There are so many green vegetables that come to mind to cook with.

But let’s not forget we start to see rhubarb and tomatoes at the market too. Let’s get cooking!

While March is more of transition month in terms of seasonal ingredients, we really start to see more delicious Spring fruits and vegetables in April.

I am all about fresh, crunchy salads, adding vegetables to pizzas and using fresh fruits and vegetables as a topper to a built-up toast. There are SO many ways to enjoy seasonal ingredients!

Do you know what else is lovely this time of year?! FRESH FLOWERS! When I’m at the market shopping, I love to grab a bouquet of seasonal flowers too. Place them on your dining table or maybe it’s the breakfast bar where you generally eat. Flowers add such a lovely, bright touch in the Springtime too.

Two recipes that I’m sooo looking forward to making are this Loaded Vegetable Pizza from What’s Gaby Cooking AND these Rainbow Peanut Chicken Wraps from Whole Beet Kitchen. If you haven’t heard of these blogs I HIGHLY recommend checking them out for even more recipe inspo!

And from my archives, here are my fav recipes to make in April:

Apples – Apple Cheddar Toast

Cucumber – Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Leeks – Leek and Pancetta Pasta

Lettuce – Market Spring Vegetable Salad

Microgreens – Spring Toast with Radishes, Pea Shoots and Feta

Rhubarb – Rhubarb Cake

Tomatoes – One Pan Baked Chicken with Tomatoes & Oregano

If you’re in the baking mood, here are a few delicious recipes I’m looking forward to trying:

• Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins
• Lemon Chiffon Cake
• Healthy Blueberry Crumble Bars

I hope you’ve found some inspiration for lunches, dinners and desserts – I’d love to know what you’re going to make first!

Personally I would go with the Rhubarb Snack Cake (if you can get your hands on some rhubarb) or the Spring Toasts for brunch on the weekend.

Enjoy!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post What’s In Season – Recipes to Make in April appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Anyone else feel like you blinked and all of a sudden it was May!?

I sure do but I did have an awesome trip to Arizona I can’t wait to share with you PLUS my favourite recipes, cookbooks and brunch ideas for Mother’s Day!

April was an odd month in Calgary; I SO wanted to cook lighter, brighter dishes but the weather had other ideas.

So, I brought out the slow-cooker one more time and made this cozy beans recipe. They totally hit the spot for our ‘snowy April days.’ (So now we can just bookmark that for after summer 🙂 )

Then we had a nice sunny break in Arizona and ohhhh it was so worth it! We lounged by the pool and read a ton of books.

A couple books I read that are perfect for summer reading: Something in the Water is a thriller that had me hooked from the first page! I also really enjoyed The Wife Between Us and for a fun beachy read I loved When Life Gives You Lululemons.

In between all of my poolside reading, we took a trip to Sedona; it was magical!

And of course we enjoyed some delicious food, the tamales we had at this little café were super tasty.

Now, we’re back into the swing of things and I think the Spring season has finally returned which means all of the fresh, bright produce is starting to hit the stores and that brings us to What’s In Season for May!

Asparagus – Market Spring Vegetable Salad

Basil – Easy Basil Pesto

Blueberries – Blueberry Bliss Smoothie

Cucumbers – Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Tomatoes – Tomatoes

Rhubarb – Strawberry Rhubarb Toasted Oat Sundaes

And if you need some Mother’s Day Brunch recipe ideas, I’ve got you covered too.

I can’t wait to share with you what I make this month from two new cookbooks I just checked out of the library: Bake the Seasons and A New Way to Food.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post What’s In Season – Monthly Favourites appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Cucumber and mint are refreshing flavours and they pair perfectly with gin.

And, taking a cue from one of my other favourite cocktails, the French 75, this Spritz is topped with prosecco for a sparkling touch!

I love to make cocktails that use seasonal and fresh ingredients so this Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz fits in perfectly. The last couple of week’s we’ve been enjoying local cucumbers from our YYC Growers Harvest Box. So, I knew as soon as we started to feel the beginnings of Spring it was the perfect opportunity to use the cucumbers in a cocktail to celebrate.

If you haven’t had mint and cucumber in a cocktail yet, you’re in for a treat! The two provide the most refreshing flavours when muddled together and combined with gin.

Then, this cocktail is topped with prosecco for a perfectly bubbly sip!

Print

Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Mint and cucumber combine with gin in this refreshing cocktail that is topped with prosecco for the perfect, sparkling spritz of the Spring season!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword cocktail, spring cocktail

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cocktails

Author Jess

Ingredients

• 6 slices cucumber
• 10 mint leaves
• 2 ounces gin
• 8-10 ounces prosecco or other white sparkling wine
• extra mint leaves and cucumber slices for garnish
• ice

Instructions

• Add mint leaves, cucumber slices and gin to a cocktail shaker or mason jar.
• Use a muddler or wooden spoon to crush and mix mint, cucumber and gin so the flavours get released and then let sit for 5 minutes.
• Strain into two champagne flutes (or glass of your choice) and pour 4-5 ounces of prosecco into each glass.
• Add some mint leaves and fresh slices of cucumber to garnish and 1-2 ice cubes and enjoy!

This Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz is wonderful for brunch, Easter or Mother’s day. And, even just sipping in the sunshine during the Spring or Summer!

This recipe is a lovely way for me to celebrate my 4th year of blogging here on Cooking in my Genes! I can hardly believe I’ve been creating and photographing recipes to share with you for four years; it’s gone by in a flash! I’ve enjoyed every minute of this experience so far. This blog is such a lovely way to connect with you, family and friends through the love of food. So THANK YOU for all of the love and support; I truly wouldn’t be doing this without you!

So, let’s grab one of these Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz’s and CHEERS to an amazing 4 years plus more to come!

And, if you need some more Spring cocktail inspiration, check out my Grapefruit Lavender Spring Blossom Cocktail.

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I love to entertain in the summer and create fun cocktails for when we have company over. This sangria hits all the right notes as it’s easy to make for a party or group and has a ton of fresh flavours.

It’s fun to mix together different fruit combinations (and in this case vegetables) to come up with new and fresh sangria flavours.

It’s such an EASY cocktail to make for the summer months, especially when you’re entertaining and it would also be lovely for a wedding shower!

The cucumber and mint adds a refreshing twist for a summertime sangria, and the lime brightens up the entire drink.

Print

Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria

Kick off the summer with a fresh twist with this Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria, full of fresh flavours and easy to make for summer entertaining!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword fruit sangria, sangria, summer sangria

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Author Jess

Equipment

• large pitcher

Ingredients

• 1/2 english cucumber, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1/3 cup mint leaves
• 1/2 cup gin
• 1 1/2 cups sparkling water
• 1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc
• mint leave & cucumber slices for garnish

Instructions

• To a pitcher add cucumber slices, sliced lime, mint leaves, gin and sparkling water. Using a wooden spoon, gently muddle the ingredients a few times and let sit for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, add the bottle of wine to the pitcher, stir and then serve over ice.
• Garnish with more mint leaves and cucumber slices if desired.

Notes

• Want a sweeter sangria? Try using a Moscato wine.
• Want a bubblier sangria? Try using a bottle of Prosecco.
• Want to make this a non-alcoholic drink? Swap the wine for more bubbly water.

 

The final piece to this summertime sangria is the Sauvignon Blanc wine which goes lovely with all of the other flavours and is wonderfully sparkly!

So, when you’re entertaining this summer whip up a batch of this Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria and enjoy whilst basking in the sunshine!

Love sangria!? Try this Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria that’s made with rosé during the summer months too!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post Minty Cucumber Lime Sangria appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.