September 8, 2012
Whenever I make these potatoes (which is quite often), my guests love them and ask how I make them. It is an embarrassingly simple recipe but in the spirit of full disclosure, here is how I do it. The potatoes in the image are a German variety called Sieglinda butter Potatoes that I get from Little Church Organics in Kelowna (see post about Kelowna for Foodies). They are so delicious and flavourful that I wish they... View Article
September 6, 2012
Although I cook pasta all year round I find that I tend to cook it more frequently in the fall and winter seasons. Not that I think of pasta as winter food but in the summer I like to take full advantage of the beautiful fresh vegetables that you find at the markets and finding myself cooking with a variety of summer potatoes for the starch component of dinner. We are now nearing the end... View Article
August 30, 2012
I saw a couple of sprout salad recipes recently (see below) and had sprouts on my mind for a while now. Sprouts are mostly thought of as something to add to a salad or a sandwich and rarely get to play the main role. Well, here is their chance at the limelight. I bought a bunch of different sprouts at Planet Organic the other day and decided to give them a chance. They had mixed... View Article
August 28, 2012
Sometimes vegetables are so nice and tender that they really do not require any cooking at all. In the summer I like making a few dishes that can be enjoyed in the raw (I mean the veggies, relax), just tossed with a dressing or offered with a dip. Cauliflower, when fresh and tender, is one of those vegetables. The markets have been featuring small heads of coloured cauliflower in orange, purple and white and I... View Article
August 26, 2012
I never liked the word vegan when it comes to nutrition . Vegan refers to animal-product-free foods, but it doesn’t mean anything in terms of health. Coke and potato chips are vegan, if you get my (borrowed from Dr. McDougall) point. I won’t go into a plant based food sermon here but may in the future. In the meantime, here is a waffles recipe made without eggs, butter or oil and served with fresh peach... View Article
August 26, 2012
Have you jumped on the quinoa bandwagon yet? It seems that every now and then a new trend takes over the culinary world and everyone starts cooking it. 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 our protein crazed society... View Article
August 23, 2012
I bought a large bag of grated carrots from the market the other day. It seemed easy and I immediately thought of making a carrot salad with them. Carrot salad is usually associated with Northern African cuisine and features middle east spices like cumin. There are a couple of good recipes for Moroccan carrot salad you can check out at Epicurious as well as in the fabulous cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, the famed London chef... View Article
August 13, 2012
Usually green and yellow beans rule the markets around here in the summer but for some reason they are harder to find this year. I wonder why. What we have in abundance though are the summer squashes of all kinds. I have taken a liking this year to the round and plump summer squashes that come in green and yellow. They are lovely to look at and cook with and have made their way into... View Article
August 12, 2012
The apricots are so gorgeous right now I have to use them as much as I can. I made apricot tarts with some, and the remaining ripe apricots on my counter made it into the lovely little jam you see in the picture. I don’t make large quantities of jam for long term storage. I make enough for only a few jars to keep in the fridge for immediate consumption or give away to friends.... View Article
August 11, 2012
It doesn’t always have to be tomato salsa. Here is a lovely mango salsa to add to your cooking repertoire that will brighten up the flavour of many foods. Salsa is generally associated with Mexican food (love it) but don’t limit its use to just tacos. Serve this as a condiment along with other foods, as a dip with endive spears or tortilla chips, spoon some over a salad or top a grilled baguette slice... View Article
August 8, 2012
It’s cherry season and needless to say cherries are important guests in my kitchen right now. Cherry tarts, cherry calfouti, cherry pie, cherry jam, cherry sauce, you name it, they have been here. Unfortunately, I don’t always have time to photograph them before serving so not all are on the blog quite yet, but it’s coming. Fruit soups are also in my repertoire and when my friend called to say that she had a fabulous... View Article
August 7, 2012
Eating mostly vegetarian, I have developed many recipes using grains and legumes and often have in my fridge cooked barley, lentils, quinoa etc., ready to be incorporated into hot or cold dishes. When I cook grains or legumes, I usually cook more than required for what I am making, and sometimes cook a pot of barley just to have it in the fridge for another time. This is one such recipes. I had pre-cooked barley... View Article
