Kitchen Garden Zucchini Blossoms πΌ
One of the things I've been enjoying most this summer is cooking from the beautiful kitchen and garden where I'm working. Almost every day I wander outside before lunch to see what's ready, and this week the zucchini blossoms were impossible to ignore.
The first time we kept them simple, dipping the blossoms in my sourdough discard tempura batter and serving them with a smoked paprika aioli. Light, crispy, and the kind of thing you can't stop reaching for.
A few days later, we took the same blossoms and stuffed them with whipped ricotta before frying. Same tempura batter, completely different dish.
That's one of the things I love about seasonal cooking. You don't always need a new recipeβsometimes you just need to look at the same ingredient from a different angle.
The garden is still producing more blossoms than we can keep up with, so I have a feeling these will be making another appearance before summer is over.
Bread is Back π
Last week I mentioned that my sourdough starter spent two days in the car while we made the move to Muskoka. Thankfully, after a few good feedings, it came back to life, and this week I baked my first sourdough loaves since returning from France.
As much as I love my Simply Bread Oven at home, it was fun going back to baking in a Dutch oven. There's a reason it's become such a popular way to bake sourdough at home. The heavy cast iron traps steam naturally, helping the loaf expand before the crust sets, which gives you beautiful oven spring and a crisp, blistered crust without needing any fancy equipment.
The dough was based on my beginner sourdough formula, which uses a liquid levain and 25% whole grain flour. This batch was made with 15% whole wheat and 10% rye, a combination I really enjoy for its balance of flavour, fermentation, and dough strength.
I mixed it in the smaller Ooni spiral mixer that I'm using this summer in Muskoka. I normally mix larger batches on a spiral mixer, so it'll be fun to see how this compact version performs over the next few weeks. After an overnight fermentation, there are very few things better than slicing into your first homemade loaf after being away from your starter for a few weeks.
It reminded me just how much I'd missed having fresh bread on the table.
Sourdough Discard Crackers π«
One of the snacks we made in the work kitchen this week was a batch of sourdough discard crackers. Instead of rolling them out by hand, we ran the dough through the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment. It gave us perfectly thin, even sheets in just a few minutes, and the crackers baked up beautifully crisp.
We mixed fresh rosemary from the kitchen garden into the dough, which added just enough flavour without overpowering everything else on the board.
I served them alongside some coppa, Black Philip Gouda, and sweet melon. It's one of those simple combinations that reminds me you don't need much to make something feel specialβjust a few great ingredients.
If you've got sourdough discard sitting in the fridge, this is one of my favourite ways to put it to good use. And if you have a pasta roller, give it a try. It's one of those little kitchen hacks that makes you wonder why you didn't think of it sooner.
Home Oven Baguettes π₯
One thing I've been wanting to experiment with this summer was baking my Baguette de Tradition in a home oven using a baguette pan.
I loaded the dough into the pan, blasted plenty of steam into the oven, and was genuinely impressed with the results. For my first bake using the pan, the crust had great colour, the ears opened beautifully, and the crumb was exactly what I was hoping for.
It's a good reminder that while a professional deck oven certainly helps, you don't need one to bake excellent baguettes at home. With a well-fermented dough, plenty of steam, and a little practice, a home oven can produce incredible results.
If you're looking to get started, I have a free sourdough baguette recipe on the blog that's a great place to begin.
This week in Musoka πΆ
This week felt like we finally settled into our summer rhythm.
The days have been full of cooking, trips through the kitchen garden, and making the most of every bit of the season. One evening I served buttermilk fried chicken with smoked paprika aioli, flaky biscuits, whipped honey butter, creamy coleslaw, and a beet salad. It was beautifully plated in copper cookware but still unmistakably comfort food. That's one of my favourite things about cooking: taking something familiar and giving it the care and attention it deserves.
Outside the kitchen, the girls have spent nearly every afternoon in the lake. They've become obsessed with their walkie-talkies, so every so often I'll hear, "Dad... can you come to the dock?" or "Dad... we're hungry!" before taking the short walk down to join them. Those little moments have become some of my favourite memories of the summer so far.
I also managed to sneak away to Port Carling for a bit, wandered through the shops, grabbed lunch from Smokin' Birds, and enjoyed slowing things down before another busy stretch of cooking. It's a nice reminder that even during the busiest seasons, there's value in taking an hour to simply enjoy where you are.
As this summer has unfolded, I've realized I'm cooking far more than just bread. Between my work as a private chef and everything coming out of the kitchen garden, I've been making dishes I never really share here in the newsletter.
Would you like to see more savoury recipes and private chef meals in future newsletters? If so, hit reply and let me know. If enough people are interested, this fried chicken recipe might just be one of the first ones I share.
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Happy Baking,
MJD
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Want to learn more from me? Check out my online video resources π
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