October 5, 2012
A simple recipe, but simplicity is the essence of sophistication. This past summer in Kelowna I made a lot of different potato salads, combining them with market fresh vegetables and a variety of dressings. Some of them are posted here, and here and here (see? I make it easy for you). It was a lot of fun creating the combinations and every time it was different. But I haven’t made any since summer. Now with fall in full... View Article
October 2, 2012
Last year while visiting the Mayan Riviera we had dinner at the famed Hartwood restaurant in Tulum. The restaurant became famous after Bon Apetit magazine did an article about the chef-owner and his wife (from NYC) and since then the line-ups to go into this no-reservation policy restaurant have been increasing as I believe have the prices. I was motivated to write a review of our experience at the restaurant and you can find it here... View Article
September 24, 2012
Fried green tomatoes are traditional in southern cooking. They got their moment in the spotlight when a movie by that name was released to critical acclaim. The 1991 movie was based on a novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. After the release of the film a wave of fried green tomatoes recipes flooded the market and that’s when I first got acquainted with the dish . Green tomatoes are... View Article
September 18, 2012
On a recent trip to the Mayan Riviera I had a fried avocado salad at one of the large hotels on the beach. It was quite special and I made it a few times since I got home. Today I had a couple of beautiful, ripe yet firm avocados and I thought I’d make these lovely fritters and serve them as tacos in corn tortillas for a quick lunch. I have also stuffed them into... View Article
September 12, 2012
I know that eggplant is not for everyone but I love it and maybe someone out there does as well so here it goes (why am I appologizing?). I have had these three Japanese (or are these chinese?) eggplants in my fridge for a few days now. They are the long skinny eggplants with purplish skin that are available every now and then in our markets. They have thin, edible skin and their flavour is... View Article
September 7, 2012
Have you used haloumi cheese in your kitchen? It features prominently in middle east cuisine and used for frying or grilling thanks to its high melting point (it begins melting only at very high temperature). It originates in Cyprus and is made from goat, sheep or cow’s milk. I have been looking for haloumi cheese here for a while and not finding any. I tried the Italian stores, the Greek shop and our Janice Beaton... View Article
September 2, 2012
Summer beets are completely different from what we get here year round. Summer beets are soft and sweet and take hardly any time to cook, whether roasted in the oven or cooked on top of the stove. I make all kinds of things with beets (even pickled beets) and will post a few of them over the next while. I am trying to limit myself to a post a day for now so I have a... View Article
August 30, 2012
I saw a couple of sprout salad recipes recently (see below) and had sprouts on my mind for a while now. Sprouts are mostly thought of as something to add to a salad or a sandwich and rarely get to play the main role. Well, here is their chance at the limelight. I bought a bunch of different sprouts at Planet Organic the other day and decided to give them a chance. They had mixed... View Article
August 29, 2012
This summer I have been making many different potato salads and they have been quite popular here at home. Different than the traditional salads these are a melange of new potatoes and a variety of vegetables I happen to have in my fridge at the time. I toss them together with a dressing, add a couple of hard boiled eggs (or not) and voila, a lovely summer potato salad. I made this salad today with leftover... View Article
August 27, 2012
I love the irregular shape of heirloom tomatoes. They look so nice sliced on the plate or stacked with different varieties. With a good piece of grilled bread it makes a nice light lunch or a substantial first course. Here it is paired with an orange tomato (orange colour tomato) dressing. Salad dressing is easy to make but If you are not inclined to make your own you could try a a bottled dressing from... View Article
August 23, 2012
I bought a large bag of grated carrots from the market the other day. It seemed easy and I immediately thought of making a carrot salad with them. Carrot salad is usually associated with Northern African cuisine and features middle east spices like cumin. There are a couple of good recipes for Moroccan carrot salad you can check out at Epicurious as well as in the fabulous cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, the famed London chef... View Article
August 16, 2012
One of the gifts of summer are vine ripe field tomatoes. With all due respect to hot house tomatoes, they just aren’t the same. Needless to say I make a lot of tomato salads in the summer when tomatoes are vine ripened and sweet. Try to find a variety of tomatoes, preferably heirloom and combine colours, shapes, sizes and flavours. This is one case when I say the more the merrier. Tomatoes do not require... View Article
