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
August 16, 2012
When you do a lot of entertaining you learn to compose menus with items that do not require your attention at the last minute. Most people do not hire help in the kitchen so you have to be careful not to create menus that will keep you in the kitchen instead of on the patio with your company. When I have people over I try to make a few salads or vegetable dishes that can... View Article
August 15, 2012
Zucchini is another vegetable that is good served raw. The small, sweet summer zucchini can be sliced thinly lengthwise with a simple mandolin and tossed with a little olive oil, herbs and salt. In Italian cooking zucchini is often paired with mint and I am using this flavour combination here with a little lemon balm added as well. A sprinkling of chopped nuts and scattering of goat or feta cheese make a nice addition. If... View Article
August 13, 2012
Usually green and yellow beans rule the markets around here in the summer but for some reason they are harder to find this year. I wonder why. What we have in abundance though are the summer squashes of all kinds. I have taken a liking this year to the round and plump summer squashes that come in green and yellow. They are lovely to look at and cook with and have made their way into... View Article
August 12, 2012
The apricots are so gorgeous right now I have to use them as much as I can. I made apricot tarts with some, and the remaining ripe apricots on my counter made it into the lovely little jam you see in the picture. I don’t make large quantities of jam for long term storage. I make enough for only a few jars to keep in the fridge for immediate consumption or give away to friends.... View Article
August 11, 2012
It doesn’t always have to be tomato salsa. Here is a lovely mango salsa to add to your cooking repertoire that will brighten up the flavour of many foods. Salsa is generally associated with Mexican food (love it) but don’t limit its use to just tacos. Serve this as a condiment along with other foods, as a dip with endive spears or tortilla chips, spoon some over a salad or top a grilled baguette slice... View Article
August 10, 2012
Golden Cherries Calfoutis Here is a delicious dessert to make with the abundance of cherries in the market right now: cherry calfoutis. French in origin this simple dessert is traditionally baked with red cherries that still have the pits in them. The pits impart a nutty, slightly bitter flavour to this dessert that makes it quite special. However, I make it with pitted cherries and in this recipe used golden cherries rather than the traditional... View Article
August 9, 2012
There are so many gorgeous fruits in the market right now my head just spins when I go shopping. Cherries, apricots, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, melons of all kinds, nectarines, plum. Oh, I am dizzy with excitement. Often we just have them “straight” in a fruit salad or with a little bit of cream (see peaches and cream here) but I also like to bake desserts: tarts, pies, buckles, cakes, fruit crisps, even muffins with... View Article
August 8, 2012
It’s cherry season and needless to say cherries are important guests in my kitchen right now. Cherry tarts, cherry calfouti, cherry pie, cherry jam, cherry sauce, you name it, they have been here. Unfortunately, I don’t always have time to photograph them before serving so not all are on the blog quite yet, but it’s coming. Fruit soups are also in my repertoire and when my friend called to say that she had a fabulous... View Article
August 8, 2012
New potatoes are one of the treats of summer and we have them often. I serve them cold in salads, steam and serve plain with a sprinkling of fleur de sel, combine them with other vegetables and sometimes, as a special treat, steam and drizzle them with thick cream. Oye. So good. In this recipe I also add freshly shelled peas, raw or barely cooked, as well as cooked corn scraped off the cob, just... View Article
August 7, 2012
Eating mostly vegetarian, I have developed many recipes using grains and legumes and often have in my fridge cooked barley, lentils, quinoa etc., ready to be incorporated into hot or cold dishes. When I cook grains or legumes, I usually cook more than required for what I am making, and sometimes cook a pot of barley just to have it in the fridge for another time. This is one such recipes. I had pre-cooked barley... View Article
August 6, 2012
I love summer rituals and have established a few here at our summer home in Kelowna. An early morning walk through the sleepy neighbourhood, a soy latte on the patio at The Roasted Bean on Cooks Rd (best lattés) or “opening” and “closing” the patio morning and night. We have food rituals as well. A slow breakfast at home on the patio, or lakeside breakfast ritual at the one-of-a-kind Hotel Eldorado or on the patio at... View Article
