September 2, 2014

Flatbread with Roasted Peppers and Goat Cheese

Pizza and flatbreads are nice to make any time of the year. With summer entertaining and perhaps casual foods on the menu, here is a flatbread recipe that can be used to serve as an appetizers with a glass of wine when friends come over. I make the dough in a food processor and bake it in very hot oven. It makes a chewy and crisp crust that is a nice base for many toppings.... View Article

September 1, 2014

Yellow Zucchini Pickles

I am not one for canning and freezing foods in a serious way. I like the idea, it sounds romantic, but for me it doesn’t work. I have no room to store the foods and in any event I prefer to eat seasonally. If peaches and green beans season is over I move on to the next fruits and vegetables whose time has come. I do however like to make a few jars of pickled... View Article

August 31, 2014

Salmorejo – the gazpacho from Andalucia

Traveling is an education. It’s more than visiting historical sites and driving through beautiful new landscapes. It challenges our assumptions and provides context for our education. When we engage with the world around us we broaden our horizon, become culturally competent. If we are receptive, we may shed preconceived ideas about cultures and people and open our minds to other perspectives. Visiting foreign lands used to be an integral part of a person’s education and... View Article

August 31, 2014

Grilled peaches with honey yogurt and basil

We have had some magnificent peaches here in the Okanagan Valley this year. Peach orchards are interspersed among the more than 200 vineyards and cherry orchards and we even have a community called Peachland nearby. Although I didn’t get to pick my own fruits off the trees (must put that on my list for next summer), I was able to purchase them throughout the season directly from the growers, usually picked that morning, still warm... View Article

August 30, 2014

Read this: Summer 2014 and Rosemary Lemonade Recipe

Every now and then I post links to articles that I find interesting, this time with a bonus recipe for an herb lemonade. See below. The Atlantic: The Importance of eating together The Huffington Post The Best Cookbooks written by bloggers: from Manger by Mimi Thorisson to Not Without Salt by Ashley Rodriguez book Date Night In (about dating her husband, kinda cute). Dinner, a love story:   How To Be a Good Dinner Guest: 41 Rules. Remodelista: Picnic?... View Article

August 30, 2014

Tisane – herb tea from your garden, and ordering herb tea in Spain

I was told off (gently) by the waiters in Spain. While traveling around this beautiful country for a couple of months recently I needed to get off the caffein train. We ate out a lot and lingered in cafes every day and the caffein was starting to get to me. I thought I’d change to herbal tea. Easy? not so fast. I annoyed many waiters in the beginning trying to order “camomile tea”. I soon... View Article

August 27, 2014

Slow roasted tomatoes salad with buffalo mozzarella

The tomatoes came in late this year, it was well into August before we saw the first ripe local red beauties. Since they showed up though I have been serving them practically every day in some form or another. I have made gazpacho, salmorejo, bruschetta, tomato salads, tomato sandwiches, pizza, tomato soups, fresh tomato sauce for pasta as well as sliced them into anything else I cook, from green beans to zucchini to fresh beans... View Article

August 14, 2014

Pasta salad

Some beautiful food came and went through my kitchen this week but unfortunately I did not manage to photograph it. I made the dishes quickly and served them to a crowd (lots of house guests this week) so there was no time for me to “do my thing” with the photography. Lentils with roasted peppers and feta, roasted vegetables, fresh grilled corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer pasta, peaches and cream, summer cakes all came and left... View Article

August 9, 2014

Apricot Lavender cake

I finally got around to take my Kelowna foodie “crew” for an evening sail on the beautiful Okanagan lake. On the short list were Val of More than Burnt Toast, Laura of The Culinary Travel Guide and Barbara (not Barb) of the good life anytime (really, not a blog). We piled onto Captain G’s beloved Isa Lei and headed south in search of a calm cove to drop anchor and go in for an evening... View Article

August 5, 2014

Fried Potato Cakes

Potato cakes, latkes, potato pancakes, all describe the same thing: potatoes mixed with onion, eggs and flour, formed into cakes and fried in a little oil. I am kind of addicted to these things. When I go to the market in Calgary there is no way I am not going to stop at Margarita’s for their fabulous latkes with sour cream as well as take some home for “later” which often ends up much sooner than... View Article

August 4, 2014

Lavender Cake

The Okanagan is prime location for growing many things, lavender included. There is lavender everywhere you look and it grows beautifully on our rooftop patio as well. It is a pretty, fragrant herb and I love getting a whiff of its scent as I reach over it to work in my garden. Lavender fields are a sight to behold. If you have ever seen them in France you know what I mean. I love the... View Article

August 3, 2014

Painted Rock Estate Winery alfresco summer celebration with Joy Road Catering

John Skinner stood me up before we even met:). Laura (the culinary travel guide) and I attended the chic Visa Infinite dinner a couple of weeks ago and the name tag for the seat  across from me and beside Laura was John’s and he was a no show. Fortunately he sent a stand in, Painted Rock 2011 Red Icon, who proved to be spectacular company that evening, so we forgive John for his absence. I... View Article