Atlantic Canada Dinner - Smoked Cod Chowder, Baked Salmon , Potato & Pear Rosti

Sara of I Like to Cook is getting ready for the nextWeekend Cookbook Challenge - food from your own country. What better way to show off local fare for me, for than to share the menu we had on my visit to my daughter and son-in-law who live in Halifax Nova Scotia. And naturally, being on the East Coast, the meal has to include fish and seafood. But before I share the menu, here's some of what we did to get ready for the feast.

It was a beautiful Indian Summer weekend and so we went apple picking in the Annapolis Valley, about an hour or so out of Halifax.

Joanna & Papoose, due in January

Ezra, testing our bounty

We picked 40 pounds (literally!!!) so Joanna will be drying and baking for a while. Guess what we're having for dessert?

After lunch at a lovely pub in Wolfville we headed home but not before stopping at Foxhill Cheesehouse to sample their delicious cheeses and, of course, take some home - our choices...smoked gouda, chive and garlic gouda and garlic quark (think light creamy ricotta and you're sort of close).

We also made a pilgrimage to one of my favorite spots anywhere....The Tangled Garden.

View from the shop

In fact I've had a link to them on my site for a long time. My younger daughter Sharron introduced me to them years ago at The One of A Kind Show (crafts and delicious edibles) in Toronto and I've been hooked on their amazing jellies and vinegars ever since. I love them spread on toasted bagels and cream cheese (okay, not so often now that I'm on South Beach Diet), as a glaze for chicken and veal dishes, tossed in with steamed vegetables....the list is endless. Last year we stumbled upon their home - literally and their unbelievable gardens. You can wander endlessly through them before purchasing the jellies etc, prepared in their on-site kitchen. I know this sounds like a commercial, but I swear it's not. I just love their stuff!

In fact, when I'm stressed or can't fall asleep I visualize myself in a couple of peace invoking scenarios......afternoon siesta on the terrace of our room when we were on vacation at Sandals, St Lucia,

or walking through Tangled Gardens

Both calm me down instantly. I took a ton of pictures, but I thought these showed off the range of soft, subtle greens of every hue to wildly vibrant flowers and veggies. There's actually an eggplant hiding in there.

Then we stopped by Tom and his truck at the side of the highway to buy some smoked fish for the chowder. The recipe calls for bacon and since Joanna and Ezra keep a kosher style home (no pork, seafood and no mixing of dairy and meat products), we thought the smoked fish would give the chowder a similar feel.

So after lots of fun food shopping and a great afternoon of cooking together, here's what we came up with.

Menu

Atlantic Fish Chowder

Inspired by Classic Canadian Cooking

Baked Salmon with Horseradish Jelly

Sliced Just-picked Tomatoes with Basil

Potato & Pear Rosti

Adapted from The Greengrocer's Kitchen

Grandma Dolly's Apple Crisp
you have to scroll down to find it

Related links: Food and Drink recipes menu weekend cookbook challenge