Grow it! Cook it! Eat it! Live it!

This weeks recipe is a grilled salsa.  I have been picking more tomatoes that we can eat fresh lately so I decided to make some salsa.   I really enjoy a salsa with a smoky flavour so I grilled all the veg before blending it.  I grilled Tomatoes (2 beefsteak tomatoes, and about 30 grape tomatoes), onion (about 4 large slices), garlic (3 cloves), one habenero, one cherry bomb pepper, and one yellow bell pepper.  I blackened the peppers so that I could remove the skin.  The onions and tomatoes I grilled till soft and the garlic I grilled till soft and removed the skin. Once everything was grilled and skinned I put it all in a blender with about 1/4 of lime juice, 1/2 cup of cilantro chopped, 1 tsp of coriander seeds, 1 tsp of zilitol (a sugar substitute) 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper.  I blended it up and then canned it.  (Note this recipe was for a hot salsa because of the habenero you can adjust ingredients to match your spice level).

Thanks to Sharon for linking up last week with her Pumpkin and Silver Beet Lasagna.

Grilled chicken breast and garden salad with beet juice dressing

This is the most delicious chicken salad ever and so quick and simple.

The chicken is soo juicy an the salad has so many flavours.

First prepare the marinade for the chicken. Fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. 

Montreal Spiced Chicken and Chili Lime Grilled Veg!

Tonight I made a simple BBQ'd chicken and veg dish.  When GMF came home it was ready on the patio table!  I love eating dinner outside.  We even had a guest show up at dinner time.  A little wee bunny.  Unfortunately I didn't have my phone near by to take a picture and when I went to get one I got a splinter in my big toe (ouchie!).  Anyways splinter came out and bunny hung out with us for a while as we enjoyed our dinner.

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Yesterday I went to a potluck BBQ and pool party.  I decided to make my grilled pineapple salsa.  It is a sweet summery salsa with a touch of heat which is great in this summer weather.  Everyone at the pot luck loved it and I even had one person wanting to buy some.  So I decided to post the recipe for you all.  It's super easy :)

Last Fall

When I moved in at the end of last summer I didn't have a lot of time to do any major work.  I did however take on a couple of jobs.  The previous owners had a fire pit made out of red fire bricks placed haphazardly in a circle.  My partner and I really enjoy camp fires and decided that we needed to replace these ugly bricks and create a nice laid out pit for us to enjoy.  We went out and bought coventry stones to replace the fire bricks.  Now we have an eye pleasing fire pit to enjoy night after night.  We had several fires over the fall and some during the winter.  S'mores, grill-a-snacks, and spider dogs were cooked over the fire. 

The Old Fire Pit

Our New Fire Pit

I also inherited some money and decided to put it towards a new BBQ.  Since living in the apartment for so long I had been unable to BBQ (other than lugging the camping grill down to the park - which I did once a month).  When I moved into the new house my parents brought me my old BBQ that I had when I was in school that they had been storing for me in their garage for years.  I was excited to have a BBQ again but at the same time felt like I needed a larger grill.  This became increasing apparent when I tried to do a beer can chicken on the old grill but could not close the lid because it was too high.  When I inherited the money I immediately went out and bought a Napoleon Prestige Series I Grill with an infrared side searer.  It is by far my favourite appliance I own.   Some of the things I have made on the grill so far include rotisserie turkey for thanksgiving, rotisserie prime rib roast with roasted root veg, beef dip with roasted garlic and onions, steaks, and much more.  

The Old BBQ

Our New BBQ

I can't wait to see what I get up to this year!