August 18, 2016

Mini zucchini “pizza” bites

The larger zucchini that have grown to a considerable diameter can be used for many things, one being a base for mini “pizza” rounds. This is kind of fun as an appetizer and if you use prepared toppings, it’s not that much work to prepare. I had small jars of pizza sauce and artichoke pesto from William Sonoma that I needed to use and were perfect for this little recipe. You can get more creative... View Article

August 16, 2016

Roasted cauliflower steaks with dukkah and tahini

Cauliflower has a love-hate affair with foodies. Some love it some don’t. I am on the love-it camp and especially so when it is roasted. Roasting cauli brings out wonderful flavours, completely different than when you steam it. The cauliflower “steaks” became trendy a while back and it’s not a bad way of preparing them. You cut the cauli into thick slices through the stem and end up with beautifully shaped floral portions that you... View Article

August 15, 2016

Refreshing Gazpacho

With tomatoes in season and beautifully ripe, needless to say we feature them on the daily menu with pleasure. Tomato salads, tomato sauces, bruschetta with tomatoes and even fried green tomatoes get reinvented in one delish dish after another. This past week we had company and I knew that one of our guests loved a good gazpacho. I was inspired to prepare a couple of jars of this chilled soup to have available as an... View Article

August 10, 2016

Grilled Corn and Black Beans Salad

Corn in Kelowna is wonderful. We get it directly from the growers, freshly picked that morning and still cool from early morning breeze. The season for corn is fairly short so we try to take advantage of it and include corn in much of our summer cooking. Corn should be cooked soon after you buy it as it tends to convert its sugars into starch and loses the crisp texture and sweet flavour quickly. I... View Article

August 9, 2016

Vegan bean burgers

G was out on the lake all day with his beloved Isa Lei and I stayed behind to “do my thing”. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure I’d make dinner tonight, I enjoyed reading in the hammock under the blooming wisteria on the south patio and we can aways eat out. But, it was a beautiful evening and I love to cook and find it easy to put together something quickly. So I was... View Article

August 8, 2016

In the raw – fresh tomato sauce with pasta

I can eat pasta every day and the only reason I don’t is because I like to cook many things and can only eat so much. But believe me, in Italy, where others were doing the cooking I was eating fabulous pasta dishes every day, no exceptions and loved every minute of it. In the heat of the summer it’s nice to have light dishes that are refreshing and cooling without standing in front of... View Article

August 6, 2016

Grilled Romain Salad with creamy vinaigrette

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

August 2, 2016

Heirloom carrots with yogurt and almond-honey dressing

Don’t you love summer vegetables? I get so excited at the markets and come home with piles of produce, often with more than I can reasonably cook. This week carrots were the highlight. Organic, heirloom thumbelina and other mini carrots of exceptional quality straight from the grower and of course, irresistible to me. As it happened I had lunch at Cedar Creek the other day, a local winery now owned by Mission Hill Family Estate... View Article

August 1, 2016

Beets

Part of the fun of cooking is discovering what fruits and vegetables are in season and focusing on seasonal produce while it is available and in its best form. Although today we can get almost all produce all of the time, fruits and veggies are best when they are local and in season. One of the summer pleasure are beets in all their varieties. Lusciously red and golden or playfully candy striped beets are available... View Article

July 29, 2016

Yellow beet hummus with dukkah

I had a few extra cooked yellow beets from a dish I made the other day and thought they would be interesting in a homemade hummus. I looked online for inspiration and found a recipe by Nigel Slater for red beet hummus with dukkah, an aromatic Egyptian spice blend made with chopped nuts, seeds and spices that has many uses in middle eastern cooking. I thought I could make the recipe with yellow beets, and... View Article

July 28, 2016

How to eat vegetarian when travelling and Grilled summer vegetables with couscous recipe

There is an art to travelling as a vegetarian. You would think that with the abundance of gorgeous produce in the markets, especially around the Mediterranean, it would be easy to find vegetarian dishes in restaurants but somehow it is not. Now, I am interested in food and culture and will try other things even if they are not vegetarian, especially the local and traditional. I am certainly not going to travel without experiencing local foods.... View Article

July 24, 2016

Endive, blueberries and candied pecan salad with creamy vinaigrette

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