Mashed potatoes are NOT boring but anyone can use a lift every now and then. Here is a simple but delicious recipe for mashed potatoes to which I add kale, already cooked and chopped. To make it easy you can even use frozen chopped kale that you buy in bags all ready to go. I mentioned that I now no longer feel that everything has to be labour intensive and a few shortcuts on busy... View Article
Spring is still resisting but I decided to ignore it and pretend it’s here. Wherever spring vegetables come from this time of year, they are beginning to show up in the produce section of our local stores and I am all over them (if they look good). I am also in the middle of a difficult photography course, two, really, challenging myself to learn more. Sitting next to young (twenty somethin’) group of students is... View Article
I started a photography course that promises to be very good and a lot of work. When I registered for the two classes, part of a professional course in photography, I only thought of the 6 hours a week of class time but forgot about homework and assignments for each of the two classes, due every week. We’ll see how it goes, it sounds like more work than I bargained for but it’s a good... View Article
One thing I enjoy about blogging is the instant community it opens up for you. You become part of a global community of like-minded people who tend to like the same things you do: eat, cook, write, photograph and travel. Before leaving for Spain my friend Val of More than Burnt Toasts, whom I met through blogging, introduced me to Núria from Barcelona. Núria is a blogger and you can find her cooking, travelling and... View Article
I posted a free form lasagna recipe a short while ago but today made another one and thought it post-worthy. I used fresh lasagna sheets from our Valoroso Italian market and used prepared tomato sauce from Alba, Italy (Cascina San Cassiano, comes in a cute round jar). If you can’t find this one try Williams Sonoma pasta sauces, they are pretty good, or of course make your own. This lasagna has to be cooked in 375F... View Article
Do you cook mostly with recipes? I tend to make things up as I go and often improvise with whatever I have on hand that day. I usually start with one ingredient and then build the dish around it. I have had quinoa on my mind for a few days now and finally it got its turn in the kitchen. Quinoa cooks quickly and easily into a nice and fluffy pile of little grains that... View Article
My culinary “must do” list while traveling in Spain included a visit to a cava bodega in Penedes. Penedes is the Spanish Cava region in Catalunya, located just outside beautiful Barcelona, easily accessible by car or by train. Cava, a.k.a. Spanish Champagne, has been produced in this region since 1872 when a local wine maker produced the first sparkling wine made in the traditional champagne method. The wine was called Spanish champagne until fairly recently when... View Article
One of the foods on my “culinary must do” list while in Spain was eggplant fritters with honey. It is seemingly an unusual dish, I have never had it before and never really thought of serving a savoury eggplant with honey but it did sound good. I imagined it crispy on the outside, soft inside, a little savoury with a sweet honey drizzle, surely it would be delish. According to Claudia Roden (the Julia Child... View Article
Here is my third and last submission to the Canadian Lentil Recipe Challenge organized by Canadian Lentil. Lentils are a natural fit with my cooking as you can see from the several lentil recipes on my blog. Lentils are so versatile, I can make anything with them, from soup to salad to main course and even for breakfast. This recipe is for an appetizer dip or you can use it as a spread for sandwiches... View Article
Still in the process of submitting lentil recipes for the lentil recipe competition (why not?). This is a lovely vegetarian dinner dish that you can make with any vegetables that are seasonal and beautiful. With spring just around the corner we have beautiful asparagus in the stores now, some baby potatoes, snow peas and crisp radishes. I combined these with the rice and lentils and added sweet grapes and candied hazelnuts for a surprising layer... View Article
With winter lingering a little longer than I’d like and views of fog over the lake and snow on the mountains are what we see from our expansive windows up here, I am still in the mood for good hearty soups to serve with crusty bread and a crisp green salad for dinner. This lentil soup has been in my repertoire for a while and earned its respected position in my kitchen for its simplicity,... View Article
While I was travelling in Spain recently I was contacted by an olive oil expert and fellow blogger Judy Ridgway about writing a guest post for her blog. Judy is an international olive oil expert and for the past twenty years has worked with olive and olive oil producers in all of the European producing countries as well as emerging “new world” producers in California, Australia, South Africa and South America. Judy published a paper... View Article
