Now we are talking, leave it to the Italians to make a salad with bread in it. So authentic you’d think you are in Tuscany. Known as panzanella this salad was created in Italy traditionally to use up day old bread (real cooks never waste any food). I believe that they don’t even grill the bread as it is crisp already from being a day or so old. I tend to grill or sauté the... View Article
One of the thing that made its way back from Seattle with me is a lovely loaf of Yukon Gold Potato bread from the Three Girls Bakery at Pike Place Market (post about that trip coming up). The bread was delicious with just unsalted butter but I wanted to grill it so I made this tomato-basil panini with fresh ricotta in a grill pan on top of the stove and served it with a little... View Article
Still on the risotto adventure, although intermittent postings. Check out basic risotto here. Essentially the same as the basic risotto recipe but with a little more lemon juice and pine nuts added. Simple, nice and refreshing. Use this recipe to build on flavours by adding seasonal vegetables and herbs that you like. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 small onion, or 1 shallot, minced 1 cup Arborio rice 1/3 cup white wine 4 cups stock (chicken... View Article
I love coming home from vacation. We live in the country, in a home we named Trail’s End. It’s an artistic house, nestled in the trees at the end of a long trail winding through the poplar forest and ending at the front door of our house (hence the double entendre name). We have lived here a long time and my identity is woven into and has become part of this house. Trail’s End is... View Article
I don’t know about you but I am always in the mood for a good potato salad. It is easy to make and hardly requires a recipe but most people get into the routine of making it one way and leave it at that. Why? Potatoes are relatively neutral and can be combined with so many different ingredients and dressings. It’s fun (isn’t it?) to try new ways of making the familiar and much loved... View Article
With fresh peas starting to show up at the market I’d like to start using them as much as I can. Fresh peas that you shell yourself are a wonderful spring and summer treat. When I seat with a bowl of peas in the pods, shelling them for a dish I am about to make, sampling a few irresistible ones every now and then, I feel connected to past generations of women sitting on the... View Article
A light yet substantial salad to serve for lunch or take along on a picnic or a spring boat ride. Quinoa cooks very quickly so you can whip up this salad in no time (I like to have cooked quinoa in the fridge, it keeps for a couple of days and can be used for a salad). To roast the yellow cauliflower just separate into small florets, toss with some olive oil and roast on... View Article
Ingredients: Red leaf lettuce Romaine lettuce, inner leaves only Pea shoots Watercress Sorrel Mint Flat leaf parsley Cilantro Fresh dill Basil Chives Radishes Shaved parmesan Directions: Gather a handful of each of the ingredients and toss gently in a bowl. Drizzle lightly with a good vinaigrette (see champagne vinaigrette below) and toss to coat the leaves but not drench them in the dressing. Sprinkle with a special salt (Fleur de Sel, Maldon salt, Sicilian Sea... View Article
Our friend Randy just came back from Germany with a few pictures of spring restaurant dishes that he shared with me. One was a fabulous looking white radish salad served with a couple of slices of crusty country bread that looked inspiring. Of course I immediately headed to the market here in Kelowna and my fridge right now looks like a radish patch. I bought radishes of all kinds and colours, lots of them, including... View Article
Here is the third instalment in the risotto “series”. See Basic Risotto Here and Spring Asparagus Risotto here. I decided to break the “series” up a bit so it’s not all risotto because I have been cooking so many other fun things and eager to share them on the blog. So, back to risotto. Once you have made a basic risotto, adding other ingredients to it can be fun and creative. Think about what is in... View Article
Cauliflower, just like the name suggests, is a large flower belonging to the cruciferous vegetable family (think broccoli, cabbage etc). The standard cauliflower is white, resulting from the flower being hidden by the leaves wrapped around it, preventing sunlight from reaching it and making it green through photosynthesis (photosynthesis produces green chlorophyl pigment making veggies green) . It also comes in orange, purple and green colours, the result of mutation. I use it mostly during... View Article
Have you joined the quinoa “club” yet? It seems that every now and then a new trend takes over the culinary world and everyone starts cooking it. Quinoa is one such phenomenon. Quinoa looks like a grain but in fact it is a seed passed on to us through the ancient Inca culture. It’s known as the super seed and its claim to fame is the fact that it is gluten free and protein rich. In... View Article
