How about a flavourful and heat loving blast into the New Year? Healthy and sinus clearing, this is a lunch to knock that cold back outside where it belongs. It's been frigid and I've been sick. The extra sleep has been good, but I'm in need ...
It's springtime, and even though I might have a bad back, I'm a die-hard gardener. Some of the most simple and rewarding treasures of a garden are the ones taken for granted. Possibly because they are so easy to grow they are often over-stepped. Take ...
I was recently invited to attend a wedding celebration for good friends of ours. Ecstatic, we did the usual most people do to prepare; plan a gift, get a new outfit, a hair do... but you see I also had the pleasure of being asked to ...
I had this realization at the grocery store the other day. It's something I've obviously not given enough thought. I mean, I know why people have food restrictions and I know that there are many reasons. There are people in my family are allergic ...
Of course with a long weekend ahead I would be lost without a handy potato salad recipe, so here it is. I'm sure not too many of you miss the heavy mayo laden with egg and celery version but not to fret, I'm sure it will still ...
Not like there is any mystery that I love chocolate, but I'd realized that I hadn't yet created a torte recipe. What better than Valentine's week to do the dessert cart? Generally, a torte is a flourless cake, often using bread crumbs ...
The purée overflowith and another Holiday to eat pumpkin pie is fast on my heels, I just couldn't be happier. Pumpkin pie is one of those things rarely eaten but certainly loved. Perhaps it's absence is why it's so cherished by so many. I don't care really. It's the highlight of Thanksgiving dinners everywhere and a terrific way to eat pumpkin. This year having so many varieties to search for the ultimate pie pumpkin, I wanted got the urge to try out a few different ideas stemming from the same great end result. With the scraps I made these super Pumpkin Pie Poppers. It was a perfect way to taste test and to say I ate the whole pie, so with the winner, I made a fresh batch. Of all the pumpkins collected from the patch, I found some that were fabulous in soups, some that were great for pasta and of course pie. In the top three, the all classic Sugar Pie Pumpkin is always standard. It has a good texture, dense and creamy for pies. Next, silky with a hint of melony sweetness was the Rouge Vif D’Etamps. This Cinderella pumpkin is not just charming for it's good looks. Once it's prepared for pie, it'll make you and your guests all feel happy forever after. Last it's the queen of Venice. I know I just when on and on about how I love the Marina Di Chioggia but, as far as pumpkins go, it's practically perfect in every way. This gourd tasted great on it's own so naturally, it's sweet and creamy texture worked beautifully in the gnocchi, cake, pie, pasta and CUSTARD that followed. Essentially that's what pumpkin pie is right, custard in a pastry shell? This notion got me to thinking about my own likes for pie and maybe others too. I'm more for the insides and not so much for the crust. I try, really I do to eat every last crusty crumb, but after all this testing, I was looking forward to my second, er, third Thanksgiving of the year, I thought maybe to just put the good stuff in a cup. This revolutionary classic is so versatile and sure to please everyone at the Holiday table. Topped with whipped cream and fresh nutmeg or made extra decedent with a good sprinkling of sugar and a dusting of fresh cardamom, then brûléed to a sharp, crunchy perfection. Ahhhhhh. Don't even get me started on my love of crème brûlée....
One of my most favourite places to explore is any neighbourhood China Town. Bustling with people, new aromas, and spilling produce, this exciting area of most major cities is a feast for the eyes. Here in Toronto, tucked a few blocks over from the mainland China Town is a small but wonderful Japanese store. After refilling my wasabi prescription, I gaze along the long aisles of offerings. Included are various teas, Hello Kitty Pocky sticks, every shade of miso, enoki mushrooms and of course, noodles. Wheat, rice, green tea, tofu, ramen, udon and soba noodle varieties ready for any dish the Far East has ever created. How elated was I to discover that soba is the name for buckwheat in Japanese? For those of you who weren't sure, like me, buckwheat is neither a grass or related to the wheat family. It's a flowering plant which produces the seeds for great things like pillows and yes, buckwheat flour. Asian noodle soup has to be in my top list of most amazing meals. The simplicity of them makes them satisfying and perfect. The noodles and broth create a host bowl for just about any combination imaginable.
One of the best things about living in Canada in the fall, other than the fabulous hauls from the farmers market, is that other reason why we appreciate the almighty maple tree. The nectar of nature, maple syrup is truly a spring gift, however delicious, a simple autumn walk can be just as spectacular. The colourful displays the scarlet and rusted orange maple leaves screaming their last vibrant shrieks before plunging to their deaths is always enough to get my heart racing back to life. When I recently took part in a detox diet, I realized my longing of food. No, I didn't crave fatty snack food or sugar, per se, it was the bread. Neglected of fruit, sugars and wheat among (many) other things, it was the bread I craved. Always a creative person, by mid-diet, I was determined to solve my dilemma. Only restricted by wheat, gluten and yeast, I set out to find any alternative. Scanning the aisles of the health food store, I found various root and bean flours which met my specific diet requirements. Knowing that some of these new flours would lend an undesired new flavour twist to my creation, I found the most mild; brown rice, cranberry bean, arrowroot and soy flours then set off to work. Inspired by a dense, sticky snack bread sent to me from my Blogging By Mail partner, Arden. Her Kruidkoek was spiced, but not too sweet, perfect for something like, say, pumpkin. Next having to go sugar-free, I knew I wouldn't get the sticky, sweetness of that super Dutch snack, but it didn't matter. I wasn't looking for cake, I wanted my bread back. Something to clean my plates and dip in my soup. Something just to finally eat and feel satisfied again. The maple syrup was perfect in this regard. Not the same sweetness as sugar and just a hint of smokiness - perfect. What I ended up with made me feel like I was cheating, isn't that terrible? Great on it's own and with the Roasted Vegetable Soup, I finally I felt like this diet was really working for me. I had my bread, I felt whole again.
Back when I was younger and maybe a little more daring, dinners at home were sure tear jerkers. My room mate and I at the time would frequently bring home or make our own sushi. In fact, it was our equivalent to most other twenty something's macaroni and cheese. About a bottle of sake later, the games would begin.... Starting with a fleck, then working up to a gob, we would up each other's wasabi intake. For those unfamiliar with the powers of the great green Japanese horseradish, wasabi most closely resembles a spicy hot mustard sensation. Serving our sushi with it's typical Wasabi-joyu, soy sauce combination for dipping, we embraced the festivities, upping the ante with the additional blob atop the sushi itself. You see, when wasabi is a even a little over loaded, the sensation is nothing like the burning tongue of a pepper. Starting with a tingle, it continues, flurrying up your nasal passage, stopping only at the bottom of your eye, usually finishing with a tear and a jolt of adrenaline. Watching someone suffer is not only entertaining, but addictive, which, I suppose is why we did it. As juvenile foodies, I'm sure there is much more mischief we could have been getting ourselves into. But oh, it hurt so good.
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