Steak with Kabob Taste

Kabob-flavoured steak served with grilled onions, quinoa and carrots

The barbecue grill gets busy this time of year. When my husband brought home a package of sirloin tip beef steaks, I remembered a marinade I wanted to try from the Canadian Living/Barbecue Collection cookbook. (Yes, the same source used for the delicious balsamic honey pork tenderloin.)

I hope you will try this marinade. The spice blend is wonderfully aromatic in a Moroccan, middle eastern way, and steaks and onions that marinate in it were oh so good. Canadian Living recommends serving this with grilled tomatoes, which would be wonderful. We had ours with the grilled onions, carrots cooked in foil packets, and quinoa, and that was wonderful, too.

MA's Kabob-flavoured Steaks

Steaks with marinade ingredients

4 beef steaks for grilling, about 8 oz each

2 onions, sliced about 1/2 inch thick

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large dish, cover steaks with onion slices.

In another bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour marinade over onions and steaks, turning to coat. 

Steaks and onions on the grill

Marinate refrigerated for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day. (Ours marinated for 4 hours and the flavours developed quite well.)

Remove onions and steaks from marinade and bring to room temperature.

Grill steaks until desired doneness, turning once during grilling. Meanwhile, grill onions, turning once, until tender and lightly charred.

Printable Recipe for MA's Kabob-flavoured Steaks

The Farmers Market and Rhubarb in July

A slice of Lunar Rhubarb Cake

Rhubarb and spring go together. I don’t have a rhubarb patch of my own and didn’t manage to raid any from my patch-blessed friends this spring, so when I came across some beautiful rhubarb at a local farmers market in July, I couldn’t resist taking home a few bunches.

The Mallard as seen from Petersfield Market

The market I speak of is a recent addition in our part of the world and I highly recommend it. The vendors are friendly and the variety of offerings they bring together range from handmade bags and quilts, baked goods, funky furniture for your deck, local produce, and much, much more. You’ll find it every summer Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm in Petersfield, in the park beside the big mallard statue. I plan to return there throughout the season. Wherever you are, support your local farmers market.

But back to the rhubarb and today’s recipe for Lunar Rhubarb Cake. I love this cake. It is rich in spices, buttery, easy to make and serves a crowd. The recipe came from a Canadian Living magazine in the early 1980s. I googled it before this writing and you can still find a rhubarb cake recipe on the Canadian Living website. It’s different from the recipe I’m sharing here, but, knowing how well they test their recipes at Canadian Living, I am sure it will be good if you try it. In my Internet search, I also came across a fabulous looking rhubarb bundt cake on a canadian foodie website. The ingredients were quite similar to this recipe and it looked terrific baked up in the fancy bundt pan. Check it out. Many great recipes and ideas on this Edmonton-based website.

Why Lunar? Because the surface of the baked cake resembles craters on the moon.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe for Lunar Rhubarb Cake.

MA’s Lunar Rhubarb Cake

(Originated in Canadian Living, Summertime Special 1982)

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Butter a 9” x 13” baking pan.

All measured for the batter and the topping

Batter:

½ cup butter

1 ½ cups sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk or soured milk (that's a little less than 1 cup milk with 1 or 2 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice added to curdle the milk)

2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1” pieces

1 tbsp flour

Topping:

¼ cup butter

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar, packed

Rhubarb tossed with flour 

In a large mixing bowl or a KitchenAid stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.

Beat in egg and vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternating with milk – making 3 dry and 2 liquid additions.

Toss rhubarb with 1 tbsp flour and mix gently into batter. This prevents the rhubarb from sticking together in the batter; helps each piece stay separate from the other.

Ready for the oven

Spoon batter into baking pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, blend together the butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle this topping evenly over the surface of the cake.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the cake has risen and browned and comes away from the edges of the pan.

Makes 12 to 18 pieces, depending on how large you want them.

Lunar Rhubarb Cake ready to slice

Printable Recipe for MA's Lunar Rhubarb Cake

Two Open-Faces: Smoked Salmon with Feta & Bruschetta

Smoked Salmon with Feta & Bruschetta

These two open-faced sandwiches – the smoked salmon with feta and the bruschetta - are among my go-to recipes. I usually prepare them without a recipe and, once you have made them a few times, you won’t need the recipes either. But for the sake of the blog and those who are trying them for the first time, I have written my basic recipes here. Out of habit, I always make these two sandwiches to be served together. We enjoy them as a light dinner, but they also serve as appetizers - substantial appetizers.

I can’t remember the first time I made bruschetta, but it has been part of my kitchen repertoire for at least twenty years. I love its freshness, especially when the tomatoes and basil are at their peak in the summer, but any time of year, these sandwiches are so good.

It’s been many years since I first tasted the smoked salmon with feta cheese sandwiches at the Serendipity Gardens and Cafe in beautiful Rossport, Ontario. I had the pleasure of dining there only a few times when we lived in northwestern Ontario, but it was an enjoyable experience each time. My special memory of Serendipity was our twentieth wedding anniversary dinner – a surprise planned by my husband. It was very romantic, right down to the music that played while we enjoyed our meal: the owner had made a mixed tape (that’s like a play list for those too young to know cassette tapes) of tunes from the year we were married. Anyway, if you find yourself on the north shore of Lake Superior, stop at Serendipity and let me know if the smoked salmon and feta is still on the menu.

The bread used for both sandwiches is a baguette: a skinny stick of French bread. You can try other breads, but this is my preference. For the bruschetta, you can rub the slices with garlic before toasting them, but I prefer to add the garlic to the tomato mix. For the smoked salmon itself, I use whatever is available in my grocery store. The type that comes with a peppercorn seasoning is good for folks like me who are apt to sprinkle a lot of pepper on the sandwich anyway. For a change of pace, try candied salmon or even another type of smoked fish. It’s all good.

MA’s Smoked Salmon with Feta Sandwich

For the smoked salmon with feta sandwich

150 grams or 5 to 6 ounces smoked salmon (I used smoked salmon with peppercorn seasoning)

113 grams or 4 ounces feta cheese in brine – reserve 3 to 4 tsp of brine

1/8 cup chives or green onions, chopped fine

3 to 4 tsp olive oil 

          

10 slices baguette, cut on diagonal, 1 to 1 ½ inch thick

Make a creamy feta and chive topping

Drain feta, reserving 3 to 4 tsp of brine.

Mix together with love the feta, olive oil and brine until creamy. Add more oil if needed to get a creamy consistency.

Add chives to cheese mixture and stir until combined.

Spread cheese mixture on baguette slices.

Top with smoked salmon

Top each slice with pieces of smoked salmon.

Serve immediately.

           

Makes ten open face sandwiches.

Printable Recipe for MA's Smoked Salmon with Feta Sandwich

MA’s Bruschetta 

Preheat oven to 450º F.

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper or foil to ease clean up.

For the bruschetta

4 tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, minced

1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced

1/8 cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, minced

1 to 2 tsp garlic, minced

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese

Tomato mixture on toasted baguette slices

20 to 24 slices of baguette, white or whole wheat, cut on diagonal, 1 to 1 ½ inch thick

2 to 3 tbsp olive oil

In a bowl, mix together with love the tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, Parmesan and mozzarella. Set aside.

Note: This bruschetta mixture can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated. Just before serving, take the mixture out of the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature. Drain away any excess liquid from mixture before putting it on the toasted baguette.

Place baguette slices on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Bake 3 to 4 minutes or until the slices are toasty and lightly browned.

Put a tablespoon or two of bruschetta mix on top of each piece of toasted baguette.

Serve immediately.

Makes 20 to 24 open faced sandwiches.

Printable Recipe for MA's Bruschetta