Peanut Butter Shortbread

These cut out cookies are tender and hold their shape well. Bite into one and - surprise! - they're actually a peanut butter shortbread! Enjoyed plain or decorated with chocolate, they're a fun pick me up mid afternoon.

Yup, another peanut butter cookie recipe! N absolutely loves peanut butter cookies, and while my go to has been these chocolate packed ones, I figured it was time to branch out and try something different. The major impetus behind trying to find a different option with the same peanut buttery goodness was that a few months ago my sister and I went to a pottery workshop and my non-artistic hands crafted a wee cookie jar:

I know, it's totally gallery-worthy, right? Well, since our relationship has been filled with cookies (as well as other baked goods), I wanted to give the jar to N. Of course, you cannot simply hand over an empty cookie jar, right? So the hunt was on to find some cookies that fit perfectly in the canister and also would stand up to the Summer heat. Sorry, chocolate, you're out for the season. See you in the Fall!

Just because there's no chocolate doesn't mean these cookies aren't amazing. On the contrary, these cut-out cookies are like a better version of the classic three-ingredient recipe. Yes, they are undeniably peanut buttery, and have the richness of brown sugar and honey to add layers of dimension. However, the texture of the baked dough is almost identical to my mom's shortbreads, and since this is a world where I cannot for the life of me recreate her recipes I will take the fact that these peanut butter gems come close. When the weather cools down, I will certainly bust out the chocolate for decorating purposes, because sometimes you just want a fancy pants sort of treat, but honestly these are good regardless!

Orange Rhubarb Sauce

Orange Rhubarb Sauce is thick, tangy and perfect either on its own or over your favourite breakfast treat. Try it on pancakes or waffles!

Ah, rhubarb. In my backyard, we have no fewer than 6 plants strewn across various fence lines and corners, and quite often the bulk of the tart, stringy stalks are left to go to waste (one of the family members is against using them for food if you can believe that). However, the plant I call my own (and have for the last 13 years) is the grand daddy of the yard and gets put into a variety of tasty things for the shelf and the freezer. One application I hadn't really thought of for this vegetable was to make a "butter" with it, a la apple butter. Food in Jars posted a recipe that was not only a rhubarb butter, but with orange flavour too. The orange threw another curveball for me - would the tangy citrus clash with the sharper tartness of the rhubarb? Would it work well? There was only one way to find out!

Well, I learned a few things in this experiment - the rhubarb mixture does not get quite to spreadable consistency despite hours of cooking (and I was nervous about burning it after 2 hours of work). However, it was a thick applesauce consistency which was perfectly fine with me! Secondly, the orange flavour actually pairs exceedingly well with the rhubarb, and I amplified it by adding the orange zest to the pot as well. While the recipe didn't make a ton, it made the perfect amount for our family to use and appreciate, and I will definitely be making more! Mom claimed it was best on roasted chicken legs or pork loin, but I mixed it into oatmeal for a zip. It truly is versatile, and that gives it an extra push into the "win" category for me!

If you're looking for an alternative to the run of the mill fruit applications out there, give this orange rhubarb sauce a try. Who knows, maybe you'll finally have a reprieve from the strawberry rhubarb fad - just don't forget about those strawberries, they need love too!

Kasundi Braised Vegetables

Root veggies, mushrooms and chickpeas get braised in homemade Tomato Kasundi for a spicy, hearty meal perfect for serving over rice!

Ever go pantry diving? I try to go into our double-deep cupboards at least twice a year, pulling out things and sorting what needs to be used and in what order. This time, however, was a bit different. I actually discovered a jar of homemade Tomato Kasundi - from 2013! - in our cold cellar, and while the contents were still okay I didn't really want it to sit around any longer. Luckily, I also had a wide array of our kitchen staples on hand having also gone grocery shopping - carrots, onions, mushrooms, and a can of chickpeas. Having seen braised chickpeas floating around the web before, I wondered if I could do the same thing with this richly flavoured, slightly spicy sauce.

The method of throwing this dish together wasn't really a recipe at all in the grand scheme of things - what I used worked for us, but if you have other veggies or legumes you like by all means give them a shot too! I personally can't wait to make more kasundi so that I can try this braise with eggplant and lentils in addition to the other veggies, maybe with a handful of spinach or mustard greens stirred in for colour too. In the end, the long braise allows for the sharp tang and heat of the kasundi to mellow slightly, while the rich flavours soak into the veggies and make the whole pot beg for a bed of rice or grains to soak up every drop. I'd be lying if I said we didn't pick at this cold too - but then again what better way to graze?

Gluten Free Zucchini Brownies

Gluten free, vegan and downright delicious zucchini brownies with a glossy chocolate glaze. I didn't realize the glaze hadn't set yet so it pulled off a bit, still good!

Ah, zucchini. If ever there was a bigger bane to the existence of summer gardeners, I don't know of it! Luckily, it is also ridiculously versatile, and brownies are simply the next thing to get a hit of this sneak-attack veggie! I was inspired by a local vegan restaurant who carried zucchini brownies topped with a shiny glaze in their dessert cabinets, and since one of my friends is gluten free and happened to love them, I figured I'd see if I could find a way to emulate them that didn't cost $4 for two bites!

The secret to getting these brownies luscious and moist without any of the "gluten free grittiness" lies in my Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend, which has the perfect blend of protein and starches for all my desserts. Psyllium and flax eliminate the need for added xanthan or guar gum, while giving each bite just enough of the classic "chew". Letting the batter sit for 10 minutes before baking lets the starches hydrate a bit as well, taking out the last of any grit that may remain. These brownies are also excellent to freeze, and once frozen, you could even slice them in half for an amazingly decadent ice cream sandwich (not that we've ever done that here...). Just make sure that if you are freezing these beauties, you hold off on the glaze until you're planning to serve them.

Speaking of the glaze.... I could go on and on about this delicious and mirror-shiny glaze! While it is certainly not required, I do highly suggest it especially if company is coming over. Just don't tell the kids about the veggies packed inside (and if you're really nervous, ixnay the espresso in favour of water or use decaf).

While these brownies do have the "health halo" with their vegan and gluten free label as well as the vegetation involved, they are most definitely a dessert with their sugar and oil content. As much as I could have made them "better" by using applesauce or something similar, I was going for the decadence of the restaurant treat and I think I got it spot on here. 

Baked Spanish Rice

Baked Spanish Rice is a hearty, healthy meal in a bowl perfect for the winter blahs when hot, but is also delicious cold as a Summer salad! Brown rice is mixed with onion, garlic, red peppers, artichokes and carrots before being doused in a tomato-meat sauce with a heady dose of paprika. An hour and a half of hands off cook time and voila! Dinner is served.

Despite the fact that it can be up to 40 degrees Celsius outside with the humidity, I have been drawn to the kitchen and specifically the oven. Part of this is that I do tend to batch-cook for the week ahead, not just that night's dinner, so I am able to prep food later in the evening when it's cooled off a bit. Another is that I've been spending a decent portion of my summer out of town, so I need to be able to make meals that travel and hold well too. This baked rice, like so many of my recipes, came out of the fact that I had containers of chicken broth and meat sauce sitting in my freezer from back in the school year that I really needed to use up, if only for the reason that I needed freezer space (hello Summer fruit season!). Being a bona fide Spanish rice lover, I wanted to make a version of it that I could throw together and more or less let cook while I gardened and did laundry, and baked rice fit the bill perfectly.

Of course, I was not content with simply making "pure" Spanish rice, the kind that's basically tomatoes and white rice. Nope, I wanted a meal in a bowl, full of flavour, protein and veggies, but light on the oil. We always have artichoke hearts on hand (mom loves them), and onions, peppers and carrots are mainstays in the house too. The crowning spice (and one of my personal favourites) was paprika, and I was not shy with it (dial it to your own tastes though). After an hour and a half - where I literally did nothing - I had a huge pot of food that was excellent warm and cold. While it was a meal in itself, it didn't stop mom from pairing it with some grilled trout for dinner (which honestly looked delicious too!). I will definitely be making this again when school starts back up, maybe with a vegan "meat" sauce for variety as well.

What do you tend to eat in the Summer? Is it no-cook or are you like me and baking up a storm? Let me know in the comments!