In this part of the world, seasons come all or nothing. It’s either extreme, white-out winter with piles of snow and the central heating at full tilt. Or it’s summer with endless sunlight (and thus endless heat) and the air conditioning blasting through the night.

We peer out our dining room window at the road – only a month ago, two feet under snow – now dry and dusty. The river – a month ago, a frozen mass of solid ice – now flowing, blue and enticing in the heat. The Canada Goose (duck down, not goose after all) are stashed in the back of the wardrobe. The knee high Sorel boots swapped for jandals.

We invested so much in winter gear, somewhere along the way we forgot about summer; shorts (for him), pretty flowing dresses (for me). Summer comes, almost by surprise. As if the loong, extreme winter had us doubt that hot, dry sunny days exist here.

They do. Midnight sun, mosquitoes and all.

Because yesterday it was winter and today it’s summer, the garden is missing the party. While I can’t plant during risk of frost (last week), I now face risk of short season. The race is on to get the garden underway, to get veggies grown before the season is over. And so I’m in the process of acclimatisation. The indoor plants spend a hot day outside, before coming back into familiar territory (indoors) at night. This week they will be planted in their rightful place beneath our dining room window, alongside that dusty dry road, overlooking the flowing Mackenzie river.

In the meantime, we continue to enjoy ‘long storage’ meals. Utilising the grains, beans, freezer items we accumulated to get us through the winter. Simple barbequed patties of beans and fragrant rice, lightened up for these summer evenings with homemade tortillas instead of burger buns, with a drizzle of tahini-lemon yoghurt sauce.

Bean & Rice Burger Wraps
Recipe adapted from Grains!
Serves 4

1 lemon
3/4 cup natural yogurt
4 Tbsp well-stirred tahini

3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooked brown rice (I used brown Jasmine, very fragrant)
1 19oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas, about 2 cups)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
sesame seeds

homeade tortillas
leafy greens (like kale, pan fried until crispy)
sliced red pepper, pan fried

Prepare outdoor grill for grilling over medium heat (or pan fry indoors).
Grate zest from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl. Add the yogurt, 2 tablespoons tahini and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well and set aside.

Rinse beans and drain well. Mash in bowl with tahini, lemon peel, garlic, fennel seas, remaining salt until well blended but still lumpy. Add a little water if necessary. Add rice and mash.

Shape mixture into 12 small patties. Roll in sesame seeds and place on grill. Cook until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Warm tortillas over grill. Top with greens, lightly panfried red pepper, 3 bean patties and tahini-lemon yogurt sauce.