If there is one thing about the cooler weather that I, inexplicably, love, it is the fact that it’s damp, cold chutzpah sends me fleeing into the house. Or should I say, truthfully, that I cower in a ball on the couch, wrapped in layers of warm fabric (perhaps a comfy Snuggie?), fire blazing, purposefully […]
Italian Sausage & White Bean Stew Read More »
I love a challenge. Especially if it involves baking something delicious and then eating it. When I (and a lot of others I presume) think of fall seasonal flavours, probably one of the most popular choices would be pumpkin. So many possibilities with this humble gourd. It can be sweet, it can be savoury, you
Crispy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies Read More »
When company’s coming over for dinner, it’s nice to be able to offer something warm and comforting for the ever important, after dinner indulgence. Which is why I baked this caramel & apple cream cheese tart last weekend when some family was coming for a visit. We don’t often get visitors, what with living 35
Caramel & Apple Cream Cheese Tart Read More »
My parents are retired. They are in their early fifties. They live in Mexico for 6 months. Are you jealous yet? I know I am. Every year when they pack up the RV (not that they have much to pack, as they live in it year round), and head back down the Baja, I have
The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. Welcome to my very first attempt at a Daring Cook’s Challenge! Although I joined a couple of months ago, we were so busy with child care and
Daring Cooks: Vietnamese Pork Pho Read More »
When I started this blog, is was merely to be a way for me to motivate myself to get out of a food rut I’d been wallowing in for a year. The moment our son was born, my appreciation and knowledge of fine cuisine, went out the window alongside my pert, youthful breasts and late
Cornmeal Crusted Salmon with Basil Mussel Broth Read More »
I feel like I haven’t addressed something very important that’s happened this week. Do you know what I’m talking about? The fall of Condé Nast’s Gourmet Magazine has been the talk of the social networking world since it’s abrupt announcement on Monday morning. As a self professed food whore, I am saddened by this great
Mocha Cake with Chocolate Ganache Read More »
Before I was a lonely home cook, slaving away in the kitchen all evening only to have dinner be rejected by my own spawn for the much preferred scrambled eggs a la Papa, I used to work in some pretty fabulous restaurants. These fabulous restaurants taught me many things, but the thing I value the
Baked Polenta with Morel & Shiitake Mushroom Sauce Read More »
Recently, I’ve been inundated with a lifetime supply of apples. Not only do we buy them every weekend at the farmer’s market, people are giving them to us left, right and centre and there is also a scraggly little tree in our new backyard sporting several dozen tiny, hard-as-rock mystery apples. After piling them all
Brown Butter Spiced Apple Cake Sandwich Cookies Read More »
Have you ever been to a restaurant that evokes that certain kind of emotional response? The atmosphere is rustic and charming, the food simple yet elegant. The smells and sounds are what draw you in, but the real anchor is waiting at the table. That is what Merridale Cidery in The Cowichan Valley does to
Dinner at Merridale Cidery Read More »