May 18, 2018
A good lunch salad is an art and takes a little imagination but it doesn’t have to be complicated. I was leafing through a Donna Hay cookbook last night when saw a fennel and chicken salad and decided to translate it to a vegetarian version and change the dressing. I liked the croutons idea so went with that. The fennel has to be sliced thinly, like they do in Italy, and then marinated for... View Article
October 25, 2017
I never tire of potato salads and although I make them mostly in the summer when potatoes are garden fresh, this year I am extending the season as the weather is not that bad. My friend Philly gave me a bag of organic potatoes the other day and I made good use of them, transforming some into a leek and potato soup and the rest into this delicious salad. I usually steam potatoes rather than... View Article
May 15, 2017
When vegetables are fresh and tender in the spring I like to combine them with lentils to make different salads. The idea here is to build a few layers of flavours and textures so every bite has a surprise. This salad is good served warm or at room temperature. Today I had crisp white baby turnips fresh from the market and thick local spring asparagus from Osoyoos in the south Okanagan. For a tangy note I... View Article
January 18, 2017
Salads are always welcome as part of lunch or dinner, and sometimes they make lunch or dinner. This is a refreshing winter salad incorporating the segments and juice of a pink grapefruit into both the salad and the dressing. The salad itself is a blend of winter vegetables and greens, meaning it does not call for tender summer salad leaves but rather for sturdier vegetables like green and red cabbage, romaine, red peppers, celery, carrots... View Article
October 27, 2016
Roasting peppers transforms their flavour and texture and makes them versatile and adaptable to many dishes. I almost always have roasted peppers in the fridge, marinating in a little olive oil and flavoured with garlic, salt and pepper. I add them to grains and legumes, use them to top pizza or bruschetta and to make sauces and soups but my favourite way to eat roasted pepper is as they are an a salad. Since the... View Article
August 29, 2016
I would venture to say that this vinaigrette is so good that it doesn’t require a salad. Give me this dish with a crusty baguette and leave me alone and I would finish it right off the skillet, still warm and you will hardly need to rinse the skillet. As all good food tends to be, it is super simple and depends on the quality of ingredients. I was watching a food show on Netflix... View Article
August 6, 2016
One of my favourite salads on the menu at the Eldorado in Kelowna used to be their grilled romaine salad, unfortunately no longer offered. So, if I am in the mood for a grilled romaine I have to make it myself. So it’s time to post the recipe, which is really no recipe at all, just a method. This is a rather substantial salad and quite filling, so depending on the size of the romaine... View Article
July 24, 2016
Endive usually features in my fall salads but I love how it pairs with blue cheese so when I am in the mood for blue cheese in a salad there is nothing like Belgian endive to make it with. I was travelling south of Kelowna with a friend yesterday and bought beautiful blue cheese from Poplar Grove, a . I wanted to use it before forgetting it is there, which can happen in my always... View Article
July 22, 2016
We are just on the verge of tomato season here in the Okanagan and where better to get your tomatoes than at Sunshine Farm in east Kelowna. Run by Jon and Sher Alcock and their family, the farm is an intimate, hands-on operation that takes pride in quality and preservation and specializes in heritage rare and organic seeds from which they grow their produce. The Alcock’s daughter Mona Johannson, one of the best chefs in the Okanagan,... View Article
July 20, 2016
Instead of posting a recipe I thought I’d photograph a mid week all vegetables dinner and offer that as an inspiration instead of just a recipe. A dinner like this requires imagination but as long as you know your way around the ktichen, you can reproduce it easily with the simple instructions I provide below. We are lucky here in Kelowna to live minutes away from several beautiful small organic farms that sell their produce... View Article
July 11, 2016
I was looking back at our two months stay in Spain a couple of years ago and remembered the roasted vegetables I used to order at various restaurants. It was not easy to find vegetarian options on the jamon Iberico and seafood focused menus and I often had to create my own lunch or dinner from side dishes they offered. There is an art to travelling vegetarian and I think I have mastered it. This is... View Article
May 21, 2016
Summer is teasing us, offering a few days of sunshine and blue skies only to retract its promise and send clouds and rain next. To be honest, I love cloudy, rainy days and often use them to catch up on my reading. After indulging in Roman history before and after our extended stay in Italy, I have moved on to the Russian dynasty in preparation for an upcoming trip to St Petersburg to visit its... View Article
