FIRE GRILLED MACKEREL with a Tamari Ginger Dipping Sauce

After a beautiful morning spent at the South Shore Waldorf School's May Fair, we took the long way home on the old highway.  If Faegan hadn't been taking a nap in the car, we would have stopped at all the antique stores and yard sales along the way.  The one stop we did make though was for some fresh caught mackerel.  I was hoping we would run into a truck on the side of the road selling wild mackerel so that I could avoid buying fish from the store wrapped in plastic.  I was so excited to find some today that I bought 10 so I could freeze some for another day.  The only time I ever usually eat mackerel is when it's smoked.  I had visions of outdoor grilling over the fire again, so did a quick internet recipe search and found one for Salt Grilled Mackerel on Cook it Simply's site.  What a delicious way to serve mackerel!  I am going to use that sauce for all kinds of fish and seafood dishes again.  This was delicious served with a fresh garden salad made with an asian style vinaigrette.

FIRE GRILLED MACKEREL with a Tamari Ginger Dipping Sauce

adapted from Cook it Simply

4 local wild mackerel, gutted and cleaned with head on

2 Tbsp fine sea salt

8 Tbsp organic tamari sauce

4 Tbsp local honey

2 inch piece organic ginger, grated finely

Method:  To make the sauce combine the tamari, honey and ginger in a small saucepan.  Bring to a light boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat, strain and let cool.

     Prepare the fish by slashing the fish down one side, and then sprinkle the salt in the cavity, on the skin and in the gashes.  Let sit for 40 minutes, then rinse and pat dry.  Heat your grill or prepare the fire pit so that there are just hot coals and place the fish on, cook for about 5 minutes each side, being sure to only turn once.  You can baste each side midway through cooking with some of the sauce.  Serve the fish with tiny dishes of the extra sauce for dipping.

MAPLE WALNUT ICE CREAM

All I can do is dream of the day when Scott and I get a cow or some goats.  Committing to a plastic free lifestyle has enhanced this desire even more because plastic free organic dairy products are non existent around these parts.  So, until then I am still going to buy organic milk in a carton, which is at least recyclable, and make our yogurt and tonight, ice cream!  I've had some maple walnuts floating around in our freezer for over a year.  What better way to use them up than in this delicious ice cream?

MAPLE WALNUT ICE CREAM

4 organic egg yolks

2/3 cup local maple syrup

1 tsp organic unbleached flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup organic half and half or 18% cream

1 cup organic whole milk

1/2 tsp organic vanilla

1/2 cup organic maple walnuts (recipe follows)

Method:  In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, maple syrup, flour and sea salt.  Set aside.  In a saucepan over medium low heat, bring cream and milk to a simmer.  Gradually whisk into the egg mixture.  Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Cool to room temperature.  Stir in vanilla, cover and refrigerate until completely cold or overnight.

Transfer to an ice cream maker and follow your manufacturer's directions.  Add maple walnuts in the last 5 minutes of freezing

MAPLE WALNUTS

3 cups organic walnuts

1/4 cup maple sugar

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1/4 tsp organic ground cinnamon

1/8 cup brandy

1 Tbsp pure vanilla

1/2 cup local maple syrup

1 Tbsp organic unsalted butter

Method:  Preheat oven to 350*.  Spread walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, toast in oven, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 10 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Combine maple sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.  In a large, deep skillet, combine brandy, vanilla, maple syrup and butter.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Stir in nuts, and continue cooking, stirring, until skillet is almost dry, about 3 minutes more.

Remove from heat, and immediately add reserved sugar mixture to hot nut mixture.  Toss until well coated.  Spread nuts out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let cool completely.  Store nuts in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks or freeze for 6 months to one year.

PASTA FRITTATA

If you end up having leftover pasta from last night's meal, you can always make a pasta frittata.

PASTA FRITTATA

2 organic eggs, whisked

1 cup leftover garlicky angel hair pasta with kale and mizuna (or any leftover boiled pasta)

1 Tbsp organic salted butter

sea salt and peppper

romano cheese

Method:  Heat a small cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Set your oven to broil and warm it up.  Melt the butter in the pan and the add the pasta, stirring to warm it through.  Whisk the eggs with some salt and pepper and then add to pan, tilting it to distribute evenly.  Grate some of the romano cheese on top.  Broil about 3-4 minutes in oven until the egg is set.  Serve.

GARLICKY ANGEL HAIR PASTA with Kale and Mizuna

I am  a pleased to have found a supplier of Kamut Capellini.  Artesian Acres pasta is available all over the place but I've never seen this Angel Hair pasta.  I've been ordering wholesale from Ontario Natural Food Co-Op and I just happened to see it in the catalogue.  You'll be seeing a lot of it over the next little while because I have a whole case of it in my basement pantry!  The only thing is, now that I am plastic conscious I realize that I won't be ordering it again, until they change to some sort of responsible packaging that is.  I am coming more and more to the realization that for many favorite foods, the only alternative right now to plastic packaging is to make everything from scratch, and to grow our own.  Luckily homemade usually tastes better.

     So back to tonight's supper.  When you want to clean your fridge up and use any greens still lingering from your weekly farmer's market forage, make this pasta.  You only need one pot, so clean up is easy, and it tastes amazing.  You can use any green in this one too, I just so happened to have lots of kale and mizuna this week.

GARLICKY ANGEL HAIR PASTA with Kale and Mizuna

1 head of organic kale, chopped finely

1 bunch organic mizuna, chopped

3 cloves organic garlic, smashed and chopped

1 bag organic kamut capellini nests (375 g)

1/4 - 1/2 cup really good e.v olive oil

sea salt and pepper

romano cheese

Method:  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add 1 Tbsp sea salt, the kale, mizuna and pasta.  Cook 3-4 minutes, strain.  In the bottom of the hot, empty pot, warm the olive oil and garlic on the still warm element that has been turned off.  Then stir in the drained pasta and greens, serve with lots of cheese and pepper.

TURKEY PAILLARDS

When you need to get some frustration out, think Turkey Paillards.  One huge turkey breast is cut into medallions, then you bang the hell out of it with a cast iron skillet till they're nice and flat.  Tastes great, grilled with a side of grilled asparagus.  Happy long weekend!

TURKEY PAILLARDS

1 free range, pasture raised turkey breast

2 Tbsp fresh thyme

2 Tbsp fresh oregano

1/2 Tbsp Tom's Spice

2 Tbsp e.v olive oil

zest of 1 organic lemon

2 cloves organic garlic, smashed and minced

Method:  Prepare turkey breast as described above.  Lay in a baking dish and season with herbs, oil and spice.  Warm up barbeque and then grill about 1-2 minutes each side.

RHUBARB COMPOTE

I really wish the rhubarb I planted last year was bountiful enough to harvest from.  It might have helped if I had remembered to fertilize it with some sheep manure in the fall.  Luckily there was an abundance of rhubarb for sale at the Farmer's Market yesterday, so for the third week in a row I bought some.  I've been making all kinds of yummies with rhubarb lately.  For awhile it was Mixed Fruit Rhubarb crisp (sorry it was so good we ate it each time before I could get a picture!) and for this week's market sales, I made the Rustic Rhubarb tart featured on Smitten Kitchen's food blog.  They were a huge hit with my customers and people kept coming for them long after I was sold out!  This morning we savoured Rhubarb Compote Crepes with maple syrup....so good.

RHUBARB BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

5 stalks organic rhubarb, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup coconut sugar or  1/4 maple syrup

1/2  cup frozen or fresh wild blueberries

Method:  Place all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil on medium heat, cover and lower heat, simmering for 15 minutes.  Remove lid and simmer another 15 minutes.  Serve on ice cream, in pastry shells for tarts, in crepes, on pancakes, waffles or anything at all!

OUTSIDE FOOD

Sometimes I am blown away by just how beautiful spring can be in the country.  Even though I was grumpy as can be this evening, I still managed to be awestruck by the greenery, the sun, the cool breeze and the blossoms.  This all occurred as I was sitting by the fire while my husband nurtured some coals to cook supper on.  Scott loves being outside even more than I do, sipping wine by the fire.  So it was his idea to fry up some trout over the fire.  The trout is from a sweet little boy at the Farmer's Market.  He sells them out of a cooler from his stash he catches at a lake near his home.  It doesn't get much better than that, unless you catch your own of course!  Since the coals were fired up, I thought it might be nice to bake some russet potatoes while we were at it.  They were delicious topped with salty butter, cheddar cheese, fresh spring onions and yogurt.  Oh and the salad!  Fresh lettuce from the market was supplemented from some of the wee lettuce and arugula shoots I have growing in a pot on the deck.  Great way to get some early greens before the soil in the big garden is warm enough.