Kitchen Sink Cookies & A Farm to Table Lentil Tour

I've always wanted to stand in a lentil field.  That's a fact.  It may seem like an odd goal to shoot for, but if you know me, you know how much I love lentils.  They are a major part of my diet at home, and I love coming up with creative recipes for the lentils.ca website.  So when I received the invitation to go on a farm to table media tour with the friendly folks at Canadian Lentils, you can just imagine my excitement!  Me, in a lentil field.  It was going to happen!  I was also super pumped to see some friendly faces (Ethan, Amy, Aimée, and Dan) on my home turf.  Food editors from Chatelaine, Canadian Living and Style at Home rounded out the troop, and our leader was none other than Chef Michael Smith.  Yes, that very tall, very handsome chef from P.E.I.  I was in most excellent company, to say the least.  

Warm Mushroom, Bacon & Lentil Salad

This summer is already memorable for so many reasons - many of which I'll delve into later this month - but one thing that stands out already for me is the HEAT.  Oh man.  It's been so hot in Saskatchewan.  And dry.  I heard someone say that it rained more in Vegas than in Sask last month.  Yes, that dry.  So, when it's super hot the last thing I want to do is turn my oven on - I don't have A/C in my house, you see.  I make a lot of big, simple, creative salads like the one I'm featuring over on the Mushrooms Canada Blog.  It has all of my favourite things - mushrooms (of course!), bacon, lentils, arugula, garden fresh tomatoes and a fried egg.  Makes a killer light lunch or supper, or even a hearty breakfast.  Go grab the recipe here!

Twelve Things You Need To Make This Summer

I've been scrolling through my recipe archives lately, and it's pretty neat to see how far I've come since 2011.  It's sort of like looking back at your high school yearbook and thinking oh god I really had glasses that big.  Oh, but there's some good stuff hiding in these archives.  I've pulled out some of my favourites that I know I must make this re-summer and thought you might be interested.  The next couple of weeks are busy busy - I'm road trippin' to see my mom and sis and sweet nieces for a few days, then heading over to Regina to meet up with other food writers from across Canada.  Canadian Lentils is hosting us for a couple of days - we'll be touring lentil fields, and a processing plant and having a hands on cooking demo with Chef Michael Smith.  I'm beyond excited!  I'll be seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time, and I get to show off my beloved prairie to them. A grand adventure is waiting to be had.  That's what summer is all about, right?  But before I leave I wanted to share these hot weather gems with you.  I'll be back with a new post in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, Happy Canada Day to all my crazy Canucks and Happy 4th to my American pals.  Talk to you soon.  Renée xoxo