September 15, 2014
As the weather gets cooler I get in the mood for a heartier fare. A trip to the farmers market yesterday yielded a bag of sieglinde potatoes from Sweet Life Farms, beautiful green cabbage and black kale from another vendor and an orange cauliflower. I thought I’d combine all of them in a quick sauté for dinner, which is just my kind of food. I started with the potatoes as they take the longest to cook,... View Article
September 13, 2014
It’s not every day that I am invited to an organic tomato farm so when the opportunity presented itself to purchase tickets, I immediately did. This year Sunshine Farms hosted their first Tomato Festival on their farm, offering space to 50 guests of which I was lucky to be one. Both Val of More Than Burnt Toast and I, who never miss a good culinary opportunity, packed our cameras and hats and set out to... View Article
September 11, 2014
I am not going to wax poetic about the change of season. Or am I? We bloggers tend to do that. I will say however that summer seems to be retreating and fall is in the air. Mornings are cool, the sun sets early amd the days are shorter. A trip to the farmers market makes you wonder where all the tomatoes and summer berries go. Apples and pear are stacked on the stands now... View Article
September 10, 2014
I attended the BC Pinot Noir celebration last week where the dinner was catered by Chef Mark Filatow of Waterfront Wines restaurant. Chef Filatow needs no introduction here in the valley, he is one of the very best and has three gold medals to prove it. One of the items on Filatow’s menu was a sieglinde potato salad with rosemary and roasted garlic aioli. Sieglinde is a certified organic summer potato, oval in shape an... View Article
September 2, 2014
Pizza and flatbreads are nice to make any time of the year. With summer entertaining and perhaps casual foods on the menu, here is a flatbread recipe that can be used to serve as an appetizers with a glass of wine when friends come over. I make the dough in a food processor and bake it in very hot oven. It makes a chewy and crisp crust that is a nice base for many toppings.... View Article
September 1, 2014
I am not one for canning and freezing foods in a serious way. I like the idea, it sounds romantic, but for me it doesn’t work. I have no room to store the foods and in any event I prefer to eat seasonally. If peaches and green beans season is over I move on to the next fruits and vegetables whose time has come. I do however like to make a few jars of pickled... View Article
August 27, 2014
The tomatoes came in late this year, it was well into August before we saw the first ripe local red beauties. Since they showed up though I have been serving them practically every day in some form or another. I have made gazpacho, salmorejo, bruschetta, tomato salads, tomato sandwiches, pizza, tomato soups, fresh tomato sauce for pasta as well as sliced them into anything else I cook, from green beans to zucchini to fresh beans... View Article
August 5, 2014
Potato cakes, latkes, potato pancakes, all describe the same thing: potatoes mixed with onion, eggs and flour, formed into cakes and fried in a little oil. I am kind of addicted to these things. When I go to the market in Calgary there is no way I am not going to stop at Margarita’s for their fabulous latkes with sour cream as well as take some home for “later” which often ends up much sooner than... View Article
July 30, 2014
If it’s summer, I make potato salads and so far no one is complaining (don’t start:). Here is another potato salad version from my kitchen. The new potatoes cook quickly and combined with other beautiful vegetables and a simple dressing make a beautiful salad. What can be better? You can serve it as a whole meal or with other foods. It keeps in the fridge nicely and travels well to the boat or a picnic... View Article
July 25, 2014
Since I bought the new Vitamix blender I can’t stop blending things. It does such a good job and creates a wonderful texture. Earlier in the spring before the seasonal berries were in I made smoothies with frozen fruits and ended up with a sorbet, not quite what I intended but good anyway. Now that fruits are in season I use fresh fruits to make various smoothies and they are fresh tasting and refreshing. If... View Article
July 24, 2014
Persimmons are quite special. I have seen them at the produce sections many times but didn’t really get to know them until we went to Spain recently. Although it is an Asian fruit, Spain has adopted it and it is now rising in agricultural importance and popularity there. What I heard in Spain is that the persimmon production “saved” their agricultural export. They are grown mainly in Valencia but also in Castellon and Andalusia and... 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
