May 28, 2021
Roasted whole eggplant is a beautiful dish that not too many people know about. It’s very middle Eastern and in season you’ll find it served in many restaurants. Let’s first start with how to buy an eggplant. It should be heavy (ie full of moisture), with shiny skin and few if any blemishes. Lighter eggplants are already dehydrated and not advised to buy. Once you buy it don’t let it linger in the fridge to... View Article
May 28, 2021
I haven’t blogged in ages but thought I should put all my instagram recipes to the blog for ease of searching. I use the blog, at least in the past, as my own little cookbook reminding me of recipes I made and I my kids use it now and then to make things they remember from home. I believe that I have disconnected the mailing list at least temporarily now that I am doing an... View Article
January 6, 2021
I haven’t posted here in a while but was inspired today to post this recipe. I am more active on Instagram @oliveoilandlemons so feel free to check my Insta account for recent recipes. This little dish came today out of nowhere. I was in the mood for Asian flavours and decided to make some spring rolls. I didn’t have wrappers and didn’t feel like making them so made them with rice paper, which is done... View Article
May 21, 2020
Spring salads are so good because this is the time farmers get their first greens and the quality os superb. This is a simple salad made with thinly sliced ribbons of cucumbers and zucchini, beautiful local radishes and local fresh ricotta, all brought together with fresh dill, shoots, lemon and dill oil. If you are not inclined to make dill oil use good olive oil.
March 9, 2020
I call these Opera muffins because I make them on Saturday morning before we go to the Met Opera live broadcast in a local theatre. In our small town they still seem to allow patrons to bring in coffee and outside food and I have developed a ritual of getting a coffee next door and enjoying a three or four hours opera in the reclining seats of the small theatre. Being a huge opera fan,... View Article
January 28, 2020
When we were is Spain travelling for a few months I kept asking for camomile tea and could not understand why I was getting such strange response from the waiters. Eventually we were at a small bar one afternoon and I ask for ….camomile tea. Oh well, not so fast. The waiter sternly advised that I can have either camomile OR tea. I immediately understood his point. Camomile is a tisane, a beverage made with... View Article
January 22, 2020
Sometimes I venture into different cuisines and make a curry of sorts with what I have on hand in my pantry. In the last few days I have been working on a submission to an online food photography challenge and today’s challenge (for Saturday submission) was herbs and spices. Since I pulled out all the colourful spices for a photograph, I decided to use them in a dish for dinner, hence this curry. It’s a... View Article
January 13, 2020
You know I like to play with my food and of late I have been interested in this charcoal idea. I made charcoal burger buns a while ago that I thought looked spectacular, but it’s not an everyday thing. I was in Toronto last week visiting our daughter and her husband who just had their first baby boy, our first grandchild. As you can imagine we are all head over heels in love with the... View Article
December 26, 2019
Gougeres are one of my favourite things to serve as an appetizer. They are light, airy, full of cheesy flavour, can be served plain or filled with a variety of fillings. In short, they are very versatile. To go with that, they are a little tricky to make and if you have never made them before it may take you once or twice to master them, but once you do I am sure they remain... View Article
December 13, 2019
I adapted this recipe from Delicious Magazine after seeing it on Laura Calder’s instagram feed. The dish consists of thinly sliced potatoes (sliced on a mandolin for even thickness) that are parboiled briefly and then arranged almost upright in a skillet, drizzled with butter (I used oil) and roasted in a hot oven until crisp and golden on top, soft and creamy on the bottom. The secret to this dish is to make the potatoes... View Article
December 12, 2019
Going back to my roots here with these cheese blintzes. My mother used to make them when I was growing up and when I lived in Calgary I went to the farmers market where Marguerite was making wonderful blintzes for sale every week. Now when I want them I have to make them myself. Blintzes are easy to make. They are basically egg based crepes filled with sweetened cottage cheese (I use local ricotta), folded... View Article
December 6, 2019
Borrowing from middle eastern cuisine, this dip or spread is good to have on hand for ourselves or for company. I have friends who love it and I try to make it when they visit. You can serve it with a variety of breads, anything from a baguette to pita wedges, but I like making a flatbread and serve it warm with the eggplant dip. I have a number of flatbread recipes on the blog,... View Article
