I was so hungry by the time I grilled and plated these bad boys that the food styling suffered tremendously. What can I say, I was in a rush! You’ll just have to ignore the hunk of lettuce on one side, the smear of mustard on the top of the bun and other such imperfections because these burgers are frankly delicious.
The burger mixture is made with four types of onion: Continue reading
I had the most amazing plantain chips a couple of weeks ago at Victor’s Cafe, a Cuban restaurant in New York City’s theatre district. They were sliced lengthwise, fried and served standing up in a paper cone with a delicious tomato-based dipping sauce on the side. Did I mention they were complimentary?
Have you ever taken a moment to look around your home, specifically the kitchen, and marvel at the many high-tech gadgets we use every day? Up until now I didn’t give it much thought, but after reading a book on the history of cooking tools and how they have shaped the way humans cook and eat today, I began to see my kitchen in a new light.
Earlier this week I came across a post on the Food Bloggers of Canada weekly news announcing a new project created by Valerie from the blog A Canadian Foodie.
It’s called the Canadian Food Experience Project, and the purpose is to bring together fellow food-loving Canucks to share our uniquely Canadian food experiences.
I am pleased to be involved and can’t wait to get started! Here’s what to expect: Continue reading
If there’s one dish I would call my go-to, it would be bean salad by a long shot. No matter what the season, meal, occasion or mood, bean salad fits the bill. (Unless of course you don’t like beans. In that case, now would be a good time to stop reading :)
Here are just a few reasons why bean salad is amazing: Continue reading
Lately I’ve been in the habit of buying a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken every week (always on a Tuesday because they’re on sale at my store) and then transforming it into a different dish each day until it runs out, usually on Friday.
You may wonder how one small chicken could feed two people for four or five days but I’ve mastered the art of stretching meat as far as it can go. Here’s what I do with a roast chicken in a typical week: Continue reading
It’s that time of year again – my chives have returned from their winter slumber!
(If ever there was a time to poke fun at a “foodie,” it’s when they go on about something like chives. I realize this. Especially after watching one too many episodes of Portlandia [highly recommended: the one where they order organic chicken,
Spring is the perfect time of year to get things in order. Over the past few weeks I’ve re-organized the spice drawer, re-arranged the food cupboard and gone through my makeup stash (not food related but still important). All tiny tasks, but when you add them up it seems like a decent chunk of tidying.
It was during one of these cleaning sprees that I found a nice unopened bag of orzo tucked away at the back. Continue reading
This fresh ricotta and pea spread is light and flavourful and for some reason reminds me of ladies who lunch. It’s not a dainty presentation by any means, but I can imagine wearing fabulous gloves and an outrageous hat, sipping tea and nibbling away at these toasts.
Perhaps I’ve been reading too many British novels. Continue reading
I’m obsessed with anything pickled. Garlic cloves, green beans, cucumbers (naturally), cauliflower, onion, hot peppers, roasted red peppers, carrots.
Actually, correction: Anything but pickled eggs. They remind me too much of that rubber egg experiment from elementary school science class.
Oh pasta, I can never tire of you. You’re so versatile. Not only can you jive with just about any type of sauce, vegetable, meat, legume, herb or spice, but you work so well with other cuisine styles that it’s hard to imagine sticking only to Italian flavours. Continue reading
Happy grilled cheese month, fellow food lovers! I love having an excuse to cook something I otherwise wouldn’t have made, even if the excuse is something as random as a month dedicated to cheese between bread.
I had good intentions when I decided to make this dill bread from Joy of Cooking. The recipe seemed simple enough and I had both fresh dill (leftover from the Dilly Greek Yogurt Dip I made earlier that day) and cottage cheese on hand.
But for some reason I am incapable of following a recipe! It’s like first year chemistry all over again… Continue reading
I was almost blown away (literally) while trying to snap these photos!
If you’ve ever tried to photograph food indoors with minimal natural light, you’ll understand why I braved a mini wind storm just to get a shot of this gorgeous radish salad.
It’s still too muddy for the backyard (plus I feel like our neighbours can see me and are starting to wonder), so I set up my makeshift table on the driveway. Dried leaves were blowing all over the place, the white vintage tablecloth kept billowing around and my two-peas-in-a-pod salt shaker set almost broke! It was quite the scene out there.
It’s finally starting to feel like spring around here! These past several weeks have been so cold and blustery that I’m starting to think it’s time for our groundhog to retire. It’s not exactly warm today but hey – the sun is out and the temperature is above freezing. Can’t complain!
When I first made this dip back in February, the first thing that came to mind was spring.
The first time I had really great Thai food was on a lunch date with my sister several years back. I can’t recall where we went but what I do remember is feeling like my palate had been awakened from a deep slumber. So much flavour!
Bacon and eggs or a bagel and cream cheese are great on any given day, but special occasions like Easter call for something sweet and decadent for breakfast (or brunch).
I have fond memories of Sun-Maid raisins (who didn’t take those little red boxes to school as a snack?), so I was happy to post this easy, crowd-pleasing raisin pecan sticky toast recipe using raisin cinnamon swirl bread.
Back when I was in elementary school, I wouldn’t eat anything other than plain white carbs (potatoes, bagels, white bread, French fries, crackers), the odd vegetable (tomato sauce but never tomatoes, celery, iceberg lettuce, gherkins, Grandma Margaret’s pickled beets) and cheddar cheese.
I had so much fun making these! It was like assembling miniature works of art. Edible art, that is – the best kind.
If you plan on decorating Easter eggs next week then you will likely have a surplus of boiled eggs waiting to be used. In any case, I urge you to try this cheeky take on traditional devilled eggs.
If you happened to catch my recent post (and guest post for the Mushrooms Canada blog), you’ll know that I love risotto.
It’s a rich, creamy dish which should probably be enjoyed only once in a while if you’re trying to eat healthier, but everyone deserves a treat once in a while. And if your treat comes in the form of homemade risotto, then bravo – there’s a lot of crap out there that you could be eating. Might as well be an authentic Italian home cooked meal!
