Food, Travel, and Cooking!
Spring means a few things, including the arrival of fantastic, locally grown asparagus! Wash the asparagus. Snap off the bottoms of the asparagus where they seem to want to break. This will be an inch or more from the bottom. Discard the trimmings as they are fibrous. Good for the compost though. Or, you can […]
It is important to use a youngish Pecorino and not Pecorino Romano for this dish. I’d recommend Pecorino Fresca, Pecorino re Nero from Tuscany or a Pecorino from Pienza, if you can find it. Consider yourself lucky if you’ve got a good cheese shop in your area. Now’s the time to use that excellent young […]
Knowing how to blanch vegetables is a very good thing for us cooks and is so useful in so many recipes. Fill a large pot with cold water; bring to a boil. Add 1 – 2 Tbsp. salt. Place the cut, trimmed veggies into the boiling water for 2 – 5 minutes, depending on the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
My mom celebrated her 91st birthday a while ago and it got me thinking and remembering about things. The rose in the photo is one she planted years ago and is still going strong under my care. Each time it produces the first fragrant bloom I find I’m unable to stop myself from saying “hello […]
“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May/and summer’s lease hath all to short a date.” -Shakespeare, sonnet 18. Spring meant many things when I was a little girl, in the 1950’s, Easter school holidays being high on my list as I was not too keen on school! Then there were new “Easter” dresses, […]