As the wet damp Nova Scotia spring fades into the long, and hopefully hot, days of summer, things start to happen. One of my favourite things is when cherries go on sale.

I keep my eye on these plump shiny little red fruits from the time they make their first appearance at $10.99/lb, until around now, when they're $3.99/lb and sometimes less.

Ok, great. I've got two pounds of fresh cherries. Now what?

Pie would be the obvious answer, especially in my house, where my husband Sean will eat practically anything with the word 'pie' in it.

I feel kind of bad.

Cherry pie is Sean's favourite.

But I didn't feel like making pie.

I felt like making Clafoutis.

(Is it Cla-foo-TEE or Cla-FOO-tee?) 

I don't really know, but either way, it's friggin' good.

I read somewhere that if you leave the pits in the cherries, they'll have more flavour when baked so I did just that. Plus, I don't own a cherry pitter and I didn't feel like pitting 60 cherries by hand.

You know.

'Cause that blows.

I didn't really know what Clafoutis WAS. Is it cake? Is it custard? Is it flan? 

Turns out it's kind of all three but more on the eggy custardy/flan/crepe side of things.

Warm Cherry Clafoutis dusted with powdered sugar. A small delight in my hectic life.

I used Julia Child's recipe for Clafoutis posted on Epicurious. 

I first blogged about my friend Carlo in December with his fantastic recipe for Carbonara (so easy - SO GOOD). Originally from San Fiorano, Italy, Carlo loves eating and talking about food as much as I do. We spend a lot of time discussing recipes, dishes that he remembers from home and dishes that he prepares today for his wife Tiffany, and their two children, Luka and Matteo. He's even given me his father's recipe for Tiramisu (which I have yet to make). 

When Lori Kennedy asked if I'd like to be featured in the summer issue of Eat In Eat Out magazine she requested two original recipes. The recipe featured in the magazine was my Strawberry Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches. The second recipe, Smoked Salmon Rice Salad, was featured on the Eat In Eat Out website for a week long  blogger spotlight.

I have to give credit to Carlo for the Rice Salad inspiration - I had never even heard of cooking rice this way until he mentioned it. You basically cook Arborio rice like pasta, in boiling water for 8-10 minutes until al dente, then drain it and rinse it with cold water. Once cool, you use it like you would any pasta in a cold salad. I chose Willy Krauch's Smoked Salmon (because it's the BEST SMOKED SALMON IN THE WORLD) and paired it with classic Capers and Red Onion and a zippy homemade Lime Vinaigrette. 

A fine addition to any BBQ this summer!

I've been toying with making the switch to Keurig for a while now. Every time I would go to the store to buy coffee, I would stand in front of the Keurig section, staring forlornly at the amazing selection (over 100 different flavours of K-Cups to choose from!!) that is available to Keurig owners. 'I want to drink Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut!', I would think to myself, but NOOO, instead I would head home, no K-Cups in my bags, because I didn't own a Keurig.

I live in a one-coffee-drinker household. And THAT is why I'm so thrilled about this adorable efficient little machine. It takes up hardly any space on my counter, I have TONS of selection for coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate, or apple cider and more!), it's so easy to use my Grandma could figure it out and it's PRETTY which means it's MINE.

As most of you know, I can't just make a cup of coffee and call it a day - I like to play! - and so I thought, what would be fun to do with GMCR's Van Houtte coffee? Then it hit me - ICE CREAM.

I give you Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee Ice Cream with Toasted Hazelnuts and Chopped Milk Chocolate (recipe adapted from Not Eating Out In New York)

1.5 C 35% whipping cream

1.5 C whole milk

0.5 + 0.25 C sugar

3 egg yolks

2 whole eggs

3/4 C water

2 Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut K-Cups

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C hazelnuts, skinned, roasted, chopped

1/2 C milk chocolate pieces

- heat whipping cream, milk and 0.5 C sugar in a saucepan over med-low heat until sugar dissolves and steam starts to rise

- in a med-large bowl, whisk 0.25 C sugar, egg yolks and whole eggs

- pour 3/4 C water into Keurig MINI Plus Brewer - brew one Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee K-Cup - discard brewed coffee to keep 0.5 C - peel lid from second K-Cup and add fresh grounds to brewed 0.5 C - steep

- whisk 1 C hot milk mixture, very little at a time, into egg mixture - once 1 C hot milk is whisked into egg, add everything back into the pot of hot milk - cook over med-low heat until custard coats the back of a wooden spoon and you can draw a clear line through it with your finger - remove from heat

- strain steeped Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee through a fine mesh strainer TWICE - add to custard with 1 tsp vanilla - stir well - cool then chill in fridge 3-4 hours

- churn in ice cream maker according to your manufacturer's directions - layer ice cream in container with chopped hazelnuts and chopped chocolate - freeze 3-4 hours

ohmygoodnessyum.

*Please note that although I did receive a free Keurig Cobalt Blue MINI Plus Brewer, a Keurig K-Cup Carousel, Van Houtte House Blend, Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut, Bigelow Green Tea and Café Escapes Hot Cocoa K-Cups from Keurig, they did not specifically ask me to write a blog post promoting their product. I just really love this little machine and would have bought one anyway at some point! Thank you Keurig!!

I didn't take this picture.

My friend Kathy Jollimore did.

But what I did do was bake the almond cake and then give Kathy a one-on-one food photography lesson.

Not too shabby huh?

I taught her some tips and tricks that help make food styling easier, some food photography basics, how to shoot tethered to her laptop and how to process her pics in Lightroom.

What do you think? Would you take a food photography workshop?

It's been an ongoing love affair and since that afternoon, I've played with recipes for lemon, lime and Clementine curds. Walking through the farmer's market the other day, I noticed that Noggins had lush bunches of fresh pink and green spring rhubarb. After the obligatory rhubarb crisp for Sean, my thoughts turned toward curd and I thought, why not?

Totally winging it, as I normally do, I used my favourite lemon curd recipe and just substituted a pound of washed, chopped rhubarb for the lemon juice and zest. I thought about straining out the chunks of rhubarb but in the end said screw it and decided to leave them in for flavour and texture.

Oh my.

You want to make this. Trust me.

I made this Vanilla Pudding Recipe from CHOW.com and layered it in cups with the rhubarb curd and a sweet little Amaretti cookie on top.

Rhubarb Curd

1 pound (454g) fresh rhubarb, washed, chopped (use as many bright pink pieces as possible including the parts around the bottom of the stalks)

1 Tbsp water

1 C sugar

4 egg yolks

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1/2 C butter

- combine rhubarb, water and 1/2 C sugar in a pot - cook on medium-low heat until rhubarb is very soft, about 14 minutes - smoosh all pieces with the back of a rubber spatula or mash with a potato masher

- whisk egg yolks, kosher salt and remaining 1/2 C sugar - scoop out about 1/2 to 1 Cup hot rhubarb and whisk it into the egg yolk mixture a little bit at a time to temper the yolks and then add everything back to the pot with the remaining hot rhubarb - whisk together

- add butter and cook over med-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and creamy

- dish into clean Mason jars or other airtight storage containers

*I usually halve this recipe and it makes two 250mL Mason jars full of curd

Click on the picture below to see my feature.

Sean makes the best guacomole in the world. Well, at least, in MY world.

So when Sandy Avvari messaged me about participating in the 2013 Avocados From Mexico blogger campaign, I knew FOR SURE I wasn't making that. I also knew that I wanted to make something different - something that was new and interesting. I received my little package from Avocados Mexico in the mail, along with a $25 RBC gift card (yay!!) and spent two weeks brainstorming recipe ideas. And then, one night it hit me. Avocado soup. Could such a thing be possible? The answer is yes.

A few things to know about avocado soup:

1. The richness of the avocado took me about 45 minutes to balance. I included the strong contrasting flavours of lemongrass, coconut milk, fresh basil, jalapeno and lime. It works BUT brings me to the second point.

2. Although the bowl of soup pictured above LOOKS pretty, because of the richness, I think it would be hard to finish an entire bowl. If you're curious and want to make the recipe, I'd suggest serving it as an amuse bouche at a dinner party, maybe in cute little shot glasses?

3. I didn't photograph the soup until the day AFTER I made it. The acidity of the lime kept it nice and green in the fridge stored overnight in an airtight container.

4. I tried it both cold and warmed up (not hot/boiling) and it was fine either way.

Avocado Basil Jalapeno Soup

1 Tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 Avocados from Mexico

2 C chicken stock

1/2 C coconut milk

1 lime, zested and juiced

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1/4 C basil leaves, rough chopped

3-4 inch piece lemongrass, finely chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

- Sautée onion in butter until translucent

- Combine with all other ingredients and purée until smooth

- Serve warm or cold - garnish with dollop of plain Greek yogurt, julienned watermelon, handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sesame oil drizzle

I loved bacon WAY before it was cool to love bacon. And my love is definitely not a secret. I mean, come on - @baconandbaileys?

However, as much as I love bacon, I'm really not picky. I never discriminate when it comes to the pig.

Bacon, prosciutto, sausage, pork tenderloin, porchetta, baby back ribs, pancetta... I want it all.

And so, it seemed only natural, as I was slowly meandering my way through the Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market on a rainy Sunday that I would be drawn to the call of the pig.

For the Halifax Food Bloggers - Halifax Seaport Farmer's Market 'FARM - MARKET - TABLE' Recipe Contest I give you - 

Pork Meatballs with Oregano, Feta and Olive Bread wrapped in Westphalian Ham (makes approximately 24 golf-ball sized meatballs)

100g Boulangerie La Vendéenne Olive Bread, torn to bits

1/4C Feta brine + 100g Foxhill Cheese House Feta, crumbled 

700g Getaway Farm's Ground Pork

1C Shubie River's Greek Mountain Oregano, loosely packed then rough chopped

1 small or 1/2 of a large Noggin's Onion, finely chopped

1 Organically Fed Egg from Eastern Selected Farms available at Selwood Green

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

24 slices Roselane Farm's Westphalian Ham

• Preheat to 350 - line a 9x13 (or bigger if you have it) baking dish with parchment paper 

• Place torn olive bread in a bowl - toss with 1/4C of Feta Brine - set aside 

• With clean hands, mix feta, ground pork, oregano, and onion 

• In a small bowl, whisk egg, salt and pepper together - pour over ground pork mixture and mix well with hands 

• Add olive bread to pork and mix well - form into golf-ball sized meatballs - wrap each meatball with one slice of Westphalian ham

• Place in baking dish close together but not touching - bake 28-30 minutes or until cooked through (less time for smaller meatballs, more time for larger)

Reuven's Reuben

Sybil's Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

Steak Schtick m-m-m-m

Triple Decker

Chicken Matza Ball Soup Pot

Fried Peas

Old World Smoked Meat Potato Pot

Aunt Lil's Cabbage Balls

Hali Burger

Hali Deli is located at 2389 Agricola Street in Halifax. You can check out more at www.halideli.com.

Mint Syrup

Mint Syrup Cocktail with White Rum and Lime Juice

Shrimp on Mint Risotto