I am posting today so that I secretly have an excuse to share this super exciting food discovery: a farm on Vancouver Island (in fact, right here on the Saanich peninsula) grows lentils!!! I know, right? WAY more exciting than all this local wheat taking up the headlines. Until now, there have been very limited
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March 7, 2013
Simple Moroccan Lentils
January 30, 2013
Chard with a Spanish-Moorish Twist (Catalan Chard)
This is one of those recipes that I find myself making again and again. There is something so very comforting about the interplay of soft greens, sweet raisins and rich toasted nuts that has made this recipe a favourite vegetable dish for our family all winter. It’s getting to the point where I am making it
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December 7, 2012
Butter Pecan Cookies
I made these the first time only because I wanted to use up some pecans. I made these the second and subsequent times because they Are. So. Good. These cookies are beyond good when made with baby native pecans from Rancho Vignola. Anyone who read my last post will know that I am a huge fan of Rancho Vignola’s
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October 3, 2012
Warm Farro Salad with Winter Greens
I admit that I am a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. But still I like to add a new dish to the menu every few years. Last Thanksgiving I made a popular recipe, Warm Farro Salad, from my Great Grains cooking class. I thought the combination of nutty whole grain farro, roasted hazelnuts, and wilted winter greens would
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September 25, 2012
Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde)
One of my favourite September rituals is making a big batch of Salsa Verde. Salsa Verde is obscenely easy to make and yet it has so much wow-factor – it’s bright green, it’s delicious and tangy, it’s very ‘authentic Mexican,’ and it’s made with one the coolest fruit/vegetables I know of : tomatillos. You’ve probably
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September 13, 2012
Chinese Style Eggplant with Roasted Tofu
I am posting this recipe for two reasons: 1) It’s eggplant season right now and people, I’ve noticed, need help with eggplant ideas. 2) People also need help with tofu. And this post includes the hassle-free, the non-stick, the delicious, and I mean delicious, recipe for Crispy Roasted Tofu. My roasted tofu recipe might be
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September 7, 2012
Summer Salad Meal (West Coast Nicoise)
This was my lunch last week. It was made up of leftovers from the previous day’s dinner: salmon, beets, new potatoes and farm market salad. Although this looks like a gourmet and inventive use of leftovers, really it was me being lazy and trotting out something I already make regularly in the summer: the Summer Salad
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August 31, 2012
Garlic Chili Dilly Runner Beans
Yesterday, I posted one of our simplest and favouritest summer meals: crispy chicken with Nonna’s green beans. We eat green beans a lot around here, since they are a favourite vegetable of at least three members of our family. Seasonal, nutritious, tender-crisp, sweet, done in a jiffy – does it get any better? Yes, it does, apparently.
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August 16, 2012
Camping Food, Post Three: Huckleberry Pancakes
By the time you read this post, I will be away camping on beautiful Cortes Island with my children and their cousins. I will, without a doubt, be making a giant batch of these pancakes on the trip, possibly on this very day. Apparently, a camping trip without Auntie Heidi’s huckleberry pancakes is
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August 12, 2012
Blueberry Buckle Bars with Lemon
I made my first blueberry buckle last August, the same day that I picked up 110 pounds of blueberries from a local farm. The buckle was buttery and dense, like a pound cake, loaded with berries, and topped with a sweet streusel. We enjoyed it but, as always when we eat these kinds of things, I thought
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