A springtime favourite, Spanakopita made with wild nettles instead of spinach = Nettlekopita. I’m sure the Greeks would have a different name for it, but I’m attached to my made-up name, using it as I have for at least a dozen years. I usually forage for wild nettles around Easter-time, along with my brother-in-law, known
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April 18, 2011
Wild Nettle-kopita
March 16, 2011
Homemade Organic Chicken Stock
I have been ill with the never-ending fluish thing for almost two weeks now. A full week of that time was spend laid up in bed. Anyone who knows me knows that laying in bed for seven days (or even for one day) is completely out of character for me. So, as you can imagine,
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February 25, 2011
Cheese Puffs to Die For, courtesy of French Mint
Almost the very best thing about attending a cooking class at French Mint is the warm gougere you get when you first arrive. A gougere is a made-in-heaven cross between a crispy yorkshire pudding and cheese fondue, mmmmmmmm, but lighter, more delicate, and more sophisticated than either. It is a miniature puff ball of choux
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February 10, 2011
Japanese Sour Cherry and Green Tea Sorbet
Very early spring is all about Japanese cherry blossoms and fresh new flavours. This early spring weekend marks the return of the annual Victoria Tea Festival, held at the Crystal Gardens downtown. Tea traditions, tea trends, cooking with tea, perfectly brewed cups of tea, presentations and much more. I am lucky enough to be one
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January 25, 2011
Smothered Pork Chops with Apple
The other night, I made the yummiest and best smothered pork chops with apple for dinner. My two kids weren’t so sure about this whole pork chop thing. They approached their plates with wary curiosity, as if the pork chops were a bizarre and alien food. They asked me strange questions: “Mommy, what is pork?”
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November 30, 2010
How to peel and chop a winter squash
As promised many weeks ago, here is a post all about peeling and chopping winter squash. This is the Chef Heidi Way of doing it, but it’s pretty effective and also safe (how many of you have cut yourselves trying to this another way?). Start with a cutting board, a relatively sharp and good-sized knife,
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September 27, 2010
How to Freeze Corn on the Cob (off the cob)
Yesterday, I took a small time out of mothering and schoolwork to judge a pie contest. Yeah, it was tough. The pie contest was sponsored by Get Fresh and held at Sea Cider’s beautiful location in honour of their Apple Day festival. It was fun, it was fruity, and it was a much needed break for me. On
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September 12, 2010
Chicken Dinner in a Clay Roaster
We’ve been hit early with the fall weather this year and so I’m getting cozy with my cold-weather cooking gear: soup pot, slow cooker, clay roaster… My clay roaster is something that kicked around my kitchen for a few years before I figured out how to use it properly. (I have a habit of acquiring,
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September 6, 2010
Moist and Fluffy Kefir Pancakes
This rainy Labour Day morning most definitely called for pancakes. Notice I am not admitting that it was yesterday’s huge pantry clean-out that dictated the breakfast menu today. I definitely did not find many jars of last year’s Apricot Preserves, blackberry sauce and red strawberry jam, all of which needed to be used up ASAP. That’s right, I
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September 2, 2010
Dinner Blues and some tasty Crispy Broiled Chicken
Tonight is a good example of how things don’t always go smoothly in Chef Heidi’s kitchen. It was a case of the age-old question: ”What’s should I make for dinner?”. Or, in my case, “WTF?! Again?! Ug, do I have to do this every night? And with what, exactly?” Yes, even us fabulous chefs run
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