August 12, 2015
One of the local organic farms here grow lovely baby artichokes and whenever I go there I clean up their daily harvest of these little gems. Today I thought I’d cook them to a golden crispiness in olive oil, although I forgot about grilling them, that would have been good as well. So many options, so little time. Trimming a full grown artichoke is a bit of an undertaking but well worth it. The little... View Article
August 9, 2015
This summer I have made so many potato salads you’d think it’s the only thing we eat here. Well, almost, but not quite. I usually add a couple of other vegetables or grains or legumes to make it a dinner. We often eat outside on the patio in my outdoor kitchen, surrounded by hydrangeas, lavender and lilacs and a whole bunch of herbs. I don’t mind winter but I love summer and since the season... View Article
August 6, 2015
Cooking is an aesthetic experience. Before I even start to cook I may browse through beautiful food images in books and magazine and get inspired by an image, a colour, a combination of ingredients, a table setting. It’s already beautiful. Then I landscape the countertop with the cooking ingredients: colourful vegetables, fresh herbs, exotic spices, crusty bread, beautiful bottles of oil. The cooking itself is also aesthetic: flames rising to touch food on the grill,... View Article
August 5, 2015
Roasted garlic is useful in the kitchen and very easy to make. Roasting makes the garlic mild and slightly sweet and the texture becomes creamy and spreadable. Use it to: Spread on a pizza before piling other ingredients Fold into mashed potatoes Add to pasta Add to sauces Add to soups Serve as a spread with crostini Make roasted garlic oil Add wherever a mild garlic flavour is desired Keep in mind it is... View Article
August 3, 2015
Summer in the Okanagan is in full swing and of course tomatoes are part of it. Little heirloom cherry tomatoes are available at the local organic vegetable stands and make their way to my kitchen and the various dishes I cook. Pasta with cherry tomatoes, tomato salads, pizza and many more dishes have been fun to make and serve in the past few weeks. Today I had a small basket of green, black, red, orange... View Article
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 21, 2015
Here is a quick and simple pasta recipe that I make with fresh market vegetables. This time zucchini and a sweet red pepper combine with short pasta to make a light dish that can be served warm or at room temperature as a summer meal on the patio. A good baguette, a drizzle of olive oil and crisp green salad with a simple vinaigrette is all you need to go with it, if anything at... View Article
July 18, 2015
Garlic scape is a new item in my kitchen. Somehow it escaped the range of my rather extensive vegetable repertoire and I have never cooked with it before. My friend Jeannette brought them to my attention last year after she was invited to a garlic farm and urged by the farmer to pick as many garlic scapes as she could. She ended up making garlic scape pesto and brought over a couple of jars filled... 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 16, 2015
Corn fritters make a lovely change of pace at lunch or dinner, and they can be served as an appetizer with the mayo as a dipping sauce. I made the fritters batter in the food processor, pulsing everything a few times so the fritters still retain texture. Cook them in a skillet on medium heat, to allow them to cook through and the outside to become golden. Too high heat may cook the outside fast... 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
