A Perfect Sunday

Actually, my perfect Sunday started on Saturday... I was too lazy to get out of bed at the crack of dawn to go to the market (naturally I'm regretting that now... with a mostly empty vegetable bin and other market staples... oh well, there's always next week and perhaps I can find what I need at Local Source Market that carries lots of fresh local produce). But I digress.... we got to do our other Saturday ritual... breakfast at The Canadiana Restaurant - diner, family style cooking with a big aquarium and a DVD store attached to entertain the boys while we grown ups chat.
Later, my Honey and I took advantage of decent weather and wandered around downtown Halifax, checking out new shops and found The World Tea House where, since I couldn't decide between the two ... picked up some Spring Jasmine tea as well as Blueberry Jasmine Green tea. Brewing a pot of loose tea is my favorite pastime, especially on a dreary afternoon. I don't remember where I read the quote, but I loved it...

"Tea is to procrastination as coffee is to work"

But back to my perfect Sunday....yesterday we ended up going on an adventure with our two little grandsons - Boaz & Dov, 4 1/2 & 2 1/2, respectively, giving both my son-in-law and my daughter a day of rest to recuperate from her cold and a great excuse for a play date with the boys.

One of the best things about Nova Scotia is the easy access to awesome beaches within minutes from our door. We chose Cleveland Beach, along the Lighthouse Route (winding roads pass fishing villages, coves and beaches from Peggy's Cove all the way south along the Atlantic coast side of Nova Scotia). Just check out the fine, white sand on this pristine beach that seems to go forever (top of post).

Finally starving, we landed in Lunenburg for lunch. It's a quaint town, home of the famous Blue Nose II Sailing Ship and typical Nova Scotian houses.
One of the boys' highlights was playing at the Lunenburg playground before we headed home.
Needless to say, Poppa & Grandma were pooped out by the time we got home. Good thing I prepared most of dinner the night before. All I needed to do was have my Honey fire up the BBQ for the kebabs, take the coleslaw out of the fridge, and whip up the chickpea salad, which took less time than grilling the lamb.

Indian Lamb Kebabs

Indian - Spiced Coleslaw

Chickpea Salad with Lemon, Parmesan & Fresh Herbs

I may have missed out on the market this week, but the lamb is from Wood 'n Hart Farms via my freezer, the Kashmiri garam masala is from Epices de Cru, the herbs from River View Herbs - pots sit on my window sill.

How did you spend your weekend? I hope you had as much fun as we did.

Easy Long Weekends in Nova Scotia

Long weekends are always nice, but particularly wonderful when the sun is shining and the temperatures are warm...and even better if great road trips are only minutes away. The difference between living in Toronto and heading out to for a country-side adventure is all about the time it takes to get there...and the ocean, of course (That's Queensland Beach above).

This weekend was the Annual Indian Point/Mahone Bay Mussel Festival and under an hour from Halifax on the loveliest ocean route, passing quaint fishing villages, artistic centers and lots of beaches (at least 10) along the way. The Lighthouse Route is my favorite day trip, as you can see here. You are in the country, on windy country roads within 15 minutes of downtown Halifax and the views are spectacular - Atlantic Ocean view on the left and lakes and mountains on the right. But I digress and you check out my earlier raves by just doing a search here.

Saturday was an attempt to spend the day at Queensland Beach, but the winds blew us toward a more sheltered picnicking spot down the road.
And yesterday it was a jaunt to Mahone Bay to participate in the Mussel Festival and for a lunch of delicious mussels. Frankly it was hard to choose - every restaurant was selling them and every restaurant had at least three options. We ended up at the Gazebo Cafe (a charming spot with lots of patio space and lots of wonderful dishes) and ate some Spanish styled with Chorizo and, my favorite, these Provencal with shrimp in a Pernod cream sauce.
Today is still a lovely day, and to give us some quick energy...or rather, energy quickly...I made this tasty

Asparagus & Cheese with Spicy Walnut Pesto Omelet

with local asparagus - here at last!

I'm not sure where our adventures will take us today, but I am sure it will be wonderful.

Saturday at the Market - Across the Bridge

View of Halifax from Alderley Landing, Dartmouth

One of the Tall Ships in town, barely visible through the fog. Let me explain my adventure....

When we are in town (Halifax, Nova Scotia, for newcomers here), I love to visit the Halifax Farmers' Market and it's been a while since I've been...what with holidays and visits to camp to see our angels. I've been itching to return. That said, there is another Saturday Farmer's Market just across the Halifax Harbour in Dartmouth. But first let me tell you about my mystical journey to get there.
I've often mentioned the Nova Scotian fog, how romantic and mystical it is (That's one of the churches in Mahone Bay along the Lighthouse Route). It always reminds me of one of my favorite novels...The Mists of Avalon, the mythical land in the time of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

This time the fog was so thick, that, in order to get to the other side of the Halifax Harbour (a five minute journey) I had to travel over the invisible bridge. Invisible??? Yes, just like Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade , crossing the deep chasm to get to the chalice, I had to have faith and trust that the bridge actually was there. I couldn't see anything ahead of me, except for a faint pink glow of the tail lights of the car ahead. Even after the ghostly bridge, the windy road, to the Landing was eerie and everything looked so foreign.

And if you think I'm doing my usual exaggerating, the photos at the top of the post show you just how foggy it was. Normally, the view of Halifax is sharp and so clear you can see the ships docked in port and hustle and bustle of the crowds on the boardwalk. And that tall ship you see is actually docked just off of the Dartmouth pier, perhaps 50 feet from where I was standing!
But back to the business at hand....Saturday Farmer's Markets. Alderney Landing is home to artistic events, shops selling local artisan art, jewellery and more, the ferry to Halifax, and (from my perspective, the most inviting) a Saturday Farmer's Market. I've spoken many times about how the Halifax market is so different to other markets I've been to - a very social scene with music and lots of chatting.
The Dartmouth Saturday Farmers' Market is more like farmers markets I've been to elsewhere...lots of lovely produce, mixed in with lots of local knitted items, jewellery and homemade jams, preserves, pies and breads. That's Anna Wall, who, along with her husband, Ben are Mennonite farmers from Noel, NS. Their Saturday begins at 3AM to get to the market in time to set up for the 7am opening. All those breads and pickles you see are made by Anna. You can't see all the pies in front of their booth or the beautiful fresh vegetables that they grow on their farm or the fresh eggs from their own free range chickens. But...
...in addition to eggs and basil and...well, I couldn't resist these cute Cocas (they are another summer squash, looking like tubby zucchini). and I'm going to use them to make some South Beach Diet friendly fritters...stay tuned.

The atmosphere at the Dartmouth market was more like Ontario markets I've visited in St Jacob and Kitchener, just on a much smaller scale. Lots of homemade breads, cakes, pies and preserves, lots of small booths but a feeling of a large community.
A stark contrast to the Halifax Farmers Market - this photo was taken at 9:30am and is why I usually go at 7am to avoid the crowds. So what's your preference...markets for shopping or markets for socializing or a bit of both worlds?

I love eating locally farmed, locally made, locally dished up- and you should be - everything tastes so much better! I encourage you to do the same. You can find out more here at the EatRealEatLocal website. Throughout the summer, I'll be working with the Eat Real Eat Local Campaign to highlight wonderful local Nova Scotian fare...markets, restaurants and festivals...stay tuned!

Lobster Dinner at Home

My brother-in-law is visiting from Toronto, so we're naturally doing some touristy things...time checking out the Halifax harbour, heading out to Peggy's Cove and the rest of the lovely Lighthouse Route. We've taken many a visitor on these journeys in the past year and we love doing it. But this is the first time we actually cooked lobster at home. And it was absolutely spectacular.

This is just a short post...because we're heading out to take advantage of a gorgeous day, but I had to share. We bought our lobsters at the massive Clearwater store along the Bedford Basin. So many lobster options...soft shell (with lower percentage of meat), some perfect for canning, to the hard shell variety. Guess which route we chose....no contest....2 lively 1 1/2 lb hard shell primo lobsters went into the bag and we headed home.

I finally got to use the huge pot I bought last summer specifically for this purpose (although it will be used for making large batches of soups, sauces and stews for the freezer...but I digress. And naturally the menfolk reminded me of Woody Allen in the movie Annie Hall, so I had to do the handling.

Here's Clearwater's own recipe for Boiled Lobster and while you're there, check out the other great recipes. My Honey wouldn't let me post the photo of empty shells, so you'll have to trust me when I say there was nothing left. The lobsters were sweet and juicy and the best I've ever eaten. And, by the way...Clearwater has an online store and ships anywhere, so you don't have to live in Halifax to enjoy some of our local lobsters.

The picture of me in my lobster bib is still on my brother-in-law's camera and we're off to explore....see you all tomorrow for the Presto Pasta Night Roundup.

Perfect Time for Tomatoes

Last Saturday we took a drive to Hubbards, a little village along the Lighthouse Route, less than an hour from Halifax. I wrote about our surprise find last spring and we decided to check out their Saturday farmers market again now that the harvest season is really upon us. You'll have to wait until next week for my article on Foodtv's site...I'll keep you posted.

Trust me when I say, I love this time of year for local produce...everything so beautiful, everything so delicious. My personal favorites....corn on the cob right off the farm, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, sweet onions, and definitely...tomatoes!

Ever notice in the off seasons how food might look good, but taste like wood? Especially tomatoes. There was one farmer at Hubbards who sucked me in, not just with how pretty his tomatoes looked (at the top of the post), but with the samples he had for us to taste....so sweet, I finally understand why tomatoes are considered fruit. I couldn't wait to get home to eat a bowlful while I was putting away the rest of my goodies...just a drizzle of good olive oil, some shredded fresh basil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

...and later I whipped up a batch of Fried Green Tomatoes...another of my favorite late summer dishes.

Soon enough I will have to control myself in making batches of tomato sauce because I don't really have much space to store it.

So what's your favorite summer vegetable?

Prospect's Lobster Dinner

Where has the week gone? I started to write this post on Monday, but I guess I've just been having too much fun with my family. But I still want to share a lovely Nova Scotian tradition...community dinners. Perhaps it's not just a Nova Scotian tradition, but it's a new one to me and I'm glad to be a part of this one in particular...but let me back up a bit...

I wrote about Prospect last summer, when we first moved to Nova Scotia, last year. This time we took a much closer look at the village, including a lovely B&B called, naturally, Prospect Village Bed & Breakfast. We haven't stayed there yet...but we will. It looks awesome (You can check out the photos, etc., right here) As you can see from the photo, the little hamlet (you can make out the church and the parish hall that housed the community lobster supper is hidden by it) looked deserted when we drove in last year...almost like a set for a film that takes place in the 1800's. But this past Sunday, was a different story entirely...people from the village, surrounding neighborhoods and some "outsiders" like us were there. I wish I had taken a photo of the crowd, but I was too caught up in the moment.

We were all there for the Prospect Village Lobster Supper an annual fundraiser which is put together by the Prospect Peninsula Residents’ Association to raise money for the local wharf and community library.

Sunday was glorious...the weather was perfect and Ryan, Lex & cute little Piper, friends of my daughter, invited us to join in the fun. That's me and my daughter Sharron at the top of the post, about to get messy over a very juicy, tasty lobster dinner complete with a dish of mussels fresh from Prospect Bay to start, potato salad, cole slaw and for dessert...well, more in a minute.

Ryan, Lex and Piper and their two dogs live in the hamlet in the most delightful dollhouse ever. Take a look at the view from their backyard . Apparently, in winter storms, the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, lap their windows!

Lex's kitchen and the 4 apple pies she made for the supper...it really is a community affair. Everyone pitches in...men dealing with lobsters (last year over 500 were served) and mussels, the ladies make lots of delicious pies for dessert,

Everyone gets into the act to serve it all up. (I don't remember her name, but she's about to have a baby any day now).

Mussels to start


Lobster dinner with perfect potato salad...I wonder who's recipe and if they'd share...

Even Piper loved the lobster (that's her mummy helping her out)

I couldn't resist this strawberry rhubarb pie, but there were lots of choices.

Local musicians entertained outside and artisans sold their beautiful wares in the parish hall...too bad I didn't take any photos of those.

All in all...a perfectly heavenly day and the Lighthouse Route is still my favorite part of Nova Scotia, but we haven't even explored half of the province yet, so you never know.

Does your town/neighborhood have community dinners? I'd love to hear about them.

Vacationing in Nova Scota

Everyone needs vacation time, which can take many shapes...like the 9 month honeymoon my daughter Joanna and her husband Ezra took, backpacking through Africa and South America. I call those "National Geographic" vacations. Personally, I love to hear about those or watch them on TV, but you'll never find me taking one. I prefer over-the-top-pampering, like the cruise in French Polynesia we took one year to celebrate a special anniversary. At the other end of the spectrum... I love to sleep in, eat whenever, and play tourist locally.

My Honey is off this week and we're taking advantage of great weather to drive around exploring more of Nova Scotia, and I thought I'd share some of the scenery and...naturally...some of the food we're enjoying.

Although you might be tired of hearing about our spending time with Boaz, his parents and his nanny (my other daughter), we certainly aren't tired of visiting them...especially since camp is only an hour and a half from our home. At the top of the post is the view from their cabin (early in the morning, before all the campers are out of bed). And this is Bo in one of his favorite haunts...the gymnasium.

So after a day of hanging out with them, my Honey and I drove off on our own adventure further along the Lighthouse Route than we've seen. We were hoping to find a motel on one of the sandy beaches along the South Shore. like Risser's Beach or Summerville Beach with pristine white sand. But everyone else had the same idea - no vacancies!- so we spent the night in Liverpool at the charming Lane Privateer Inn. That's the view from the rolling lawn and our window.

We ate a delicious supper in one of their three dining rooms...the formal, the pub and...my choice .. the Snug Harbour Bookstore. While waiting for your food, you can browse through the gorgeous books for sale.

I had a lobster, avocado and bacon club...

and my Honey had panko coated scallops with a mild curry sauce. For dessert...

...who could resist the brownie, smothered in hot fudge sauce with some vanilla ice cream on the side.

All that delicious food means some exercise is required...a long walk on the shore of the Mersey River (I hear the Beatles every time I say it) followed by a leisurely sleep at the inn and we're ready for more adventures.

We headed north to the Fundy Shore, passing through a different kind of beauty...forests, forests, and more forests, with an awesome smell of pine wafting through the air as we drive with the windows wide open. No wonder we passed three lumber mills along the coast. But seriously, this photo doesn't do justice to the view. I wanted to capture the virginal vista...not a billboard, not a store, no signs of modern life except for the paved road for miles. And when you're at the top of hill...the pristine view is endless green ... nothing but trees and a sprinkle of calm lakes. It's also where you'll find Kejimkujik National Park a perfect place to camp, hike and canoe.

But we're heading north to the Fundy Coast, to Digby (for their famous scallops)

Just check out the famous low tide at the Digby wharves. This was the view from our terrace table at the Fundy Restaurant

with the seriously best scallops ever!!! The lightest batter...the sweetest, juiciest, hugest scallops...I'm still drooling. No wonder Digby scallops are considered the best in the world.

We didn't make it to Brier Island the perfect spot for some whale watching and other eco-lovely things to do. It's at the end of Digby Neck...and we were too impatient for the two ferry rides...We were starving and worried that we wouldn't find a place to stay. (We had been on the road for four hours and it was definitely time for lunch.) That trip will have to wait for another day.

Now we're off to Annapolis Royale ( for some history and more great food). More about that later this week.

And for you Presto Pasta Nighters...I will be hosting this week (and posting on Friday), but I apologize for not responding as you send me your emails (to ruth@4everykitchen.com ), after all...I'm on vacation!

Not Your Average Burger

Supper after a long day in the country - Mushroom Swiss Cheese Burger, makes me drool just writing about it. But first, the day...

Sunday was glorious...a bit windy, but sunny and wonderful and My Honey and I decided to explore a different "route". We love the Lighthouse Route - Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay & Lunenburg to mention just three lovely places on the way (and tons of great eating too, I might add). And we've travelled the Evangeline Trail through the Annapolis Valley-great wines, lush farmlands...Wolfville has some great restaurants (plus that is the "go to" place for us for apple picking, and Grand Pre (my very favorite spot...The Tangled Garden). I could go on and on.

But we've covered those routes so often the car can go on auto-pilot. So this time we decided to explore the Marine Drive...up north past Dartmouth and heading towards Cape Breton. Apparently there are some awesome beaches there that we never made it to this summer. We thought we'd check things out for next year.

Plus the weather was very summery. Look at those waves, no wonder there were so many surfers out even though it's mid-October.

Those tiny dots...kayakers taking advantage of the waves. We were on a cliff watching the action.

It was certainly windy enough for this paraglider/surfer. And just check out the wonderful sandy beach.

I've never been to a moor, but somehow when I saw this...thick grassy breaker before the beach, I saw Heathcliff and Catherine from Wuthering Heights. Okay, maybe I was just hungry and hallucinating....

We got in the car still heading north and looking for a place to eat a late lunch. Not nearly the options of the Lighthouse Route, so if there are any locals out there reading this...please point us to a great spot for the next time. We did see The Lobster Shack at the Salmon River House Country Inn, but my Honey, who hates waiting in line for a meal, equally hates going to a place where there isn't a car in the parking lot. After an hour of driving and finding....nothing, we did a u-turn and headed back to Dartmouth, by this time, we were just really craving a fast food burger. I know it sounds impossible, but we didn't find one (they always seemed to be off on a subsiduary road, teasing us) and so we had a fast food of a different sort - gravely disappointed in the food, so I won't share where.

All that to tell you about our truly super supper....

I recently received a copy of Dana McCauley's cookbook Dana's Top Ten Table. Dana is a food writer who for a long time was food editor for Homemakers Magazine. You can learn all about her here... At Homemakers Dana followed the current food trends and that was the inspiration for her latest cookbook...Dana's Top Ten Table - 200 fresh takes on family-favorite meals. A great book! And what are the "top 10"? (In alphabetical order) Burgers, Casseroles & one-dish meals, Chicken, Fish & seafood, Pasta, Pizza, Pork, Sandwiches, Soup, and Steak. And each category has great recipes to make the ordinary anything BUT!

Burgers on the brain, I flipped through the burger section of the book. It really was difficult to choose...the Gourmet Brie Burger sounded very sophisticated - tasty patties enveloping a chunk of cold Brie or Camembert. Butter basted Bison Burgers? Sweet & Spicy Maple Chicken Burgers? Both sound awesome, but obviously for another day - I only have ground beef on hand. Plus, I was really in a diner mood.

And there it was...perfection....Mushroom Swiss Burgers - sigh! As I write this, I think I have to make them again before the week is out! I made them in buns as traditional diner burgers would be... Swiss Cheese melting just a little on it's way from the kitchen...lots of sauteed mushrooms and onions on top....delicious! But next time I might take Dana's suggestion and serve them sans bun with mashed potatoes and double up on the mushrooms.

Related Links:Food and Drink easy cooking recipes burgers meat cookbooks Nova Scotia

Good but Crazy Times - Touring, Presto Pasta & BlogHer

It's a crazy...good crazy, but crazy none the less. Our friends are spending a few days in Halifax and I'm playing tourist/tour guide. Talk about the blind leading the blind....although, I'm quite impressed with myself. I haven't even gotten us lost once.

In order to get the car to toodle around I need to get my Honey into town before 7:30 AM - you heard me. No groaning out there - it's a good thing. It's the only time I have to do any writing this week. Thank goodness for Starbucks. And don't you love my laptop's background? That smile puts me in a great mood for the whole day. But I'm off topic, yet again.

Today was sunny and hot and brilliant so we ended up taking a tall ship tour of Halifax Harbour, enjoyed a lobster crepe while waiting to board and a leisurely stroll before dinner...not sure where we'll end up.

Yesterday we drove along the Lighthouse Route (that's our friends in front of the famouse lighthouse at Peggy's Cove)- yes, you've heard all about the Lighthouse Route several times. This time at least was sunny and hot. Lots of people were swimming at Cleveland and Queenlands salt water beaches in (I think) St Margaret's Bay. Everyone was having a wonderful time in the surf. But we were in a hurry to get to Lunenburg for a lobster sandwich on the Dockside Terrace overlooking the harbour. I know...the photo sucks! but the sandwich was delicious. What a great life!!!

After a leisurely lunch, we wandered a bit and then headed home to pick up my Honey and go out for dinner in Halifax.

I've already said there will be no cooking this week, but Presto Pasta Night Roundup is Friday, so last night we ate on the terrace at The Argyle (on Argyle, naturally) and I had to have some pasta. What can I say...the lovely lobster ravioli in white wine and garlic cream sauce was delicious. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this time, the photo really doesn't do the dish justice. I will have to experiment with this one once I'm really in my own home.

On to crazy, good but crazy number two. I'm off to the BlogHer Conference tomorrow in Chicago and I can't wait. I can't wait to gain new insights and ideas and more importantly...I can't wait to meet some fellow food bloggers whom I've become friends with through our blogs.

If any of you are planning on attending, please let me know. I'd love to hook up with you.

I don't know how much writing I'll be doing over the next few days but I promise to share as much as I can and of course do a Presto Pasta Night Roundup on Friday. You still have a couple of days to make a terrific pasta dish. It's easy to join the fun. Here's how.

I'll catch you when I can and I hope you're all having a crazy - good but crazy week too!

Related links: Food & Drink Nova Scotia pastaBlogHer ConferencePresto Pasta Night