Barley Salad with Roasted Squash and Fennel

It can be a challenge keeping your kids healthy when they live at home but when they leave the nest for university or boarding schools this can be a bigger challenge. We’re happy to be back in Nova Scotia for many reasons and one of those is that Laura is able to hop on a…

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Red Onion Jam with Dhal

Baby it’s cold outside! We’ve been having a pleasant Maritime November but today the mercury dipped, no wait, it took a nose dive. It’s days and evenings like this that I just want a blanket wrapped around me, plunk myself in front of the television while consuming a bowl of hot soup.  While dhal isn’t…

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Persimmon Apple Radicchio Stacks

I intimidate people.  I remember the first time I was told this and was floored! It wasn’t said in a negative way nor aimed at my personality.   It happened to pertain to my style of cooking.   We love to entertain and our friends enjoy coming to our house for dinner.  The issue tends to…

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Miso Tofu Bok Choy

Sometimes I get ahead of myself. I took this photo half a year ago and am just now posting it. Why? Well I love to collect cookbooks, not just any cookbooks, ones that seduce me into buying. Last year I must have been seduced a lot as I think I purchased over 20 cookbooks! My…

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Tzatziki

Tzatziki is a thick Greek sauce where it is served with gyros, souvlaki or in a mezze.  But you can use it with just about anything! Try it as an accompaniment to fish, grilled chicken, lamb, pita bread, falafel, grilled vegetables, as a dip – you get the idea. Tzatziki is easy to make and is…

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Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomato Dressing

Couscous is a versatile pasta made of tiny grains of dough that are steamed. Couscous originated in Morocco and northern Algeria, and is a staple throughout North Africa. It can be served as a breakfast cereal, dressed as a salad, and sweetened for a dessert. It’s most common use is as a side in a…

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Baby Eggplant with Gruyère and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

For whatever the reason, I was having difficulty planning dinner last night.  My brain was all over the food road map!  So instead of trying to figure of what to have I decided on a tapas-style evening of little plates of food.  Tapas are appetizers enjoyed by the Spanish.  It allows for everyone at the…

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Black Bean Salad

Beans. They’ve been around since time immemorial and while there are thousands of varieties, only a tiny fraction are mass-produced for our enjoyment. The only beans I knew growing up was my mom’s baked beans usually made from navy beans and sometimes she’d throw in kidney beans, much to my chagrin.  I really had no…

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Caprese Salad (insalata caprese)

caprese salad

Insalata caprese is a tomato and mozzarella salad from the island of Capri. This simple yet delicious Italian antipasto makes perfect use of local heirloom tomatoes which are available now in grocery stores and markets.  Extra-virgin olive oil highlights the sweetness of the heirloom tomatoes and is the only dressing needed. What makes this salad…

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