August 10, 2016
Corn in Kelowna is wonderful. We get it directly from the growers, freshly picked that morning and still cool from early morning breeze. The season for corn is fairly short so we try to take advantage of it and include corn in much of our summer cooking. Corn should be cooked soon after you buy it as it tends to convert its sugars into starch and loses the crisp texture and sweet flavour quickly. I... View Article
October 18, 2014
I am not very good at using the freezer but my fridge always has some cooked items ready to be incorporated into my daily adventure in the kitchen. Any time you’d look in my fridge you are likely to find a container with cooked grain or legumes, homemade dressings and sauces in little jars, store bought sauces that I like, creme fraiche etc. These items make it easy to quickly assemble a lunch or dinner... View Article
July 20, 2014
Every now and then I make pastry dough, both sweet (with sugar) and savoury (without sugar) and keep them in the fridge for a few days so when I get in the mood to bake tarts I have the dough all ready to go. I make a full recipe but cut the ball of dough in half and wrap each individually before refrigerating. This way I can make only 4 tarts at a time if... View Article
May 4, 2014
People seem to be afraid of artichokes. They worry about how to eat them, how to trim them, how to cook them. Really, they are not any more difficult to handle and cook than anything else. Yes, it’s more work than, say, peeling a carrot, but it’s completely doable and so worth it. Needless to say I love artichokes and cook them in season (spring) whenever I can. I even wrote a post about artichokes... View Article
May 3, 2014
There is an art to travelling as a vegetarian. You would think that with the abundance of gorgeous produce in the markets, especially around the Mediterranean, it would be easy to find vegetarian dishes on restaurants menus but somehow it is not. Now, I am interested in food and culture and certainly will try other things even if they are not vegetarian, especially the local and traditional. I am certainly not going to travel without experiencing... View Article
April 30, 2014
This week I seem to be making foods that I don’t usually prepare. It’s nice to get out of the routine and make something new. Take this recipe. I use a lot of asparagus in the spring but tend to cook it simply, either steam, cook it in a skillet, roast in the oven or cook on a grill. As all recipes seem to happen, I took the asparagus out of the fridge to grill... View Article
April 22, 2014
Looking outside through the expanse of windows overlooking the Okanagan in the morning is always reflective. It’s foggy and overcast at the moment, but I suspect the fog will lift as the sun breaks through in a few hours. I don’t mind foggy days, there is a mystery and romance to the silvery tones and staying home seems ever more enticing. The fireplace is warming up the room and a cup of hot camomile tea... View Article
April 21, 2014
This is adapted from a recipe I posted a couple of year ago in the spring when fresh peas were out. Fresh peas are not out yet here in the 49 parallel but I think this recipe is perfectly good with frozen peas and this time I added lima beans to the mix (also frozen). It is so simple and delicious that I wanted to remind you of the dish. Peas by themselves are wonderful... View Article
March 20, 2014
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
March 17, 2014
It has taken me a long time to make the adjustment from cooking for five to cooking for two. I had to completely change my thinking and uncharacteristically begin to “think small” in the kitchen. Lasagna is one of those dishes that needed an adjustment. The large pans of lasagna no longer made sense for just the two of us. I am not a big fan of freezing things. Once it’s in the freezer it... View Article
March 16, 2014
It’s good to be back in my kitchen. I am slowly adjusting to being back and “having” to cook for the two of us after three months of restaurants, markets, cafes, tapas bars, cooking classes and foodie tours. I am going to cook some of the foods we experienced on the trip but for now I want to cook “my” kind of food, simple and vegetarian. My daily style of cooking at home is focused... View Article
March 13, 2014
So it’s spring and I am cooking with asparagus again. I am posting this together with the white asparagus recipe in another post in celebration of a new season and a new crop of veggies. This is what’s nice about cooking a vegetable-centred cuisine, there is always something new and exciting. Asparagus is one of my favourite vegetables, green or white. I consider it a delicacy when used in season and as soon as the... View Article
