This recipe will yield both tender, mild garlic and garlic-flavored oil.

3 heads garlic, peeled and separated into cloves
500 ml olive oil

Place garlic into small saucepan and add oil just to cover (you may need more or less oil depending on the shape and size of your pot). Cook on medium heat until bubbles appear. Reduce heat to medium-low and make sure the oil does not come to a boil. Cook until garlic is soft, approximately 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate and store up to 6 months.

2 oz Gin
0.5 oz lemon juice
6 – 8 basil leaves
0.5 oz simple syrup
Glass: Tumbler
Garnish: mint sprig

Method: Give all ingredients in a shaker, fill with ice cubes and shake 10-15 seconds thoroughly. Strain into ice filled glass and serve.

Enjoy!

An appetizer that tastes as good as it looks.

8 dried figs
50 grams Boursin Herb and Garlic Cheese
8 small sprigs rosemary

Cut figs in half widthwise and remove hard stems. Push your finger into each fig half to make a small indentation. Fill fig halves with Boursin and re-assemble figs. Use knife or scissors to sharpen rosemary stems. Insert rosemary, sharp end first into figs.

Enjoy!

By Judy Wark of the Hospice Calgary

What happens when a company like Simply Elegant gets involved with an organization like Hospice Calgary?

Every December, Robert Vidra and his team come down to Hospice Calgary and serve a full course Christmas dinner to the participants in our support group for people living with a palliative cancer diagnosis.

Simply Elegant doesn’t stop there, each year they help us raise needed funds by entering a team into Hike for Hospice Calgary.

“It’s important to give back, to take care of the people who take care of us and those we love, especially at the end-of-life. That is why Hospice Calgary is Simply Elegant’s charity of choice,” says Robert.

This year, Simply Elegant is going even further in their giving to Hospice Calgary. They offered to provide a BBQ lunch for the entire Hike for Hospice participants and volunteers. When we told them it could be for as many as 700 people, Robert said, “No problem.”

He approached his suppliers and managed to get all the food and drinks at cost or donated. “When I asked my staff if they would like to turn our giving into something tangible, something we are really good at, they all jumped onboard,” says Robert.

“We’re a small company, but supporting Hike for Hospice Calgary allows us to make a difference for a worthy local organization. In so doing, my staff connects with each other and with our community. ” says Robert.

“Whenever I see Robert and his team here at Hospice Calgary, I know our participants are in for a treat. It’s not only the great food they serve but also their smiles and a positive attitude reflects the way they genuinely care,” says Sarah Walker, Hospice Calgary Executive Director.

Cultural anthropologists, Margaret Meade, said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Simply Elegant may be small but our participants have benefitted greatly from their involvement with us. Thank you
Simply Elegant!

Great as a seasoning for vegetables or taco meat or as a spice rub for chicken.

1/2 c chili powder
1/4 c paprika
1 T cumin
1/2 T garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chipotle powder or smoked paprika
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
Zest of 1 lime
2 tsp salt

Enjoy!

Adapted after a recipe from the “Savoy Cocktail Book”, Harry Craddock, 1930

1. oz Gin (i.e. Beefeater or Duke Gin)
0.5 oz lemon juice

0.3 oz simple syrup

Champagne (i.e. Pol Roger)
Champagne flute
Cocktail cherry

Pour gin, lemon juice and simple syrup into a shaker, fill with ice cubes and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into chilled champagne flute and fill up with Champagne. Garnish with a cocktail cherry. This cocktail has as much power as the French canon it was named after.

Enjoy!

These Japanese pickled cucumbers are delicious with grilled fish.

1 long English cucumber
4 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
4 tbsp mirin
½ tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp dry chili flakes

Slice cucumber thinly and place in glass mixing bowl. Heat remaining ingredients in small saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain mixture and pour over cucumbers. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

Yield: 36 cookies

4 egg whites

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 T maple syrup or 1/2 t maple extract

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. It is possible to whip the eggs by hand but it’s a lot of work. Add sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip. Add maple flavour and whip until the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. Transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet and place in the oven. Keep the door slightly ajar using a wooden spoon. Bake for 3 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Create your own local celebration of the Calgary Stampede Centennial! Share your neighborhood experience of your unique western heritage and values by throwing a block party. Round up the posse (families), block off the pass (street) and fire up the ole Stampede barbecue. And grilling isn’t just for hotdogs and burgers either. You can use your barbecue to cook vegetables, fish, pizza, corn on the cob and even certain fruits.

Here’s some helpful grilling tips and block party ideas that we’d like to share to help celebrate Stampede. Simply Elegant can also handle all of the work for you if you would rather just enjoy your barbecue as opposed to spending all your time over the grill.

Block Party Barbecue suggestions:

• Keep food platters on top of ice, out of the sun and only out for a maximum of 2 hours – no more no matter what.
• Have a back up plan in case it rains. You may need to move your Stampede party indoors or under some kind of shelter very quickly. Be prepared and have your move rehearsed or at the very least planned.
• Don’t serve anything mayo based or seafood. It’s an accident waiting to happen. Make you potato salad with oil not mayo. It’s safer and much more savoury.
• Invite the children to come dressed as their favourite cowpoke – Annie Oakley or Roy Rogers and have lots of activities available for the kids.
• Invite families to share memories, photos, and videos of their family story of growing up in Alberta or emigrating here many years ago.
• Make sure you serve lots of fun non alcoholic drinks, especially on a hot day.
• Bugs. Fact of life. Hardware stores offer eco friendly tiki torches to ward off mosquitoes.

Now that you’ve taken care of that, it’s time to celebrate. So organize the families and let’s get grilling!