The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter is a website about cooking and eating delicious, seasonal and local foods.

seasonal eating

Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata

For those of you who are not familiar, a frittata is basically an Italian style open face omelette that is cut into wedges. Frittatas make a regular appearance in the menu rotation in my kitchen mainly because I love eggs but also because they are quick, tasty and a great way to use up what you have in the fridge. They are perfect any time of day, breakfast, lunch or dinner. I like to make extra to have for lunches during the week.

Like omelettes, frittatas are a great dish to adapt seasonally. This is a spring version with baby shitake mushrooms, beautiful asparagus and a raw milk swiss cheese. Asparagus arrives with the coming of spring and is only in season for a couple of months. There is a lot of asparagus coming from California right now and I have heard rumours of local asparagus on Vancouver Island. I have yet to find any local in Vancouver but I certainly indulge while it is here and it is such a pretty and tasty addition to a frittata.

It goes without saying that the better the quality of your eggs the better your frittata will taste. My favourite place to get eggs is from the farmers’ market. These particular eggs are from Cropthorne Farm where the chickens get to tour around the farm in their mobile hen house. How wonderful is that? I love raw milk cheese and Swiss or gruyere works particularly nice with the mushrooms and asparagus but use whatever kind of cheese you like or have in the fridge.

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Apple Streusel Muffins

Spring is here, which means it is time to dust off the winter cobwebs and perhaps engage in a little spring cleaning. It is also a great time to take inventory of your freezer and pantry and use up the goodies you stashed away last summer or fall and make room for the bounty of this new growing season. I have a very small pantry but found some applesauce hiding in there that I made in the fall. I decided it would be a good start to a batch of muffins.

Muffins are a pretty common staple in our house. I will make a batch, we will eat some fresh and freeze the rest to pull out for lunches, snacks or afternoon tea. These ones are a little more decadent with their streusel topping. If you would like to keep them a bit healthier you could certainly leave off the streusel topping but do you really want to miss out on that buttery crunch?

These muffins are a pretty classic combination with the applesauce, cinnamon and other spices and fill the house with a most inviting aroma. They are very moist and tender. I added some currants this time but often add a little grated apple for extra texture and flavour. Be careful to not add too much apple as they won’t rise as well if they are too heavy with fruit.

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Roasted Yam and Kale Salad Rolls

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon cooking with a friend last week who happens to be a chef and a fellow lover of food. We have been meaning to cook together for some time and finally got things together to make it happen. The afternoon was a reminder that it really is more fun to cook in the company of others. Cooking with friends always results in great conversation, new recipe ideas and leads to sharing food around the table. What could be more perfect than that.

Deciding what to cook can sometimes be the hardest part. As we are nearing Spring, I am starting to crave fresher food, including greens, greens and more greens. Sadly, the fresh local greens are still a ways away so for this recipe we turned to some of our winter favourites and gave them a fresher twist in the form of a salad roll.

Based on what is in season and what I had in the fridge, Michelle came up with the filling combination which not only looks beautiful but tastes fantastic.  The flavour profile is nicely balanced with the sweetness of the yams, bite of the pickled ginger and freshness of the kale and cilantro. These salad rolls are certainly more interesting and tasty than most and inspired me to be more creative with filling possibilities.  Michelle described some she made recently with beets, fresh dill and watercress, wow!

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