Thanksgiving and pumpkin…. Every holiday seems to have a culinary pairing that evokes comfort and connection. For me, Thanksgiving means pumpkin, typically in the form of pumpkin pie. Every fall, I buy a half-dozen pie pumpkins and through a simple process that takes an afternoon, I bake them, scoop out the flesh, drain them of…
Maple-Apple Jelly
At its most fundamental level, cooking is pure chemistry and physics. At its most profound, it is art, tradition, culture, identity and love. Nothing arguably combines both as purely as making preserves. Thus when I took up the most recent challenge in The Canadian Food Experience Project chose to make it personal, I found myself with the challenge…
Chocolate Zucchini Cake (Gluten-Free)
As mentioned in my last post, three staples of my CSA shares have seemed both constant in their delivery and therefore a constant challenge to use too. The inspiration of what to do with my last batch of zucchini came through my ruminations in September as I prepared to share a “cherished Canadian recipe.” In…
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…
Roasted Corn Salad
What’s the difference between a salad and a salsa, besides the language? The difference is “sauce” (which is what salsa translates). With the end of summer and the end of fresh corn nearing, I was craving corn to form the basis of salad number four in my five course salad night … and I wasn’t looking…
Grilled Fennel and Orange Salad
When the fennel showed up in my CSA share last week, I knew what salad number three was going to be in my five course salad night. I also knew I wanted citrus in it as a change of pace, even though the flavour isn’t exactly in season. But because of the season, I wasn’t…
Watermelon Salad
Those who’ve read my posts for a bit know that my values around food are hugely influenced by eating local and in season. I love the purity and simplicity of certain foods and dishes … which is why I unapologetically posted my own caprese salad a few days ago. When a whole watermelon showed up…
Insalata Caprese with Balsamic
Ahh… the flavours of the Mediterranean. There is an elemental purity to Mediterranean food which is hard to describe and which can really only be experienced. So elemental is it, that it is a challenge in my experience to fully participate outside of the region itself. You can taste the fire of the sun, the…
Grilled Ratatouille
Ratatouille…. I’ll wager it is one of those dishes that leaves very few on the fence. I’d also wager the distribution of fence dwellers isn’t even. What better challenge, then, than to make a classic dish whose heyday may be past but whose opportunity for a triumphant return remains. I previously remarked that if you…
Thai Salad with Napa Cabbage
Sweet ♦ Salty ♦ Sour ♦ Spicy ♦ Aromatic Some would define the classic Thai flavours as simply Sweet, Salty, Sour, which they are, but I like to think that it is a quintet that makes for most Thai food, not just a trio. And like any great band, it is harmony of playing together that creates memorable moments….