Vegetarian at 990

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In these strange times, it has been hard to maintain any sense of connection to people, but now that vaccines are rolling out with fervor, we felt it was time to again gather in the yard at 990 and celebrate life, friends and of course the garden. Shawn looked it up and it has been 9 months since we last gathered for a Monday night dinner and that is just too long.

I have to admit that meatless Monday has fallen by the wayside somewhat, but it it is in for a resurrection akin to the phoenix rising from the ashes…. OK that was a bit too dramatic, but I have to admit was very excited for this meal. As we often do, we had some tried and true dishes, with a few experiments. All we needed was a guinea pig (or in my family “skinny pig”). With our dear friend Sheila as a guest, we started prep on a vegetarian meal, featuring as much produce from the garden, as we could manage. read more

First Garden to Table of the Season

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Garden to Table

We are finally getting to that time of year, where the bounty from the garden is coming on quickly. What a perfect time to use some of the freshest of produce to create a garden to table menu. We were pleased to have the space for 2 guests this week and still keep reasonable social distancing in place. Our guests this week were Sheila and Andrea, 2 friends that we have been wanting to catch up with. Shawn and I have not seen Sheila since the beginning of lockdown, while Andrea is our partner in our community garden plot. read more

Meatless Italian Monday

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Heirloom tomato terrine

In these times of isolation we have been missing so many people. As we’re allowed to gather in small groups, we are trying to reconnect a little at a time. This week we invited Virginia and Marty to share an Italian inspired meatless Monday dinner.

We met our guests in the yard and brought out the bubbly and a selection of crostini.

One with grilled peaches and another with pea puree and balsamic pearls. a nice start to the night. It was so nice to catch up AND meet someone new. Grilled fruit is a good conversation starter. read more

Provencal Meatless Monday

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With this lovely weather, that we have had, I have been reminded of being in Alsace France, last summer. These are wonderful memories to hold on to, in such strange times, when all of our plans have been cancelled. With these thoughts in mind, we decided on a French Provencal dinner. Our guests this week were our good friends Dan and Deborah. So lets visit France!

Once our prep was done and our guests arrived, without hugs unfortunately, we gathered under the pergola and opened a bottle of Malivoire Che Bello sparkling wine and savory madeleines. read more

Moroccan style

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Moroccan Meal

For meatless Monday night dining this week, we decided to do a Moroccan theme. Our dear friend Sheila was available to join us for the evening. With a great guest and all of the flavours and colours of Morocco, this will be a good one.

We gathered under the pergola, to pop the cork on some bubbly and share Moroccan goat cheese cigars.

Spiced goat cheese wrapped in phyllo pastry, with sesame seeds. This is a favorite of ours for good reason. The pastry did give us some trouble as the sheets were not whole, but we managed to piece them together. While we nibbled we caught up on life in isolation, books, and especially a relief carving that Sheila is working on, of the fated hospital ship, The Llandovery Castle. I can’t wait to see it. read more

Reminiscing of Tuscany

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Tuscan Table

A couple summers ago, we had a glorious trip to Tuscany/Umbria with friends. One such friend is our guest this week for dinner… Trish! We decided on a Tuscan themed menu. Somehow, sitting under the pergola in the yard, with the vines overhead, I was reminded of our Italian farmhouse. Plus the heat was similar….

We started with some bubbly and Crostini with Goat Cheese, fig jam and fresh figs.

When your produce guy basically slaps a fig from your hand and leads you to the good figs, you know they’re going to be good. It was also fortuitous that we had Shawn’s homemade fig jam in the fridge. Why have we not made this more often? read more

Meatless in Mexico

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Guacamole and quesadillas with brie and candied walnuts

This week marks a milestone on the road to recovery. We are allowed to gather in small groups. We didn’t want to go crazy, but our friend Josh has been wanting an invite for some time, but with the proviso of no eggplant. We have been meaning to have a Mexican night, so this is the perfect opportunity.

After we got some prep done and had a tour of how the garden was progressing (very well indeed), we gathered under the pergola to open the sparkling wine and snack on Guacamole and quesadillas with brie and candied walnuts, to welcome our guest. read more

Can you Paella?

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Vegetarian Paella

I am happy to report that as isolation starts to ease for us here in Toronto, the weather is just spectacular, and the garden is sprouting up nicely, we were able to get our trio together again, for alfresco dining, in the garden. Getting into the garden and working away, being able to see a few friends, and having meals outside has truly helped to keep us sane during these strange times. This week we take a whirlwind tour of food inspired by spain (mostly because we have a paella pan, that has not been used in some time.) read more

Vegetarian Turkey

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red lentil kofta with pomegranate

With our success from last Monday, plus finally getting to gather, even at a distance, we decided to continue with another backyard social distancing dinner. For this week we are taking a virtual trip to Turkey, to try creating some vegetarian delicacies. It would be nice to have guests, but until things open up, we stuck to just our trio.

This week Shawn decided to tone down the menu, so we only had 9 items…. He does not know what “toned down” means, but we’re not complaining, we love the leftovers. read more

Outdoor Dining

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Charred Eggplant with Spicy Sauce

We have not been able to gather lately, with isolating, closures and social distancing measures in place, and with good reason. Now that the weather is nicer and we are slowly lifting restrictions, we decided to try an outdoor dinner, with social distancing. We wanted to get back to our meatless Monday, which we had slipped from, since it was hard to get some ingredients. This week our trio gathered in the yard to experience a Greek inspired meal.

Shawn has been wanting to try a new technique for eggplant which requires hardwood coals, so we arrived early to get the hickory wood burned down. We then charred eggplant, directly on the coals. while these were resting, to remove excess moisture, we opened a lovely sparkling Crement, to toast and enjoy with Saganaki and spanikopita under the pergola. read more