Food, Travel, and Cooking!
This recipe for pesto uses roasted hazelnuts, a nice change. Local hazelnuts are always available at Farmer’s Markets in the Lower Mainland. But you could use toasted slivered almonds, or Mediterranean pine nuts (they are pricey) or pistachio nuts. I can’t recommend using Asian pine nuts due to their weird, unpleasant aftertaste. The addition of […]
A simple Tomato Sauce that is the perfect thing to dress either potato or ricotta cheese gnocchi. But…don’t hesitate to dress other pasta with it too. I like it on “shapes” (my name for short pasta). 2 cups tinned Italian plum tomatoes, chopped 2-3 Tbsp. each EVO & butter 1 small clove garlic, minced 2-3 […]
Up until I received “Lidia’s Italy” cookbook as a Christmas gift a few years ago, I had never tried to make gnocchi. We used to buy gnocchi from an Italian store/deli made by the owner’s wife. Delightful little pillows; so no need for me to! Sadly the closed and we were forced to give it […]
Quite simply, I love barley whether in soups or a casserole or in my version of barley risotto. It is creamy and dare I say it, “good for you”. Makes 4 – 6 Servings 1 cup pearl barley, placed in a bowl & covered with cold water for up to 6 hours 1 cup leeks, cleaned […]
Similar to my ramp (wild leek) tart but this tart has nutmeg instead of herbs. Not only is it delicious in the spring, but also in the fall and winter months when the new leeks become available. A citrus salad would go so well with the tart. Makes an 8″ or 9″ Tart Pre-baked pie […]
Stinging Nettles have become one of the very welcome early “greens” of spring. Foragers and cooks alike look forward to the many ways they can be used. Making this tart seems the right thing to do and excellent it is! Makes an 8″ or 9″ Tart Pre-baked pie shell (see below) I prefer to use […]
I was inspired to make this frittata when I saw stinging nettles at the Farmer’s Market. We ate the frittata for dinner and made panini with the leftovers the next day. Tasty! Make sure you were rubber gloves when handling raw stinging nettles; they really do have a sting! Have all the ingredients ready before beginning […]
Ramps aka wild leeks/wild garlic, grow wild in the Northeast and Midwest of Canada and all the way down the U.S., into the Appalachians. They are a treasure only found in the spring. Only occasionally have I seen ramps that have been foraged, at our Farmer’s Market. They have a slight garlic flavour to them […]
While I was at the farmer’s market I saw stinging nettles, right then and there I decided to create a fresh pasta dish for dinner. I call this spring in a bowl! It’s very important that you wear gloves while working with unblanched nettles! Besides the sauce given here, a fabulous ragu would be great […]