Happy Canada Day!

Two mondo grocery shopping trips complemented by two rather large grocery bills began the kick-off to the first official long weekend of the summer -Canada Day! Really it was partly a re-stocking trip, so I can't account for the whole thing as weekend food. I needed some basics, such as olive oil, veggies, etc.

The weather cooled off surprisingly fast, as it is often prone to do on a long weekend in Canada, but it was actually a bit of a relief after a string of 30+ days. We decided to go strawberry picking on Friday at a farm near our house. We ended up with 4 brimming baskets of small but delectably sweet berries, and I spent the next two hours cleaning and bagging most for freezing. I guess I'll make some jam with them, once I learn how! And I'm sure they'll come in rather handy throughout the summer and cooler months for desserts, etc.

The cooler weather also meant I could use the stove/oven again after days of inactivity. I made some fresh salsa to try and use up some vine tomatoes, and, sadly, that, along with some plain nachos, was our dinner on Friday night, before we jetted off to to catch the late showing of Batman Begins. Popcorn supplemented dinner rather nicely.

On Saturday, we bb-q'ed chicken breasts using a great new Wasabi Maple marinade recipe I came across online. Sides included corn on the cob and salad. On Sunday, I decided to try a new gazpacho recipe, as my old recipe just wasn't doing it for me. I found one online, and damn was it good! It included corn and a bit more balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and I really think this made the difference. It wasn't like eating tomato juice with veggies at all - there were many layers of flavour, and now I know what gazpacho is all about! We had been invited to my parents for dinner and I decided to use up the remaining, unfrozen berries for some beautiful-looking Strawberry Cheesecake Tarts. :) Look how pretty they are!! Watch for my recipe, coming soon!

Well, that's all for the weekend. Back to another week of late, hurried dinners. Soon we will be on holidays, and cooking will hopefully come back into play to try and take advantage of this fabulous season of plentiful! Cheers!