July 10, 2014
One of my favourite summer salads is a grilled romaine. There is something about the charred edges and crisp greens that works beautifully and I tend to grill a few of our summer salads on the outdoor grill. I have posted a grilled romaine salad before and served it with halloumi cheese. Halloumi has a high melting point and it can easily be grilled without melting. This time I had beautiful small heirloom tomatoes and... View Article
July 9, 2014
You must have heard me write before about the “other woman”. She is a fourty somethin’ year old beauty with soft curves and a strong built that takes to the water like I take to the kitchen. Her name is Isa Lei and yes, you know that she is a sailboat. My husband just loves this craft and lovingly works to restore her beauty. I don’t begrudge his attachment, this is what he always dreamed... View Article
July 6, 2014
Part of my modus operandi (MO) in the kitchen is to have various foods already cooked in the fridge that I can pull together to create a flavourful and hopefully fun and nutritious meal. Running a vegetarian kitchen means that I often cook with grains and legumes and almost always have a couple of containers with these items on hand. Last week I went for lunch at the Eldorado Hotel and I had their cauliflower tacos.... View Article
July 3, 2014
I have been slowly getting over my fear of the outdoor grill. With this lovely kitchen installed on our rooftop patio I had to get in there and start using it. I have grilled pizzas and corn on the BBQ before, as well as grilled some vegetables but now that the weather is hot I am keen on making most of the cooking outdoors under the shade of the roof and umbrellas on the cooler... View Article
June 29, 2014
This salad is to go with the previous post of Thai Coconut Curry. It adds fresh and crisp texture and flavour to the cooked vegetables and rice. Adding more chopped lettuce would make it a little more substantial. I prefer to cut the cucumbers into diagonal wedges instead of slicing them into thin rounds. You can add other crisp vegetables, such a radishes or even a couple of cherry tomatoes for colour and another layer... View Article
June 29, 2014
Summer is slow to come here in Kelowna this season. Rain and cloudy skies greet us most mornings. I happen to love rain, the way the air feels, the sound of the raindrops falling and how green and bright everything looks against the grey backdrop of rain clouds. Something romantic, nostalgic, exciting and calming all at once. Leave it to nature to create the perfect harmony. If it’s windy my husband goes to “the other... View Article
June 28, 2014
The BBQ always kind of scares me. Not sure why but it’s a little intimidating, to say the least. Also the thought of cleaning it is out of the question. So, when something has to go on the BBQ I recruit my husband for the task, which includes the cleanup afterwards. However, since we had this beautiful outdoor kitchen built on the rooftop patio last summer I had to get over this fear and begin learning... View Article
June 21, 2014
I found a recipe for lentil-quinoa-kale-avocado tacos in the China Study All Star Collection cookbook. You must have heard about the China Study conducted by Dr. Colin Cambell. In one sentence, the findings of the study indicate that incident of disease is in direct proportion to the amount of animal protein in your diet, specifically, casein, the protein found in milk and dairy. I am not here to preach or tell you what to eat... View Article
June 12, 2014
In my last post about Joy Road catering alfresco dinner in the vineyard I promised to publish this asparagus soup recipe and here it is. This soup has been in my repertoire for a long time in a few variations (see here). I make it most often in the spring when local asparagus is fresh and full of flavour. Sometimes I use the potatoes to thicken it up, sometimes I just use loads of asparagus... View Article
June 4, 2014
Do you avoid cooking beets because of the leaking colour and the long cooking time? Granted, it can be a messy job but with your hands protected with thin kitchen gloves it shouldn’t be too bad and if you use fresh beets they cook in no time, really. You can use larger beets or baby ones, red, yellow or candy beets. They are all gorgeous and make a beautiful dish for the eye and the... View Article
June 2, 2014
Roasting vegetables brings out the sweetness in them by caramelizing the natural sugars they contain. Roasting young and delicate spring vegetables is quick and with these little carrots it only takes minutes to prepare. I found the organic baby carrot in rainbow colours the other day, tops still attached indicating their freshness. I bought a bunch and roasted them simply with a little olive oil and a handful of thyme scattered on top. Spring vegetables... View Article
May 20, 2014
It is hard to drag me away from the kitchen this time of year. I have so much fun cooking and photographing the foods. Of course I have to squeeze “life” in there and I have a long list of other pursuits that interest me but I must say that the creative element of cooking, styling, photographing food and sharing it on this blog gives me a lot of pleasure. This week I have been... View Article
