December 5, 2013
While you are reading this post I will be on the plane traveling to Paris. I scheduled a few posts to be published while I am away from my kitchen and computer, en route to our destination in Paris. See? I appreciate your visit to the blog and do not want you coming here to an old post. I will post from Paris as soon as possible, sharing our adventures, culinary and otherwise through these... View Article
December 3, 2013
So, as I am writing this I am wondering how the trip to Paris will turn out to be. I have been there before and know I love the city but there are things that interfere. One thing is the excessive smoking everywhere. When I was there in the spring I was looking forward to sitting outdoors at sidewalk cafes but the reality was that I couldn’t. The tables are very close together and people... View Article
December 2, 2013
The last few weeks have been a flurry of activities, culinary and otherwise. A few more cooking classes to squeeze into the schedule, a couple of extra food and wine events to attend and a few more dishes to cook and photograph. I find it hard to extract myself from my culinary activities. With our trip to Europe coming up soon you know how it is, there is so much to get done, think of,... View Article
November 30, 2013
So, how do you get flavour into foods without adding oil? I am so used to cooking foods in a little olive oil to bring out the flavour that it seems impossible to get flavour without it. However, it is possible and this full flavour soup without any free oil or butter shows it can be done. I resisted the temptation to sauté the vegetables in oil and just steam-sautéed them in a little water... View Article
November 27, 2013
I am still in “travel” mode, getting ready for our upcoming trip to Europe, leaving next week. As I mentioned we will be in Paris first, then in Spain for a couple of months. I have never been to Spain and looking forward to explore this country’s culinary scene, history and culture. Through my blogger friend Val of More than Burnt Toast I connected with a Barcelona blogger Nuria Farregut of Spanish Recipes by Nuria who... View Article
November 23, 2013
I am starting to “psych” myself for travel in preparation for our long stay in Europe this winter. I love to travel and finally the time has come and we can go on extended stays in destinations that interest us. This time it’s a month in Paris and two months in Spain, how is that for a for a trip to Europe? Can you believe it? Going to the Garnier opera in Paris, Christmas on... View Article
November 21, 2013
I don’t care what anybody says, these are just the best flavour combination ever. Juicy, sweet seedless grapes wrapped in creamy and salty gorgonzola rolled in a coating of caramel crunch, heaven. It’s as simple as that. I can pop a chilled one of those into my mouth any time. It’s refreshing (the grape) sophisticated (the gorgonzola) and salted-caramel sweet. I rest my case (I am a lawyer, it’s a habit). I used to make... View Article
November 21, 2013
Fritters recipes usually get a lot of clicks on the blog. What does that say about us I wonder. We seem to like fried food. These little fritters are very easy to make and I only brush the pan with oil so they don’t stick. They are not fried in oil like you would normally expect fritters to be. You can serve them with sour cream, lemon butter, salsa or other toppings. They fit into... View Article
November 19, 2013
A few weeks ago my friend and blogger Val of more than burnt toast and I went to micro bar bites on Water Street shortly after they opened. We love the compact space, sitting at the beautiful long wooden bar and had fun and delicious food prepared by the talented chef Evelyn Takoff. I especially enjoyed the small plate of roasted shishito peppers, a mildly flavoured Japanese chili pepper that is harvested while green but will turn... View Article
November 12, 2013
This roasted potato is a Swedish beauty first served at the Hasselbacken restaurant in Sweden (hence the name) a couple of hundred years ago, or so I hear. It’s a fun diversion from the usual potato dishes and quite easy to produce. The trick is to slice the potatoes thinly and down to about 1/4 inch from the bottom without cutting them right through. If you happen to cut one right through you can still... View Article
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
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
