September 13, 2012
Call them French fries, pommes frites, freedom fries, chips, patatas fritas or oven fries, who doesn’t like them one way or another. Granted, whether long or short, some like them matchstick-thin and crispy, other like them thick cut, crispy on the outside and soft inside. I like them any way they come and tend to make them at home every now and then. Today I was in the mood so I made some oven fries... View Article
September 12, 2012
I know that eggplant is not for everyone but I love it and maybe someone out there does as well so here it goes (why am I appologizing?). I have had these three Japanese (or are these chinese?) eggplants in my fridge for a few days now. They are the long skinny eggplants with purplish skin that are available every now and then in our markets. They have thin, edible skin and their flavour is... View Article
September 11, 2012
I made these potato cakes as part of a breakfast selection when I had non-vegetarian friends visiting, hence the smoked salmon. If I remember correctly I poached a few eggs and offered them along with this dish. The potato cakes can be made in advance and reheated at breakfast. I made them as little cakes but they can also be made thinner and larger, pancake-like (see image below). When grating potatoes I prefer to use... View Article
September 9, 2012
On my last evening in kelowna I invited two of Kelowna’s food bloggers Val and Laura (www.morethanburnttoast.com and www.anuneducatedpalate.com, respectively) for a glass of wine on the patio. It’s fun to be with foodies who can talk about food and blogging. There are a few food people I’d like to get to know better in Kelowna and I hope to have more of these evenings as time goes on. I was busy enjoying other company... View Article
September 7, 2012
Have you used haloumi cheese in your kitchen? It features prominently in middle east cuisine and used for frying or grilling thanks to its high melting point (it begins melting only at very high temperature). It originates in Cyprus and is made from goat, sheep or cow’s milk. I have been looking for haloumi cheese here for a while and not finding any. I tried the Italian stores, the Greek shop and our Janice Beaton... View Article
September 6, 2012
Although I cook pasta all year round I find that I tend to cook it more frequently in the fall and winter seasons. Not that I think of pasta as winter food but in the summer I like to take full advantage of the beautiful fresh vegetables that you find at the markets and finding myself cooking with a variety of summer potatoes for the starch component of dinner. We are now nearing the end... View Article
September 2, 2012
Summer beets are completely different from what we get here year round. Summer beets are soft and sweet and take hardly any time to cook, whether roasted in the oven or cooked on top of the stove. I make all kinds of things with beets (even pickled beets) and will post a few of them over the next while. I am trying to limit myself to a post a day for now so I have a... View Article
August 29, 2012
I know that many here in North America are not fans of eggplant. In mediterranean cuisine it is a popular vegetable and appears in many dishes. This recipe makes a delicious pasta dish and I hope to entice you to try it. You can develop a palate for eggplant. I made this pasta with the pink striped eggplant pictured below but you can make it with the regular type as well. When buying eggplants make... View Article
August 26, 2012
Have you jumped on the quinoa bandwagon yet? It seems that every now and then a new trend takes over the culinary world and everyone starts cooking it. Quinoa looks like a grain but in fact it is a seed passed on to us through the ancient Inca culture. It’s known as the super seed and its claim to fame is the fact that it is gluten free and protein rich. In our protein crazed society... View Article
August 23, 2012
I bought a large bag of grated carrots from the market the other day. It seemed easy and I immediately thought of making a carrot salad with them. Carrot salad is usually associated with Northern African cuisine and features middle east spices like cumin. There are a couple of good recipes for Moroccan carrot salad you can check out at Epicurious as well as in the fabulous cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, the famed London chef... View Article
August 11, 2012
It doesn’t always have to be tomato salsa. Here is a lovely mango salsa to add to your cooking repertoire that will brighten up the flavour of many foods. Salsa is generally associated with Mexican food (love it) but don’t limit its use to just tacos. Serve this as a condiment along with other foods, as a dip with endive spears or tortilla chips, spoon some over a salad or top a grilled baguette slice... View Article
August 5, 2012
Baby potatoes are so cute. Round and plump and delicious they lend themselves to many food preparations. You can toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper and a dash of paprika and roast until crisp outside and soft inside. You can steam them and toss with butter and chopped herbs. You can toss them with butter and brown sugar and roast. I often steam them first a few hours in advance and then toss... View Article
