May 19, 2014
I feel French today. It’s because of the radishes. They do it every time. One of the simple treasures of French food is the way they serve crisp radishes with butter and coarse salt alongside chunks of crusty French baguette. Oh so good and so very French. I adopted this French custom a long time ago when I heard about it from Jacques Pepin in one of his classes in Calgary. Recently I came across... View Article
May 15, 2014
A bunch of tall and slim asparagus is resting on my cutting board while I get the vegetable peeler. I plan to gently peel away the skin from the root end, third of the way up. I don’t always peel the spears but since I like the look of the light green part that is hidden below the skin I thought I’d peel it this time. I am preparing lunch for a few of my... View Article
May 14, 2014
I am still under the influence of tapas. We have just returned from Spain were we enjoyed tapas, pinchos and montaditos in all forms for the last few months. Truth be told, most of the tapas we found in Spain focused on Iberian ham of one kind or another and seafood of every variety. Being of vegetarian persuasions I sometimes found it difficult to find a vegetarian item on the pages and pages of tapas... View Article
May 13, 2014
I open the small metal jars containing cumin and cinnamon and the sweet and pungent scents waft towards me, their perfume filling the air around the kitchen. This is definitely Ottolenghi-land. I have been cooking my way through a few of my cookbooks and Ottolenghi’s collection sits at the top of the pile. This one, titled simply Ottolenghi, the cookbook, was much anticipated and did not disappoint. It is full of vegetable centered recipes and... 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 26, 2014
What do you make for a quick dinner? For me it’s pasta hands down. It goes with just about anything and I can almost make it with my eyes closed. You know where the pot is and you just need to scoop a piece to taste if it’s al dente, right? For this dish I combined red pepper penne with sautéed onion, cabbage and kale, a little white wine and then some mascarpone to round... 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
April 17, 2014
Spring is still resisting but I decided to ignore it and pretend it’s here. Wherever spring vegetables come from this time of year, they are beginning to show up in the produce section of our local stores and I am all over them (if they look good). I am also in the middle of a difficult photography course, two, really, challenging myself to learn more. Sitting next to young (twenty somethin’) group of students is... View Article
April 10, 2014
I started a photography course that promises to be very good and a lot of work. When I registered for the two classes, part of a professional course in photography, I only thought of the 6 hours a week of class time but forgot about homework and assignments for each of the two classes, due every week. We’ll see how it goes, it sounds like more work than I bargained for but it’s a good... View Article
April 6, 2014
I posted a free form lasagna recipe a short while ago but today made another one and thought it post-worthy. I used fresh lasagna sheets from our Valoroso Italian market and used prepared tomato sauce from Alba, Italy (Cascina San Cassiano, comes in a cute round jar). If you can’t find this one try Williams Sonoma pasta sauces, they are pretty good, or of course make your own. This lasagna has to be cooked in 375F... View Article
