July 4, 2016
Lately tacos have been my go to dish for a quick lunch or dinner. If you have the basic components on hand, taco making is quick and easy. I usually have a stack of white corn tortillas in the fridge (don’t keep them in the freezer) and from there it’s easy to layer a taco from filling to garnish to sauce. Since I keep my kitchen vegetarian bean base is often what I use as... View Article
June 11, 2016
Our family here in Kelowna gets together for a Friday night dinner fairly regularly. We try to keep it simple so it doesn’t become burdensome and we linger over soup and salad like some may linger over a 5 course meal. This week was my “turn” (we don’t keep track, whoever feels like cooking invites) and I thought vegan burgers may be fun, with a side salad of potatoes and fresh peas in a classic... View Article
June 1, 2016
We came back from a long hike on trails around a local mountain with spectacular views of the Okanagan lake. We left for the hike early morning and the parking lot at the foot of the mountain was nearly empty. It tends to fill up quickly later in the day and especially on weekends. We started with our regular route to the top of the mountain but three quarters of the way up decided to... View Article
March 31, 2016
I have been cooking red lentils for a long time but never thought of cooking them “dry” meaning, without boiling them in water. Who knew? The other day I came across an image on the internet that looked intriguing. I followed the links to a blog called A Brown Table and found the recipe for braised cabbage and red lentils. The blogger, Nik Sharma comes from a North Indian and Goan family and offers wonderful... View Article
October 23, 2015
Here is another pre-scheduled post because I am either en route to or just arrived in Italy and wanted to keep you entertained and informed. I made the recipe just before I left for Milan, with only you in mind:). This is an easy hummus, or a sandwich spread, or a vegetable dip that is worth having in your repertoire. I make it with canned organic garbanzo beans and one roasted red pepper (freshly roasted... View Article
October 15, 2015
How do you get ready for a trip? We are counting down the days to our upcoming four months stay in Italy. There is of course the usual preparation: reserving accommodation, car rental, opera and concerts tickets, arranging cooking classes and booking truffle hunt excursion, not to mention olive oil tasting, visits to the wineries and cheese making farms. But, I tend to do more than just that. Long before we leave on a trip... View Article
July 13, 2015
This recipe is for the rice, lentil and noodle bowl that I served with the Israeli tomato-cucumber salad the other day. Together with grilled corn on the cob and French baguette it made a lovely summer patio dinner, all plant based. I also made Rosemary lemonade to cool us down, love lemonade in the summer. I cooked everything together pilaf style so the rice, lentils and noodles are ready at the same time. If you... View Article
May 17, 2015
On a recent extended stay in the Yucatan I attended a cooking class (several, really) and watched local Maya women making corn tortillas by hand, beautiful, symmetrical, thin and perfectly formed round tortillas. When you watch them making it seems so simple, roll the dough into little balls and slap it into a perfect rounds between the palms of your hands. Not so fast. Try and do it yourself and let’s see how easy YOU... View Article
May 6, 2015
I am sure anyone who cooks has some foods that they can make without a recipe and soups must be among them. Do soups really need a recipe? You kind of build a soup layer by layer with what you have on hand. This beans and pasta soup is the one I go to when I need a good hearty soup that doesn’t require any special trip to the store because I usually have all... View Article
April 26, 2015
Grains and legumes form a large part of our every day food at home. They show up at breakfast, in soups, salads, main course and even desserts. This easy version of rice and beans is good with the addition of caramelized onion. The onion, slowly caramelize until it is golden and crisp in spots, is reminiscent of the classic middle east dish of rice and lentils called mujadara. I fold the caramelized onion into the... View Article
April 5, 2015
Cooking Indian style food can be intimidating but this simple dal and basmati rice with a crisp and lemony salad on the side is simplicity itself and so good, and good for you. There are specialized legumes for making authentic dal and you can certainly find them but I cook with what I have in my pantry and I (almost) always have lentils in there, red, green, black, you name it. Lentils are one of... View Article
March 22, 2015
It’s officially spring here in the Okanagan but still kind of cloudy and cool. The lilacs are trying to bud and I hope their efforts are going to be rewarded with warm weather and enough sunshine. So what I am trying to say is that it is still cool enough here to enjoy a warm bowl of hearty and delicious homemade soup. I wanted to have a simple dinner of soup and salad and have... View Article
