appetizer
Quinoa Salad
Ancient grains…two words that conjure up something you might find in an archeological dig! They’ve been around for a millennium and include quinoa, amaranth, spelt, and kamut. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a grain that comes from the Andes mountains of South America and its origins dates back to that of the Inca’s. There are more…
Read MoreFresh Spring Rolls
The house feels empty now that Aida and Laura aren’t here. I enjoy cooking for both of them as they aren’t fussy eaters and are game to try new foods. One morning Aida asked me if I thought my time spent in Asia made me a better cook. Hmm, a good question to which I have…
Read MoreGrilled Vegetable Stacks with a Feta Salsa
It’s been a scorcher the last two weeks but that hasn’t stopped us from being outdoors. Summer for us automatically means using the barbeque more – and we grill anything! Of course we grill the usual suspects such as meat, chicken, fish and veggies. But we also love grilled bread, pizza, artichokes, onions, romaine lettuce,…
Read MoreRoasted Red Pepper Salad with White Beans and Anchovy Sauce
I enjoy listening to stories of the past and with my mother in-law visiting, it’s the perfect time to hear more. Aida was born on the tiny island of Gibraltor 89 years ago. She moved to England in 1946 and has what I call a lovely Spanish/English accent. We are never short on conversation, our…
Read MoreCedar Plank Grilled Mushroom Stacks
John and I barbeque all year round and when Spring and Summer arrive, it’s full on. Our barbeque gets used on a weekly basis so it’s not unusual to see me out on our back deck firing up the barbie. I love it…less mess for me to clean up! I’ve been noticing more and more…
Read MoreGrilled Broccolini with Garlic Anchoy Sauce
The tail end of Spring is drawing to a close and thankfully the warmer weather has arrived. And because of this, the air in our neighborhood is perfumed with food being cooked on backyard barbeques. If you don’t barbecue you almost feel left out. When I head out to our back deck to fire up…
Read MoreDaylily Petal Salad
How decadent! Daylilies in a salad! Using flowers in a dish isn’t a new thing for me but it has been a long time since I last did so. My grandmother always had a bed of nasturtiums in her flower garden which she used in bouquets around the house and if memory serves me correctly,…
Read MoreGrilled Romaine Salad with Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon Dressing
‘We both love to garden. We love the look of our gardens (most of the time). We talk about what we will do next season differently and what new crop we want to try. But we both garden differently. Karen’s garden mimics the French “potager” (raised-bed in a pattern) style with an emphasis -a BIG…
Read MoreBaked Avocado with Egg, Tomato and Bacon – Happy Mother’s Day!
I don’t think there’s an avocado recipe I haven’t enjoyed and this dish is so easy to make. The avocado has been around for thousands of years and is rich in potassium (helps regulate blood pressure) and vitamin A (helps your eyes). Avocado paste can be applied to the skin to help with rashes and…
Read MoreRoasted Acorn Squash and Beet Salad
If you’ve been following my blog you know how much I love a salad. For me a salad can be as simple as leaves such as rocket (arugula) gently tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper or dressed up where the veggies are grilled such as this zucchini ribbon salad. Salads…
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