super stellar

it has been a great week in the kitchen... almost relaxing & i even squeezed in a social life. last week was crazy hectic getting ready for an elaborate hors d'oeuvres spread (hence the absent blog update), a few special orders & baking a 5th birthday cake.

i still have a birthday cake to make tonight but compared to usual, that's way ahead of schedule.

since i wasn't preoccupied with catering jobs, i was able to restock some frozen favourites. the new main course is brisket & blue featuring getaway farms beef. i picked up 18 pounds this week & braised it overnight with leeks, celery, sun-dried tomatoes, pears & red wine. it's incredibly tender & flavourful. it's paired with creamy blue cheese gnocchi & kale from my garden.

small $10 large $20

disco soup is also back - aka beet, parsnip & pear. it has such a fantastic colour that it just looks like a party! it's also vegan, gluten-free & paleo.

i made a batch of chicken stew as well - this is perhaps the hardest item on the menu to keep in stock. it's just classic comfort food - homemade stock, free range chicken, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery, brussels sprouts, peas & herbs.

there're about 10 more flavours on the menu right now too, the complete list is posted on the front of my freezer door at the market & they're all $7 no matter the flavour. there's definitely been a chill in the air this week & soup season is upon us once more.

but if you're not ready for that just yet, there are three salads to choose from as well.

broccoli - the same as always

quinoa - curried hummus dressing, crunchy veg, peanuts, cilantro

beet - wheatberries, shaved fennel, red onion, white wine vinaigrette, kale from my garden, goat cheese & candied walnuts. it's a got a bit of extra flare this week.

and as usual my table will be filled with sweets - and the goat's milk fudge will be hiding underneath.

ok back to the kitchen. i look forward to seeing you all over the weekend.

saturday 7am-3pm

sunday 9am-3pm

yeah that's right, the market closes at 3pm not 4pm, make sure to come early so you don't miss out!

cloves are the new black

it smells like thanksgiving around here today. i have been a veritable pumpkin pie production facility for most of the day. the pies will be available tomorrow at the market, i have lots of pre-orders to fill & the rest will be available on a first come first serve basis. they're not overly sweet & kicked up with lots of cinnamon, cloves & warm chai spices perfect with a side of foxhill or deedee's vanilla ice cream. they are $15 a piece.

cloves also made an appearance in my 'thanksgiving pies' - part deux. last week was turkey & dressing, this week is pork with sweet potato casserole. at pretty much every family gathering we have turkey, ham, dressing & sweet potato casserole, hence my two versions of 'thanksgiving pie' (think shepherd's pie not chicken pot pie). 

my grandma makes the best ham of all time. i'm not normally a ham fan but she bakes a boston butt for hours with lots of mustard & cloves and it tastes like magic! instead of a ham i've made pulled pork with getaway farm meat & incorporated all of the same flavours. it's all mixed up with peppers & swiss chard from my garden to up the nutrients.

then i made a version of my aunt's sweet potato casserole. i added parsnips & turnips from elmridge just to make it a bit less sweet & a bit more interesting. there's some vanilla, cinnamon & it gets topped with candied walnuts. i'm pretty pleased with the final product.

small $10  large $20

there are still lots of turkey & dressing pies and if you have a vegan coming to dinner, the lentil shepherd's pies are great seasonal option (only a few larges left).

if you're all holiday-ed out there are plenty of other options too:

chicken, leek, broccoli & bacon pies

moroccan meatballs

chipotle pulled pork with succotash & sweet potatoes

smokey mac & cheese

vegan thai green curry

beef shepherd's pies

there are a few smalls of the jerk chicken & sesame ginger pork left too.

for a lighter option or a cleanse on tuesday, the soup selection is slowly being replenished too:

carrot, apple, ginger

curried butternut squash

vegan vegetable stew

white bean, lemon & kale

black bean & corn chili

baked beans

roasted pepper, tomato & chipotle

thai turkey & rice

beef stew

chicken stew

seafood chowder

the salads this week with be traditional broccoli, curried quinoa (vegan) and mustard & dill potato (vegan).

the baking was a little insane this week too. i think i went completely overboard on cupcake production so i reeaallllyyyy hope everyone is hungry. flavours this week are:

pumpkin-maple

chocolate

chocolate-mint

vanilla

pink grapefruit

banana-peanut butter

red velvet-raspberry

gluten free pumpkin spice

i also have over 100 cupcakes to decorate for a wedding tomorrow!

oh & check out the cake i made earlier this week:

perhaps my favourite one yet!

 my family dinner isn't until monday so i'll be at the market for regular hours:

saturday 7am-3pm

sunday 9am-3pm

hope to see you all over the weekend!

#cityharvest, cupcakes & turkey

so, i only made one new main course for this weekend and thought i was going to have a pretty mellow week in the kitchen. i was wrong.

at the last minute i decided to add a soup, had three special orders for sweets & am still getting ready for City Harvest.

first off, City Harvest is happening tomorrow!!! get your stretchy pants ready. there is so much tasty grub on special all around the city. the weather's supposed to be glorious & it'll be just the perfect day for walking around & enjoying some delectables.

you can visit the i love local hfx website for a list of all the events & specials.

i'll be teaming up with obladee wine bar for the day. in addition to their usual array of fantastic cheeses & charcuterie, they will have a 'market medley' salad on the menu tomorrow night... made by me! for $5 you'll get a taste of roasted elmridge beets, caramelized noggins fennel, maple glazed walnuts, marinated wheatberries, the dutchman's dragon's breath blue cheese & a sprinkling of riverview herbs microgreens.

for city harvest i'll also have a bit of a special on mini cupcakes - the baker's 1/2doz will be $5 tomorrow only. oh & it will feature the return of pumpkin spice cupcakes.

i did a little playing around this week & i will have them in BOTH the gluten-free & gluten-full varieties!

now i know thanksgiving isn't until next week, but i cooked a turkey this week (i have other plans for next week). a beautiful 16 pound free range bird from shani's farm. i turned it in to one of the most popular dishes i make: turkey & dressing pies! think shepherd's pie but with all the flavours of a turkey dinner. the bottom layer is turkey breast, gravy, peas, carrots, leeks & brussels sprouts. the top layer is potato & bread dressing with sage & dried cranberries.

comme ca:

don't feel like dirtying every dish in your kitchen or slaving away/stressing all day? you're welcome, i did it already ;)

small $10   large $20

next week i'll be tackling another seasonal dish. it's the pulled pork & sweet potato pie dish that i've done before, based on my grandma's baked ham recipe & my aunt's sweet potato casserole. it's all of my favourite thanksgiving flavours wrapped up in one. the pork's already on order from getaway farm!

i also whipped up a batch of thai turkey & rice soup. now that cold & flu season is upon us, this one is pretty handy. i made an overnight turkey stock enriched with lemongrass, cardamom, star anise, garlic, ginger & chillies so it's not your typical turkey soup. the veggies are carrots, celery, peppers, bok choy, green onions with some coconut, lime, thai basil, green onions & jasmine rice.

as with all the soups/stews/chowder/chili it's $7/500ml container.

this week i'll only have three types of salad with me at the market.

broccoli - same as always

quinoa - spicy curry & peanuts

sweet potato - avocado, lime, cilantro

the sweets selection will be the same as usual too (minus lemon bars this week)

breakfast cookies

snickers brownies

maple walnut bars

hello dollies

goat milk fudge

CUPCAKES!!!

ok i have loads of work to do today, better get to work. hope to see you over the weekend... perhaps even after the market as i eat my way around the food truck rally!!!