Grilled Zucchini Feta Roll-Ups
If you are hunting for the perfect summer appetizer, these Grilled Zucchini Feta Roll-Ups have you covered for your next backyard BBQ. By pairing tender, zucchini ribbons
how to build a charcuterie board
Charcuterie has its origins in France and the word means a pork-butcher shop. While the original translation refers to pork, today’s charcuterie can include other types of food, such as duck, cheese, pâté, fresh or dried fruit. Think of charcuterie as a starter course or as the centerpiece when you have your family and friends…
fiddlehead salad – simply delicious!
What does a fiddlehead taste like? Well, in my opinion, it’s a cross between asparagus and artichoke. Some might say spinach, too. It’s a seasonal delicacy available now that lasts three to four weeks. Fiddleheads are sold at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. They are the unfurled fronds of a young ostrich fern and are…
rhubarb simple syrup
It’s rhubarb season! Growing up on the east coast of Canada, it’s one of the first desserts we would eat to welcome Spring. My mom had a huge rhubarb patch. It was so big (how big was it?) my siblings and I used it as a base to play hide and seek. We loved its…
farinata – genoese street food
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…
pasta with olive sauce and pangrattato
As a kid and for that matter a young adult, I despised olives! To me, they just tasted like salt with a whole lot of bitterness. That food memory stayed with me for a very long time. It was only 20 years ago that I began to enjoy these fruits. My first bite was a…
butterscotch custard with salted caramel sauce
Whoa! Hold onto your sweet tooth ’cause this dessert will have you asking for more! It has been ages, well I mean years since I last made a custard. On occasion, I have made custards but truthfully, I favour more of a fresh fruit kind of dessert. Having said that, my sweet tooth does show…
simple syrup (delicious in cocktails & desserts)
Making simple syrup is just that, simple! All you need is equal parts of sugar and water. This liquid sweetener is commonly used to sweeten cocktails, iced tea, iced coffee, lemonade, and other cold drinks. You can buy simple syrup from specialty grocery stores but it is much more economical to make your own at…
homemade grenadine – so easy to make!
When I was younger, a treat for me and my siblings was when our parents would take us out to dinner. Unlike today, that didn’t happen regularly when I was growing up. But when it did, it was a special event as I knew I would get treated to a Shirley Temple drink.
blueberry breakfast drink
What time do you go to bed? It varies for me but somewhere between 10:30 pm and 11:30 pm. Sleep allows our bodies to take a break from the day and recharge/repair overnight. At that time we are fasting from when we first fall asleep until we awake. That can be anywhere from six to…
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…
pecan pie bars with semi-sweet chocolate
Do you recall eating your first pecan pie? I sure do! I was a young kid traveling with my siblings and parents en route to see my grandparents in Florida (an annual winter vacation pilgrimage). The trip down wasn’t idyllic with 4 kids in the back of a station wagon along with two and a…
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…