Sub Categories in Vegetables

Category of: Vegetables

Roasted Baby vegetables with Honey Balsamic Glaze

September 26, 2013

Inspired by dinner at Xocolat – Posh Mexican Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta        We had dinner in Calgary the other day at a fabulous restaurant serving Mexican food. Don’t jump into conclusions too fast. This is not the place to go for a quick taco and refried beans under a sombrero with a Mariachi band playing Besame Mucho in the corner. As it’s name suggests Xocolat Posh Mexican Cuisine serves traditional Mexican foods but with a modern high end flare. The result is gorgeous... View Article

Roasted cauliflower and couscous with tomatoes, olive oil, lemon and garlic

September 25, 2013

Couscous is a useful grain, lending itself as a base to many vegetables and legumes or good on its own with tomatoes, herbs and lemony-garlicy dressing. Couscous has mediterranean origin,  made from semolina, a product of cracked durum wheat. The type available here is mostly the instant couscous, grains that have been previously steamed and dried. You add the couscous to boiling water to which a little oil and salt have been added, then remove... View Article

Foraged Salad

September 23, 2013

Going to the farmers market now is very interesting. You can see, feel and smell the change in season. Crisp pears and apples are piled alongside late summer fragrant melons, ripe tomatoes and white turnips. The farmers are beginning to anticipate the first frost that will shut down their farm operations for the season. Wild purslane The weekend ritual of going to the farmers market will end in just a few short weeks. The upside,... View Article

Quesadillas with wild mushrooms, corn and black beans

September 21, 2013

Mexican food has been part of my repertoire for a long time. I enjoy the earthy flavours, simplicity, colours and aromas of this cuisine. I am just now replacing some of the Mexican cookbooks that I had before, and already have a few books by the incomparable Diana Kennedy (the Grand Dame of Mexican Cuisine), the modern and innovative Rick Bayless of  the Fronterra fame and a few other books for information and inspiration. Diana Kennedy,... View Article

Summer Zucchini Stuffed with Risotto and Wild Mushrooms

September 20, 2013

My fridge is overflowing with produce from the market. I can’t help myself when I go to the market and in spite of good intentions (“I am just going to see what they have”) I come back with bags and bags of beautiful seasonal produce. How can I not? I speak with the vendors who grow the produce themselves and then what? Just leave without buying? I don’t think so. And, think of the lovely... View Article

Cauliflower Fritters

September 16, 2013

Once in a while I make fritters. I don’t deep fry them in oil but rather cook them on a lightly oiled electric griddle, much like you would cook pancakes. They are delicious and can be served as an “entree” of a vegetarian meal, or if you make them small they are nice as an appetizer. I posted other fritters recipes a while back here and here and they generated a lot of traffic on the... View Article

Yellow Beets and Radicchio Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette

September 15, 2013

Beets are abundant n the markets right now and I have been taking advantage of this and buying them in red, yellow, pinkish and the striped varieties. (It’s kind of like buying clothes I like, give me one in very colour:). I roast them, make them into a chilled soup, add them to salads, pickle them or shred them and bake in foil with a pat of butter, salt and pepper. Summer beets Pickled beets... View Article

Pasta with Striped Pink Eggplant, Cherry Tomatoes, Pine Nuts, Cilantro Pesto and Purslane

September 14, 2013

Eggplants come in a variety of shapes and colours. The dark purple or black is the most widely available eggplant but there are pink, white and even striped varieties. Have you used the striped pink eggplants before? I believe it is called Listada di Gandia. There is some controversy about its origin. Some say it came from Spain, others say from France. Regardless, it is mostly considered now an Italian variety. I guess the Italianos claimed it... View Article

Late Summer Roasted Carrots and Pomegranate Salad with Orange-Cumin Dressing

September 5, 2013

Pomegranates in the stores means that fall is on its way. I am excited about the change of season and the new fruits and vegetables it brings to the markets but of course I am sad to see the summer coming to an end. Spring, summer and fall seem to be so short here in Canada and the winter sooo looong. Early fall is an interesting season, where summer merges into fall. We still get... View Article

Grilled potatoes with Parsley-Lemon Pesto

August 27, 2013

Earlier this season I planted a little flat leaf parsley seedling on the patio and somehow, in no time it grew into a huge plant with beautiful flat leaves packed with flavour. Who knew these herbs can grow like that? In Calgary I could barely make it survive. Now I have several herbs in the rooftop garden and can step outside at any time to pick fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, basil (green and purple, sorrel,... View Article

Roasted Corn with Ancho-Chili Butter in an Outdoor Kitchen

August 15, 2013

Ever since we bought our rooftop abode in Kelowna a couple of years ago we have been talking about having an outdoor kitchen installed on the north side of the patio. I like to cook and thought it would be nice to have an additional kitchen outdoors that would be handy for entertaining, perhaps informal cooking classes for friends, food photography or just for us to have fun with it. Roasted corn with ancho-chili butter... View Article

Broccoli Salad

August 8, 2013

Broccoli salads were not part of my cooking repertoire until recently. I don’t know why I never made them before. Maybe it is because of  the mushy broccoli salads on buffet tables, I have seen too many of those. Once I started making them though I cannot seem to stop. Broccoli can make a beautiful crunchy salad that is full of flavour and family and friends seem to enjoy it. There are never any leftovers.... View Article