April 27, 2017

Quinoa confetti with feta, tahini yogurt and pistachio yogurt

I posted recipes for cauliflower “rice” before. It’s a useful method to add cauli to various dishes without the florets dominating the shape. Today I had a white and purple cauliflower and this dish evolved from it. Once I chopped and roasted both cauli and aded them to the cooked quinoa I needed more colour so into the processor went a few stems of broccolini, chopped into rice size pieces and roasted for a few... View Article

April 25, 2017

Carrot ribbons, orange and mint salad

The humble carrot plays center role in this colourful and fresh salad. I came across the recipe in Michel Richard’s book Happy in the Kitchen (foreword by Thomas Keller) and wanted to try it. Richard’s cuisine is remarkable in its sophistication and “simplicity”, using this word judiciously. Jaques Pepin calls his cuisine “wildly simple, always brilliant”. I have marked a few recipe to try and if they work I’ll post them here. For this salad Richard... View Article

April 23, 2017

Persian jewel rice

I recently bought “Persiana: Recipes from the middle east and beyond“, a book by Sabrina Ghayour, and so far I love what I tried. Persian cuisine is known for its rice dishes and one of the recipes that intrigued me was her Persian Bejeweled Rice (Morassa Polow), cooked differently than what I have seen before. Ghaour boils the rice in plenty of water for 8 minutes, then drains and rinses it. She then returns it... View Article

April 20, 2017

Preserved Lemons

Following the last post featuring the asparagus salad with preserved lemons I had a few inquiries about how to make preserved lemons. The process of preserving lemon is very simple and does not require cooking. Essentially you pile lemon wedges, coarse salt and lemon juice into a jar and let it sit for a month or so until they are ready. What kind of lemons My favourite lemons for this recipe are the small Meyer... View Article

April 19, 2017

Asparagus salad with preserved lemons

I am getting a little addicted to some of the food TV shows, particularly Master Chef Canada (home cooks) and now Top Chef All Star (professionally trained accomplished chefs). I have no idea how these people can cook like they do, with difficult ingredients and under such time pressure. I couldn’t boil water under these conditions. Apart from the entertainment value I watch the shows because I learn something and even if it is not... View Article

April 17, 2017

Raviolo al uovo, ricotta e carciofo (single raviolo with egg, ricotta and artichoke)

What is it? Raviolo al uovo is a single large raviolo filled with ricotta and containing a soft egg yolk that oozes out when you cut into it (“raviolo” is not a typo, in Italian “ravioli” is plural, “raviolo” is singular). You would serve one per person drizzled with butter, hollandaise, light tomato sauce or whatever else you think would go with it. Serve it on its own or with a little topping such as... View Article

April 16, 2017

Ravioli with ricotta, artichoke, hazelnuts and brown butter

Last week my daughter Jade was home with a couple of her friends and made fresh homemade pasta and roasted tomato sauce for dinner. We all joined the pasta party, rolling and cutting the dough to the dance tunes of Mambo Italiano and That’s Amore in the background. It was a memorable evening and put me in the mood for more fresh pasta. Today I set out to make ravioli with soft egg yolk inside, a unique... View Article

April 14, 2017

Saffron poached pears

The small Honey Belle pears are ideal for poaching and serving as a stylish little dessert that is easy to execute. I thought I’d use saffron threads in the poaching liquid to give them a pretty golden colour and a delicate saffron flavour and also add a warm tone to the sauce. You can poach the pears whole or cut in half. They cook quickly so be careful not to over cook them. Last time... View Article

April 12, 2017

Barley, roasted cauliflower and shitake warm salad

So I set out to make this recipe from my friend Colleen’s The Food Blog but somehow got distracted and ended up with the similar base ingredients but a different recipe. I’ll have to make Colleen’s recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook another time. I cooked the barley the day before, planning to do something with it but wasn’t sure what. Some of it went into a vegetable soup that is currently simmering on the back burner... View Article

April 8, 2017

Cupcake party: Vanilla cupcakes with pink vanilla frosting

I was looking at my cookbook collection to get inspired and saw a cupcake book by Martha Stewart that was hiding among many books in the dessert section. I pulled it out to take a look and immediately wanted to go into the kitchen and bake. The thing with cupcakes is that they need to look attractive. Piping nice and uniform designs with a piping bag is not my forte. I have taken cake decorating... View Article

April 3, 2017

Potato gnocchi with homemade tomato sauce

What’s the story with gnocchi? If you ask two Italians how to make gnocchi, you are likely to get three strongly held opinions. What kind of potato to use, bake or boil them, add an egg or never with an egg, all purpose flour, semolina, or “00”  flour, add salt or no salt and so it goes. You get the picture. Essentially, gnocchi are light and fluffy dumplings typical of northern Italy (dare I say?),... View Article

April 1, 2017

Mushroom,spinach and ricotta lasagna

So this morning I am off to begin a 30 day yoga challenge at Moksha Yoga across the street. What am I getting myself into? Can I even hold any of the yoga positions? I am better at hiking, walking, swimming and leisure biking occasionally (not to mention lunching) but my friend suggested we do it and I took her up on it. Granted, it’s good to surprise your body/muscles as they can get used... View Article