We had so much sunshine for the long weekend that it inspired cooking with many ingredients from our garden and the farmer’s market.

So, come along to see what recipes we’ve made lately along with our Ontario travel adventures and what’s in season for this month; I have A LOT to share with you!

In June we travelled to Prince Edward County in Ontario for my brother’s wedding. The sun was out every day of our trip where we enjoyed delicious food, wine tasting and of course the wedding festivities!

If you ever travel to Ontario I highly recommend the Prince Edward County region; not only for all of the amazing wine, beer, ciders and food but the scenery is gorgeous. Nearby you can find Sandbanks Provincial Park with some of the most beautiful, bright sand; take a paddle on some of the smaller lakes; check out one of the local golf courses or just cruise all of the local shops in Picton, Bloomfield or Wellington. Plus there are so many wonderful AirBnb’s to stay in too!

After our Ontario adventures the rest of the month we spent cooking at home and enjoying some time around Calgary. I’ve made some recipes from the Well & Good cookbook that have been very enjoyable like this Jalapeno Vegan Burrito recipe. We made this Cashew Crunch Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad from Ambitious Kitchen too and I also have this peach salad on my list for the summer.

Also on my list for the summer is using many more herbs to amp up salads, main dishes and cocktails!

I recently made a Peach Basil Wine Spritzer recipe in partnership with Moscow Muled over on Instagram! A very refreshing combination of flavours and extremely easy to make with just peaches, basil, white wine & sparkling water!

I think it will be my patio sip of the summer especially since my Moscow Muled mugs keep it super cool.

We had dinner with friends one weekend; they made this delicious Crispy Bacon Pasta Salad with Fresh Herbs from How Sweet Eats and we brought the ribs and my Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria which was a hit! Here’s to more of those ‘shared dinner’ evenings where you gather with everyone contributing to the meal; sort of like a potluck but a much smaller group and a bit more planned out. And, we finished the evening with bocce ball – LOVED it!

Now that we’ve hit July we are getting all of the wonderful summer fruit I’ve been waiting for in our YYC Growers box. This week we received cherries, blueberries and raspberries; and the raspberries were sooooo good they legit tasted like candy they were so sweet!

So given we’re into an amazing season for fresh produce, here’s What’s In Season for July.

Apricots: Easy Apricot Jam

Berries: Summer Fruit with Whipped Cream

Peaches: Peach Basil Wine Spritzer

Rhubarb: Rhubarb Cake

Strawberries: Berry Rhubarb Kombucha Sangria

Tomatoes: Heirloom Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Sourdough Bread Board

I hope you’re enjoying the sweet, sweet summertime!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

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

You can find all my favourite flavours of the season on this Brunch Board plus one simple and delicious bite for dessert, Plum Tarts!

And, other than having your best girlfriends around it isn’t brunch without something to cheers with SO grab a glass of XOXO Wines Rosé and let’s cheers to an easy, delicious brunch celebrating friendship and the summer season!

I partnered with XOXO Wines on this Brunch Board because I absolutely adore their Rosé and they are all about making every day an occasion! With flavours of strawberry and tea plus a hint of spice, XOXO Rosé is a very smooth sip that pairs beautifully with the seasonal ingredients in this Brunch Board.

You’ll find sweet and savoury ingredients on the Brunch Board including strawberries and cherries to tomatoes and goat cheese. I drew inspiration from the summer season and wanted to make this board as simple and straightforward as possible so that you can enjoy sipping on your XOXO Rosé and having fun with your friends!

One of my favourite memories with my best gals is gathering together over delicious food and fabulous wine. I’ve been doing this with friends since our early twenties and the inspiration for this Brunch Board comes from those fond memories.

So grab your girlfriends and let’s make an occasion out of brunch with XOXO Wines Rosé!

Print

Brunch Board

Inspired by the summer season, this Brunch Board has sweet and savoury ingredients to suit every taste. Plus, the Plum Tarts are the perfect dessert bite to top off a spectacular brunch!

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword brunch

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Author Jess

Ingredients

Plum Tarts

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 2-3 large plums, sliced thin mix of red and dark purple plums
• 3 tbsp sugar I like to use cane sugar
• 1-2 tbsp butter, melted

Brunch Board

• 1 recipe for Plum Tarts
• 200 g gruyere cheese, cut into slices
• 8-10 slices prosciutto
• 1-2 cups multigrain crackers
• 1-2 cups granola
• 2 cups strawberries
• 4-5 apricots, sliced
• 1 small pint mixed cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1 small baguette, sliced
• 1-2 cups coconut yogurt
• 1/2 cup goat cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey or honeycomb
• 2-3 basil leaves for garnishing the goat cheese
• thyme sprigs, for garnish
• toasted and shredded coconut for garnishing the coconut yogurt

Instructions

Plum Tarts

• **Important: thaw puff pastry according to package directions**
• Pre-heat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut puff pastry sheet into 16 squares and place onto baking sheet, spaced a part.
• Using a fork, make dots throughout the middle of each puff pastry square, leaving about a half-inch border around the square.
• Place 3 plum slices on the middle of each square, approximately covering the space that’s been dotted with the fork.
• Brush the borders of each puff pastry square with melted butter and then sprinkle each square generously with sugar.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden around the edges.
• Remove from the oven and let cool about 5 minutes on the pan. Then they are ready to be served!  Note: You can absolutely make these ahead of time and then sprinkle with a bit more sugar just before serving on your brunch board – they do not need to be served warm.

Assembling the Brunch Board

• Prepare the plum tarts and let cool.
• Find a serving board and 3-4 small serving bowls plus a couple of knives and spoons for serving.
• Slice and measure out all the remaining ingredients.
• Scoop the goat cheese into a small bowl, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with basil.
  
• Scoop the coconut yogurt into a small bowl and mixed cherry tomatoes in their own small bowl.
  
• To create the brunch board, start by placing the three main bowls (goat cheese, tomatoes and yogurt) on the board. Then start to fill in with crackers, baguette and plum tarts. Continue to fill in spaces with fresh fruit, prosciutto and garnish with thyme sprigs.
  
• Use the Brunch Board photos to help guide your design or go with your own creative presentation! Don’t worry about fitting everything on the board to start with; you can always refill when needed.
  

There are so many amazing combinations of flavours you and your girlfriends can enjoy from this Brunch Board. Some of my favourites are:
–       Slice of baguette with goat cheese and tomatoes
–       Crackers with goat cheese, apricot slice and honey
–       Dip fruits into coconut yogurt then granola
–       Fruit, yogurt and granola
–       Plum tarts!

The best thing about this Brunch Board is that you can mix and match ingredients to suit your tastes. Many of the seasonal ingredients you can find right now at the market will go beautifully with XOXO Rosé too!

Hosting your own brunch soon?  XOXO Wines is available in local liquor stores and here in Alberta you can find XOXO Rosé, Pinot Grigio-Chardonnay and their Sparkling Pinot Grigio-Chardonnay – literally something for everyone’s tastes!

Want to hear the BEST part!? I’m hosting a contest giving away FOUR BOTTLES of XOXO WINES ROSÉ! Come on over to enter to win! *CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED*

I’d love to see your Brunch Board creations so comment below or tag @cookinginmygenes on Instagram.

Need more brunch inspo? Check out my other summer brunch ideas!

Happy brunching friends!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

Disclaimer: Thank you to XOXO Wines for sponsoring this post.  Thank you for supporting the brands that I support. All opinions are my own.

The post Summer Brunch Board appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I spent most of July on vacation, enjoying visits with family and friends and feasting on all of the amazing fruits and vegetables in season.

And, we’ve also been thoroughly enjoying sipping coffee on our back deck and reading on weekend mornings. So come on over for some travel adventures AND recipe ideas for what to cook in August!

We headed east to Toronto and area for visits with family and friends in mid-July and the weather was spectacular!

Scott and I went for a couple of lovely bike-rides along the Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario.

We also spent a bunch of time around my parent’s backyard pool because you just can’t beat sunny, bluebird Ontario summer days. And, we always joke that it’s like being at an all-inclusive resort – there’s always snacks and drinks! (Thanks Mom & Dad for being the best hosts!)

Much of our vacation centred around enjoying the outdoors and food with family and friends. We even took a day-trip out to Prince Edward County for lunch at the Drake Devonshire which has the most lovely lake-view from their patio.

Then, we then toured around to a couple of wineries.  We stopped in at Rosehall Run which has one of my FAV sparkling wines, the Pixie, and checked out The Grange’s variety of wines plus their new cider and stunning views.

We stopped in at Hinterland which I had not been too before and absolutely LOVED their Les Etoiles Sparkling Wine.  The tasting room was beautiful and open-air concept which continued to a patio that looked out at the vineyard.

I find Prince Edward County so magical and serene; I love visiting when I’m back in Ontario when I can for the scenery, wine and the food. If you are ever in Ontario I highly recommend going!

Before we headed back to Calgary we spent a couple of days in Toronto. One morning we had croissants and these Italian ‘donuts’ called bomboloni which are one of the best bites of food I’ve ever had at Sud Forno. I will DEFINITELY be going back there again! And, we also made a lovely family dinner on the weekend featuring an epic rib-eye steak that was made for sharing.

It was truly a wonderful trip and when we got back to Calgary it was hard to get back into the swing of things! But one lovely surprise when we returned was our garden in full bloom, specifically the radishes! These French Breakfast Radishes are AMAZING.

I’ve been enjoying them on sourdough, making many lunches of my Toasts with Radishes, Pea Shoots & Feta recipe. They’re also delicious with just butter and a sprinkle of salt on toast too.

We’re definitely cooking seasonally lately, especially with all of the fresh produce we get weekly from our YYC Growers food share and from our garden. So, here are some of my favourite recipes that you can make in August:

Apricots: Easy Apricot Jam

Berries: Aloha Breakfast Bowl

Corn: Roasted Summer Vegetable Salad

Peaches: Peach & Prosciutto Summer Foccacia

Strawberries: Strawberry Lemonade Rosé Punch

Tomatoes: Heirloom Tomatoes, Mozzarella & Sourdough Bread Board

I can’t wait to make some of these recipes on repeat the next couple of weeks while all of the produce is in season! AND if you’re looking for a cool treat, I made three easy Fresh Fruit Popsicle recipes for the Italian Centre Shop here in Calgary including Strawberry-Basil and Peach & Mint flavours!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

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