Strawberry Pie

Nothing says "summertime" like a slice of fresh, homemade strawberry pie!  This is my mother's recipe.  It's easy-peasy, which is what we all want in the summertime.  No fussing around in the kitchen on those sweltering days.

This is a no-bake version, using ripe strawberries.  I like to buy them from the local farmer's market as I'm a strong believer in supporting our farmers and buying locally.  I may pay a little more than the grocery store, but to me it's well worth it.  Thank you farmers for all that you do, day in and day out!  We appreciate it!

I also make a baked version which I sometimes freeze.  There's nothing like eating a strawberry pie in the middle of the winter when it's blustery outside.  Brings a little bit of summer back into your life!

Ingredients:
1 baked pie shell
1 quart strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp cornstarch

In a saucepan, crush 1 cup of the strawberries with a fork or potato masher.  Add the sugar, water, and cornstarch.  Bring to a boil and boil gently until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.  Let cool.

Slice remaining strawberries (or leave whole if they are smaller) and place in the baked pie shell.  Pour cooled strawberry mixture over top.  Refrigerate until set.

Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or it's just as good on it's own.  Enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus

If you don't like asparagus or have been steaming or boiling them - stop!  Here's an easy recipe that sure to please even the pickest eaters.

Snap the ends off of the asparagus.  If you hold your thumb and index finger, it should easily snap off about 1/3 way down the stem.

Place all in a baking dish or pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, then baslamic vinegar.  Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt.

Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 375 or 300 degrees.  Roast for approx 15-20 minutes until the ends are browned and slightly crispy.  Shake the pan a few times while cooking to cook all the asparagus equally.

Chicken Cutlets

We first had this recipe in Australia.  Our Australian "sister=in-law" made these for us several times and we immediately fell in love with them.  We make large batches of these chicken cutlets and freeze them for an easy, but good, meal.  These are especially great in the summer when no one feels like cooking!  Serve with a side salad and some green beans or potatoe salad and your good to go!



Okay, I admit may not the most captivating picture!  But darn, they're good!

Ingredients:
- boneless chicken
- bread crumbs and Panko bread crumbs*
- parmesan Cheese
- eggs
- flour
- salt and pepper
- olive oil

If the chicken breasts are quite plump, slice them in half.  Take each slice and pound them between sheets of plastic wrap until their thin and spread out.

Combine bread crumbs and Panko bread crumbs (1/2 and 1/2) with parmesan cheese in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, come flour and salt and pepper.

In another bowl, beat eggs just until the yolk and the white combine.

Place your bowls in this order:  flour, eggs, bread crumbs.  Have another plate ready for the coated chicken breasts.

Dip each chicken breast in the flour, coating on all sides.  Then dip the chicken in the egg mixture.  Finally, place the chicken in the bread crumbs, ensuring the entire chicken breast is thoroughly coated.  Place the coated chicken breast on a platter.  Continue through several chicken breasts as the next step is frying.

In a deep skillet, pour enough olive oil to fry the chicken breasts (about 1/2").  Bring the oil to a medium heat.  Fry the chicken breast in the olive oil, turning so that both sides are cooked through.  Be careful not to burn them.  Continue coating and frying the chicken breasts until done.

Paris - the city of food

When I think of Paris, I think of history, wine and food.  On our flight over, we were casually speaking with someone on our flight and mentioned we were going to Paris after Italy.  She said that they had been there the year before and "good luck finding any good food over there".  What????  We thought we had misheard her, but she went on to say that they finally ended up at an Italian restaurant and ate there most of the week.

Well, no offense to the lovely woman flying next to us, but the food in Paris was outstanding.  You cannot not eat well in Paris.  There is every type of food imaginable, from evey culture, to satisfy every palate.

Here are a few of our indulgences......

I never expected that the Parisiennes would be so into salads!  Since I didn't get my fill of salads in Italy (and who would have guessed salads were hard to find in Italy), I was happy to see so many salads available in Paris.  Most restaurants had a variety of really unique, delicious salads, so I indulged a few times.

Smoked salmon salad with grapefruit and avocado



Duck salad with haricots vert (green beans) and sundried tomatoes

One night we enjoyed typical French cuisine.  The true Parisiennes are probably rolling their eyes at this, but for us it was a lovely dinner!

French Onion Soup

Duck a l'Orange

Creme Brulee

Crepes Suzette

And the always typically French:  Steak et Frites! 

Paris - the city of love

Paris is a beautiful, vibrant, bustling city!  It's rich history provides a glimpse of eras gone by when luxury and opulence were indulged.  



I had a "pinch me" moment seeing the Eiffel Tower!


And of couse no trip to Paris would be complete without seeing one of the most famous paintings in the world!  The Mona Lisa is actually not that big....

And of course, it's all about the food!  The pastries, the coissants were to die for!!

Our typical Parisienne breakfast:  cappuccino, cafe au lait,
croissant and pastry.  What a great way to start the day!

This guy was made up entirely of chocolate!

We were strolling along and enjoying the sites, when suddenly there was a 10 ft poster of George Clooney!  Oh yeah!!

Some interesting menu items.....

Taste like chicken!

A "glob" of champagne.   Hmmm..... sounds appetizing doesn't it



Italia - mange, mange!

Now this might sound funny, but some of the best "fast food" in Italy is at the gas stations.  The Agip has it all!  You want pasta, sandwiches, salads, or how about an expresso or cappuccino?

When we think of gas station food in North America, it's true fast food:  Wendy's, McDonalds, Tim Hortons (for us Canadians eh!).  The Italians know how to eat well.  Simple, fresh ingredients are the key.  Nothing fancy, or elaborate; just simple good food.  Oh and maybe a little vino.... 

Aren't these the most beautiful cappuccinos you've ever seen?  We hated to drink them.

Red hot chilis, pick 1 or 1,000; it's up to you



A typical bakery in Rome.
So many goodies, so many calories, so little time......
Nice reflection of me in the glass.....



We gathered some fresh ingredients - red, ripe tomatoes, buffalo mozarella (which I could live on!), some fresh pasta and basil, and made a lovely meal while in Tuscany.

With the pasta, the lattes, the gelato, it would be easy to gain 10 lbs while visiting Italy.  Thank goodness we walked everywhere, so believe or not I actually lost a few pounds (well, not many but I didn't gain either).

Good food, good wine, good friends, gorgeous night, beautiful scenery - life does not get better than this folks!

Italia - Gelato

When you think of Italy, what do you think of first?  The food, the wine, the history, the people, the scenery?  How about all of the above!  Italy has it all.

But this is a blog primarily about food, so let's relive some of the amazing food of Italy.

How many kinds of gelato can you think of?  There were flavours of gelato that I could never have imagined - rissotto, toasted corn, melon......  only to name a few.

If you've not had gelato before, you are missing out on one of life's great experiences my friend.  It's creamy, velvety, smooth, with flavours that entice and linger.  Apparently it's about half the calories of regular ice cream, so of course, I could eat twice as much!

Okay seriously, I'm like a kid in a candy store.
Well, how about a big kid in a gelato store.
I just want to try them all!





Look how high they pile them!

 

WOW!!  Melon, papaya, mango, fieldberry, kiwi, orange, blueberry...



For all of you "chocoholics" out there -
chocolate with fruits, chocolate with nuts, dark chocolate,
white chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate with caramel....

 

These were different - all different kinds of natural popsicles.
These were fruit flavoured.
(sorry about the glare)

These were all different types of chocolate flavoured popsicles.
Yummo!

My goal was to work my way through all flavours of gelato while I was in Italy.  I tried, I really did.  But I just couldn't do it.  It just means I will have to go back and try, try again......

La vita è bella

Well we're back from bella Italia and la belle Paris!  This was absolutely a trip of a lifetime.  Italy is stunningly beautiful and Paris is a bustling, classy, vibrant city.

Here are just a few pics.

ROME:

View from our terrace at the Rome Cavalieri
We could see the entire city of Rome from our terrace!

 



Lovely view of The Vatican from our terrace at the Rome Cavalieri

SORRENTO (Amalfi Coast):

View from our terrace at the Capodimonte.
Seriously, can this get any better?

The hotel had 5 tiered pools with a waterfall flowing into each one.
I felt like Paris Hilton!

TUSCANY:

This is the view from our terrace in Tuscany
(about halfway between Siena and Florence)
Another stunningly beautiful view!