With the warm weather we’ve been having the last few days, I think its officially safe to say summer is on it’s way in! And what better way to spend a summer than outdoors with good friends and good food?

As a kid, I had the pleasure of growing up in the suburbs - while it could be pretty boring sometimes - there was no shortage of nearby parks, a large shady backyard for me to hang out in, and a BBQ to grill on (and most importantly, a dad who was WILLING to grill ;)

Even when I moved away to attend University, I often would return home to my parents for the summer - or, the few times I did get an out-of-town job I was always renting a house; which meant we had our very own yard, deck/patio, and barbecue. One particularly  hot summer, I recall my roommate and I even went as far as to buy one of those inflatable pools from Walmart and set it up in our backyard - now THAT was a cool summer (pun intended). 

Self admittedly, I’m a country girl at heart - I spent many summers at my grandparents farm in Creemore tanning, swimming, and playing in the fields… so this urban living thing is mildly new to me.

Even last year, when I moved to the city(ish) for school, I lucked out and lived in an awesome 3 bedroom house (in a not-so-awesome area, sadly, which is why I moved).

For the first time, I’m living in a low level apartment building; which equates to no backyard, no deck, no front porch or balcony, a very small “front yard” (I did manage to squeeze my plastic lawn chairs out there with a small table)… and no barbecue. 

What’s a girl to do?

After pouting over the prospect of cooking on my stove all summer (and constructing a list of nearby friends and relatives with barbecues and yards I could mooch off of), I had a brain wave - camping. barbecues.

They typically fold up and they take up very little space - so you don’t have to worry about one, where to store the darn thing, or two, your grill disappearing overnight from your front lawn. And the best part is you can get them at a very affordable price AND use them anywhere (like… taking camping, which I’m pretty excited about - no more dropping hot dogs into the camp fire!)

There’s a lot of options to choose from though, so I compiled a list of a few I think are great choices, depending on your lifestyle:

1. Camp Chef Weekender 2-Burner Stove, available for $108 at Walmart. This one comes with legs (whoo hoo!) so you don’t need a picnic table to cook on - huge bonus.  This one’s actually a stove with two burners, so it’s great for all your on-the-go cooking needs if you’re into outdoor living. That being said though, keep in mind that in ORDER to grill, you’ll need to purchase a barbeque box or grill top for it. It can also be used with a bulk propane tank.
2. Landmann Barrell Charcoal Grill, available for $129 at Walmart. If you’re looking for a BBQ to double as a camping grill, move on to #3. BUT - If you don’t camp, and just love barbecued dinner, read on. If you’re not in an apartment with a balcony you can grill on, you’ll need some semblance of storage for this grill - a shed? a storage locker? - as it doesn’t fold up. However, it DOES come on wheels so you can move it around fairly easily, and it doesn’t take up a lot of space either.
3. BBQ In A Box Charcoal, available for $29.99 at Canadian Tire. I just love this one - it’s so darn cute! It’s great for camping or road trips, as it’s absolutely TINY and travels well. No propane needed, and it even comes with a bag of charcoal and a spatula/tongs and fork. Awh!
4. Coleman Tabletop Grill, available for 79.99 at Canadian Tire. This is my new baby. I love to camp, so it will be great to bring along. The mini-propane tanks for this one run about 4.99, or $15 for a 3 pack. It’s easy to light, easy to use, and easy to clean. You will need a table or something to put it on thought, because it doesn’t have legs.
5. Woods Deluxe Single Burner Propane Stove with Grill, available for $79.99 at Canadian Tire. Again, this is one that’s great if you’re a camper, boater, or tailgate partier - it has both a grill AND stove top, and is pretty affordable. No matches needed to light (it has a button you push to ignite it). Like the Coleman one, you’ll need to make sure you have a table/surface to use it on.

I know I’ll be enjoying BBQ’d food in my little apartment this summer - and I can’t even begin to describe how awesome that is and how excited I am  - so I think I will leave it at that.

Who doesn’t love brunch?

Personally, I am a huge fan of the breakfast-meets-lunch phenomena - the sweeter, the better (and it’s always especially tasty when you borrow a page from Gossip Girl and the upper east side and throw in some champagne!)

Sadly, I missed the absolutely divine Mother’s Day brunch my family attended at the Granite Club this year (and I’m sure the champagne and sweets were there with a vicious abundance… actually, I am CERTAIN after hearing the reports from my younger sister. Tear.) 

To make up for it, I decided to make a personal favourite recipe for myself, my boyfriend, and my roommate this morning (errrr… afternoon) - Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes! One part Dad’s famous pancake recipe (allegedly his grandmothers, my grandmothers, and a cookbook’s combined), one part mashed bananas, and one part chocolate chips.

Can we say OH-EM-GEE YUMMY?
 

The process of making Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes (click to enlarge)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 cup chocolate chips 

Preparation

• Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
• Mix wet ingredients in a smaller bowl (be sure to beat the egg first!)
• Mash bananas (the most fun part - seriously!) in a smaller bowl
• Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients
• Mix well
• Add the mashed bananas and chocolate chips
• Stir

Cooking instructions

• Pour mixture onto a griddle (or frying pan - that’s what I use) on low-medium heat.
• Be sure to flip them!

—–

Ta-da! The most delicious pancakes you’ll ever eat ;)

While paruising through The Star’s website today, I stumbled across an interesting banner ad - it was fun, cartooned, and advertised a cooking site called “SOS Cuisine”.

Being the disaster in the kitchen that I am (my most recent adventure involved lighting the microwave on fire, I kid you not), I realized I could most definitely benefit from a culinary site that used the SOS distress call in their name, and took a look.

I am so glad I did - this site is amazing! It’s a Canadian site, based out of Montreal (available in both English and French!), and offers beginner recipes, recipes for when you’re cooking for one, weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and more. My favourite part is how much more information you get from the recipes.  They tell you how many of your daily servings (of fruits, veggies, etc) you’re getting in each meal, the calorie content for the meal (and for a calorie counter like myself, that’s awesome), and the approximate price per serving.

It’s a new site, so it doesn’t have everything up yet - but they’re planning on adding “express” meals soon (meals you can cook in under 30 minutes - can I say amazing again?). Those in Quebec can already access “budget” meals - recipes that incorporate food items on sale in your area.  You enter your postal code when you register to make this possible, and it’s coming to Ontario soon! They have gourmet recipes, veggie recipes, you can search for recipes that conform to specific dietary needs (for instance, gluten-free), and recipes tailored towards kids. You can customize your serving size, and the recipes adjust, and you can favourite recipes in your cookbook, or even add your own. You can use their weekly meal plans, or edit them to suit your tastes - and they’ll design a grocery list for you based on your choices.

Best of all, the site is 100% free to access and use. I highly recommend you check it out - unless you’re a chef, in which case I bet you wish you thought of this site first!