Ontario 

I was born and raised in Southwestern Ontario. I've been fortunate to grow up and spend my summers at our family cottage in Northern Ontario on Lake Superior. It's there that I learned how to fish, canoe, kayak and tolerate the frigid temperatures of Lake Superior! The older I got and the more exposure I had to the outdoors and natural environments, I've become more aware of the invasive species threating the health of Canadian waters.

I completed a 3 month internship at Scales Nature Park, located North of Toronto. As part of my volunteer work, we went to Peele Island and spent a week cutting down Dogwood plants which are invasive to the Island that threaten the population of Blue Racers (snakes) living there. I really wanted to make a few recipes using Dogwood as a key ingredient, but it turns out that the berries from that type of Dogwood are toxic to humans. So, obviously I decided against it!

I tried to incorporate all invasive species that I have seen first hand in my home province. I hope you enjoy them!

• Asian Carp

Asian Carp Ceviche (Pescatarian)

2 large Asian Carp fillets, diced into bite size pieces

1 ½ cups fresh lime juice, plus zest

½  grapefruit

3 tbsp fresh orange juice, plus zest

1 cucumber, diced

2 avocados, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

½ red onion, diced

¼ cup fresh corn kernels, cooked and drained

½ cup cilantro, chopped finely

Tortilla chips or Fritos to serve

*It's important to freeze the carp as it kills any bacteria and marinate in lime juice. The acidity from the lime juice changes the structure of the fish proteins, essentially cooking the fish without heat and destroys bacteria.*

Place carp into a container in the freezer and allow to freeze solid for at least 3 days prior to use. Take fish out of the freezer and fully defrost.  In a large bowl combine lime juice and Asian carp chunks. Make sure fish is fully submerged in lime juice. Juice more lime into bowl if needed. Allow mixture to sit for 4 hours. In a separate bowl, mix together tomatoes, onion, cucumber and corn. Once fish has sat long enough, drain lime juice from it. Add carp into bowl with the mixed vegetables. Stir in avocado, orange juice and zest, grapefruit juice and zest, and cilantro. If you'd rather cook the carp for this recipe, that's fine too. It is however, traditionally served raw provided you follow the preparation steps.

Serve cold with tortilla chips or Fritos. Enjoy! 

• Tench

Sautéd Tench (Pescatarian)

2 medium tench fillets

1 tbsp butter

¼ cup flour

1 tsp pepper

3 cups spinach 

2 lemons, juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

In a pan, juice lemons on medium heat and add garlic, and sauté. Add spinach and tomatoes and stir until soft. Put in bowl. In a separate bowl, mix flour and pepper together. Rinse fish and coat in flour-pepper mixture. Melt butter in pan and add fish on medium heat. Fry fish until golden brown on each side and cooked through. Serve on top of the bed of spinach and tomatoes.

• Red Swamp and Crusty Crayfish

Crayfish Boil (Pescatarian)

6 litres water

1 large onion, cut into eighths

1 lemon, cut into wedges

5 cloves garlic

2 bunches fresh dill

2 lbs whole crayfish

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

10 small red potatoes

3 cobs of corn, each cob broken into 3 pieces

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Using a fork, poke the potatoes several times. Add everything except the crayfish and boil for 15 minutes. Add crayfish to the boiling pot and cook for 8 minutes or until bright red. Remove the potatoes and corn and place on a serving plate. Peel crayfish and serve with vegetables.

• Invasive Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle Lemonade (Vegan)

6 cup water

9 lemons

2 cups sugar

1 orange peel

1 cup honeysuckle blossoms

1 cup maple syrup

Clean honeysuckle blossoms. In a pot on high heat, add blossoms, maple syrup, 1 cup water and orange peel. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and allow mixture to cool completely. Pour through a strainer and collect liquid. In another pot, combine 5 cups of water and sugar and boil until sugar is dissolved. Juice lemons and add to the water-sugar mixture. Add honeysuckle mixture to the lemonade and mix well. Dilute lemonade if it's too sweet. Refreshing on a hot day!

• Garlic Mustard

Garlic Mustard Hummus (Vegan)

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas

½ tsp baking soda

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 clove finely chopped garlic

¼ cup finely chopped garlic mustard leaves, plus more for garnish

½ cup tahini

1 tbsp olive oil

Cold water, as needed

Add cumin, paprika, and salt to taste

Boil chickpeas in a pot with baking soda mixed into water. Boil until skins start to fall off and chickpeas look tender. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside to cool. Blend garlic, garlic mustard, and lemon juice together in a food processor. Add tahini and continue to blend mixture. Add chickpeas and olive oil to food processor and mix concoction. Add water or extra lemon juice to thin out hummus if consistency is too thick . Stir in spices and garnish with chopped garlic mustard leaves. Serve with pita bread, crackers, or veggies!