the weekend to end all weekends

i am currently in the middle of the busiest weekend of my life.

it's late. i just got home from catering a buffet wedding rehearsal dinner for 40. tomorrow i have the market & another wedding rehearsal dinner for 60. eeeeppppp!!!

thankfully i have lots of help. i'll only be at the market for a short time tomorrow to set up & then i have to peace out. there will be two lovely ladies holding down the fort for me though. lauren & leslie are customers, turned friends, turned helpers who are pretty passionate about cupcakes & pumped to be rocking my corner of the market tomorrow. i'll be back to take care of business on sunday.

ok, sorry for such a lacklustre post, but i haven't even stopped to take pictures of things this week. here's a rundown of the menu:

lentil shepherd's pie   small $9 large $18

vegan & gluten-free. the bottom layer is lentils stewed with tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms & herbs. then towards the end of cooking, i stirred in zucchini, beet greens, kale, peas, corn & a touch of balsamic. this gets topped off with a puree of potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, cauliflower & nutritional yeast to make it taste a bit cheesy.

chipotle lime pulled pork   small $10 large $20

i braised getaway farm pork shoulder with southwestern spices until tender and then mixed it up with lots of caramelized onions & homemade chipotle lime bbq sauce. this mixture is on the bottom & then topped with black bean & corn succotash with bell peppers, green onions & pickled chillies. then the entire dish gets topped with mashed sweet potatoes spiked with sour cream & cilantro.

beef shepherd's pie  small $10 large $20

moroccan meatballs  small $10 large $20

brisket & blue  large $20

chile verde pork  large $20

sweet & sour pork meatballs  large $20

chicken, leek & bacon pies  small $10 large $20

grilled chicken breast with white bean ragu & summer veggies  small $10 large $20

lobster mac & cheese  small $12 large $24

fish cakes & baked beans  $15

vegan curry  small $9 large $18

soups & stews - $7/500ml container

curried butternut squash

vegan vegetable stew

roasted pepper, tomato, sweet potato & chipotle

black bean & corn chili

baked beans

chicken stew

seafood chowder

salads - $5/375ml container

beet: strawberries, wheat berries, radicchio, balsamic, baby kale, goat cheese

broccoli: almonds, bacon, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, red onion

quinoa: grilled fennel, grapefruit, cucumber, olives, fresh herbs, arugula

sweet potato: avocado, lime, cilantro, chipotle, bell peppers, green onions 

the sweets will be the same as usual with the addition of a new concoction. i took the shortbread base from the maple walnut bars & topped it with the lemon curd from my lemon tarts & voila - lemon shortbread bars. the curd is ultra tart & the base is ultra rich so it's a pretty good combo & should satisfy all those folks i've been disappointing since i stopped making lemon tarts.

ok, that's all for now. i really need a few hours sleep. hopefully you make it down to the market over the weekend to stock up :)

back to reality

so it's official, vacation is much better than working.

those 10 days just flew by. i ate tons of delicious food & caught up with tons of great friends. when in ottawa you must check out some of my favourite places.

the whalesbone 

(lobster atop green papaya salad with pickled veg)

supply & demand

(salmon tail stuffed with shrimp salad, celery hearts, pea shoots & grilled lemon)

the wellington gastropub

(crispy pork terrine, poached egg, mustard hollandaise & green tomato chow)

also town, murray street, the manx, union 613 where i neglected to take pictures...

and you must eat some of pascale's ice cream along the way.

i miss this so much. she sells at the landsdowne farmer's market on sundays & we worked together at beckta eons ago. she's a great business woman and a bit of an inspiration.

it was a very peculiar feeling to not be at the farmer's market last weekend. in all honesty i missed being there and seeing all of my regulars & little cupcake customers. i was in on wednesday to take stock of my freezer and set things back up so tomorrow morning won't be such a shock to the system.

i'm easing my way back in to the kitchen. this week i focused on replenishing my bbq sauces. yesterday i made huge batches of maple bourbon & chipotle lime. there is still lots of mustard & beer so my selection will be back to normal.

small jars 250 ml for $5

large jars 500 ml for $7.50

i skipped making a new main course but there's plenty of selection in the freezers.

getaway farm beef shepherd's pie with cheddar mashed potatoes, peas, corn, carrots & tangy gravy     small $10 large $20

red wine braised beef brisket with blue cheese gnocchi, cremini mushrooms & spinach

large $20

moroccan meatballs with harissa quinoa, almonds, lemon, dates, sumac & piquant tomato sauce

    small $10 large $20

asian inspired pulled pork with sesame roasted broccoli, garlic, ginger, chillies & rice

large $20

sweet & sour pork meatballs with pineapple, peppers, lime & rice

small $10 large $20

chile verde pork with hominy, tomatillos, cilantro, pickled jalapenos & pepperjack potatoes

small $10 large $20

chicken, leek & bacon pies with root vegetables, rich gravy & a puff pastry lid

small $10 large $20

grilled chicken with white bean ragout, roasted garlic, parmesan, lemon & grilled summer veggies

small $10 large $20

fish cakes & baked beans with salt cod & molasses. 

4 fishcakes & 500ml of beans for $15

lobster mac & cheese with foxhill cheese curds, roasted tomatoes, leeks & a panko crust

small $12 large $24

and vegan curry with potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, basmati & quinoa

small $9 large $18

there's also a wide variety of soups & i'll be making the salads today. i've got quinoa, beet, broccoli & sweet potato on the docket. the broccoli & sweet potato will be the same as usual. the quinoa will feature fennel, grapefruit & olives. and the beet will have local strawberries, baby kale, balsamic & goat cheese.

now it's time for baking. there will be the usual assortment of cupcakes, cookies, bars, cheesecakes & minis. i also have wedding cupcakes on order for tomorrow so my little oven will be getting quite the workout today.

now i'm off to the races. 

ps: market hours have changed slightly. from now on, i will be there from 7am-3pm on saturdays & 9-3pm on sundays. i'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again this weekend :)