Life is too short and far too complicated not to be able to make simple and great food from scratch. Yes, my recipe annals are replete with examples to the contrary, so perhaps I need to find a bit more balance in the recipes I post. You tell me …. But for starters, here is…
Wilted Spinach with Black Mustard Seed and Lemon
Simple, healthy and, most importantly, delicious …. Love spinach? Want to do something a bit different with it? Look no further …. Here’s a side dish I prepared to go with my Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Banana-Date Glaze. As a result, both are “Indian” inspired and fusions. What makes this dish most amazing, apart that…
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Banana-Date Glaze
Winter is certainly a time to dig into our dried fruits, especially with our dwindling produce this time of year. It’s a time to celebrate stronger flavours and sweetness. It’s a time for concentrated tastes that warm the body, inside out…. … but it is not a time to give up the barbecue. Yes, I’m…
Chorizo and Quinoa Jambalaya
Homer Simpson said it best: “Mmmm, sausage.” Homer-erotic subtext aside (sorry, couldn’t resist the puns), I think the world would be a happier place if we ate more sausage. Certainly, it is an ingredient I adore and based on the popularity of my Tagine with Merguez Sausage and Winter Vegetables, one of my first posts,…
Persimmon Parfait with Mascarpone-Cream and Gingersnap Crumble
As winter continues, persimmons continue to abound … and they beg for creation as we seek moments of comfort and warmth. Thus, inspired by the success of my previous work with them in my Crispy Duck with Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce, I moved from the main course to almost everyone’s favourite course, the dessert course. Here’s a…
Pearl Barley Risotto
You already know that I adore (absolutely adore) risotto. It’s definitely one of my signature dishes and something that I love to experiment with creating … and you’ve seen in it already in some of last year’s creations: Lemon Tuscan Kale Risotto and Rum-Kabocha (Pumpkin) Risotto. So when I set out to create my Crispy Duck…
Crispy Duck with Persimmon-Mandarin Sauce
There are a handful of things that I’ll order any time I see them on a menu. Thankfully those things don’t often compete in the same restaurants. One of those things is duck … a dish that makes my spine relax with the simple promise of a taste. It might therefore sound odd that I’ve…
Rum-Kabocha (Pumpkin) Risotto
Risotto is comfort food. Yes, you can make “healthy” versions of it as I did when I developed my Tuscan Kale Risotto earlier this summer. However, risotto is best prepared when it can just be, let its warm, sensuous, snuggling personality reach out, when it can comfort the soul and light a warm fire in…
Farfalloni with Grilled Chicken and Swiss Chard
My quest to find great ways to use chard that keeps showing up in my CSA shares has continued all summer. It’s produced a few excellent side dishes (see recipes: Chard with Bacon and Cranberries and Chard with Meyer Lemon) and an awesome minestrone soup with prosciutto. However, I wanted to see how far I…
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Black Bean Ragù
There is nothing complicated about this creation. It takes a bit of chopping and nothing more than a bit more time for cooking. Having said that, I did employ a couple of techniques that are a bit atypical of spaghetti squash which is usually baked, scooped with a fork to create the tell-tale sinews of…