As the aphorism goes, when life throws you lemons, make lemonade — but when Sicilians give you oranges, make a salad. For the past few months, since Ben’s passing, I’ve largely immersed myself in my writing. There has been the occasional burst of photography, but mostly I’ve been immersed in my writing. That’s because with…
Fettuccine Carbonara with Grilled Garlic Scape Pesto
To reveal the second mystery from yesterday’s post is to reveal that what you saw were garlic “scapes” aka the ‘spring’ shoots of the garlic plant. Where garlic is commercially cultivated, these fine morsels are often just clipped and discarded and never see the market. The scape is the young stem and budding “flower” of…
Creamy Polenta with Parmesan
I dare say, if you love corn, you should certainly love polenta. I know it has a consistency that will put some people off, but if prepared well, the consistency is creamy and divine. Polenta is truly “peasant” food — but I love peasant food; most people do. When someone describes their favourite “comfort food,”…
Giordano Barbera D’asti (2007)
I had a number of options in choosing what to pair with my osso buco. I did think local … really, I did. But in the end, I went to the terroir of the dish, I went to Northern Italy, and I selected from my cellar a wine that’s been sitting there for about 5…
Osso Buco
There are few dishes in the world that I love as much as osso buco which, purely translated, is “hole in the bone.” I love it for the marriage of all its flavours into a comforting, richness. I love the philosophy of this dish. It is “slow food” done to perfection. While this classic Italian…
Macaroni and Six-Cheeses … with pancetta crumble
If there was a food equivalent of original sin, I think I’ve discovered it. Long have I had the notion of creating a gourmet version of a childhood comfort food so many of us grew up on … create something very very adult. The inspiration for this comes from watching Gordon Ramsay several years ago challenge his…
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Who doesn’t love Lady and Tramp? What kid doesn’t enjoy slurping spaghetti? Who doesn’t love a meatball (spicy or not)? With all due love to vegetarians in my life, I gave you my my almost vegan tourtière — now, this is my chance to indulge the carnivore in me … and the Italian in me which I’m…
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…
Marinara Sauce … from harvest to scratch
There is making things from scratch … and then there is making them from harvest to jar or, in my case, from seed to jar. And as satisfying as all my preserves have been, there was nothing more satisfying than making my own marinara sauce with the tomatoes I grew myself. While the recipe that…
Minestrone with Chard and Prosciutto
My CSA shares have given me three challenges related to the regularity and volume of certain bounties: zucchini, kale, and chard. The first of these veggies I’ve managed very well; the kale is getting used as well, but with less imagination; the chard, however, has been a harder test. Zucchini is ‘easy’ by comparison because…