Light and Crispy Fish & Chips

Frying. It's not something that I do a lot at home. To be honest, because it's messy. And it smells. But it tastes so darn good!

Today I picked up some beautiful fresh fish (snapper) and couldn't resist turning it into fish and chips. And it was amazing! Our daughter of course, who has eaten very little deep fried food, if any, in her lifetime of less than 2 years absolutely adored it, even though fish has been an on and off food for her.

The batter was light and crispy, and the tartar sauce was the perfect tangy accompaniment. Definitely worth the mess and smell in my kitchen!

Stirfried Beef with Zucchini, Ginger and Scallions

I grew up with amazing stirfries that my mom used to make for us all the time. My favourites were beef and brocolli, beef and zucchini and beef and green beans.

Although I also stirfry quite often for my family, I can never get them tasting quite as good as my mom's. That is, until this one. Usually my veggies are overcooked, my meat is a little on the chewier side, or the flavours just aren't the same. But it seems that I finally got one right. I managed to achieve a similar balance of flavours to the stirfries I remember and kept the meat tender and the veggies al dente.

The tricks?

- Starting with good meat, thinly sliced across the grain.

- Cooking everything separately. First browning the meat and removing it from the pan when it is just browned but not necessarily completely cooked. The slices are so thin that between residual cooking once removed from the pan and the additional cooking time once added back to the pan, they cook quickly and completely faster than we think. Then cooking the veggies until just fork tender. Doing these steps allows you to control the cooking time of the two main components, which cook at vastly different rates.

Hopefully this is a sign of great stirfries to come?

Banana Blueberry Muffins (Whole Wheat)

I am always looking for new muffin recipes. Oh, and I am always looking for ways to use up bananas. Seemingly endless amounts of bananas.

You are probably wondering why I have so many bananas. It's not like I grow them in my backyard. I actually buy 2-3 bunches of organic bananas each week and always seem to have some overripe ones left over in the end. Why not buy less bananas you ask? Because my biggest pet peeve is not having ripe bananas around to eat and send to daycare, and we all know that the bananas in the grocery store are usually far from ripe and they ripen at varying speeds. So, I buy lots, using what we need throughout the week, and baking with or freezing the ones that ripen quicker than we can eat them. And this means that I always have bananas in the freezer for smoothies, baking, and popsicle making!

This week in particular, I was confronted with a ton a overripe bananas and a massive harvest of blueberries from our garden. So, off I went in search of a muffin in which I could use both. Of course, for those of you who follow my blog, I also like to make my food child friendly, which means less sugar and whole wheat flour or oats where possible.

And so this muffin came to be :) A banana blueberry whole wheat muffin with a tiny bit of citrus to kick things up. Yum yum!

Creamless Zucchini Soup

As the summer winds down (sigh), we are reminded that this is also the season of amazing squash! With zucchini galore, I have found myself trying to preserve the flavours or summer by turning this bounty of zucchini into soup to enjoy all winter long.

My almost 2 year old daughter just adores soups, and this one is no exception. Using very few ingredients, this soup's flavour really speaks to the season, with the taste of fresh zucchini really shining here. It's easy to make in huge batches, so you can enjoy some now and freeze for later, when your body and soul are craving a little taste of summer!

Ellie's Pineapple Salsa

I was introduced to this amazing salsa about a year ago. My friend Ellie brought it over as a part of a potluck playdate we were having and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind!

I have made it several times since then, usually opting to serve it as a variation of chips and salsa with corn tortilla chips, but have also served it alongside baked white fish fillets and have it on my list to try in fish tacos too.

Whether served to my family or to guests, this salsa has definitely been a crowd pleaser. It is a unique and flavourful alternative to regular chips and salsa or accompaniment to fish or grilled chicken. Regardless of the season, this salsa is guaranteed to please your palate! Thanks Ellie for introducing me to this one :)