June 23, 2015

When life hands you a lemon make LEMON CURD

I can squeeze a wedge of lemon on just about anything. It adds life to soups, salads, dressings, vegetables and fruits, not to mention water, sparkling or still. If you squeeze more juice than required for a recipe  store the extra in a small container in the freezer so you can have it just when you need it. Don’t forget to also freeze lemon zest. Never squeeze a lemon without zesting it first. I wrap... View Article

June 21, 2015

Road Trip Day 5 – California pacific coast highway 1 (Ca 1), not for the faint of heart

After a brief stay in San Francisco we left in the morning heading south towards our destination in central California. For this part of the trip we wanted to stay off Route 101 as it veers inland south of San Francisco and instead decided to take Ca. 1, a state road winding along the coast passing through smaller communities and providing spectacular ocean views. I had driven through some of it before and had a... View Article

June 16, 2015

Corn fritters with roasted red pepper mayo

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 15, 2015

Road Trip Days 3 And 4 – Oregon Coast and Northern California

One pattern that has emerged on this road trip is slow mornings. Rather then get up and rush to leave, we prefer to take our time, explore the local area and enjoy a leisurely breakfast before checking out of the hotel and setting on the new daily adventure. This morning at Yachatz we went out for a walk with wind and early morning fog making the scene ever more dramatic. In native language Yachatz means... View Article

June 13, 2015

Grilled corn salad with roasted red pepper

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 12, 2015

Road trip Oregon Coast – Day 2

  We woke up at our charming Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria at 6:00 am.  I left the windows slightly open at night so I could hear the rushing river below and that was the first sound I heard when I woke up. We decided to walk along the boardwalk into town for breakfast, a short 7k return from the hotel. I had a place in mind for breakfast, Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe, known... View Article

June 11, 2015

Rhubarb and raspberry tarts with meringue

It’s raining here today as I am writing this, as it did yesterday and as it will tomorrow according to forecast (remember, this is a pre-scheduled post). A perfect day for staying home and cooking. I have always loved rain, the sound of it dripping, the fresh fragrances it coaxes out of the earth and plants, the silvery colour palette of sky and clouds and how everything is more vibrant against the silvery tones. The... View Article

June 10, 2015

Road trip – Oregon Coast Day 1

We have been talking about this road trip to Central California for some time. If you knew me you’d know that I am a planner. I research destinations, select locations, check out routes, book hotels and investigate interesting places to eat. My husband G is just the opposite. He doesn’t like to plan and would much rather wing it (“what’s there to plan, we get in the car and go”). Not that there is anything... View Article

June 9, 2015

Watermelon, cucumber, raspberry and feta salad with mint and balsamic glaze

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

June 7, 2015

Fennel-Lemon Risotto with Parmesan

Risotto is one of the most luxurious and flavourful dishes to come out of northern Italy. It’s easy to prepare and combines well with all kinds of seasonal vegetables and flavours. I posted a number of risotto recipes on the blog before and you can always exchange ingredients as long as you follow the basic simple method of cooking the rice. There are a few considerations when cooking a risotto: What rice to use? Oil or... View Article

June 7, 2015

Potatoes and broccolini Sauté

Here is a simple dish to make with either baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes. I steam them first and then sauté in olive oil. I add the broccolini towards the end of the cooking so they finish cooking together. You could cook the broccolin i sep[arately and combine them at the end if you wish. If you don’t have broccolini you could use red pepper or broccoli instead. There are two camps in culinary circles... View Article

June 4, 2015

Quick Microwave Molten Chocolate Cake in a Cup/Mug – it works

I saw this microwave molten chocolate cake in a mug online and was intrigued by it. The recipe on these sites is identical so I am not sure where the original comes from. I made it once and had to tweak it just a bit the second time. To bake this in one cup use a 16 oz cup with a wide mouth. Note that this produced a rather large serving so unless you are really... View Article