Italian Day on the Drive

Italian Day on the Drive is an annual street party on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive that includes Italian food, music, festivities and thousands of people. Italian Day on Commercial Drive. If you like street parties, live music, pasta and fun outdoors in the city, then you’ll want to check out ItalianDay next year.  It is always the second Sunday in June.

Wow what a great event...my first time ever and well worth it.

Avocado Breakfast Smoothie

Making a smoothie for breakfast can be so easy if you prepare ahead.  Alot of the 'whole' foods that we have in our fridge and freezer are perfect ingredients to create a healthy smoothie.

Below is the recipe for my go-to smoothie, but the best part is that you can substitute where you choose. I will mention some substitutions at the end of the recipe.  I hope you enjoy.

2 cups almond milk

1 cup frozen blue berries

1 banana

1 fresh avocado

1/2 apple

1 tbsp. tumeric powder (optional)

1 tsp. cinnamon (optinal)

1 tbsp. flaxseed (optional)

fresh parsley

2 cups cold water

My personal additions:  1 tsp. essential fatty acid formula, 1 tbsp. collagen powder, 3 tbsp. organic protein powder

Put all of the above into a blender.  Blend well and pour. This yields approximately 4 cups of smoothie.

I like my smoothies cold so I add an ice cube to the smoothie in a glass

substitutions:

frozen berries = any fresh berries or frozen berries - you choose

fresh avocado = frozen avocado

almond milk = dairy or water

parsley = green peas (I use the frozen ones...not kidding) 

apple = fresh carrot or celery

tumeric/cinnamon = leave out if not available or wanted

The beauty is that as long as it tastes good you can put anything in your smoothie.  

You are the boss of your smoothie making!

Hot almond milk sponge cake

I have made this sponge cake all my life thanks to my Mom,  Eileen Little.

My Mom, Eileen who is now 92 years young

 This was her go-to easy

grease and flour each pan

cake when company was coming or for a Sunday dinner. I have adapted the recipe slightly as I add almond milk instead of dairy. Either way works well.

yield:  2 round sponge cakes

4 large eggs or 5 small eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup almond milk (slightly heated on the stove)  if almond milk is not available use dairy
60ml butter ( heat up with the almond milk until it slightly melts) (4 tbsp.)
2 cups white all purpose flower
2 tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. I use either a stand mixture or a hand mixer.
Add sugar and beat again until both are light and fluffy. Add vanilla.
Measure out flour, sift if possible and also sift baking powder into the flour.
Add flour mixture into the sugar mixture and mix well.
Add heated mix and melted butter mixture. Mix again until well mixed.
Grease and flour 2 round cake pans or 1 large rectangular cake pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35  minutes. To test for doneness insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake.  If it comes out dry your cake is done.
Allow cakes to cool and then invert on a cooking rack.

My favorite way to serve this light and fluffy cake is with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
Thanks Mom!

Chris’s mango meatballs

1/2 kg lean ground beef
1/2 kg ground pork
1/4 cup diced fresh mango
1/4 cup small diced onion
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
1 egg

Salt/pepper


Mix well by hand.
Form into palm sized meatballs. (1 inch size)
Cook on medium low heat to brown. Turn occasionally until all surfaces are brown.
These will cook fully in an instapot  or slow cooker.
Cook to the correct internal temp of 73 degrees.

Chris Mitchell lives in Okotoks, Alberta and this is his go-to meatball and burger recipe. He says that adding mango gives the burgers moisture and flavour. Also, Chris doesn’t peel the mango.

Bison meatballs

Ingredients:

1/2 Kg. bison ground meat
1/2 white onion - diced small
1 green onion - diced small
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste

Dice the onions and add all the above ingredients in to a bowl. Mix so that all the ingredients are well mixed.
Form meat mixture into 11-12 meatballs.
Heat up a frying pan and fry meatballs on a medium high heat until fully cooked.
These are absolutely delicious.

Delicious Meal Idea
A very nice treat in the spring time is steaming up some new potatoes. Add your favorite sauce to the meatballs while cooking. When cooked, serve the meatballs and sauce with the new potatoes and you have a delicious dinner.

*of course lean ground beef can be substituted for the bison meat

Almond Milk for Alexandra

Yield: 6 cups of almond milk

3 cups raw dry almonds
water  to soak - 10+ cups
water to blend - approximately 8+ depending on how thin you want your milk to be
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. honey


Soak almonds in cold water for no less than 24 hours.  I soaked my almonds for about 30 hours.
During this time rinse the almonds once and replace the cold water. Make sure that the almonds are completely covered with water. Store in the fridge if you are soaking longer than overnight.


Strain the water off the soaked almonds.  Scoop the almonds into the blender and add triple the amount of water.  If you are blending 3 cups of almonds use at least 8+ cups of fresh cold water.
Blend well.

Straining the almonds
There are a couple of ways to strain the blended almonds.
Method #1
Stain through a piece of clean cheesecloth.  This is a rather messy method but it does work.  Drape the cheesecloth (fold the cheesecloth in half for a double layer so start with a large piece of cheesecloth) over a large bowl and control the 4 corners so the cheesecloth does not collapse inward while you are pouring.  It is important to keep the pulp away from the milk.
Gather the 4 corners together and gently squeeze the milk out of the cheesecloth...careful not to burst the bag.

Method#2
Strain milk through a FINE wire mesh strainer. This method is a little less messy but it is important that the wire mesh is very fine so that the pulp does not seep through.

Add vanilla & honey according to your taste and store milk in a clean mason jar in the fridge.  It should last up to 5-6 days in the fridge.
Enjoy!

Perfect Pasta Dinner For 2

Yield:  2 servings
This is one of those recipes that you can whip up in a couple of minutes but it is so tasty and simple when one needs comfort food.  My pasta of choice is so delicious and is the brain-child of  InGrain Pastificio a North Vancouver company  http://ingrainpastificio.com/#a-cascadian-story
who specialize in slow-dried, super traditional pasta.  

2 cups of your favorite pasta ( I am using In- Grain's Durum Sprinners)
2 anchovie fillets
3 tblsp. olive oil
1/2 cup diced onions
serano peppers - this provides the heat...optional but yummy
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup bell red pepper
1 cup fresh tomato
3/4 cup pasta water
1/4 cup white wine
⁠

Cook the pasta in salted water until el dente.
Strain pasta saving 1 cup of the pasta water.  Set cooked pasta aside.

In a sauté pot cook the anchovies in the oil with garlic and onions. Continue on medium heat for 1 minute.
Add peppers, sun dried tomatoes & fresh tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes.
Add pasta water and wine and reduce the sauce for a few minutes.
Add cooked pasta to your tomato sauce and stir well. Salt & pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.

Easy Tomato Garlic Sauce

This recipe is so very easy that you can whip up the tomato sauce in 10 minutes and you leave it marinating in the fridge all day.  A real treat for the family and friends.  This is one of Alexandra's favourites and she is coming for dinner today. Thanks again Maggie for this delicious recipe.

 This is also a great way to use up those ripe or overripe tomatoes.

TOMATO GARLIC SAUCE

½ cup olive oil
5-6 cloves garlic – diced

5-6 ripe tomatoes - diced
1/2 cup white wine

Heat olive oil to a low simmer.  Add chopped garlic and watch as the oil and garlic starts to bubble slightly...DO NOT COOK at this stage.  Take the pot off the stove and add the chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and white wine.

Stir well and put a lid on the pot and store in the fridge.  During the day give this mixture a stir and it can sit for hours in the fridge and even over night.

1 hour before dinner time:

Add to tomatoes and garlic and stir in:

1 cup basil – fresh, diced chiffonade[i]
Chili flakes – optional ½ tsp.
Salt & pepper

2 lemons - juiced

2 cups washed arugula 

Put your pot back on the stove.  Turn on and watch at this point, just warm the sauce through...this takes seconds. Do this by brining the tomatoes up to the boil and then immediately turn off and remove from heat.

Stir again and add basil and arugula allow to marinate again with the greens mixed in.

Serve over pasta of choice.

Enjoy!

[i] Chiffonade is a knife technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables (such as spinach and basil) are cut into long, thin strips. This is generally accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly, then cutting across the rolled leaves with a sharp knife, producing fine ribbons