Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen

I might not have picked up a copy of Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen Cookbook: Rock Your Kitchen-And Let the Boys Clean Up the Mess , given that I'm such a prim & proper lady...okay, perhaps not, but even if you are, the book is funny, cool and the recipes are fantastic, so give it a go. You'll be glad you did.

But let me back up a bit. Last weekend I was attending the Eat Real Eat Local Foodblogger Panel, which was terrific. More about that at another time, but just by visiting the site (don't skip the intro for some astonishing food stats) and pledging to commit to prepare, buy and eat more locally grown foods, Hellmann's will donate to the Evergreen Foundation - 100,000 actions=$25,000 to their projects.

One of the participants, Angelique writes for the Bitchinkitchen.tv blog and she gave us each a copy. Naturally, I have every pasta dish bookmarked for a Presto Pasta Night entry....plus a whole lot more.

This time, though, I wanted to make the "Spicy Beef Kebabs with Mint". It sounds awesome and the photo looks good enough to lick off the paper. Here was my dilemma though

ONE: it's Spring and there's nothing like Spring lamb from Nova Scotia and coming right off of the panel where everyone agreed that the fresher and closer to home, the better the food tastes...well, that plus the sprig of mint sitting on what I know as tzatziki (Nadia calls it Mint Sauce - and it is and anyway...she's way to cool to argue with. She might even get her very muscled boys to come after me...but I digress). Bottom line...the photo made me opt for lamb.

TWO: when we moved from Toronto and sold the barbecue, we also had a garage sale and sold the skewers I rarely used anyway...and since we don't have a place for a bbq (no lawn, no porch, no terrace, no balcony...see where I'm going with this?) I didn't replace them.

THREE: my original intention was to mold the lamb around the skewers (like Nadia G suggests) and then I was going to serve them in a pita pocket with the tzatziki. Good idea, even as a burger, but the problem was it all disintegrated when we put the burger in the too big pita pocket, which was also too thin, so the "sauce" made it all fall apart. Nadia and the gang would be laughing their asses.... oh, right I don't talk like that! Good thing we had buns!

Spicy Lamb Burgers with Minty Tzatziki

I will be trying the real deal out at my daughter & son-in-law's, after all they do have a brand new bbq and I'll even splurge for the skewers. The taste, after we stopped laughing - awesome!

Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone

Perhaps it's just that Curtis Stone looks like he lives on the beach, or perhaps it's that whenever I think of Australia, I only think of summer. Whatever my weird reasoning, I think I got a sun tan just reading his new cookbook....Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone....and relaxed is the key word.

I was in heaven from "first thing in the morning" with granolas, smoothies, caramelized nectarines with yoghurt and honey to "sweet dreams" (the last delicious chapter) with espresso creme brulee, chocolate souffle, green tea ice cream...the list of sweet endings is endless...and every chapter in between has me chomping at the bit.

There are countless weekend breakfasts, brunches, lunches and quick week night dinners that will delight everyone and each dish is so simple you'll never break a sweat, even if it is hot outside.

Just a taste of things to come at my house...I've earmarked plenty, but will definitely try these in the next few weeks...cheesy crepes with prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes and olives; sticky chicken drumsticks; all American baby back ribs (I'm a sucker for all things meaty and sticky); steamed mussels with chorizo and white wine (I'm drooling even now at the thought of picking up local Indian Point Mussels at the market this Saturday); pan fried halibut with black beans and cilantro chili salsa; paella with shrimp, mussels, clams and scallops (all local - it's good to live in Atlantic Canada!)...I could go on forever, but I will stop and share the two side dishes I made to go along with some grilled local lamb chops. There is no recipe for the lamb, but Curtis's way of simple cooking is contagious - just a few ingredients...fresh and seasonal and a little help from fresh herbs - and you're ready to feast.

Curtis's Sauteed Wild Mushrooms with Baby Spinach took less than 10 minutes and was so delicious even though I only used shitake and cremini this time around. And frankly, that probably would have been enough to accompany my grilled lamb chops...I know it will be awesome as a bed for roasted salmon....but I couldn't resist this...

...his Roasted Acorn Squash with Thyme and Maple Syrup....pure candy! and a perfect complement to any grilled fish, chicken or meat.

I think perhaps tonight's dinner will be linguine with garlic shrimp & pesto...drool, drool.