August 9, 2012
There are so many gorgeous fruits in the market right now my head just spins when I go shopping. Cherries, apricots, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, melons of all kinds, nectarines, plum. Oh, I am dizzy with excitement. Often we just have them “straight” in a fruit salad or with a little bit of cream (see peaches and cream here) but I also like to bake desserts: tarts, pies, buckles, cakes, fruit crisps, even muffins with... View Article
August 6, 2012
I love summer rituals and have established a few here at our summer home in Kelowna. An early morning walk through the sleepy neighbourhood, a soy latte on the patio at The Roasted Bean on Cooks Rd (best lattés) or “opening” and “closing” the patio morning and night. We have food rituals as well. A slow breakfast at home on the patio, or lakeside breakfast ritual at the one-of-a-kind Hotel Eldorado or on the patio at... View Article
July 20, 2012
I have a couple of rhubarb plants in our otherwise wild back yard in the country where we live. It’s the only plant that seems to survive here. It is impossible to have a garden or even landscaping as we have a large number of wildlife roaming the forest and meadows around us and they eat everything in sight. They even come up on the deck to lunch of my flower pots, when i have... View Article
July 13, 2012
WARNING: Gooey, chewy and can be addictive. This recipe uses a can of sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, brown sugar and peanut butter. Melt them together and pour over 6-8 cups of Rice Krispies. Press into a pan, refrigerate for a few hours and cut into squares or roll into balls. I sometimes stick the Rice Krispies balls on skewers so your fingers don’t get sticky. I support the gooey chewy balls on skewers with... View Article
July 11, 2012
Cherry pie and tart filling is usually made with sour cherries. Sour cherries are only available for a short time in the early spring. Honestly, I seldom find sour cherries in our markets up here so I am making these tarts with regular cherries. If you do have sour cherries maybe adjust the amount of sugar you are using, you may need a little more. Otherwise I think things should work the same. Making individual... View Article
July 8, 2012
These last few days in Kelowna have been lovely, although I didn’t get to cook any dinners. With all the gorgeous produce in the markets I was eager to cook but I am coming back next weekend and staying for a while so will get to do more cooking then. I did have plenty of opportunities though to prepare snack food and I posted some of them in the last few days. This morning is... View Article
July 6, 2012
Not to be rude or anything but “stick it” in culinary terms is not so bad. I tend to “stick” foods on skewers for presentation, grilling, and ease of serving. Why not? I am fairly adventurous and like the unexpected. Don’t these fruits look more special on a stick then on a plate? I made them this morning, expecting a couple of friends to drop by our place at the end of their morning walk... View Article
June 21, 2012
I have to confess that I have been on a cookie baking binge lately. I wonder what got me started? Probably my outing with my friend Anne who celebrates her wedding anniversary every year by donning her original wedding gown and going out in a “chauffeur” driven luxury car, dressed as a bride, delivering cookies (aha) to un-expecting and bewildered friends . I went with her dressed as the “bride’s maid” but more on that... View Article
June 16, 2012
Cookie lovers come in two camps: those who love their cookies crisp and those who love them chewy and soft (I belong to the latter), but the melt-in-you-mouth cookies are universally liked. These is what these cookies are about and I think they may please both camps. They are meltingly soft yet have some crispness to the texture. Who said you cannot please EVERYONE? These cookies hold their shape and don’t spread much during baking... View Article
June 15, 2012
I worked at baking cheesecakes for quite a while before I finally achieved the kind of cake that I like. A lot of cream cheese and eggs went in and out of my kitchen without leaving a mark. I finally came up with a method that works for me and hopefully for you as well. This cake is made with cream cheese and sour cream and produces a lovely cake that holds it shape and... View Article
June 3, 2012
Oh-so-delicious rice pudding with tangy rhubarb compote at the bottom. I saw this offered for sale at the Okanagan Grocery Artisan Bakery in Kelowna over the long weekend in May and for the next few days went there every day and purchased a couple of jars of this delicious pudding to serve after dinner. I must admit that not all of them made it to dinner, as we enjoyed them just for fun while sitting... View Article
April 15, 2012
For apple lovers only. A heart-warming country style dessert to end a fall or winter dinner. Serve it floating on vanilla pastry cream or with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce. 1 apple per person (gala, empress, honeycrisp or other firm apples) Brown sugar Crushed granola Butter Vanilla cream (see recipe) Or: Caramel sauce: 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoon butter 1 cup cream Cut the top off the apple and... View Article
