Wahaca chilis
I've been a slack blogger this week but I promise to get better - I just had dinner with the Oakville Quinns and will have dinner on Friday with the Toronto Quinns! I have to update you on the Thomas Cubitt pub visit (below) too. For now, have a look at these photos, these are the chilies that I planted on the weekend. The seeds are from the restaurant Wahaca and they are the first batch of planting that I did for my summer vegetable garden. I also planted some mint which needs to germinate for 21 days, hopefully something takes!

My new favourite drink - Mint LemonadeThis drink is to die for and I stress, is only made well with fresh ingredients!

In Dubai it is a specialty and found everywhere, a few places use syrups instead of the fresh ingredients to make it cheaper for them, but they do not taste half as good. For a small dinner gathering at the Onion's house the other night I brought all the ingredients and made some, although mine were a little too sour and the mint was ground so coarsely, it was like eating some freshly mown grass. Luckily the guests were gracious and spit out the extra grass, erm..mint into the sink. Next time I will blend the mint longer and skim a layer of it off so only very fine bits are left. It was a trial session so no complaints please.

For you to try it at home - get a few lemons, a few limes, some brown sugar and a handful of fresh mint with some ice and cold water (squeeze the juice though-don't throw the whole lemons and limes in the blender and it would be good to peel the mint leaves off their stem).

Whiz it all in the blender for a few minutes and voila you have a healthy & refreshing drink.

Since I don't know the exact measurements of each you need to test out the sugar levels as I didn't use any measuring spoons. After my first few sips when I thought my cheeks would remain in a permanent pucker I added a few more generous scoops of sugar. If you can make lemonade you are halfway there - just add lime and mint!

Belli's mohitosKids mixing drinks?

Well, what else do you get kids to do in the summer? We put them to work making mohitos for us a few weekends ago at the beach. They are great at picking the fresh mint from the garden, stirring in the sugar and very exact at pouring the lemon & lime juice and mixing in the solda and vodka; it is like being in home economics class! Kids love tasks that are usually left to grownups. They didn't get a chance to taste the drinks but we did make them a virgin version.

Belli is the cutest little angel and a great helper. I wish I was a teacher like her mother and had a little star sticker to give her. Thanks for your help cutie and see you soon!

x

Westwood Mohito Recipe:

*We altered the recipe for what was in the cupboard

- Lots of fresh mint from the garden

- A squirt of lemon and lime juice (as much as we had in the fridge)

- A tbsp of sugar per glass – brown sugar is nice

- We used Havana Club rum – but any rum will do – the flavored Bacardi Limon one would be nice

- Ice

- We didn’t have club soda so we used Perrier water with a hint of lime

Simple spaghettiPasta with garlic and olive oil -recipe posted already here, but took this pic on the weekend. Garnish is fresh mint from the garden.

Great but...fruit not so fress
Sunday brunch is always a favorite and for this weekend's adventure we went to the vegan restaurant Fressen on Queen West.

It was Pride Toronto weekend and the city was alive with various characters coming out to celebrate the week long festival culminating in the notoriously loud, proud and colorful parade. With the window seats at the restaurant we had a prime viewing platform for people heading to the day's festivities.

Our favorite was the tall, goth, long haired, mesh stocking, batman wannabe. His sunglasses were the best part as they covered his entire face with a big plastic bat. Actually his facial expression was better than his sunglasses as it was this mysterious, angry, indignant, look at me - but how dare you look at me, look. Sooo good to people watch!

A few comments about Fressen, the brunch menu is not as extensive as expected it only had waffles and French toast which, in my opinion, were truly brunch-y. Then there were lots of salads and stews which were more lunch-y. I guess if you cannot serve eggs and bacon then the brunch menu immediately is cut down in scope.

We almost all unanimously ordered the French toast which was divine. It was served with a fruit compote, maple syrup and the toast was coated in oats/granola (not exactly sure) which gave it a lovely texture. The one disappointing thing about the dish was that is was served with fruit that was off. It was well presented with garnish of icing sugar and fresh mint but when eating the watermelon and cantaloupe they were not hard and sweet, just soft and lacking in flavour, like they were sitting in the fridge too long/past their freshness date.

When this happens at home you eat it yourself and kick yourself for not peeling it and eating it sooner, you do not serve it to guests or to restaurant patrons, non?

Other than the non-fresh fruit, all else was great, service, staff, drinks and atmosphere.

AK ordered the corn fritters (2nd pic) and Jill ordered th waffles and all were satisfied! Their drink of the day was spectacular and so simple. It was a strawberry lemonade made with fresh strawberries, water, lemon juice, cane sugar, fresh mint and pineapple chunks and juice.

Try making it at home as it is a truly refreshing summery drink!

Minty Fresh
If you grow mint it never stops growing. It grows tall, spreads out and the aroma is great. You can chop it and then use it for several things.

• Brew fresh mint tea: add some leaves to a cup of boiled water, let it diffuse and add a little sugar. It tastes great and is good for digestion.
  (Itsu in London charges about £3 for a pot of this = $6.90 Canadian for some minty goodness)
  

• Add it to a jug of water and drink hint o' mint flavoured water. You can also do this with cucumbers and oranges for a nice summer twist to your usual water jugs with lemon.

• Add it to your meatball/hamburger recipe. I think this is the ingredient that makes Momma Dolce's meatballs so great.
• Add a few sprigs to any other sauces you may be making or mix a little in with your pesto dish.
  
• Mince it up and use it on your bbq'd lamb
• Use in a fresh tomato and cucumber salad with basil
  

Since we have an abundance there is some in a vase by the window and a few other leaves strewn about on my desk which I am twirling about to get some of the lovely smell.

Am sure you can make some kind of cosmetic concoction but for now I will stick to the mint tea with sugar.

Minty fresh

A cuppa mint tea does wonders for you after a large meal. It is light and refreshing and also has several health benefits. This mint tea was served at Masala Zone.

The secret to Momma Dolce's meatballs is also a sprig of mint chopped finely and added to the mixture. It is easy to grow mint as it seems to come back each year stronger and stronger once planted in a sunny spot.

Chop it when it starts growing out of hand, lay it to dry in the sun and keep it for use throughout the winter. In Italian it is called mentha.
Buy a little pot from your local garden shop and enjoy it grow wildly and also provide you with a lovely smell. Use it with lamb, chicken and other dishes, the list is endless.

Yoghurt with fresh mint, cucumber and garlic is an amazing sauce to use on boring grilled chicken or just to eat with pita bread. It is divine and the cucumber keeps the yoghurt cool which is v.refreshing. Or take some sprigs and pour some boiling water and have a lovely tea.

Men in Sicily usually take a sprig and keep it in their mouths like a cigarette and chew on it and roll it around. I haven't seen anyone do that in a while but I recall clearly my dad and grandfather doing that each time they went to the garden to putter around.

Am off to go buy a plant!

Ramsa's mint/yoghurt combo.