June 12, 2014

Asparagus Soup with Sorrel and Goat Cheese Creme Fraiche

In my last post about Joy Road catering alfresco dinner in the vineyard I promised to publish this asparagus soup recipe and here it is. This soup has been in my repertoire for a long time in a few variations (see here). I make it most often in the spring when local asparagus is fresh and full of flavour. Sometimes I use the potatoes to thicken it up, sometimes I just use loads of asparagus... View Article

June 11, 2014

Celebrating Asparagus with Joy Road Catering Alfresco Dinner at God’s Mountain Estate

Dana Ewart of Joy Road catering is ringing a dinner bell. She is summoning guests scattered around the garden sipping Blue Mountain Brut to the table. Joy Road Catering, a unique local catering company with an expanding reach is owned and run by the lovely young duo of Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith. Both Dana and Cameron are trained under some of the best chefs in Toronto. After meeting in culinary school, working at top... View Article

June 6, 2014

Floating Island (Ile Flottante)

This is a classic French dessert that I try to never miss when I am in France. You find it anywhere, high end, casual, family restaurants, it’s part of the French culinary vocabulary. It looks complicated but in fact is quite easy to prepare and the nice thing is that you can prepare it in advance and assemble at serving time. This dessert is made with a meringue that you cook in barely simmering water... View Article

June 4, 2014

Roasted Beet Salad with Eggs and Dill

Do you avoid cooking beets because of the leaking colour and the long cooking time? Granted, it can be a messy job but with your hands protected with thin kitchen gloves it shouldn’t be too bad and if you use fresh beets they cook in no time, really. You can use larger beets or baby ones, red, yellow or candy beets. They are all gorgeous and make a beautiful dish for the eye and the... View Article

June 3, 2014

Smoked salmon and cucumber salad spoon appies

I have posted a similar item before but made a couple of changes so here it is again. We had a group of friends over and I usually like to offer some appies with a glass of wine before dinner. It’s an ice breaker for people who may be new to each other, providing an informal opportunity to chat and get to know one another before we sit down at the table for dinner. It... View Article

June 2, 2014

Roasted rainbow carrots and roasted mini rainbow peppers

Roasting vegetables brings out the sweetness in them by caramelizing the natural sugars they contain. Roasting young and delicate spring vegetables is quick and with these little carrots it only takes minutes to prepare. I found the organic baby carrot in rainbow colours the other day, tops still attached indicating their freshness. I bought a bunch and roasted them simply with a little olive oil and a handful of thyme scattered on top. Spring vegetables... View Article

May 29, 2014

Spring gnocchi with asparagus and peas

I haven’t written about gnocchi for while and need to correct that right now. I sometimes make my own gnocchi and you can find the method for making it described in previous posts here and here. I have also posted a couple of delicious recipe a while back: one for gnocchi with sage butter and parmesan and the other for a delicious sweet potato gnocchi with corn and cream. I have to make that one again... View Article

May 29, 2014

Oatmeal with blueberry compote, hazelnuts and cappuccino foam and winery tapas dining in the Okanagan

I go to great length to have oatmeal for breakfast when we travel and it’s a standard breakfast when we are at home. Oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring, to me it isn’t in any event. There are different styles of oatmeal, depending on how they are cut and processed. Instant is out of the question and quick cooking is close second on the never never list. My favourite cuts are the old fashion and... View Article

May 22, 2014

Liberated Muffin tops, anyone? Banana-coconut-raspberries and a bonus muffin recipe

After the Seinfeld muffin top episode  I believe an entire industry developed from this idea. Muffin top pans popped up in kitchen shops and bakeries begun to offer this muffin alternative to anticipating muffin aficionados. I jumped on the bandwagon and bought a muffin top baking sheet and I have been totally in on the muffin top “movement”. I love the tops of the muffins. The bottom part is always tangled in the muffin cup and is... View Article

May 21, 2014

Free Form Trifle

Cooking mostly for two I find that I stay away from desserts that require a whole cake or a pan full of this or that. If I make a dessert I look for something that I can prepare with only 2 or 4 servings. No need for desserts lingering in my kitchen for too long and in any event I am sure I would want to make something new. This “deconstructed” or free form trifle... View Article

May 20, 2014

Egg, potato and goat cheese salad in butter lettuce cups

It is hard to drag me away from the kitchen this time of year. I have so much fun cooking and photographing the foods. Of course I have to squeeze “life” in there and I have a long list of other pursuits that interest me but I must say that the creative element of cooking, styling, photographing food and sharing it on this blog gives me a lot of pleasure. This week I have been... View Article

May 19, 2014

Radish and chive flowers on baguette

I feel French today. It’s because of the radishes. They do it every time. One of the simple treasures of French food is the way they serve crisp radishes with butter and coarse salt alongside chunks of crusty French baguette. Oh so good and so very French. I adopted this French custom a long time ago when I heard about it from Jacques Pepin in one of his classes in Calgary. Recently I came across... View Article