Food, Travel, and Cooking!
It’s summer and that means zucchini and lots of it! Something I love is marmalade. My friend Chris Brown makes amazing marmalade but sadly he now lives and owns a bakery in Matsuyama, Japan so it’s a rare treat when he comes to town and gives us a jar. Years ago I was given this […]
This tasty salad is of Lebanese origin. I like to serve it with all sorts of Mediterranean dishes. I find it’s especially welcome on a hot day! Good with barbecued chicken, lamb, beef or even fish. When I decide to serve pita on the side, I don’t put it in the salad and sometimes I like […]
An annual ritual in my kitchen is to make this lovely, light, late summer sauce with my own sage and plum tomatoes purchased from the “Tomato Whisperer” at our farmer’s market. The sage works so well with the sweetness of the tomatoes. I prefer to make homemade spaghetti or tagliatelle for this yearly treat, but […]
This is the first installment of my English Tart series. This is an absolutely addictive tart and may become our go to choice for Thanksgiving dinner! We get Bramley Seedlings and dessert apples came from our farmer’s market where we can get all sorts of heirloom apples in the fall. Makes One 11” Tart Pastry […]
In my former life as a corporate chef, we made all sorts of cookies, probably by the thousands! These cookies have long been a favourite! So nice and delicate. I especially like to serve them with fresh fruit during the summer when there are lots of berries, peaches, nectarines (tossed with a bit of sugar […]
I love baking with buttermilk; everything seems to bake up so beautifully! As a special treat, I like to serve the cake with Lavender Cream (see below). You can change up the berries for any sweet, juicy berries you pick up at the Farmer’s Market. We are very fortunate to have raspberry canes in our […]
Strawberries; those luscious, red, juicy, locally grown June berries demanding to become something wonderful. I used to make a jam that I called “Strubarb.” Strawberries and rhubarb, such a fabulous combination of flavours! Makes a 9” Pie Pastry for 2 crust pie (see below) 3 cups fresh strawberries, halved 2 cups sliced rhubarb 1 ¼ […]
IT’S JUNE! We’ve been waiting all year for the appearance of local strawberries! Those gorgeous, ruby-red all the way through, juicy beauties. They can’t be beat! Fingers crossed for some good, sunny weather to make them sweet and succulent. I’m going to have to admit to being a strawberry snob! We just don’t buy strawberries […]
Ramps aka wild leeks/wild garlic, can be found growing wild in the Northeast and Midwest of Canada and all the way down the U.S., into the Appalachians. if you are lucky, you may find them at a Farmer’s Market in the spring. They are really, really tasty and why cooks wax poetic when they find them […]
A favourite preparation ours for roasted asparagus! Definitely worth the effort! You might want to give it a try with slender green beans too. If you can, pick up local asparagus when it appears at Farmer’s Markets! There is simply no comparison to imported asparagus; it’s almost a completely new veggie! Makes 6 Servings 1 […]