I don’t know about you but as we get older sometimes it’s harder to make friends. Like remember when you’re a kid and you saw someone one the swings, you just said, ‘do you want to be my friend’ and that was it? Now that I’m older I’m glad I’m a little bit more discerning about who I spend my time with and I think we all should be, but at the same time it’s easy to just be in your day to day and forget to open yourself up to the possibility of new people coming into your life. This really is my own little reminder to be willing to let people in - especially after the last few years.

It’s also a reminder to be okay with friendships changing and even coming to an end We drift apart. We’re in different seasons of life. We realize we were forcing relationships because we should rather than out of connections that feel real. We change and some people just don’t fit anymore.

All of it is okay. Even if it’s hard. It creates the space for new people show up and maybe even change everything.

I’m currently reading A Thousand Nights in Tuscany that I found in the library last week and am absolutely devouring. As much as I love reading of this couples experience of picking up and going to live in Tuscany, the thing that hit me even more was how they developed new friendships after moving somewhere new where they knew no one. And it Italy you can guess where it started, right? Food of course.

Food is always the way in. And it can happen anywhere. My recent experience goes like this: I live in an apartment building that has a pool which I’ve been so thankful for these last few weeks with the heatwave that came through. Sometimes I’ve been down there 3+ times in a day. The good thing about that is that I’m not the only one and I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of my neighbours. The light pool chats turned into, who’s around tomorrow? Let’s have a potluck. I’ll bring the wine. I’m bringing the lawn sports (she even went out to buy a set of bean bag - food and lawn sports. I’m sold already).

Suddenly there we were, gathering over a meal. And that’s always the best ice breaker, right? You know you’ll have something to start the conversation because you get to ask who made what and dive deeper into a recipe.

Post food conversations I sat down and learned so much about the people I pass by in the hallway every once in a while.

My neighbour down the hall who’s recovering from a knee replacement and what she’s learned about herself in the process.

The friend of one of my neighbours who told me all the stories of his tattoos plus his triple by-pass experience and how that’s changed his view on life.

One who’s starting a brand new business venture.

A newly retired teacher librarian who’s excited and nervous about what’s to come next.

I love that food is always the way in. It’s the great connector. It’s the thing that brings us together for so many reasons and in this case new friends. I went home feeling so grateful to have a brand new sense of community just outside my door. And I’ll never take that lightly.

That’s the power cooking has. It brings us together. Always. And you never know what might happen or who you might meet when you sit down to a meal together.

"Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly." - M.F.K. Fisher

What’s cooking this week: Surf and Turf Salad

Assembled salads always works for a crowd and is easy for a potluck because you can make everything ahead of time. People can make their plate exactly how they like - more dressing/less dressing, etc. This is a favourite to make right now :)

For the Dressing

• 1 sweet onion, sliced thin

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup parsley

• salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad

• 2 8 oz New York steaks

• 1 lb prawns, peeled and deveined 

• 4 cups mixed greens

• 1 avocado, sliced

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes

• 1 cup broccolini or broccoli, blanched and cooled

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley

• handful of fresh basil

• fried shallots or onions for garnish 

To make the salad dressing, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, season with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the onions reduce and turn a dark caramel colour. This will take about 25-30 minutes so you can do them ahead of time and pop in the fridge. Make sure the onions have cooled completely before using. 

In a food processor, add the onions, sour cream, mustard, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, parsley and blend until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil until the dressing is a thick, but drizzly consistency. It will be similar to Caesar salad dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Set aside

Meanwhile, prepare your prawns and steak. I like to put the prawns on skewers and season with a bit of cajun spice but you can do them however you want on the bbq. As for the steak, season well with salt and pepper and grill to the desired doneness you like. Let the steaks rest then slice thinly across the grain.You can serve these warm or room temperature so you can also do this a little ahead of time.

Assemble the salad, grab a large serving tray. I like to set the dressing in a bowl in the middle so people can dress themselves. Start with the greens, arranging them on the platter. Then add the steak slices and prawns. Get creative. There's no wrong way to do it! Finish with the avocado, tomatoes and broccolini. Sprinkle with fried shallots or onions*, torn parsley and basil. Finish with a sprinkle of maldon salt and fresh cracked pepper.

This will serve 3-4 people. 

*To make the fried shallots, thinly slice 3-4 shallots then fry over med/high heat in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet. You might need to do this in more than one batch to make sure the shallots have enough to get crispy. When they're a deep brown colour, transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.*

BONUS BROWNIES

You’ll always make friends with brownies and these are my go-tos. This is Nigella Lawson’s recipe and it makes ALOT so I usually half the recipe with no problems unless I’m feeding a big crowd.

Nigella’s Brownies

• 1 1/3 cups soft unsalted butter

• 13 ounces bittersweet chocolate

• 6 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 2/3 cups sugar

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/3 cups walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350*

Line a 13x9 pan with parchment paper. This makes it easy to pull out then slice into squares - just my opinion.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a heavy saucepan. Measure the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Set aside.

When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool until its room temperature. I speed this up by popping it in the fridge for 10 minutes. While the chocolate is cooling, beat the eggs and sugar together in a stand mixer. When the chocolate is cool enough, add to the egg mixture until well combined Add the flour and nuts (if using). Beat to combine until smooth and then scrape into your lined pan. Tap the pan gently to remove any air bubbles.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes. It will be ready when the top is dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle is still dark, dense and slightly gooey. They will continue to cook while they cool so take them out just before you think they’re done.

When the brownies are cooled, transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares.

Makes 48

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