Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomatoes

I enjoy combining raw vegetables and using them as an appetizer…fresh and pure instantly come to mind.  Plus there’s no need to worry about nutritional loss due to cooking.  This is such an easy recipe and looks wonderful on a plate!  Your family and friends will definitely take notice.  The avocado has been around for…

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Grilled Artichokes

I love artichokes of any form but have always steered clear when it comes to cooking them at home or should I say prepping them at home.  The first time I prepared an artichoke was last year – roasted artichoke bottoms with shrimp and herbed mayonnaise.  I was happy with the results but like anything…

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Quinoa Salad in Endive Spears

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) was an ancient food staple for the Inca civilization and has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years.  Its health benefits are huge. Quinoa contains more proteins than any other grain, is a good source of dietary fiber, gluten free and easy to digest, is high in magnesium, potassium and iron and…

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Tapenade

This dish originates in the south of France where the word caper in French means tapenas. The recipe I have doesn’t use capers but that doesn’t mean you can’t add them (try a tablespoon, first).  I was never a fan of olives until I ate a Kalamata olive.  I found the flavor more robust and…

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Roasted Chicken Breasts with Haloumi and Honey

Fresh, Fast, Simple.  That’s name of Donna Hay’s latest cookbook and it certainly is for those looking for easy weeknight meals when timing is everything.  I’ve made a few dishes from her book and two words always come to mind – fresh and flavorsome.  Halloumi (haloumi) is a traditional Cypriot cheese and is now made…

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Warm Duck Salad

I absolutely adore salads like this!  It shouts out fresh and is abundant in vitamins and minerals.  I haven’t always been a fan of duck as I thought it unhealthy. However, I did some research and along with watching celebrity chefs show off their creative ways of serving it helped me to get out of…

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Butter Tart Squares

I can’t remember when I first ate a butter tart…it’s been a very long time.  This is a recipe I’ve had for a while now and came across it when I was searching for another in my book of recipes I’ve collected over the years.  The butter tart square, I am guessing, hails from the…

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Ricotta Dumplings with Tomato Sauce

After making my first ever batch of homemade ricotta – the results were exceedingly good – I decided to make ricotta dumplings.  Back in January I made ricotta gnocchi and liked the results so I was intrigued to see how these dumplings would turn out.  When I read the ingredients, I thought how could three-quarters…

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