Tag Archive: Vegetarian

Rosemary roasted potatoes with blackberry ketchup

November 11, 2013

Most people love potatoes and for some, a meal is not a meal without them. This ubiquitous veggie is of global importance being the fourth most important food grown worldwide after corn, wheat and rice. Potatoes appear in every cuisine and sustained civilizations for thousands of years (Peru, Incas). Potatoes grow in a wide range of soils, climates and geographical conditions and to this day help enhance food security because they are easy to cultivate and calorie... View Article

Iceberg Wedgie with Blue Cheese

November 7, 2013

No, not that kind of a wedgie. This is a wedge of crispy iceberg or head lettuce, served with blue cheese dressing and confetti of chopped vegetables. It’s one of my favourite salads. If you don’t like blue cheese (some don’t), serve it with another dressing that you like. I know that head lettuce went out of vogue a long time ago, when the baby greens were born, but someone revived its popularity with this... View Article

White Chocolate and Blackberries Scones

November 7, 2013

Now that the weather has cooled down I started baking a little more. It’s nice to have something homemade available with a hot cup of coffee in the morning or offer to a friend who happens to drop by. Scones are not a uniform concept. They can be round, triangular, even square, large or small, taller or flat, sweet or savoury, cake-like or crumbly, made with flour or oatmeal and include raisin, currants, berries or... View Article

Roasted Sweet Dumpling Squash Stuffed with Warm Farro Pilaf

November 6, 2013

I hope you are cooking with squashes this fall. Don’t miss the season to use these beautiful and versatile fall vegetables when they are at their best. This season I have been cooking especially with Sweet Dumpling squash. Unlike other varieties, this one is easy to cut: its skin is not as hard as some of the other varieties and your knife will not be permanently jammed into it’s flesh. Sweet dumpling is a lovely... View Article

French Onion Soup Gratiné with Port and Thyme

November 5, 2013

We had our first snow fall here and the weather has cooled down. My husband is reluctantly talking about closing down his beloved sailboat  for the season. He is in love with her and has been pushing the boundaries, unable to leave her and (motor) sailing her up to yesterday with the heater and a hot drink keeping him warm. I, on the other hand, don’t have to close down my kitchen and in fact... View Article

John Ash at the Cookbook Co. Cooks

November 4, 2013

Foodies in Calgary are fortunate to have the Cookbook Co. Cooks. Over the years Gail Norton and her team managed to put Calgary on the culinary map attracting cookbook authors, famous chefs and food professionals from across Canada and the US to their cooking school at 722, 11th Ave. SW. Along with their City Palate magazine, the Cookbook Co. is definitely the place to go for all things culinary in Alberta and beyond. Tuscan chicken... View Article

Homemade Vegetable Chips

October 30, 2013

Sometimes I am in the mood for potato chips. It’s hard to avoid them altogether.  If I happen to have a bag of good chips at home I am not beyond getting into it it once in a while. However, here is a better version of chips, using variety of vegetables to create a lovely melange of vegetable chips with or without oil. Commercial potato chips, after a few handfuls they lose the appeal and... View Article

Roasted Sweet Dumpling Squash with Oregano Honey

October 23, 2013

Squashes are in season and make my head spin when I am at the market. So many varieties, colours, shapes and sizes. Needless to say I love them all and pile my kitchen counter with a few of these gorgeous things. What can I do? Vegetables are my “thing”. I get so excited I almost forget the weather is changing and it’s getting cold outside. There are the usual varieties of squashes, like butternut and... View Article

On a Spoon: Smoked Salmon and Cucumber Salad with Goat Cheese Mousse

October 20, 2013

I  recently jumped on the bandwagon for spoon appetizers, I wonder where they started. I liked the idea right away, when they first came into vogue, but it took me a while to follow this trend. Once I begun making them though, I was hooked. Yesterday I had the opportunity to make some pre-dinner appetizers and my inspiration was a lunch at Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery prepared by Chef Darin Patterson of Bogner of Penticton restaurant.... View Article

Roasted Red Grapes and Brussels Sprouts

October 20, 2013

People for some reason have a love-hate relations with brussels sprouts. They either love them or hate them. I was asked by a hostess recently to bring vegetables to a pot luck dinner and was told in no uncertain terms Not to bring brussels sprouts. Why is it I wonder that such a lovely veggie is so maligned. They are beautiful to look at, have significant health benefits, are easy to cook and at least... View Article

Wild Mushrooms and Potato Ragout

October 10, 2013

I am still buying wild mushrooms, can you blame me? They are in season. I am going on a mushroom foraging day soon with my friend Val of More Than Burnt Toast (Laura of An Uneducated Palate, when are you joining us?). Val and I have been everywhere this fall, attending restaurant openings, going to vineyard dinners, attending food and wine events, visiting wineries, eating at inetresting places and taking pictures, pictures and more pictures. We... View Article

Black Bean Soup

October 8, 2013

Chances are if you drop by there would be a soup simmering in a copper pot at the back of the stove in my kitchen, its fragrance wafting throughout the house. ‘Tis the season as they say. Fall is a perfect time for a bowl of warm, steamy soup. I love making soups and they make a lovely and satisfying simple meal at the end of the day with good bread and maybe a crisp... View Article