March 22, 2020
Considering we are not running to the grocery store every day now it is good to have a few recipes of good food you can cook from staple panrty items and this soup is just such recipe. Made with beans, canned tomatoes and pasta, you can whip it up in no time and have a delicious and nourishing soup that for us means dinner. You can use canned beans or dried beans but dried beans... View Article
November 14, 2019
Here is a mushroom soup that I made with foraged hedgehog mushroom from Scott Moran @kelownaforager. These are special, fragrant variety that is similar to chanterelles but the underside does not have the normal gills or pores but rather soft hair or spine-like structure under the cap. I first tried them this summer and was quite taken by their perfume. It was quite amazing really, such prominent fragrance. I used them un different... View Article
November 13, 2019
Once fall arrives soup season begins in my kitchen. I make a soup in a large le Creuset pot and then store it in 2-3 mason jars in the fridge so it’s ready to warm up as I wish. Lentil soups are regulars here and I usually mix 2-3 types of lentils together to make it more interesting. Soup for me is second nature and I don ‘t need a recipe to make... View Article
May 5, 2018
Still cool enough here to enjoy a warm bowl of soup and mushroom soup is one of my favourites. You can use a variety of mushroom to add flavour. I like texture so I sauté a few additional mushrooms briefly in olive oil and use as garnish. For a creamy vegan version use cashew cream in the puréed soup or as garnish on top. If you use bay leaves don’t forget to remove them before... View Article
September 9, 2017
Tomatoes are ripe and juicy now and one fun thing to make with them is tomato water. Making tomato water became trendy a while back but I am slow to jump on the bandwagon. However, we had a flavour packed chilled tomato water soup at a recent multi course dinner at the #chefmeetsBCgrape that inspired me to make this soup now. To make tomato water you blend ripe, juicy tomatoes with basil, garlic, shallots and... View Article
May 20, 2017
The last trip to the market filled my fridge with all kinds of produce and this week I did pretty well with what I bought. I have cooked the foraged mushrooms from Scot Moran in a beautiful pasta dish made with home made tagliatelle, used the fingerling potatoes and various radishes in a summer potato salad and cooked the long red stalks of rhubarb, some to top a bowl of steel-cut oats in the morning... View Article
March 27, 2017
The last couple of weeks have been busy with food events and other local activities. First was the International women’s Day dinner organized by local chef Aman Dosanj. You can read about here. Next, our “foodie crew” attended a cooking class at Mission Hill Winery, the Tuscan-like sprawling estate on top of the hill overlooking the Okanagan lake. Recently,Vancouver Magazine declared the winery “the anchor piece of architecture in the entire Valley”, and for good reason.... View Article
March 19, 2017
Cooking with beans in Mexico is a different experience than cooking beans at home. Even the dry beans you buy at the local Mexican supermarket are more fresh and cook in no time. I still soak them in water for a few hours but this is only because old habits die hard. We have had a few bowls of black bean soup throughout the Yucatan over the last few years and they are quite delicious.... View Article
March 17, 2017
What and Why International Women’s Day was special this year in Kelowna. With the hashtag #BEBOLDFORCHANGE women around the world gathered to celebrate social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women by holding various events and raising money to better their communities and beyond. Here in Kelowna a limited number of lucky guests were treated to a memorable dinner to celebrate women and forge a better, more gender inclusive world. Fittingly, the proceeds from our... View Article
January 16, 2017
The weather down here on the Mayan Riviera has been unusually cooler, still in the 20s but a lot of warm tropical rain and clouds. Fittingly, soup was on the menu this week to go with a shredded green salad with citrus vinaigrette. Both were quite delicious so I thought I’d share them on the blog. Salad in the next post. I find that dried beans that I buy here cook much faster than the... View Article
December 1, 2016
Making beet soup seems like a production but with a food processor it’s not that bad. Put on thin kitchen gloves to protect your hands from getting stained red and go for it. The results are worth it. I have some beet soup memories: a chilled beet soup with yogurt at the Dan hotel in Caesarea years ago, seated by the pool, my baby son in a stroller beside me; Beet soup with fried potatoes... View Article
November 8, 2016
I love fall and its gorgeous colours and try to bring them into the kitchen and onto the plate. The golds, reds and greens of beautiful pumpkins and winter squashes are regular visitors here. Roasted, baked, made into soups, added to salads, used in pancakes, waffles or muffins, I don’t think a day does by without a touch of one pumkin or another in what we eat at home. The leftover roasted squash from the... View Article
