June 28, 2013

Week 26 - Oh Canada!

Printable Version of Meal Plan and Grocery List

Canada Day is just around the corner so I wanted to pay tribute to this great country and one of my favorite holidays!!  I'm featuring meals using some of the best known Canadian ingredients...  blueberries, maple syrup, cheese, beef, lobster and mussels to name a few.  What are your favorite Canadian foods??  Admittedly, some of my ingredients were imports (gasp!), but hey... the 4th of July is just around the corner too.  Why not celebrate both, eh?!

Watermelon Maple Leaf - an easy treat for a July 1st BBQ!


Recipe Quick Links

Overnight Oats, Kath Eats
Wild Rice and Lentil Salad, Canadian Living
Whole Wheat Pancakes, All Recipes
Watermelon & Feta Salad, House of Fifty
Lobster Cobb Salad, Chuck Hughes

Week in Review


Monday

Breakfast - Overnight Oats - I'm highlighting this one because I tried a new flavor combo that was so delicious!  I used Coconut Yogurt instead of plain, and my add-ins were diced mango and a couple of tablespoons of shredded coconut.  I skipped the added sweetener because the coconut yogurt is definitely sweet enough!  mmm, mmm, mmm.... note, I've been using steel cut oats which I find turn out chewy instead of mushy.

Lunch - Wild Rice and Lentil Salad - I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  These aren't always flavors that appeal to me but I didn't overdo the dressing and found it to be a perfect lunch salad.  And did you know that Canada is well known for its wild rice? 


Photo by Jeff Coulson/TC Media via http://www.canadianliving.com

Supper - Mussels with Corn on the Cob.  I've been craving mussel's lately so I was really excited for supper this night.  But I decided to get adventurous and steam them with beer and it kinda ruined it for me.  When it comes to shellfish I'm a Plain Jane kind of girl.  Here's a good reference for preparing mussels.  The corn on the cob was delicious of course... nothing says summer like corn on the cob!

Tuesday

Breakfast - Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes.  Another breakfast shout out, because - a) I used blueberries and maple syrup in honor of Canada.  And b) I found an excellent pancake recipe.  I made them the night before for a quick and easy mid-week morning treat.  I had leftovers as a work snack on another day.

Lunch - Dave and I both had lunch plans so no packed lunches this day!

Supper - Chicken and Watermelon & Feta Salad.  It was HOT out so this was an awesome summer meal.  Dave liked it but didn't think it was very Canadian (he was waiting for juicy beef burgers with Canadian bacon).  It might not have been but the feta was from Quebec!  I love me some Canadian cheese!  Ultimately this was just a perfect summer salad.  I was planning to barbecue the chicken but didn't feel like standing in front of a hot grill.  I opted to slice it and cook it in a frying pan with a little coconut oil.  I thought this would be the quickest method and it actually went really well with the salad.


Watermelon and Feta Salad
"That sure is a nice looking salad!", said Marin

Wednesday

Lunch - Montreal Style Smoked Meat Sandwich.  I bought a package of smoked meat (in the deli section) and had it on dark rye bread with mustard and a slice of swiss cheese.  Delicious!  So good in fact that Dave actually emailed me at 11:30 to say how good it was and I replied "I know" because apparently neither of us could wait until noon to eat them.

Supper - BBQ Steak with Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts.  So beef and potatoes are classic Canadian foods and I really wanted to have fiddleheads to round out this meal but at the three stores I shopped at this week I didn't come across any.  I think it's just past the season.  We had brussel sprouts instead because last week when I took Marin grocery shopping she really, really wanted them because they were "so cute".  However, when she saw them on her plate she wasn't so thrilled.  Not one of Dave's favorites either.  Oh well, more brussel sprouts for me!  Steak and potatoes were both done on the BBQ.  The sprouts I boiled and dressed with a little butter and salt.

Thursday

Lunch - I had a work lunch so Dave got the last Smoked Meat Sandwich.  Have to admit, I was a little jealous.  I thought of taking a bite out of his sandwich just to be funny but I figured I wouldn't be able to stop at one bite and that would be counter productive.
 
Supper - Turkey, Bacon, Apple and Swiss Panini's on Rye Bread with Spinach Salad.  Confession - this was supposed to be 'back bacon' which is often referred to as 'Canadian bacon' but I ended up grabbing the regular stuff because I wanted it to use in tomorrow's Cobb Salad as well.  This would allow me to cook enough bacon for the two meals and trim my grocery list.  But you know how this story goes, right?  We ate the extra bacon.  Who knew Marin would love 'steakon' so much??  So maybe not overly Canadian but a great summer meal that doesn't require turning on the stove!  I made the panini's on the George Foreman Grill but you could use a frying pan in a pinch.  I spread button on the outside of the bread and a little inside.  The salad was spinach, apples, bacon and cheese with a dressing made of equal parts maple syrup and mayonaise.  Easy and really good!

Friday

Lunch - Lobster Cobb Salad.  A Canadian themed week, put together by a Nova Scotian, would not be complete without lobster!  Typically we like to chow down on this crustacean in the comfort of our own home where we can roll up our sleeves, suck the juice out of the shells and dig into every little crevice.  Not a pretty picture, but there is truly no dainty way to accomplish this task!  I bought this tasty little fella at the local grocery store.  If you're not from a place where lobster are readily available then I'd suggest substituting the lobster for shrimp or even chunks of tuna. 

Lucy the Lobster

Supper - Poutine!  We're actually going to be on the road heading to the beautiful Cape Breton Island for the weekend.  But around here most fast food chains sell Poutine so I'm sure I can find a plate of it somewhere along the way.


If you're interested in making the Maple Leaf Watermelon treats (no, I didn't hand carve them), it's this easy...  oh, and thanks for the cookie cutter Krista and Happy Anniversay to you and Chris!

Tip #1:  Make sure your Watermelon slices are thinner than the cookie cutter.
Tip #2:  Use the scraps in the Watermelon & Feta Salad!

And in some non-food related business I want to give a shout out to my friend, Wendy Owens Abbott, who has recently released her debut CD and is having a CD release party this weekend in Halifax.  I've been lucky enough to hear her sing on a number of occasions and can tell you that her voice is as beautiful as she is!  An amazing talent!  Check her out... http://wendyowensabbott.wix.com/wendyowensabbott#


Happy Canada Day!

Sandra

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