bourbon candied pecans

bourbon candied pecans

Candied nuts are a favourite of mine and are even better when homemade.  I serve them in salads, over fresh fruit, as a snack or packaged as a hostess gift.  I love the taste of pecans and incorporate them into my dishes whenever possible. Roasting them is a welcomed sight on a charcuterie board. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

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fried zucchini rounds with yogurt dip

fried zucchini rounds

Fresh, local, zucchini is in abundance this time of the year.  Janine, my friend, and neighbour asked if I would like some zucchini from her garden.  Of course, I said yes!  Mr. S and I love zucchini and I’ve served it many, many ways.  The afternoon Janine brought over her freshly harvested zucchini, I knew…

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farinata – genoese street food

farinata - chickpea tart

Ever heard of the saying, ‘can’t see for looking’?  This was the case on Friday night.  I wanted to make pakoras before dinner and looked in my pantry to see if I had enough chickpea flour to make them.  As a result, I noticed the farinata recipe on the back of the package.  Hmmm, what…

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edamame hummus

edamame hummus

The first time I snacked on an edamame pod was when we lived in Asia (gosh, that’s over 11 years now!).  Mr. S and I were dining at a Japanese restaurant and while we waited for our food, the waiter brought us a bowl of cool, salted edamame pods. We had heard this snack was…

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escargot stuffed mushrooms

escargot stuffed mushrooms

Escargot (ehs-kahr-GOH) is the French word for snail. This little mollusk is famously served baked in a shell with a bubbling sauce of garlic, shallots, parsley, and butter.  As good as this sounds,  there are other ways to utilize this humble mollusk.  Use in a stir-fry with oyster sauce, soy sauce, red pepper.  Or, toss…

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pork sausage plait

pork sausage plait

On the kitchen countertop, I have a cubby hole (of sorts) where I stash recipe clippings or where scraps of paper with my scribbled recipes rest.  Every once and a while I do a clearout.  The other day I was tidying the countertop space when I saw my scribbled note on pork sausage plait. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

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braised chicken wings – happy Chinese new year!

braised chicken wings Chinese style

With Chinese New Year one week away, this celebration always gets me in the mood for Chinese cuisine.  Our time spent in Asia saw us with a keen curiosity for local food and traditions surrounding holidays and events.  While I have tried a variety of Chinese food, some came with much distaste (chicken feet, innards…

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focaccia di Recco (stuffed Italian flatbread)

focaccia di recco (Italian flatbread)

Most people have eaten focaccia famous around the world from Liguria, Italy but I’ll bet a pound to a penny few have tried the version from Recco (a town near Genoa).  Yours truly is one of those who most defintely haven’t sampled and what a tragedy!  I was checking my Instagram feed and saw a…

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hummus (with a surprising ingredient)

hummus - with a suprising ingredient

Most of us have, at some point, enjoyed hummus either as a dip with pita bread and veggies or as a condiment slathered over a falafel.  The recipe is simple;  grab a can of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), garlic, tahini, lemon or lime juice, coriander and process in a blender.  Hummus is a healthy substitute…

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avocado and shrimp wonton baskets

When entertaining, I like to make appetisers that err on the side of healthy.  I also make sure there’s a mix of food while being cognizant of the dietary restrictions our guests might have.  Last month I made wonton noodle soup but only used half the wonton wrappers; the rest I froze.  There’s always a…

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