July 23, 2015
Driving through Banff the other day we stopped for lunch at Nourish Bistro on Bear Street, known for their innovative vegetarian and vegan cuisine. We ordered three dishes between the two of us: fresh peas and coconut soup, 420 burger and a slaw with pickled asparagus garnish. The menu was not overly descriptive so I cannot tell you what each dish was made with other than describe what I saw. According to the menu the... View Article
July 11, 2015
A salad in Israel is a ritual. They have it with every meal, including breakfast but it is not necessarily the green leafy salad we are used to here (although they do have green leafy salads loaded with good stuff there as well). The traditional Israeli salad is made with ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, sweet red pepper and a sweet and pungent white onion and then you can add lots and lots of chopped flat... View Article
July 5, 2015
The local farm stands just opened this weekend and I enjoyed the first of the summer “market runs” that I am so good at:). The large farmers market has been open for a while but there still are more crafts than produce stalls over there. Hopefully the trend will reverse soon as produce ripens and is ready to be sold. I am sure that not everything I bought is local, but the quality was good... View Article
June 13, 2015
We don’t have local corn yet but the corn I found in one of the produce markets is very good, so I have been buying and serving it in various ways in the last few weeks. This salad was inspired by an image I saw in Bon Appetit a few weeks ago of a grilled corn salad made with half of the corn roasted, the other half raw. I made up my own recipe but... View Article
June 9, 2015
By the time you read this post I will be well on my way to Central California driving along the Oregon coast and Route 101and hopefully will write from the road. I scheduled a few recipes to intersperse between the travel posts (that I hope to write) because after all this is primarily a blog about cooking. The experiential travel is fun for me to write and hopefully fun for you to read. So while... View Article
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
May 21, 2015
I haven’t spent much time in the kitchen this week. I have discovered the Apex Trail leading up to the top of Knox Mountain and got completely hooked on the hike and the area and have been going there every day. I hope this enthusiasm continues through the summer and fall because it is such a good workout in a gorgeous setting with spectacular Okanagan views. I do pack a lunch, enjoy it on top... View Article
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
April 26, 2015
Grains and legumes form a large part of our every day food at home. They show up at breakfast, in soups, salads, main course and even desserts. This easy version of rice and beans is good with the addition of caramelized onion. The onion, slowly caramelize until it is golden and crisp in spots, is reminiscent of the classic middle east dish of rice and lentils called mujadara. I fold the caramelized onion into the... View Article
April 25, 2015
Not quite summer yet but these tomatoes were nice and sweet wherever they came from so I made a simple and naturally flavoured panzanella style salad. I am going to Italy, remember, so I am beginning to immerse myself in all things Italian. I kept it very simple letting the softness of the tomatoes and crunchy croutons play their part creating texture and the tangy juices of tomatoes mixed with the fruity olive oil and... View Article
April 20, 2015
Once spring and summer arrive we have potato salad on the menu often. I don’t make the traditional mayo based potato salad too often. The Italian and French salads, made with an olive oil and vinegar dressing, appeal to me more. I add other vegetables that are in season, like green beans, radishes, carrots, peas, whatever works with the potatoes. The other day I was looking at some food blogs and saw a beautiful image... View Article
April 9, 2015
I was at the bookstore yet again the other day going through, what else, the cookbook section. There are so many new cookbooks and they are beautiful and tempting. One book that caught my eye and came home with me had an unusual title: Faking It: how to cook delicious food without really trying, by Valli Little. Valli was born into a restauranteur-family in the UK and had her formal chef training at Le London Cordon... View Article
