July 15, 2015

Diner en Blanc 2015

For the third year in a row hundreds of people all dressed in white converged on a secret location in the Okanagan, flash mob style, setting long tables on the grass, covering them with white linen, white dishes and elaborate white center pieces, then wave white linen napkins in the air to signify the beginning of this special event that takes place in many countries around the world around the same time. Diner en Blanc... View Article

July 14, 2015

Red currants buttermilk cake with olive oil

Bundt cakes are one of the easiest cakes to make. No mixer, not too many dishes, never fail recipes. If you find one recipe that works for you, you can improvise with the ingredients as long as you keep the basic proportions of wet and dry ingredients constant. Red currants make a sweet and tangy cake that you can serve on its own or with a little whipped cream or ice cream. The red currants... View Article

July 13, 2015

Rice, lentils and noodles bowl – vegan

This recipe is for the rice, lentil and noodle bowl that I served with the Israeli tomato-cucumber salad the other day. Together with grilled corn on the cob and French baguette it made a lovely summer patio dinner, all plant based. I also made Rosemary lemonade to cool us down, love lemonade in the summer. I cooked everything together pilaf style so the rice, lentils and noodles are ready at the same time. If you... View Article

July 12, 2015

Road trip Days 10 – 12: great find in Port Orford, dune buggying on the Oregon Dunes, Oregon’s Willamette Valley wineries

So you think there was no adventure left in me after 10 days on the road? think again. On our way down the Oregon coast we passed through the vast Oregon sand dunes. We had no time to stop there on the way down but there was no way in Timbaktoo that I was going to pass up driving a dune buggy on the magnificent dunes. We planned our drive back with another stop in Oregon... View Article

July 11, 2015

Israeli salad

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 7, 2015

Road trip day 9 – Sonoma olive oil

Before we left San Francisco we considered going for breakfast at Foreign Cinema, a chic industrial style restaurant occupying a covered courtyard in the Mission, known for its food and the foreign films projected onto the walls. It was on several of the lists for best breakfast in San Fran. After a short debate (between a foodie and a non-foodie, it would have been a no-brainer between two foodies) we figured that it would take... View Article

July 6, 2015

Mini buttermilk pancakes with berries

My daughter Jade was home this weekend and it was fun spending time around the table visiting and enjoying her company. Summer breakfast on the patio is special, especially when you can linger without a major agenda calling you away. Pancakes were always a weekend breakfast treat when the kids where growing up and I try to keep the momentum going when they visit now. I made these simple buttermilk pancakes with no frills and... View Article

July 5, 2015

Potato vegetables salad

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 30, 2015

Road trip day 8 – Carmel by the sea, roadside grilled artichokes and Delfina Pizzeria in San Francisco

After spending three nights at our destination we packed the hummer yet again (getting a little tired of it as we are accumulating more “stuff”) and left Paso Robles to begin our return journey home. We wanted to make it to San Francisco and spend a couple of nights there but I had a few stops in mind along the way. We did not want to repeat the nerve wrecking drive along winding cliffside Ca-1... View Article

June 28, 2015

Sunshine Farm Earth to Table Dinner

You know when something is special. Last year we attended a tomato festival at Sunshine Farm and I was completely taken by the people, the place, the idea. The Alcocks are special. Their background includes restaurants, fishery and farming and with this last venture they incorporated all that they believe in, including good food, mostly heirloom varieties, grown on their farm with integrity and sustainability. Sunshine farm was established by the Alcocks (Jon and Sher)... View Article

June 25, 2015

Lemon curd tarts with berries

These tarts just sing of summer flavours: buttery pastry, tangy lemon and sweet berries. You can make them in individual tart moulds or in a larger one and cut in wedges, either way they are a lovely, light and summary dessert. I have already posted the recipe for the lemon curd so I will not repeat it here but will provide instructions for making and baking the pastry and assembling the tarts. When I make... View Article

June 24, 2015

Road trip to California – Days 6-7 – Paso Robles and Hearst Castle

Our road trip destination Paso Robles in central California is a charming town situated in zinfandel country among vineyards, lakes, historic missions and beaches nearby. There are more than 200 wineries in the Paso Robles AVA and some 50K acres under vine. We were there to attend family events so we did not explore the area as much as I would have liked and left many things to explore on another visit. The events were... View Article