Tag Archive: Salad

Asparagus salad with preserved lemons

April 19, 2017

I am getting a little addicted to some of the food TV shows, particularly Master Chef Canada (home cooks) and now Top Chef All Star (professionally trained accomplished chefs). I have no idea how these people can cook like they do, with difficult ingredients and under such time pressure. I couldn’t boil water under these conditions. Apart from the entertainment value I watch the shows because I learn something and even if it is not... View Article

Roasted pepper salad with goat cheese

October 27, 2016

Roasting peppers transforms their flavour and texture and makes them versatile and adaptable to many dishes. I almost always have roasted peppers in the fridge, marinating in a little olive oil and flavoured with garlic, salt and pepper. I add them to grains and legumes, use them to top pizza or bruschetta and to make sauces and soups but my favourite way to eat roasted pepper is as they are an a salad. Since the... View Article

Lemon-marinated fennel and pear salad

October 25, 2016

Fennel is a fall vegetable and although it is available all year it is really best in the fall when you can get it locally. Many people are not that familiar with it and are reluctant to try but I would say be adventurous and go for it. What can happen? Fennel  is a white”ish” bulb with fronds that resemble dill. It has anise-like flavour and crispy texture when eaten raw. I shred it into... View Article

Grilled Corn and Black Beans Salad

August 10, 2016

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

Grilled Romain Salad with creamy vinaigrette

August 6, 2016

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

Endive and beet salad with coronation grapes and gorgonzola

September 2, 2015

The bitter endives and sweet roasted beets go together nicely in a salad, balanced by the sweet and pungent gorgonzola and candied nuts. I make shredded salads like this quite often, combining whatever vegetables I have with the contrast of crunchy, sweet nuts.  My system is to keep a couple of bags with candied nuts in the freezer so I can take a few when I need them and add to the salad without the... View Article

Shaved asparagus salad with chive flower vinaigrette

May 28, 2015

The salad was inspired by a conversation I had with one of my daughters (Alexis) who lives in Toronto and gets to eat at the many fabulous restaurants in that cosmopolitan city. She was telling me about a shaved asparagus salad she had at Buca Bar I believe and although we didn’t get to discuss it in details it stayed on my mind and I knew I wanted to make it. I didn’t have a... View Article

Fennel, blood orange and watermelon radish salad

April 29, 2015

I am off to Calgary for the day to see my friends. Sometimes it’s nice not to think about packing a suitcase and booking hotels yet travelling to a different city, experiencing new sights, sounds and the feel of another place. I am catching an early morning flight out of Kelowna with no luggage to worry about and a rental car is waiting for me at the airport in Calgary. Does that count as jet-setting?... View Article

Shredded kale, radicchio and endive salad

November 19, 2014

I was feeling good about drizzling balsamic crema on my salad instead of an oil based dressing (it is oil free) until I read the label and realized there were at least  9 gram of sugar per 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of the stuff. I was not impressed. Granted, this was a balsamic crema with strawberries and figs reduction, so it had more sugar. The plain balsamic reduction showed 3 grams of sugar per tablespoon,... View Article

Iceberg Wedgie with Blue Cheese

November 7, 2013

No, not that kind of a wedgie. This is a wedge of crispy iceberg or head lettuce, served with blue cheese dressing and confetti of chopped vegetables. It’s one of my favourite salads. If you don’t like blue cheese (some don’t), serve it with another dressing that you like. I know that head lettuce went out of vogue a long time ago, when the baby greens were born, but someone revived its popularity with this... View Article

John Ash at the Cookbook Co. Cooks

November 4, 2013

Foodies in Calgary are fortunate to have the Cookbook Co. Cooks. Over the years Gail Norton and her team managed to put Calgary on the culinary map attracting cookbook authors, famous chefs and food professionals from across Canada and the US to their cooking school at 722, 11th Ave. SW. Along with their City Palate magazine, the Cookbook Co. is definitely the place to go for all things culinary in Alberta and beyond. Tuscan chicken... View Article

On a Spoon: Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse

October 20, 2013

I  recently jumped on the bandwagon for spoon appetizers, I wonder where they started. I liked the idea right away, when they first came into vogue, but it took me a while to follow this trend. Once I begun making them though, I was hooked. Yesterday I had the opportunity to make some pre-dinner appetizers and my inspiration was a lunch at Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery prepared by Chef Darin Patterson of Bogner of Penticton restaurant.... View Article