Lucy, these recipes are all easy. You can make any of them, just don't stress about it.

Maple Brown Bread French Toast with Local Berries

· Pick up some homemade brown bread from Evelyn; she has some for sale at the Inn (I'll teach you to make brown bread when I get back, it's easy).

· Bit of butter

· Two eggs

· Splash of cream

· Sprinkle of cinnamon

· Bit of powdered sugar

· Maple syrup

· Handful of fresh-picked blueberries

For the love of God, get a good cast-iron pan. You can make a million things in it. Season it well before you use it (just coat it with cooking oil and bake it in a 350°F oven for an hour. Dry it with paper towels when it's cooled).

Now that you've got a well-seasoned, oven-proof skillet:

Whip the two eggs, cream and cinnamon until frothy. Heat your cast iron pan over medium heat and drop a slab of butter in there. Soak two slices of brown bread in the egg mixture. When the pan's nice and hot (make sure the butter doesn't burn), lay them in. Leave them a couple of minutes until you get a nice golden crust, then flip and cook until crisp. Top with a bit of powdered sugar, a splash of maple syrup from the neighbor's farm and those blueberries we picked from The Lookoff :)

Homemade Anytime Pizza*

You can make your own dough, Lucy. Yes you can. Quicker than takeout, I promise (and much, much better).

Pizza dough:

1 cup of warm water
 


1 teaspoon of instant yeast


1 teaspoon of honey
A good splash of olive oil (don't skip this step, it makes for a crispier crust)
2 cups of all-purpose flour
Fresh rosemary and sea salt (crushed together — use the mortar and pestle above the stove)
A sprinkle of cornmeal

Homemade sauce:

Mince an onion and then slowly cook it in a pile of olive oil with a bay leaf (on medium heat). When the onion becomes transparent, add a pile of dried oregano and basil (don't skimp). After a couple of minutes, dump in three cans of crushed tomatoes, an entire bulb of minced garlic, a glug of balsamic vinegar (the good stuff I brought back from Modena) and salt and pepper to taste. Maybe even more olive oil. Set it on a back burner, covered, on low, low, low heat for several hours. Throw in a teaspoon of sugar. That'll mellow out the acid and sweeten up the tomato flavour a bit as all the ingredients get to know each other.

This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you can freeze some for pasta, etc.

Now, put it all together:


Make the dough. Combine the water, yeast, and honey and let stand about five minutes. Add in the oil after the yeast does its thing, before you fold in the flour and salt. Mush it all together until a soft ball forms.
Take the mixture out of the bowl and knead it for a few minutes (make sure to keep dusting the surface with flour to prevent sticking).

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a clean cloth. Go have a glass of wine or a bath and come back in about a half an hour. Cut the dough in half to make two pizzas (or freeze one lump of dough till you're ready to use it).

Roll it out. Get out the pizza stone and sprinkle it with a handful of cornmeal — this will help the centre cook and crisp up the crust. Lay the dough on the cornmeal-covered stone. Spread on your homemade sauce and the toppings of your choice. 

Bake at 425F for 15-20 mins, but keep an eye on it — your oven tends to run hot ;)

Easy as pie.

Jiggs Dinner (Boiled Dinner)

My parents make a similar dish with brisket, usually on Saint Patrick's Day. Your grandmother's recipe would be the best one to use but since you can't find it, try this. You said she added split peas in a cloth bag and a pudding to the pot while the meat was cooking, but let's keep things simple for now. You can also cook a roast chicken to serve alongside (chicken is easy; see below).

· Salt beef or pork riblets (get them in a tub from the butcher on Main Street. Is his name really Butch?)

· Lots of fresh water

· Half a head of cabbage

· Six carrots

· Medium turnip

· Six potatoes (use waxy ones like fingerling, or red potatoes so they don't fall apart)

· Cracked, black pepper

· A teaspoon of butter (that's the love)

Take the salt beef or pork riblets out of the bucket. Soak the meat overnight in cold water and dump the water out the next day.

Put the meat in a large stockpot and fill with fresh water. Get it to a rolling boil, cover and turn the heat down so that it simmers for a couple of hours. (One piece of pork should be enough for this recipe; if you decide to use more, just change out the water at least once before you add in the veggies).

Meanwhile, chop the cabbage into quarters and peel the vegetables. Leave the carrots and potatoes whole, cut the turnip into thick slices the way your grandma did it. Add the veggies to the pot after the meat has simmered for a good two hours. It should be cooked through and very tender. Boil everything together for about 40 minutes more, or whenever the largest pieces of vegetables are fork-tender. Season with cracked, black pepper as you go, but watch the salt (it's salty enough, just like you ;) When it's almost done, add in the love, aka swirl in a bit of butter. Plate everything with a good splash of pot liquor (the savory juice from the pot).

Serve with homemade bread, mustard pickles, chow-chow or pickled beets. You can get any of these treats from the farmers' market.

Corned Beef Hash

Use leftovers from your Sunday Jiggs Dinner to make this easy weeknight meal.

· A teaspoon of butter

· Tablespoon or two of vegetable oil

· One sweet onion, roughly chopped

· Two garlic cloves

· Leftovers from your Jiggs Dinner (potatoes, cabbage, meat, turnip, carrots — added in stages)

· A bit of kosher salt and cracked black pepper

· Whatever herbs you have lying around (summer savory, thyme, sage, etc.)

Get your mise ready (everything in its place, prepped and ready to go) — chop the onion, mince the garlic, shred the leftover cabbage and meat, and dice the potatoes, turnip and carrot into uniform pieces.

Heat up your cast iron pan. Add a lump of butter and drizzle two tablespoons of vegetable oil over it. Let the butter melt into the oil until everything is hot and shimmering. Add your onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for only a minute, just until it becomes fragrant. When you start to smell that garlicky goodness, add in the diced potatoes and stir them around until they start to crisp up. Add in the cabbage, and move that around until it starts to brown. Add in the rest of the veggies, keep everything moving and season well with pepper and herbs. Serve with the mustard pickles if you're having for supper; if it's for breakfast, top it with a fried egg.

Roast Chicken Dinner (Anyone can roast a chicken. This is one whole meal in a pot — way better than those grocery store cooked chickens, blech.)

· One high welfare, free range chicken from a local farm

· Vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, squash, sweet potatoes or potatoes)

· Two slices of day-old brown bread

· About a teaspoon of summer savory

· Garlic bulb

· Small lemon

· Fresh thyme

· Garlic-infused olive oil

· Sea salt

· Lots of cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Pat the chicken down with paper towels and season the inside of the cavity with sea salt and cracked, black pepper. Peel and chop the vegetables and cut the bread into uniform pieces. Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with the garlic-infused olive oil and lay in the veggies and bread. Sprinkle the summer savory all over. Lay the chicken on top. Cut the lemon in half, squeeze the juice over top of the chicken and stick the pieces in the cavity, along with the garlic bulb and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Drizzle some garlic-infused olive oil over top of the chicken, and season the skin generously with sea salt and pepper. Roast the whole works for about 90 minutes to two hours, or whenever it's crisp and golden and a meat thermometer inserted in the breast reads at least 185°F (195°F near the bone). When you take it out of the oven, let it rest. After 20 minutes or so, carve it up and serve it with the vegetable/bread stuffing. You'll never eat grocery store roast chicken again.

Traditional Maritime Hodge Podge

Now that you've got leftover chicken, make this comforting soup for damp, drizzly days. Prep work: strip the meat from the bird and set aside. Make some homemade stock: boil the carcass with some savory aromatics like fresh thyme and rosemary, a carrot, celery and onion and garlic with the skins left on. The longer it's left to simmer, the more flavor it will have. Don't forget to strain everything out! This will give you a flavorful, homemade base for your soup. If you have any stock left over from this meal, freeze it in ice cube trays and throw a chunk into soups, stews or when you're boiling veggies for added flavor.

· Four slices of maple bacon

· Extra virgin olive oil (about a tablespoon)

· Small onion

· About five or six new potatoes, skins on, quartered

· A bunch of carrots, peeled and diced

· About a cup of peas, shelled

· About a cup of green beans

· The cooked chicken you set aside (shredded)

· About six cups of homemade stock

· Two cups of whole milk

· Sea salt and lots of cracked, black pepper

· Dillweed (dill is your friend) and a few whole sprigs of fresh thyme

· Teaspoon of the love (butter)

Put the bacon on a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and whack it in a cold 400°F oven. Set a timer for about 15 minutes while you prep for the soup. Get your mise en place ready: peel and chop the veggies, shell the peas, mince your dill. Heat the oil in the pan and sauté the onion until soft, add the potatoes, carrots, peas and green beans and sauté for about five minutes. Check the bacon; when it's crisp, remove and drain on paper towels while you finish the soup. Add the chicken to the pot, cover with stock and bring everything to a boil for about 20 minutes. Add the milk, season generously with salt and pepper and add in the chopped dill and a few whole sprigs of thyme. Let the whole thing simmer for a half hour to 45 minutes. Fish out the thyme, add in the love (a swirl of butter), top with crumbled bacon and serve.

When-All-Else-Fails-Make-A-Frittata

Always, always have farm-fresh eggs, cheese and vegetables in the house. You can make this in 10 minutes, 10 different ways even if you're exhausted from a long shift at the restaurant.

· Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

· Six local farm-fresh eggs

· Any kind of veggies you have on hand (mushrooms, peppers, thinly sliced potatoes — use the mandolin but watch your fingers — shallots, whatever you like).

· Fresh herbs (rosemary, parsley, dill, cilantro, whatever)

· A couple handfuls of good cheese, shredded (parmesan, smoked gouda or mozzarella is nice, but anything will do)

· Sea salt and fresh, cracked black pepper

· A splash of milk or cream

· A dash of hot sauce (I know you like it spicy ;)

· Two scallions, chopped for garnish (the green part)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice up the shallots, chop the veggies and mince the herbs. Heat the oil in the pain and sauté the veggies until they're tender. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl with the dairy, herbs and most of the cheese (leave out a handful). Put in as much hot sauce as you like. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and top with salt and pepper. LEAVE IT ALONE. When the eggs are firm on the bottom, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and transfer to the oven for 10 minutes to finish. You'll know it's done when it crisps up golden brown and you put a knife through the center and it's firm, not liquidy. Take out of the oven, top with scallions and slice up. If you make it for supper, you can have a slice for breakfast the next day. Vary the cheese and the veggies, or add some crumbled sausage or bacon if you prefer. (Faster and easier than takeout from the Main Event).

The Local Flavour*

Your favourite cocktail from the new menu. Impress Faye and Marnie by whipping up a pitcher of these for your next girls' night in:

INGREDIENTS:

 • 1 cup (236 ml) Hibiscus Tea simple syrup (it's easy to make, directions below)

• 6 cups (1.4 litres) of Pineapple juice

• 1 cup (236 ml) of freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 cups (472 ml) of fresh pineapple cut into chunks

• 750 ml Ironworks Bluenose Rum

• 20 dashes of Angostura Bitters

• 1 litre (4 cups) of fizzy water

HIBISCUS TEA SIMPLE SYRUP

• In a medium sized pot, stir the loose tea into 1 cup of water.

• If you use loose tea, use 2 tablespoons ...if using bags open and dump 4 bags into water.

• Turn the heat to medium-high, and let the water come to a simmer.

• Stir in 1.5 cups sugar until sugar dissolves.

• Turn off the heat and let the simple syrup sit until cool.

• Remove and strain syrup through fine strainer or cheesecloth.

DIRECTIONS

• Mix together the  syrup, rum, pineapple juice, lemon juice and 2 cups of cold water.
Chill for at least 30 minutes, until quite cold.

• Before serving, top the punch with pineapple chunks.

• Add the fizzy water all at once to the punch bowl, or allow each guest to top off their own glass.

• You can make the punch ( syrup + rum + juices + water) up to 1 day ahead, and chill in the fridge until ready)

• Add bitters once punch is ready to serve. Stir in before adding any pineapple chunks or fizzy water.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. At least you won't starve to death while I'm gone, or be forced to live on sub-par rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I'll add more later, xo

_____________________________________________

Author's Note: Many thanks to Ironworks Distillery (Lunenburg NS) and expert mixologist Steven "Crusher" Cross for the fantastic cocktail recipe, which has been used with permission: ironworksdistillery.com. Also, many thanks to Becka Barker for her most excellent pizza recipe.