Tapas Long Weekend

You might think we ate nothing but beets this past weekend, but aside from breakfast, we actually planned a whole tapas weekend!

We had a lot of fun experimenting with new recipes, and cooking little snacks.  We had a three day weekend, so there was plenty of time to cook and eat, while still doing a lot of relaxing.

On Saturday afternoon we sat outside and enjoyed the spread above.  That evening we went to see Bill Burr's stand-up comedy show, which we thought was just okay.

Sunday's snacks included garlic, parsley mushrooms:

Andalusian almond meatballs (which were excellent):

And radish butter with bread:

We loosely followed the recipes in the links.

On Monday our tapas included grilled eggplant pouches, filled with tomato, basil, and mozzarella:

Crispy, smoky potatoes:

And rosemary beef skewers with a garlic, herb yogurt dip:

A bit of sourdough bread with oil and vinegar too!

Overall, it was a very tasty, and relaxing long weekend.  We were also productive, and got all of our flowers and herbs/veggies planted.

 

Christopher fixed the lawnmower, which wouldn't start ...

Annnnnd, I made a Saskatoon berry crumble for our desserts.

Was this past weekend a long weekend for you?  

How did you spend it?

I know my blogger friend Lisa got married - Congratulations Lisa and Phil!

It's almost the weekend again.  Any big plans?

Beet It

Cause, we got the beet, we got the beet, we got the beet, yeah, we got it!

We've been thinking of all things beet lately, and I don't see any sign of us stopping.  I don't think a vegetable could be any more gorgeous.

On Saturday we fried up latkes to use as a base for eggs benedict.

We topped each with smoked salmon:

Then a soft-poached egg, and beet hollandaise:

Finally fresh dill:

To make the beet hollandaise, we juiced a raw beet, and used the juice in place of the lemon juice that would typically be in hollandaise.

It was incredible.

This weekend we also made bagels.

And a beautifully whipped, beet-horseradish cream cheese:

To make the beet cream cheese, we blended puréed, cooked beet, with a block of cream cheese, and horseradish to taste.

We topped the bagels with smoked salmon and dill (we clearly can't get enough smoked salmon either).

Today we made beet hummus, subbing in puréed beets for chickpeas in a basic hummus recipe.

The wheels are already turning with other ways we can make beets stand out front and center. 
 

Do you like beets?  

Have you ever used them in a dish in an unexpected way?

All Week

Last weekend was wonderful!  It started with a nice evening out with our nephew, and then on Saturday morning Christopher made breakfast.

On Saturday evening we went out with family/friends Mel and Steve for sushi to celebrate their 35th birthdays, which are about a month apart.

We were so full after all-you-can-eat sushi, but later that evening we were craving something sweet, so I whipped up a couple mini chocolate cakes.  We shared one, and saved the other for the next day.

Sunday's breakfast was a pan scrambler.

Christopher made that while I worked on double-chocolate merlot cookies for his mom, as part of her mothers' day gift.

I used black cocoa, which I don't usually use (I normally use ruddy red from Bulk Barn), and they still turned out well, but I think I prefer them with the red cocoa.

On Sunday afternoon we went to Christopher's parents' house for a visit, and to give his mom some mothers' day gifts.  We had a lovely time catching up with them.  It had been about two months since our last visit; I don't know how that happened!

That evening we made Asian pork noodles for dinner.

On Monday we made borscht.  We used a ham bone to whip up a quick stock first, and then tossed in loads of veggies, and topped our bowls with sour cream and dill.

On Tuesday evening we had a dippy dinner.  We grilled an eggplant for a while, and made baba ganoush.  We also made raita, and some za'atar spiced pita chips.

 

 

 

On Wednesday we grilled shrimp, and enjoyed them with rice and salad.

We had a retirement gathering to attend on Thursday evening, and snacked a bit at that.

On Friday we picked up groceries after work, and then BBQd ribs, broccoli, and a rice/veggie mixture.

We are soaking up this gorgeous long weekend - more on that in the next post.

What are you up to this weekend?