August 18, 2016
The larger zucchini that have grown to a considerable diameter can be used for many things, one being a base for mini “pizza” rounds. This is kind of fun as an appetizer and if you use prepared toppings, it’s not that much work to prepare. I had small jars of pizza sauce and artichoke pesto from William Sonoma that I needed to use and were perfect for this little recipe. You can get more creative... View Article
August 15, 2016
With tomatoes in season and beautifully ripe, needless to say we feature them on the daily menu with pleasure. Tomato salads, tomato sauces, bruschetta with tomatoes and even fried green tomatoes get reinvented in one delish dish after another. This past week we had company and I knew that one of our guests loved a good gazpacho. I was inspired to prepare a couple of jars of this chilled soup to have available as an... View Article
July 29, 2016
I had a few extra cooked yellow beets from a dish I made the other day and thought they would be interesting in a homemade hummus. I looked online for inspiration and found a recipe by Nigel Slater for red beet hummus with dukkah, an aromatic Egyptian spice blend made with chopped nuts, seeds and spices that has many uses in middle eastern cooking. I thought I could make the recipe with yellow beets, and... View Article
July 15, 2016
Here is something fun to make with sweet summer watermelons. Did you know that watermelon and feta is a delicious combination? something about the sweet and salty that makes your palate sing. Cut the watermelon into 1.5 inch slices, as even as you can, then punch out rounds or squares with a small cookie cutter. These should be a one bite thing so don’t use too large cookie cutters. With a melon ball cutter scoop... View Article
July 7, 2016
I haven’t made cheese fritters in a while. After trying them at a cooking class party a few years ago I made them a few times but then moved on to other things. Last night I needed a few appies for a group of 6 who was coming over for a glass of wine before dinner at a local winery. I was browsing my blog, found these long lost fritters and felt up to the... View Article
May 13, 2016
The kitchen for me is sort of a classroom where I can venture to learn anything that interests me at the moment. Today “lesson” was scallion pancakes that have intrigued me for quite sometime. As it is with most things, once you actually do them you realize that they are not that complicated and only require curiosity, some work, skill and willingness to try. Scallion cakes are part of Asian cuisine and I have seen... View Article
April 19, 2016
For some reason I was craving sushi the other day and we went to a local Japanese restaurant to have some. I was discussing the vegetarian options with the server and she suggested a vegetarian bento box that would contain “a nice balance of different items”. Well, perhaps it did but I didn’t get my fill of sushi, with all the tempura, so called salad, more rice and whatnot included in the box. I have... View Article
March 21, 2016
I have written about street food in Rome in this post. The two most popular street foods are pizza bianca and pizza rosa. Last night I made pizza dough just for fun and let it rise in the fridge overnight to develop flavour. today I thought I’d make pizza rossa to remind me of what it was like to have it in Rome. A dough based on 3 cups “00” flour made 4 elongated pizzas.... View Article
March 17, 2016
This is one of my favourite ways of using eggplant – roasting and combining the flesh with tahini paste to make a traditional mediterranean style salad, or I call it a spread or a dip. Get a shiny, plump eggplant without bruises. Make a few cuts on top for steam to escape and place in the oven on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for a while (30 minutes or so) at 400F until it... View Article
March 10, 2016
These were inspired by an image I saw somewhere on the web a few days ago. Of course trying to find it the second time is impossible with so much going on the net. They were beautiful and colourful and stuck in my mind. The other day I was slicing a bunch of colourful radishes for a salad and remembered the image, so changed course and made a few salad rolls for lunch. If you... View Article
February 29, 2016
Pizza bianca is ubiquitous in Rome being the number one snack food that Romans buy and eat. It is also one of the foods that I missed the most when we returned home after 100 days in Italy recently. In Rome it became a daily ritual for us to stop by our local bakery and pick up a warm piece of just baked pizza bianca to enjoy standing at the counter or outside the store,... View Article
December 24, 2015
Zaatar is the sine qua non of middle eastern cooking. It’s indispensable for its flavour and versatility. Zaatar, meaning thyme in Arabic, refers not to thyme but to a slightly tangy, intensely aromatic spice blend that can be used to flavour many dishes, middle eastern or not. As with all things culinary, there are many versions of zaatar with ingredients ranging from thyme, oregano, minty hyssop, tangy sumac, marjoram and sesame seeds and I have... View Article
