August 19, 2017

Beets three ways: beetroot, beet leaves and stems

In keeping with the nose to tail concept that doesn’t apply in my vegetarian kitchen, I am trying to use the whole plant, end to end and not waste any edible parts. You’d be surprised how much we waste in the foods we eat, throwing away good leaves, stems and even roots of some good vegetables. My company last weekend came bearing gifts from the garden, bringing beautiful beets with their greens still attached from... View Article

August 17, 2017

Corn-feta fritters with yogurt-dill sauce

We eat a lot of corn now that it is in season, locally grown and so sweet and tender. Occasionally we have a cob or two leftover, cooked or uncooked, and that’s when I like to make corn fritters. The simplest sauce to serve with it is a tangy yogurt with dill and a sprinkling of good salt. It’s fragrant, tangy and refreshing with the fried fritters. I took the pics outside and had to... View Article

August 16, 2017

New potatoes and yellow beans with creme fraiche and dill

There is nothing like new potatoes lightly coated with creme fraiche and liberally sprinkled with fresh dill and it’s even better with buttery yellow beans fresh from the garden or your local farmers market. It’s one of my favourite summer dishes. I steam the potatoes whole and unpeeled, cook the beans separately in salted water (sometime in the water I steamed the potatoes in) and then combine them in a pot with either homemade or... View Article

August 11, 2017

Avocado salad with dukkah vinaigrette and goat cheese

A beautiful ripe avocado is a special treat and once in a while I indulge. You have to buy it just right, either to serve immediately or to ripen on your counter for a day or two before serving. I have thrown away many avocados that I bought with good intentions and never got around to using. Once they go soft there is nothing to do but discard them. The softness of the avocado is... View Article

August 9, 2017

Berries, ice cream and meringue shards

Here is an easy summer dessert that uses the beautiful seasonal berries. I macerated the berries with a little sugar and ice wine (or dessert wine) top them with ice cream and whipped cream, then cover it all with meringue shards that add an element of surprise (you cannot see what’s under) and a crunch factor to this refreshing, simple dessert. I had an opportunity to cook for visiting friends in the last couple of... View Article

August 2, 2017

Beets sous vide

On my last trip to the local farm stands a few blocks behind where we live I picked a whole bunch of beautiful new and local produce. Small new potatoes, plump green onions, field cucumbers and these small sweet bunches of red and yellow beets. Normally I would roast them but I recently bought a new gadget for the kitchen, a sous vide immersion circulator, and decided to cook the beets sous vide. If the... View Article

July 31, 2017

Tomato salad with basil and homemade ricotta

We are lucky in the Okanagan to have winery restaurant chefs that pride themselves on creating dishes using local produce that are beautiful to look at and packed with flavour. One of my favourite is the Terrace Restaurant at Mission Hill winery. Not only the Tuscan architecture, the bell tower, the view and the beautiful wines, but the food at their Terrace restaurant is always outstanding. My gal friends were visiting from Calgary last week... View Article

July 19, 2017

Lentils and vegetables salad

Lentils are versatile and I use them all year, for soups and stews in the winter and salads in the summer. I often have cooked lentils in the fridge to pull out on the spur of the moment to make a lunch or dinner salad. In this salad I used leftover beets and carrots from my new sous vide experiment, more on that later, but you can make this without a sous vide by boiling... View Article

July 18, 2017

Lemon-Mint Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Sauce

So it never rains it pours. Haven’t made desserts in a while and now that’s all I want to do. Go figure. Some will make it to this blog if the images work out. This cake is easy to make and requires only two bowls (one for dry and one for wet ingredients) and a whisk, no mixer necessary. My kind of cooking as I am not a fan of using too many dishes. Now,... View Article

July 16, 2017

Matcha cake with matcha buttercream

Matcha became trendy a few years ago as a drink and soon found its way into modern cooking. Matcha is green tea leaves ground to a powder and there is a ceremonial ritual to follow when making an authentic version of the drink. When it comes to cooking with it matcha has a sweet, slightly smoky and nutty quality and a lovely green colour. You control the shade of green by the amount of matcha... View Article

July 14, 2017

French beans and asparagus salad with burrata

One of the culinary treasures of southern Italy (Puglia) is the burrata: a creamy, perishable cheese that is shipped daily to vendors and restaurants in other parts of the country to be consumed the same day. Burrata means “buttered” and in the categories of cheeses it is not a mozzarella, nor a mozzarella di bufala, although it is made with buffalo milk. To make burrata cheesemakers fill a thin skin  of mozzarella with a mixture... View Article

July 12, 2017

Black beans and corn enchiladas

Enchiladas are a delicious Mexican comfort food and and now and then I absolutely crave these tortillas, wrapped around a flavourful filling and baked in a mildly spicy chile-tomato sauce. I fill them with beans and corn, potatoes or vegetables and scatter a little cheese to melt on top. What type of tortillas to use: Traditionally, white or yellow corn corn tortillas but flour tortillas also work. Red or green sauce? Either. I usually make... View Article