as it sits, whisk in a couple drops of warm water to loosen it up.

Head over to the barbecue with your steak and asparagus. Drizzle the asparagus with oil and sprinkle with salt to season before you pop it on the grill.

Roll the asparagus when it starts to get charred.

Grill the porter house to desired doneness, let it rest on a clean cutting board for 5-10 minutes and slice it nice and thin.

Serve up the grilled asparagus, boiled potatoes and grilled steak all smothered with loads of orange Béarnaise sauce.

gets along with

bacon, butter, chives, eggs, ham, olive oil, orange,  parmessan, new potatoes, smoked salmon or smoked trout, sour cream, tarragon and walnuts

fresh pick

Asparagus will perish quickly. So ideally you want to get it on the day it was picked so it is firm and sweet. Damaged leaves, flimsy stems or frayed bottoms are not worth getting. Thicker stems will need peeling to remove woody skin at the bottom, but thin stems should be crisp and tender.

quick fire

Drive up to the Edgar Farms Asparagus Festival on May 29-30 and hop on the ‘wagon’ ride. Learn lots of interesting trivia about asparagus while you bounce along the dirt road. Hop off, run over to the field, snap off a spear and take a bite. You will be stunned by the sweet juicy crunch of perfect fresh asparagus.

Check out www.edgarfarms.com or call (403) 227-2443 for time, location and event details

nerdbyte

Thanks to asparagusic acid, some folks produce strong smelling urine after eating asparagus. Oddly, not everyone can perceive the strong odour even if they produce it.

Click here to check out last year’s asparagus recipe

When you first hold your own little bouncing bundle of joyous baby arugula you’ll be brimming with pride. The peppery, spirited, tender young leaves will fill your heart. Enjoy baby arugula while it’s young, because before you know it the leaves will get tough, tasteless, demanding, resentful, spiteful, spoiled, hormonal… youth is wasted on the young.

‘It’s a grill’ Baby arugula crostinis

2 heads of garlic

salt

olive oil

1 bunch of fresh Hotchkiss Arugula

2 oranges, cut in half

2 lemons, cut in half

1 loaf of Italian bread, cut into ¾ inch slices

12 slices of pancetta

olive oil, for drizzling

excellent salt for sprinkling as needed

fresh cracked pepper

Chop the tops off your garlic to expose the cloves inside. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and wrap loosely in tinfoil. Toss the garlic on the BBQ and fire it up to full heat. Pop on the lid and preheat for at least 20 minutes so the garlic has time to start roasting. Garlic takes 30-45 minutes depending on the temperature.

Slice bread into thick ¾ inch slices, drizzle or brush liberally with olive oil and pile onto a plate with the pancetta, halved oranges and lemons.

Grill the citrus, bread and pancetta as simultaneously as BBQ space allows.

Rub the flat side of citrus halves with a little olive oil. Place them directly on the grill to get awesome grill lines. When they are grilled up, they’re done, set aside.

Grill the pancetta until crispy, if it starts to burn too quickly move it to a cooler spot on the grill. Set aside to cool.

Grill the bread until you get lovely dark grill marks. Move them to a top rack or a cooler spot to dry out and get crunchier… although it’s not traditional, I personally don’t mind a little chew in my crostini.

To serve these crostini. When the garlic is soft and sweet squeeze out the cloves. Spread a clove of garlic on each piece of bread and top with pancetta.

Top each crsotini with springy bundle of joyful arugula, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Serve on a big old platter with the lemons and oranges on the side. Let people squeeze on some of the chargrilled orange and or lemon juice.

Unhook your jawbone and take a huge bite.

Arugula

… gets along with

Beets, Blue cheese, capers, Candy-smoked salmon, garlic, halibut, lemon, olives, orange, pancetta, Parmessan, prosciutto, grilled steak, tomatoes, trout, walnuts.

… fresh pick

Pick bunches of bright green tender baby leaves. Older leaves get tough and lose their lovely peppery bite. Look carefully for spoilage, if one spot is spoiled the rest is soon to follow. If it begins to spoil at home, sautée immediately in lots of butter and perk up with salt and lemon juice.

Hotchkiss Arugula is available in specialty food shops like Planet Organic, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese and Community Natural Foods, just to name a few.

… quick fire

To make Arugula pesto toss 1 bunch of baby arugula in a blender with a cup of toasted walnuts, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 clove of garlic and a good pinch of salt. Stand by with olive oil and blend until smooth, adding olive oil sparingly until you reach the desired consistency. Smooth or chunky, it’s your choice. Serve this pesto on grilled steak, roasted halibut or penne.

… nibble

Having trouble choosing a name? Arugula (aka rocket, ruccola) is a riff from the latin roc meaning rough or harsh. Pick ‘em while they are young before they live up to the name.

We started at the Magrath showhome with Spinach Cigars. The highlight was certainly the 12 foot island in the showstopping kitchen.

Then we headed over to Laurel for creamy cauliflower and cheddar soup spiked with roasted grapes and toasted pinenuts. Works great on a hot or cold day.

For the main we ended up at the Ellerslie house for Braised Shortribs on soft polenta with an herb salad. No surprise there was a crowd waiting for this main.

And finally we wrapped things up at the Ambleside house where the sunshine brought out the crowds to sample the last course Citrus Panna Cotta. So here’s the last recipe…

This is like the ultimate grown up version of jello. It’s impressive and delicious and doesn’t take all that much effort, just a little pre-planning.

Citrus adds a really nice light fragrance to this wiggly lovely panna cotta (Italian milk jelly) to serve up on those hot summer nights. It kind of tastes a bit like fruit loops, just don’t tell that to your fancy guests.

Prepare them a couple hours ahead so the gelatin has time to set in the fridge, or make it the night before so it’s totally out of the way.

Citrus Panna Cotta

1½ cups 2% milk

1 cup cream

1 packet gelatin

zest of 1 orange

zest of 1 lemon

zest of 1 lime

½ cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Pour ½ cup of milk into a bowl, sprinkle in the gelatin, and mix with a fork to disperse the gelatin.

To zest the citrus, use a peeler to pull off long strips of the zest. This makes picking them out much easier later on.

Bring the remaining milk, cream, sugar and zest to a boil in a small pot. When the liquid has boiled and the sugar has dissolved turn off the heat. Cover for the pot and allow the flavours to infuse for at least 10 minutes.

Bring the milk back to a boil and pour directly into the bowl with the gelatin.

Whisk for 1 minute so the gelatin dissolves completely. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then divide it evenly into 8 clear glasses, leaving plenty of room for adding the pesto later. Place the glasses into the fridge and let them firm up for at least 2 hours. In the meantime you can mak e your pesto.

Mint and Honey Pesto

Hazelnuts have a beautiful fragrance, but are difficult to pulverize because they are so hard. Almonds are also a little tough. Both nuts will benefit from a quick toasting to make them easier to chop-chop and to enhance their flavour. Get almonds and hazelnuts without skin, which adds an unfavourable texture and colour. Serve on strawberries, melon, or citrus panna cotta.

4 cups packed fresh mint

1 cup toasted, blanched almonds or hazelnuts

juice of 1 orange

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lime

¼ cup honey

Traditionally pestos are made using a mortar and pestle. A mortar is a large heavy bowl carved from marble, but can also be made from ceramic or cast iron. The pestle is a mashing device made of the same material as the bowl and used to pulverize the contents of the bowl. The words “pesto” and “pestle” derive from the same Latin root word that means to pound or crush.

Toss everything into your macerating device of choice and blend until you reach your desired consistency whether you like your pesto chunky or smooth.

To make larger batches in a fraction of the time try using your whiz-bang blender.

Freeze the leftovers in ice-cube trays covered in cling wrap for handy pesto hits whenever you need it.

To Serve

Get a firm panna cotta cold from the fridge and top it with pesto.

Main Course served on May 15th at the Ambleside showhome: 2803 Anderson Place, Edmonton, Alberta

If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em … beat ‘em good!

Soft avocados // Rough quac with roast tomatoes

1 avocado

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

drizzle olive oil

sprinkle of chili powder

2 green onions, sliced thin

100 g queso fresco or feta cheese

In a baking dish, toss the tomatoes with the oil and a pinch of salt. Bake at 450˚F until the tomatoes release juices, get a little dark around the edges and start to get shrivelled.

Use your thumbs to mush up the avocado inside the peel. Mush it up really well without breaking the skin.

Break open the skin and scoop it all into a bowl. Top it loosely with tomatoes, sprinkle of chili powder, sliced green onion, queso fresco and squeeze on the lime juice. Serve it rough with some nachos and cerveza.

Hard avocados // Creamy quac with coconut milk

1 avocado

zest and juice of 1 lime

3-4 whole sprigs of cilantro

¼ cup coconut milk

pinch salt

In a blender combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt if needed.

Serve it in a bowl with some nachos and cerveza.

Medium avocados // Chop guac with mango

1 avocado, chopped

1 mango, chopped

2 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

¼ red onion, finely chopped

½ red chili, finely chopped

juice and zest of 1 orange

drizzle of olive or avocado oil

Chop all ingredients and toss gently in a bowl with orange juice and a drizzle of oil. Serve it up with some nachos and cerveza.

Ripe on // If your avocados are rock hard you can expedite the ripening process by tossing them in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato and leaving them on the counter at room temperature for a day. No paper bag? Wrap it all in some of that newspaper right there… the sports section would be an appropriate choice.