Chances are if you drop by there would be a soup simmering in a copper pot at the back of the stove in my kitchen, its fragrance wafting throughout the house. ‘Tis the season as they say. Fall is a perfect time for a bowl of warm, steamy soup. I love making soups and they make a lovely and satisfying simple meal at the end of the day with good bread and maybe a crisp... View Article
Chef Rod Butters and his business partner Audrey Surrao are doing it again. After the acclaimed four diamond Fresco and the subsequent and equally fabulous RauDZ Regional Table they have pooled their culinary vision together to create the new and exciting micro bar * bites. micro bar is a first of it’s kind in the Okanagan, bringing a New york and European style establishment to our local culinary scene. Trying to get into RauDZ and finding a line... View Article
Chocolate is always a good idea. Chocolate mousse is a classic, isn’t it? Everyone knows what it is and everyone probably tried it. Classic chocolate mousse is usually made with egg yolks and cream and maybe even espresso. It involves cooking the egg yolks over simmering water, beating the egg whites and combining everything with the melted chocolate. Too much work? Don’t want raw eggs in your mousse? Then his recipe is for you. It... View Article
Fall mornings are a fabulous thing. Who invented them? Morning hot chocolate on the patio is ever more enticing as we watch the fog lifts slowly off the lake to reveal the beautiful silver blue of early morning. Although we know it is coming, fall seems to arrive suddenly. One morning it’s summer, the next morning it’s fall. “Don’t remember summer even saying goodbye” says David Mitchel in Cloud Atlas. Suddenly the days are shorter and... View Article
Ease into fall baking with these lovely little cookies with a touch of cinnamon. Cut them into stars, hearts, rounds or other shapes. The dough is soft so you will have to work with a portion of it at a time, refrigerating the rest until ready to roll. I also suggest to roll it between two layers of parchment paper, the dough behaves nicely sandwich in the layers of parchment and you have less to... View Article
As I am rebuilding my cookbook collection I buy new books that have been recently published to replace old ones I can no longer find. With fall in the air I turn back to baking and have a few favourites I tend to go back to over and over. Last night I was up in the middle of the night, awakened by stormy winds that overturned chairs on the rooftop patio, blew away cushions and... View Article
I have already talked about the abundance of wild mushrooms at the market right now. This is the thing about seasonal cooking. The season is short and if you want to enjoy the bounty it means using the same ingredients in different ways for a while until…….. The King is dead long live the King….and new produce dominates the market stalls. I have featured wild mushrooms in Stuffed Zucchini, quesadillas and risotto and today in this gratin... View Article
Inspired by dinner at Xocolat – Posh Mexican Cuisine in Calgary, Alberta We had dinner in Calgary the other day at a fabulous restaurant serving Mexican food. Don’t jump into conclusions too fast. This is not the place to go for a quick taco and refried beans under a sombrero with a Mariachi band playing Besame Mucho in the corner. As it’s name suggests Xocolat Posh Mexican Cuisine serves traditional Mexican foods but with a modern high end flare. The result is gorgeous... View Article
Couscous is a useful grain, lending itself as a base to many vegetables and legumes or good on its own with tomatoes, herbs and lemony-garlicy dressing. Couscous has mediterranean origin, made from semolina, a product of cracked durum wheat. The type available here is mostly the instant couscous, grains that have been previously steamed and dried. You add the couscous to boiling water to which a little oil and salt have been added, then remove... View Article
Going to the farmers market now is very interesting. You can see, feel and smell the change in season. Crisp pears and apples are piled alongside late summer fragrant melons, ripe tomatoes and white turnips. The farmers are beginning to anticipate the first frost that will shut down their farm operations for the season. Wild purslane The weekend ritual of going to the farmers market will end in just a few short weeks. The upside,... View Article
I think of risotto as an all season dish. It’s beautiful in the spring with just picked fresh peas or asparagus, in the summer with summer squash, spinach and tomatoes, fall risotto with mushrooms and even pears, and winter risotto with winter squashes of various kinds. I also think of it as a “carrier” of flavour to a certain extent, taking on the flavours imparted by the stock, vegetables and herbs you cook it with.... View Article
Mexican food has been part of my repertoire for a long time. I enjoy the earthy flavours, simplicity, colours and aromas of this cuisine. I am just now replacing some of the Mexican cookbooks that I had before, and already have a few books by the incomparable Diana Kennedy (the Grand Dame of Mexican Cuisine), the modern and innovative Rick Bayless of the Fronterra fame and a few other books for information and inspiration. Diana Kennedy,... View Article
