December 20, 2016
So my fridge is starting to look better with a few things in there ready to be pulled out and used in various dishes. This roasted tomatillos sauce known as salsa verde (green sauce) is a useful one to have and goes particularly well with chilaquiles that I tend to make here regularly. I get the tomatillos at a market that sets up in our resort village twice a week with fresh fruits and vegetables... View Article
December 15, 2016
If you have been to Mexico, and I am sure you have, you know how important pickles are to the layers of flavours in this simple yet complex cuisine. Almost every dish is accompanied by some pickles, be it the bright and colourful pickled red onion, mildly spicy jalapenos, pickled radishes or pickled fruits. The most commonly seen are the pickled red onions that go so well with the variety of seafood so abundant in... View Article
December 12, 2016
We landed at Cancun airport a week ago after a short and reasonably comfortable Westjet flight from Toronto. We stepped outside into the colourful vegetation and fragrant air of the Mexican Caribbean and felt immediately at home in the familiar surroundings. Even my limited Spanish held up for the brief conversations along the way. Next we had to endure the usual ordeal of car rental, having to do with mandatory insurance that can quadruple the... 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
December 1, 2016
Making beet soup seems like a production but with a food processor it’s not that bad. Put on thin kitchen gloves to protect your hands from getting stained red and go for it. The results are worth it. I have some beet soup memories: a chilled beet soup with yogurt at the Dan hotel in Caesarea years ago, seated by the pool, my baby son in a stroller beside me; Beet soup with fried potatoes... View Article
November 27, 2016
Tagine, is a Moroccan stew named after the unique pot in which it is cooked. Traditional tagines were made of unglazed pottery and comprised of a shallow base bowl with raised edges and a cone shaped lid that tappers at the top (see image below) and fits tightly inside the bowl. The shape of the lid is designed to keep the condensation of steam as the food cooks and return it to the food below,... View Article
November 23, 2016
Rice pilaf is an easy and flavourful dish to make for a side course or, for us, a main. Classic pilaf is made by sauteeing the aromatics (onion, garlic and vegetables) in butter or oil, adding the spices then adding the rice and toasting it in the skillet until it’s coated with the oil before adding the cooking liquid and finishing the cooking. I have a shortcut for you to make with an already cooked... View Article
November 11, 2016
Usually making lasagna is a process and you end up with more than you need, especially when you cook for only 2 people. When the “deconstructed” movement in food came about it simplified a few versions of traditional foods, and lasagna was the perfect candidate. To make a simplified lasagna for two, or even just one, you can make it on the plate you serve it in by free-form layering of cooked pasta sheets and... View Article
November 8, 2016
I love fall and its gorgeous colours and try to bring them into the kitchen and onto the plate. The golds, reds and greens of beautiful pumpkins and winter squashes are regular visitors here. Roasted, baked, made into soups, added to salads, used in pancakes, waffles or muffins, I don’t think a day does by without a touch of one pumkin or another in what we eat at home. The leftover roasted squash from the... View Article
November 7, 2016
This is winter squash season and piles of butternut, acorn, delicata, buttercup and more are piled high on the stands at the markets. I do my share to support local producers and buy a lot of them. They can sit on the counter for a while as part of the kitchen scene, bringing in a seasonal element and beautiful shapes and colour to your home. But of course they are meant to be cooked. The... 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
