And finally, it is summer!

We have conquered two long winters in Canada now, and I say conquered because we sure as heck made the most of them – snowshoeing, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, outdoor running in -20˚C,  afternoon tea in the snow, building igloos, photo shoots at 0˚C and long evenings outside waiting on the great northern Aurora Borealis both in Norman Wells and here in Calgary.

This past Saturday was spent on our front patio soaking in the warmth of the sun on sunscreen slick skin, drinking gin and soda and meeting the neighbours as they perused our yard sale (and bake sale!). I baked some of the most popular goods from Soma cafe – Lemon Coconut Bars, Chocolate Fudge Bars, Mini Pecan Tarts, Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti as well as fresh Morning Glory muffins. Housemate Beth created some beautiful artwork which sold really well. Most importantly we made some connections for our artistic outlet.

During this day of community yard sales we found ourselves a little BBQ, perfect size for us and our housemates to enjoy some burgers or kebabs on.

We say kebabs (sounds like ke-bebs to Canadians) but I think North Americans say kabobs, or “ke-barbs”. Either way we sound stupid saying it. So we stick to ‘skewers’ instead.

We had a clean-eating BBQ Sunday night, Jesse and I. Chicken, veggies, eggs and whole grains.Deviled eggs (which weren’t technically deviled due to the absense of mustard) to start. Chicken and veggie skewers marinated with a spicy satay sauce, and a barley/millet tomato salad.

Thai Curried Eggs
Serves 4

4 eggs
1 tbsp yogurt
1 tsp thai green curry paste
dash soy sauce
salt & pepper
fresh chopped cilantro
roasted cashew nuts (or peanuts)

Place eggs in saucepan, cover with water. Bring to the boil, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain eggs and run under cold water until cool. Peel, slice and remove egg yolk. Mash egg yolk with yogurt, thai curry paste, soy sauce and season well. Top with chopped cilantro and nuts. Serve on a bed of greens.

Spicy Satay Skewers
Makes 6

1 large chicken breast
half a zucchini
1 red pepper
6 mushrooms

1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce (try to find cleanest ingredient list possible – no glucose syrup preferably)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 lime, squeezed

For the skewers: chop chicken breast into cubes, dice zucchini and red pepper and halve mushrooms. Mix together peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and lime. Thread veggies and chicken onto wooden skewers (soaked 1 hour in water) and brush with marinade. Grill on BBQ, turn and brush with remaining marinade. Close lid and grill until chicken is cooked through.

Barley & Millet Tomato Salad

1/2 cup barley
1/4 cup millet

Bring salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add barley and millet and cook for 15 minutes or until al dente. Drain and let cool. Toss through chopped cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, diced sundried tomatoes and chopped baby spinach. Dress with a mix of equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season well.