May 27, 2017
I may have mentioned before that I am addicted to Master Chef Australia. I am watching the 2014 season and have totally bonded with the home cooks and judges on that show. It’s a stellar season in terms of personalities and the show is so well done that I don’t miss an episode. Surprisingly, I have learned a lot from watching this and other reality TV food shows. It’s not necessarily recipes but you get... View Article
May 18, 2017
It’s summer potato salad time, even though summer is not quite here yet. Yesterday was a sunny day so I finally got all the new herbs planted. A lot of them grow back every year but I still like to plant new ones and refresh the look each season. The chives are threatening to take over their section, competing furiously with the adjacent spread of oregano. Various thymes are stubbornly rooted, refusing to budge (I... View Article
May 15, 2017
When vegetables are fresh and tender in the spring I like to combine them with lentils to make different salads. The idea here is to build a few layers of flavours and textures so every bite has a surprise. This salad is good served warm or at room temperature. Today I had crisp white baby turnips fresh from the market and thick local spring asparagus from Osoyoos in the south Okanagan. For a tangy note I... View Article
January 31, 2017
Fennel is a perfect for winter salads and it pairs beautifully with citrus fruits that are also in season during the winter. Orange and fennel is a classic combination but I like the extra tang of a grapefruit with it as well, lightly sweetened with a drizzle of honey and the crunch of candied nuts. Slice the fennel thinly with a mandolin and chop up the fennel fronds to use in the salad as well.... View Article
January 30, 2017
Potato salads are one of my favourite foods. I mostly make them in the summer but sometimes if I find nice potatoes I make them regardless of the season. For this recipe I found smallish red skin potatoes that worked perfectly in this salad. I steamed them over boiling water, then sliced them into rounds and drizzled the oil over while they were still warm. I then drizzled a couple of tablespoons of the vinegar... View Article
January 18, 2017
Salads are always welcome as part of lunch or dinner, and sometimes they make lunch or dinner. This is a refreshing winter salad incorporating the segments and juice of a pink grapefruit into both the salad and the dressing. The salad itself is a blend of winter vegetables and greens, meaning it does not call for tender summer salad leaves but rather for sturdier vegetables like green and red cabbage, romaine, red peppers, celery, carrots... View Article
December 10, 2016
We are settled in our Mayan Riviera abode but I haven’t started cooking yet, not sure why. Maybe it’s working in a different kitchen not as well equipped as my own at home, or maybe it’s all the restaurants I want to try. In any event, I scheduled a few posts to be published until I get in the groove and begin to cook Mexican style here. One of the scheduled posts is this roasted... 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
November 5, 2016
Mushrooms are best in the fall and I am trying to use them in various dishes. This simple salad is made with the “normal” white and cremini mushrooms sliced very thin and combined with thinly sliced celery and shaved pecorino. The magenta salt you see the image is a wild berry salt from Iceland, I brought it back from a recent visit, but you can use pink Himalayan salt or any interesting salt that is... View Article
September 13, 2016
Every now and then I enjoy a good cabbage salad but not necessarily with mayo dressing. This is a fresh and crisp cabbage salad with sweet and tangy dressing made with cider vinegar, maple syrup and creme fraiche. Since we want to layer flavours and textures I chop in a few fresh mint leaves and scatter fresh lavender flowers on top. One thing I enjoy with many salads is the crisp and nutty flavours and... View Article
September 3, 2016
With the abundance of ripe and delicious tomatoes out now we use them every day in some form: salads, sauces, jams, gazpacho, tarts and more. We haven’t tired of them yet and by the time we do, it will be the end of their season and we will move on to something else. This is the beautify of eating seasonal food, before you have had your fill, they are gone. Since for me a meal without... View Article
August 29, 2016
I would venture to say that this vinaigrette is so good that it doesn’t require a salad. Give me this dish with a crusty baguette and leave me alone and I would finish it right off the skillet, still warm and you will hardly need to rinse the skillet. As all good food tends to be, it is super simple and depends on the quality of ingredients. I was watching a food show on Netflix... View Article
