Balcony Farming

I come from a small village in Ireland (RP), it is tiny and wonderful, I grew up fishing and gardening and constantly having fresh produce grown in my own backyard so living in the city always proves to be more difficult because I miss those things. However, I have discovered the joys of being a balcony farmer! The missus and I have a small farm on the balcony where we've been growing strawberries (or Strawbabies as we sometimes refer to them- one domestic step at a time, if we can keep these alive we'll graduate to a goldfish) peppers, tomatoes, spinach, peas and chili's.  

We planted a little late because we spent the first part of the summer in Ireland so some things aren't as far along as they should be this deep into summer. We've had to contend with city pigeons but I think we've conquered them (stay tuned for pigeon pie recipe) but otherwise it's coming along nicely. Today we picked our first strawberries! (we were such proud parents).

Night it Up!

 I love markets, the atmosphere, the food... So when I heard about Asian Toronto Night Market I knew I should check it out with my girlfriend we love markets and both of us have spent time in Thailand so we were hoping it may jog the taste bud memories. The sense of smell is one of the most memory jogging senses, and often I'll smell something that reminds me of the Thai night markets and I crave going back again. Nothing however, could have prepared me for the smells of the Toronto Night Market with it's copious amounts of Stinky Tofu stalls. Wow. Firstly, I was amazed at how busy the whole market was, but what really blew me away was the smell. Some people say that Stinky Tofu smells of dirty socks. I'd say it smells more of dirty socks that have spent 6 months down the hole of a port-o-let and I don't think that's an exaggerated description. Needless to say, we didn't give it a try. In fact, we couldn't really bring ourselves to eat anything. We completely lost our appetites- I'm not sure if it was mainly from the smell, the sweltering heat (heat wave in T.O these days and temps are reaching 40 degrees) or the fact that we didn't see any refrigeration/ wash basins etc. Now we're not germaphobes or anything- but our north American stomachs can only handle so much bacteria. That's not to say it was all bad. The atmosphere was pretty amazing, there was a buzz in the air. There was also some amazing looking food- the pineapples looked so refreshing, and I would have indulged if I would have had the patience to wait in a huge queue, which I didn't. Bacon Ice cream- also something I didn't try due to my lack of patience- however,  based on the concept alone all I can say is brilliant.

Tornado potato, a cool new Spud.

I love Bacon that loves Ice Cream

This pineapple looked so refreshing!

Oh, and apparently Stinky Tofu tastes "pretty nice" so cheers to those who can do it!

Summertime Means Iced tea

There is nothing more refreshing in the summer than Iced Tea. This is the most refreshing Iced Tea. Ever. I've had many people ask me about my magical Iced Tea- it's simple so give it a go, people will be impressed. There is no picture of the finished produce because it didn't last long enough for the camera to come out.

 

Tea Bags. Make a jug of tea. 

                                                          
                                                               Cut Slices into the jug.

Add Fresh lemons and Oranges.

Squeeze the goodness out.  

                                                            
                                                             Then squeeze some more...

                                                                    Add fresh mint.

Stir

                                                                             Cool.

Strain and enjoy! 

 I have a favourite blog that I check daily, no doubt there is always something cool to read, and it's one of those places that you learn so much random cool stuff that you proudly find yourself repeating in the presence of people you assume are smarter than you. The GOOD Blog has a food section that never fails- and because I read it so much I figured I'd submit one of our favourite Spring recipes to see if it made the cut.  I came in third and learned that twitter = votes. But we are pretty confident that this is indeed the best spring recipe ever.

Zest of 1 lemon

·       1 cup of sugar

·       2 tblsp of fresh Thyme

·       1 cup of softened butter

·       4 large eggs

      2 tblsp warm water

·       1 tsp Vanilla essence

·       Juice of 1 lemon

·       2 cups of cake flour

·       2 tsp baking powder

·       ¼ tsp salt

Method:

Blend the sugar, thyme and lemon zest in a food processor for 2 – 3 minutes until the sugar becomes fine.  Using an electric mixer add the sugar to the softened butter and whisk until it lightens in colour to a pale white (3 – 4 minutes) Slowly add your eggs, continuously mixing. Add your wet ingredients. Slowly add your flour, salt and baking powder. Continue to mix for 5 minutes on a medium speed. Pour into 2 pre greased and floured 7 inch tins.

 Place in a preheated oven (350°F) for 35 - 40 min. Insert a skewer into the centre if it comes out clean your cake is done. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Spread with whipped cream and jam of your choice. Garnish with thyme, lemon and decorative flowers!