The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. Uh oh. Seriously? Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…………………….. Yup, that was my exact reaction when I saw this month’s challenge was going to be French Macarons. Now, I […]
Daring Bakers – Chocolate Macarons with Chestnut Purée Read More »
While we’re on this soup/stew kick, I’d thought I’d give you a recipe for my take on a classic French dish. Now, though I took French Immersion from kindergarten to high school, my grasp of the French language is somewhat limited. I’m sure I understand more than the average Joe, but left to wander the
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 »
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 »
I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not a big fan of cold weather. Which is strange really. I’m one of those women who needs it to be cool to sleep (you know the ones. The husband wants it to be warm, but the wife doesn’t. Someone always suffers. Well, it isn’t me).
Vegetarian Chili with Caramelized Onion and Bleu Cheese Sourdough Biscuits Read More »
Because I live in a temperate area of the globe, much of the “height” of summer produce doesn’t arrive here until quite late in the season. Last week at the farmer’s market, we scored some super fresh ears of corn. We’re talking mere hours after they’d been picked. I didn’t have them on my shopping
Corn & Black Bean Soup with Spinach & Feta Biscuits Read More »
Herfst. Automne. Autunno. Outono. Otoño. Fall. Autumn. In other words, my favourite season of them all. Maybe it’s the scarves, or because I can wear my Ugg boots. Maybe it’s the changing of the leaves or the smell of woodsmoke in the air. Of the many reasons for loving Autumn, I know for sure that
Butternut Squash Gnocchi Read More »
Every year, in September, the world of hops, malted barley, filtered and unfiltered water and yes, even fruit, descends upon the small city of Victoria, BC. Don’t know what I’m talking about yet? Beer silly. The Great Canadian Beer Festival is held every year on the first weekend after Labour Day. It has been running
The Great Canadian Beerfest! Read More »