Possibly the only vinaigrette you'll ever need!  Real punchy and delicious for hearty Fall & Winter salads.  Drizzle it on your favourite salad combination! We served it on a kale, quinoa & carrot salad with roasted salmon.  

2/3 cup cider vinaigrette 
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into slices 
1 large clove of garlic
2 tbsp. soy sauce 
1 heaping tbsp. white miso 
Juice of 1 lime 
1 tsp. sesame oil 
1/2 tsp. sea salt 
4-5 grinds of black pepper 
1 cup of olive oil 

1. Place all ingredients except oil in a blender.  Blend for 30 seconds until smooth on high speed.  
2. Reduce speed and drizzle in oil.  Taste for seasoning.  Dressing will keep for 5 days refrigerated.  Makes about 2 cups.  

Not too sweet, and really easy to bring together!  Serve plain or with a fresh fruit compote.  

Zucchini Spice Snack Cake
Makes a 9x13 pan, stays moist for days!  

1 cup chopped dates 
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar 
1 1/2 cups flour 
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder 
2 tsp. cinnamon 
1 tsp. ground ginger 
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt 
1 cup oil (canola, vegetable or olive) 
1 tbsp. vanilla
3 large eggs 
1 tbsp. orange or lemon rind (optional) 

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, or grease lightly with butter 
3. Place dates in a bowl and cover with hot tap water.  Set aside while you continue with recipe. 
4. Grate zucchini and set aside.  
5. In a large mixing bowl place both sugars, flour, baking soda, baking powder, all the spices and the salt.  Whisk together until well combined.  
6. Make a bit of a well in the bowl, and add in oil, vanilla and eggs.  Use a wooden spoon to beat all together well.  
7. Drain dates and stir in with zucchini and zest, if using. 
8. Scrape into prepared pan, and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
9. Cool completely in the pan on a rack.  Snack away! Perfect for breakfast on the run too! 

Crunchy Quinoa Salad 
Makes about 6 cups of salad.  Keeps 4-5 days in the fridge (not dressed), so perfect for lunch take-alongs!  Add cooked chicken for extra protein.  

1 large, ripe tomato, diced (remove some of the seeds) 
1-2 green onions, very finely sliced 
1 large clove of fresh, local garlic, finely minced 
Juice of 1 lemon 
2 tbsp. good quality olive oil 
A small handful of fresh basil, torn or roughly chopped

12 Scallops*
Salt, as needed
Oil (neutral), as needed 

*KEY TIP: Purchase a U10 or a 10-20 size FAS (frozen at sea) scallop.  We buy Comeau brand scallops from Nova Scotia at T&J Seafoods in Kitchener. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.  

1. Make tomato lemon sauce:  In a bowl mix together tomato, green onion, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil & herbs.  Season with a few good pinches of salt.  Set aside at room temperature, make up to a few hours ahead of time.  
2. Place scallops on a paper-towel lined plate.  Remove the abductor muscle (a small, opaque white piece attached to the scallop. Some may not have one).  Season very well with salt (pepper will burn).  
3. Pan-sear scallops: preheat a frying pan over medium-high heat.  For best results, use a stainless steel or aluminum frying pan, not a non-stick.  Preheating the pan (without any oil in it) is key to getting that crust.  Put your hood fan on!  
4. Once your pan is hot (you'll place your hand over top of the pan, and only be able to hold it there for about 5 seconds), drizzle in a neutral oil, 1-2 tsp.
5. Your pan will smoke so act quickly: quickly PLACE (don't drop) your scallops onto the pan.  Allow to cook for about 90 seconds, undisturbed before turning over for a further 60-90 seconds.  Good quality scallops should be served medium to medium-well (i.e. there should be a thin line of translucency in the center of the scallop). 
6. Serve immediately in a shallow dish with tomato lemon sauce, and some warm baguette to mop up all the juices.  Enjoy!

Quick & Easy Pulled Pork
We speed this up by a few hours by starting with smaller pieces, doing a relatively quick smoke, and then finished with some moisture in the oven.  We've gone from 8-10 hours for 'pullable' pork to 3-4! 

1-8lb boneless pork shoulder 
Salt, as needed
BBQ Spice rub, as needed 
Your favourite BBQ Sauce, as needed (we used The Lancaster Smokehouse Home Sweet Home BBQ Sauce!) 

1. Cut your pork shoulder (or ask your fave butcher) to cut it into 4 thick pieces
2. Lightly salt and sprinkle BBQ spice rub all over pork pieces.  This can definitely be done the day before, wrapped back up in butcher paper and refrigerated.  But day of works too! 
3. Set your smoked to 300 degrees. 
4. Smoke pork pieces for 1 hour. 
5. Remove to a roasting pan with a lid.  Add in about 2 cups of water (or beer!), place lid (or tinfoil) on top and continue to cook in a 325 degree F oven for 2 hours, or until pork is pulling apart with a fork.  
6. Assess the liquid: if there is a lot of remaining liquid in pan, remove it.  You can always add it back in.  
7. Pull pork with 2 forks in a bit of the accumulated juice 
8. Drizzle on some bbq sauce and stir in.  
9. Great for make ahead and then reheated (that's why you save any juices).  

Buttertart Muffin
Here's how it went:  Jody wanted a buttertart.  Kirstie wanted a coffee-cake type muffin.  Thus,  the Buttertart Muffin was created!  A real treat, this one.  

Fresh Thai Tuna Burger
Warning: this sauce has an addictive personality and would be good on just about anything!  

Thai Curry Mayo:
2 tsp. white sugar 
2 tbsp. (30ml) lime juice (1 large lime) 
2 tbsp. (30ml) fish sauce (Red Boat brand is exceptional) 
1 tsp. red Thai curry paste (Aroy D brand is preferred) 
3/4 cup mayonnaise 

1 lb. (450g). piece fresh tuna, cut into 2 steaks 
Salt, as needed 
Oil, as needed 
2 green onions, thinly sliced 
2 sprigs fresh mint, roughly chopped 
2 sprigs fresh cilantro, roughly chopped 
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced 
1/4 English cucumber, thinly sliced 
4 large pieces leaf lettuce 
4 brioche buns
Butter, as needed 

1. Preheat a medium frying pan over medium-high heat 
2. Season the tuna steaks well with salt and drizzle generously with oil.  Set aside while you make Thai Curry Mayo
3. In a bowl, whisk together sugar and lime juice to dissolve sugar.  Whisk in fish sauce, curry paste and mayo until combined.  Set aside.  
4. Place tuna in now hot pan and sear for one minute per side.  Set on a cutting board to rest for a few minutes while you toast the buns.  
5. Add a little butter to the pan and toast cut side of buns until soft and golden brown. 
6. Slice tuna into 1/2 inch slices and then build your burger!  Top brioche buns with mayo, tuna, green onions, herbs, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce and more Thai curry mayo as needed.  Enjoy! 

Spring Onion Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

1 bunch green onions, rough chop, green and white parts
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup water
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  

Notes:

• This sauce can be used as a dressing over mixed greens and grilled vegetables
• It is also fantastic over chicken, pork and fish, hot off the grill
• It is best used immediately

A few key tips here to great potato salad:  first, ensure you potato cooking water is salty, like the ocean.  This should pretty much be the only salt you need for the whole salad.  Two: cook the potatoes slowly so that they do not break up. We think Yellow-fleshed potatoes are a winner here.  Lastly: toss that salad when those potatoes are hot!  
Serves 4-6 

4 large potatoes
3 slices bacon, diced up 
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 dill pickles, diced 
4 hard boiled eggs (optional)

House Ranch Dressing (recipe below)

1.  Peel and diced potatoes, about the size of playing dice.  Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Season generously with salt (taste the water! It should taste salty). Bring potatoes just to a boil over high heat, turn temperature down to lowest heat setting  and cook until potatoes are fork tender.  Water should barely be moving, 30-40 minutes. 

2.  Once fork tender, carefully drain and place into a mixing bowl. 

3.  Meanwhile, fry bacon: pre-heat a small frying pan over medium heat.  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Set aside until potatoes are cooked through, then gently toss with potatoes.

4.  Stir in green onions, pickles and hard boiled eggs if using 

5.  Fold House Ranch into potatoes and bacon, starting with about ½. The potatoes will continue to absorb dressing.  Add more dressing as desired.  

House Ranch Dressing
Basically good on just about anything!  Adding in 1/2 cup of buttermilk will lighten up the texture to make it more suitable to greens such as spinach or romaine lettuce.  

1 clove garlic, finely minced with ¼ tsp kosher salt
½ cup Hellman’s mayo
1 cup full-fat Sour Cream
4-5 sprigs Italian parsley, finely chopped
4-5 sprigs dill, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. dill pickle juice
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl or jar and whisk or shake to combine.