We first stayed at Mary’s little hideaway back in 2005, a beautiful cottage loft in the enchanting town of Gibsons in BC’s sunshine coast.
Mary’s a lovely woman and brilliant artist, she turned what used to be a warehouse for prop storage for the old CBC show The Beachcombers into charming cottage lofts, it’s also her home.

It’s so easy to feel at home here at Mary’s, it’s warm and welcoming – the house, the calm, the lush gardens reminds me of my grandmother’s little house in Koforidua.
Last time we stayed here, we promised we’d bring our mom here one day, and that’s exactly what we did this weekend.
And in this place, she too saw elements of her little house so far, far away.
“Look at the gates… like my gates in Koforidua” She exclaimed

Yesterday, my brother Joe came for the day, and we took a long drive with wonderful stops along Roberts Creek, Davis Bay, Sechelt, Halfmoon Bay, Pender Harbour and Egmont to the Skookumchuck Narrows.
We did small hikes, picnicked and dipped our toes in lakes and inlets.

Here are some pictures of Mary’s lovely place…

My brother Joe proclaimed this cake the best I’ve ever made.
This was a while back and while there’ve since been subsequent cakes; this still holds the title for best.
My brother Joe doesn’t know this yet, but one day… maybe in a decade or so, after he’s done finding himself and saving the world I’m going to convince him to open a vegan bakery with me.
And this spiced applesauce cake could be our signature cake; it’s one of those easy to make recipes that yield bold complimenting flavours.

It required a few spices that I wouldn’t have thought belonged in a cake – cloves and ginger, but I guess that’s why it’s a spice cake.
I also love that it uses applesauce, which cuts out the need for oil or a butter substitute.
Molasses gives the cake a distinct and robust flavour, and a nice brown hue.
I found this recipe on Vegalicious and the only thing I changed was whipped coconut cream for frosting instead of the lemon frosting the recipe called for.

INGREDIENTS – from Vegalicious

• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 & 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons ginger
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.
2. Combine the molasses and the applesauce in a large bowl.
3. Combine the remaining ingredients in a 2nd bowl.
4. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
Mix the applesauce-molasses mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until evenly moistened.
5. Don’t over mix as it will beat out the air.
6. Pour into the greased baking pan.
7. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched.

To make whipped coconut cream, refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight, or freeze for the few hours.
This is so that the cream (coconut fat) would rise to the top and harden.
Open the chilled can of coconut and scoop out the fat leaving behind the watery liquid.
Combine the coconut with a tablespoon of icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla, whip until light and fluffy.
Add in sprinkles for extra happiness and use to frost cooled cake.

For the first time in what feels like a long while, it felt like a real summer day;
And when nature gifts you such a perfect day, the last place you want to spend it, is indoors doing something as horrid as slaving over a hot stove, or an oven.
Turning on the oven in the summer heat is the worse, especially with a small kitchen like mine.
A few months ago, in anticipation of a scorching summer, I got a Breville Smart Oven – a small multi-functional convection toaster oven that takes little counter space.
My big oven now serves as storage for my baking pans and my tiny kitchen remains cool.
I’ve dreamt and prepared for summer days like this for weeks, I thought of quick dinners that’ll get me out of the door almost as soon as I got in.

This flatbread with onions, tomatoes and olives seem to do the trick – it’s not quite a pizza but just as tasty.
It is practically effortless, if like me, you already have bread or pizza dough sitting in the fridge.

I’m not even going to bother with a recipe, here’s what you do – flatten and shape some bread dough and put it on an oiled baking tray and add your toppings.
My dough, made with graham flour was leftover from bread I made the day before.
The toppings were; sliced onions, tomatoes, olives, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Baked for 10 – 15 minutes at 350° till golden brown
And cooled on a rack for a few minutes before serving.

This fresh and (somewhat) wholesome dinner takes a few minutes prep and bake time, allowing for a leisurely dinner on the balcony.
And there’s still time in the day for a walk, and dessert and drinks later on.
This is exactly why summer is awesome!

 
A few pictures of Coal Harbour from many a long summer walks…

I’m not a big fan of lemonade; I can take it or leave – and most of the time I leave it.
Yet, every summer I fall in love with the idea of lemonade, when I imagine a beach house, a lounge chair and hot, salty summer days, there’s always a glistening pitcher of lemonade.
This long weekend I’m thinking of a cottage by the sea on the Sunshine Coast, my mom is coming too – and I see a lounge chair.
The forecast looks great; perfectly warm, light breezy sunny days, and deep blue skies with fluffy white shifting clouds.
It’s like a fairytale come true; surely, we must have lemonade while there!

A refreshing hibiscus lemonade that’s tangy, tart and sweet.
I’ve practiced since the start of summer and it’s almost perfected
I usually buy dried hibiscus flower for tea to mix with henna which I use to condition my hair, I decided to find culinary uses for the hibiscus since it’s chock full of vitamin C and has other health properties (I’m too lazy to look them up right now).
You’d remember that I tried a hibiscus drink once and liked it; this lemonade is a twist on Agua de Jamaica (Hibiscus Tea).

It’s pretty straightforward; I use simple syrup as sweetener, juice some lemons, make the hibiscus tea and just mix a pitcher at a time.

Here’s what need to get and do:
Hibiscus Tea

• 1 cup dried hibiscus flower
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Combine water and hibiscus flowers in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Bring to a boil, Let cool, strain tea into a pitcher, discarding flowers.
3. Refrigerate until very cold.

Simple Syrup
This very simple and awesome simple syrup recipe is from Bon App. It’s perfect for use in homemade beverages, I used turbinado sugar (because that all I had at home).

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
2. Remove pan from heat, let cool, and transfer to a jar.
3. Cover and store in refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Juice of 4 Lemons;
Water; and
A pinch of salt

So we’re really eyeballing things here…
Pour a cup of hibiscus tea in a large pitcher, and add about half of the lemon juice, stir in about a cup or so of water and then add enough simple syrup to taste.
Add a pinch of salt.
Taste and add water or simple syrup until desired sweetness and or tartness is reached.
Garnish with lemon slices and serve

And there you have it; a cold healthy deliciously perfect accompaniment to your summer beach house lounging.