September 27, 2012
A fruit compote, or fruit “soup” is more common in the mediterranean than here in North America. What is it? It’s an assortment of summer stone fruits cooked in a sugar syrup (I add sweet wine and orange juice) on medium heat until the fruits break down slightly but still retain some texture. You can also make a winter fruit compote using dried fruits, but the recipe I am offering today is definitely a summer... View Article
September 19, 2012
Mediterranean cuisine has a dish called Mujadarah where lentils and rice are cooked together and then topped with slow cooked caramelized onion. It’s delicious and I make it often. This is a spin on that recipe but I cook everything separately and then combine “stuff” together. This way I can experiment and create different dishes from the basic rice and lentils. So today I am making the rice and lentils with cauliflower and carrots. Tomorrow... View Article
September 12, 2012
I know that eggplant is not for everyone but I love it and maybe someone out there does as well so here it goes (why am I appologizing?). I have had these three Japanese (or are these chinese?) eggplants in my fridge for a few days now. They are the long skinny eggplants with purplish skin that are available every now and then in our markets. They have thin, edible skin and their flavour is... View Article
September 8, 2012
Whenever I make these potatoes (which is quite often), my guests love them and ask how I make them. It is an embarrassingly simple recipe but in the spirit of full disclosure, here is how I do it. The potatoes in the image are a German variety called Sieglinda butter Potatoes that I get from Little Church Organics in Kelowna (see post about Kelowna for Foodies). They are so delicious and flavourful that I wish they... View Article
September 6, 2012
Although I cook pasta all year round I find that I tend to cook it more frequently in the fall and winter seasons. Not that I think of pasta as winter food but in the summer I like to take full advantage of the beautiful fresh vegetables that you find at the markets and finding myself cooking with a variety of summer potatoes for the starch component of dinner. We are now nearing the end... View Article
August 30, 2012
I saw a couple of sprout salad recipes recently (see below) and had sprouts on my mind for a while now. Sprouts are mostly thought of as something to add to a salad or a sandwich and rarely get to play the main role. Well, here is their chance at the limelight. I bought a bunch of different sprouts at Planet Organic the other day and decided to give them a chance. They had mixed... View Article
August 28, 2012
Sometimes vegetables are so nice and tender that they really do not require any cooking at all. In the summer I like making a few dishes that can be enjoyed in the raw (I mean the veggies, relax), just tossed with a dressing or offered with a dip. Cauliflower, when fresh and tender, is one of those vegetables. The markets have been featuring small heads of coloured cauliflower in orange, purple and white and I... View Article
August 26, 2012
Have you jumped on the quinoa bandwagon yet? It seems that every now and then a new trend takes over the culinary world and everyone starts cooking it. Quinoa looks like a grain but in fact it is a seed passed on to us through the ancient Inca culture. It’s known as the super seed and its claim to fame is the fact that it is gluten free and protein rich. In our protein crazed society... View Article
August 23, 2012
I bought a large bag of grated carrots from the market the other day. It seemed easy and I immediately thought of making a carrot salad with them. Carrot salad is usually associated with Northern African cuisine and features middle east spices like cumin. There are a couple of good recipes for Moroccan carrot salad you can check out at Epicurious as well as in the fabulous cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, the famed London chef... View Article
August 13, 2012
Usually green and yellow beans rule the markets around here in the summer but for some reason they are harder to find this year. I wonder why. What we have in abundance though are the summer squashes of all kinds. I have taken a liking this year to the round and plump summer squashes that come in green and yellow. They are lovely to look at and cook with and have made their way into... View Article
August 12, 2012
The apricots are so gorgeous right now I have to use them as much as I can. I made apricot tarts with some, and the remaining ripe apricots on my counter made it into the lovely little jam you see in the picture. I don’t make large quantities of jam for long term storage. I make enough for only a few jars to keep in the fridge for immediate consumption or give away to friends.... View Article
August 11, 2012
It doesn’t always have to be tomato salsa. Here is a lovely mango salsa to add to your cooking repertoire that will brighten up the flavour of many foods. Salsa is generally associated with Mexican food (love it) but don’t limit its use to just tacos. Serve this as a condiment along with other foods, as a dip with endive spears or tortilla chips, spoon some over a salad or top a grilled baguette slice... View Article
