Chipotle Bean Burritos for Cinco de Mayo

 

Chipotle Bean Burritos

I don't confess to being an expert on Mexican food. In fact I could count the number of true authentic Mexican restaurants in the valley on the fingers of one hand. If we count the chain restaurants like Taco Bell and Taco del Mar we could use both hands. I do love good Mexican food so this is where the week in a kitchen in central Mexico in a small mountain village would come in handy.

Even the ingredients to put an authentic meal on the table are hard to find. On my last trip to Costco in Seattle I thought I had hit pay dirt when I found some masa farina but it turned out to be terrible and I don't think the result is what I have been looking for. I will still keep looking and one day I may be able to make authentic dishes at home.

For the Mayonnaise Haters Amongst Us...Herbed Potato Salad

 

Herbed Potato Salad

Picnics can be anything from a simple bagged lunch with delicious sandwich wraps, veggies and cookies that you can nibble on in the line-up, to a dramatic gourmet picnic you can savour at your leisure in the park, the beach or on a mountain hike. There are creative suggestions for all appetites that would be perfect for those impromptu afternoons all over the blogosphere.

One thing that seems to ring true is that we love our potato salad!!!! An irresistible summer indulgence, potato salad recipes combine fresh new potatoes with delicious herbs and seasonings of every choice imaginable. Every cook has their favourite, tried and true recipe..or recipes. Some bloggers have a love/hate relationship with mayonnaise. I have always been a lover of mayonnaise but for those of you who don't like the white stuff this potato salad is for you!!! Dill, parsley, and onion combine with yogurt and sour cream to make a pungent, creamy dressing. Because it travels well, this flavorful potato salad is wonderful for picnics. I urge you to try this recipe. It has become my new favourite and I even prefer it to my mayonnaise based favourite.

Tomato Topped Beef Polpetti

 

Tomato Topped Beef Polpetti

I am taking a cue from Kevin over at Closet Cooking and cleaning out my freezer in preparation for a fresh new season.  Meat and chicken seem to be overflowing from the recesses of the freezer and taking over so it is time to move forward! As mentioned in my last post we are still in between seasons so comfort food may still show up here on MTBT from time to time before barbecue season hits full force. You just know that here in Canada, just like the postal service, we don't let a little Spring weather stop us from enjoying a good old-fashioned "barbie". Anyone that knows me also knows that I have been known to barbecue in the dead of winter wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket,  touque and utensils in hand and flipping burgers for 12? Well, let's just say it happens.

Spaghetti with Meatloaf and Roasted Tomatoes...the Last of the Comfort Food

Spaghetti with Meatloaf and Roasted Tomatoes

When it is 26C outside and the sun in shining you feel like diving into the kitchen to make meatloaf don't you:D I am sure that breaking out the barbecue is more your speed and I must admit it is usually mine. The thing is I had planned on making the dish you will find on these pages for days and had everything ready to go.

Yesterday I oven-roasted the tomatoes to intensify the summery flavours of the "harder than rock" tomatoes we find in the market these days. Of course we are teased by some of the most delicious hothouse tomatoes, as well as the campari's we have available all year round, but they come with a hefty price tag. This recipe called for 2 pounds of tomatoes so I compromised with the little unripened bullets which required roasting to caramelize and intensify their flavours. This recipe is perfect for when tomatoes are out of season and you don't want to use canned. Yesterday I also sauteed the vegetables and added them to the meatloaf   to save time for today.

Asparagus Pesto Stuffed Chicken for Earth Day

Asparagus Pesto Stuffed Chicken

April 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, celebrated around the world by more than a billion people. Earth Day is a day to celebrate the earth and remind us to appreciate nature and learn how to protect our environment. And while it is celebrated in the Spring here in the northern hemisphere, it is actually observed in the autumn in the southern hemisphere (both days being the exact “middle point” of the season). Internationally, it reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, so this (like the newer Earth Hour project) is a worldwide event. 

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Asparagus Pesto

 

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Asparagus Pesto

Have I told you that I love asparagus lately? It seems that the arrival of Spring means the arrival of asparagus and searching for many ways to use it. Perhaps this urgency, besides the fact that asparagus is one of my favourite vegetables, is because one of our patients used to bring us over 20 pounds of garden fresh asparagus from his farm every Spring. Good thing I love this vegetable!! The urgency was to create as many dishes as possible before it all went very wrong.

This year I decided on turning to my other favourite...pesto. I don't know about you but I am just in love with pesto. Spinach pesto, traditional basil pesto, garlic scape pesto,  red pepper pesto...if it can be thrown in the food processor or pummeled in a mortor and pestle it will show up as pesto on my table. So why not asparagus pesto!!!

Canadian Chef Cooks up a Slice of Spring with Salmon, Asparagus and Watercress Salad

Salmon, Asparagus and Watercress Salad

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know I started a bi-weekly feature to highlight Canadian Chefs in 2009. This year I continue on this journey to bring you all that Canada has to offer in the renowned culinary world!!! Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do. For the next few months I will continue to feature one of our Canadian chefs. There will be some chefs you have heard of and adore and some lesser known who are "up and coming". Some are not even chefs at all, but just Canadians who are passionate about what they do!! It's time to beef up the action and present the fourteenth installment in my Canadian Chef series. I introduce you to:

Kary Osmond

The Original Loose Meat Sandwich

Original Loose Meat Sandwiches

I was reading Sandi's blog The Whistlestop Cafe and was reminded of something I knew all along, but sometimes forget, that my blog does not have to be all about cuisine that is new, different or gourmet. I do love to experiment but the original concept of MTBT was to share those comforting dishes with my family and friends also. Sandi's niece was looking for a family favourite recipe for Chicken Casserole and Sandi realized she had never posted it...until now. I was also reminded that it is not quite summer and before barbecuing becomes a daily occurance I need to revisit some of my own comfort foods. It had me thinking that there are recipes I have never posted here on MTBT.  Food that I share with you is not always gourmet but what about those recipes that I find comforting.

Join our Virtual Cooking Light Supper Club with 5 Ingredients or Less

 

Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar

We are so glad that you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where 5 ladies in two neighbouring countries get together to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. We all share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. Each issue covers light cuisine and includes more than 70 delicious and flavourful recipes. The idea is simple because we all share a common interest in cooking and healthy eating. We love to share these ideas with you each and every month through our Virtual Supper Club. This is a team effort where we combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!!Please join us over at their blog Test Kitchen Secrets in a few days.

For the month of April we enjoyed each others company virtually and continued with our healthy themes with a menu using 5 INGREDIENTS OR LESS. We were up for the challenge and created what we consider a delicious and healthy menu from the pages of Cooking Light magazine. This Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar recipe is simplicity personified and well worth trying over and over again as I have in the past month.

Pasta Pepe e Cacio (Lemon Pasta) for Daffodil Day

 

Lemon Pasta (Pasta Pepe e Cacio)

To help build the momentum across our province of British Columbia, the Cancer Society, together with the Province of British Columbia, has officially declared April as Daffodil Month, and April 9 specifically as Daffodil Day. They are asking British Columbians to join their fight for a life well-lived by wearing a daffodil pin as a symbol that demonstrates our support for cancer survivors, loved ones and friends who are struggling with the disease. Cancer knows no boundaries and the symbol of hope that the daffodil represents joins us all together in the fight against cancer.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Maple Raspberry Syrup

 

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Maple Raspberry Syrup

Have you been having an enjoyable Easter weekend so far? I know that I have, even if my daughter L'il Burnt Toast and future son-in-law are not here to share a glass of wine on the patios at local wineries or lunch at local hotspots with me. I had a delicious pulled pork panini with coleslaw in Penticton yesterday. These days L'il Burnt Toast is attending university on the coast so I see her a lot less often. Sad for me, but I know she is working hard towards her goals and really enjoys spreading her wings in the big city. When I was her age I  was caught up in the big city life myself, both in Toronto and Calgary, so know what it is like to be young, adventurous and to have everything you need and want at your fingertips. Not that I am not still adventurous, but I prefer the smaller city lifestyle these days. What the city has to offer I can visit when the mood comes over me.

Later on today I will be having a delicious Easter dinner with friends, but a lovely brunch here at home sounds right up my alley to start the day off right. I decided upon some healthy and light lemon ricotta pancakes with a raspberry syrup. There is just something about the tang of lemon and raspberries that just marry so well together. Lemons inspire visions of little children and their sunny faces selling lemonade at their roadside stands. What a great way to start the day the day with memories of the summer months to come and a huge smile on your face!!!!!  The world is in bloom right now and the days are longer so all is right with the world.

Celebrate Easter....with a Varied Menu

No matter how you celebrate Easter it is a special time of year to get together with family and friends and celebrate a new beginning.  Did you know that the holiday celebrations have their roots in pagan religion? This tradition particularly comes from the old European festival of “Ostara” or “Eostre” that celebrated the death of long and cold winter months and the birth of Spring and looked forward to the fertile months of summer. Its strongest association is with the egg...a symbol of birth and regeneration. Easter is a celebration of Spring and rebirth in more ways than one.  As a child I remember the joy of receiving a chocolate Easter egg from Reid's Candy Store in my home town. They no longer make the eggs but they are still in business as a tribute to the past. We celebrated by going to church, staging Easter Egg hunts, and of course eating delicious foods shared with those near and dear to our heart.