July 21, 2018
So we are back at home from a hiking adventure here in BC and I am in the mood to cook again after eating out for an entire week in the mountains with varying degrees of success (more on that later). Since I am addicted to Australia Masterchef and was catching up on a few episodes I missed while I was gone I noticed that they often make fondant potatoes that look beautiful on their... View Article
November 13, 2017
A fragrant dish of delicious herb-roasted potatoes is always a welcome sight at dinner and this is an easy way to make them. The secret to this recipe is steaming the potatoes until partially cooked before roasting. You can do this step earlier in the day and finish the roasting before dinner. Use whatever herbs you have available fresh but potatoes and rosemary is a classic combination, you can’t go wrong with that. I use... View Article
October 29, 2017
I have been working on my book about our stay in Spain in 2014 and came across a picture that made me hungry. I remember that bar and the dish we had very well and also remember trying to go there again and not being able to find it. All the small street and side alleys merged into one big maze in our mind so we had to let it go. The dish was simplicity... View Article
May 30, 2017
When we lived in Calgary I used to go to the farmers market every Saturday and never missed a stop at Margarita’s Dishes to indulge in her Jewish style potato latkes topped with a large dollop of sour cream and homemade berry sauce. Oh-so delicious. I make a few different versions of potato cakes but today I was in the mood for traditional latkes, similar to Margarita’s. Together with the fennel and citrus salad it... View Article
April 3, 2017
What’s the story with gnocchi? If you ask two Italians how to make gnocchi, you are likely to get three strongly held opinions. What kind of potato to use, bake or boil them, add an egg or never with an egg, all purpose flour, semolina, or “00” flour, add salt or no salt and so it goes. You get the picture. Essentially, gnocchi are light and fluffy dumplings typical of northern Italy (dare I say?),... View Article
December 3, 2016
I believe I have posted about 20 potato salad recipes on the blog so far and it says a lot about how I feel about this humble and much maligned vegetable. Potatoes are so fundamental to the development of civilization that it is beyond me how they are now blamed for everything from obesity to heart disease. Most of us tend to read materials that reinforce what we already believe but If you are open... View Article
August 27, 2015
Soft inside, crispy on the outside, golden and delicious these are perfect for dinner, lunch or a snack, kind of instead of French fries. Some flavours simply go together and potatoes, olive oil, rosemary and coarse sea salt is a marriage made in culinary heaven, so simple yet so good.I shake a little paprika over the potatoes as well because i like the colour that it lends the roasted potatoes, reddish, golden, roasted. The type... View Article
June 7, 2015
Here is a simple dish to make with either baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes. I steam them first and then sauté in olive oil. I add the broccolini towards the end of the cooking so they finish cooking together. You could cook the broccolin i sep[arately and combine them at the end if you wish. If you don’t have broccolini you could use red pepper or broccoli instead. There are two camps in culinary circles... View Article
October 18, 2014
I am not very good at using the freezer but my fridge always has some cooked items ready to be incorporated into my daily adventure in the kitchen. Any time you’d look in my fridge you are likely to find a container with cooked grain or legumes, homemade dressings and sauces in little jars, store bought sauces that I like, creme fraiche etc. These items make it easy to quickly assemble a lunch or dinner... View Article
September 18, 2014
Here is a recipe for delicious and simple roasted potatoes Greek style, roasted in a sauce of olive oil, lemon, garlic and a handful of fresh oregano. I have made this a few times lately without a chance of photographing the dish for the blog, they were snapped from the kitchen and devoured quickly. Finally tonight I managed a couple of pictures before they disappeared. The potatoes are soft inside, a little crispy on the... View Article
September 15, 2014
As the weather gets cooler I get in the mood for a heartier fare. A trip to the farmers market yesterday yielded a bag of sieglinde potatoes from Sweet Life Farms, beautiful green cabbage and black kale from another vendor and an orange cauliflower. I thought I’d combine all of them in a quick sauté for dinner, which is just my kind of food. I started with the potatoes as they take the longest to cook,... View Article
August 5, 2014
Potato cakes, latkes, potato pancakes, all describe the same thing: potatoes mixed with onion, eggs and flour, formed into cakes and fried in a little oil. I am kind of addicted to these things. When I go to the market in Calgary there is no way I am not going to stop at Margarita’s for their fabulous latkes with sour cream as well as take some home for “later” which often ends up much sooner than... View Article
