Classic British Potted Shrimp
A Tudor classic that won over Ian Fleming and James Bond: tiny shrimp sealed under golden spiced butter, made for warm toast.
portobello mushroom primavera
When one lives in a geographical location with four distinct seasons, Spring is the one I look forward to the most. It signals a time of rebirth and a hint of what lies ahead…warmer weather and longer days equals more time spent outdoors. Spring officially began in Canada on March 20th. The weather in the…
sicilian doughnuts – light & fluffy!
My paternal grandmother was the queen of doughnuts! Hers was the precursor to what Canadian’s lovingly call timbits. The only part of a doughnut my grandfather liked was the hole left behind from the doughnut cutter. I can’t recall if he felt it was too much to eat a whole doughnut or he just preferred…
eight 30-minute weekday meals
Ah, meal planning…it’s a daily necessity and while some don’t have an issue with it, a good portion of us do. The days when a single income family was the norm is all but an anomaly. My generation might have been able to squeak by on one salary but these days that’s not the case.…
spaghetti and meatballs (my cheater’s version)
After a long day, the last thing you want to think about is what to make for dinner. If you live alone or have a family, cooking a meal most probably isn’t at the top of the to-do list. Compound this with work, perhaps picking up the kids from daycare and arriving home after six…
diy beeswax wraps
We’re all familiar with the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and I’d like to think most make a conscious effort to use those three R’s, yours truly included. But, sometimes I fall back into what’s comfortable or easy-to-use. Last week I was at our farmers’ market and I saw a couple of vendors selling beeswax…
DIY Kumquat Infused Vodka
A bourbon sour in 2015 set me off exploring cocktails and infusing my own spirits. Kumquat vodka is one of my favourites, perfect in a Moscow Mule.
best ever oven baked bbq ribs
Best ever, you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, yes. But let’s be perfectly honest, EVERYONE has said at one point in their cooking life, theirs is the best! And, guess what? They are 100% right! As an avid cook (40 years), I have eaten and baked a ton of bbq ribs; some that were…
roasted cabbage with parmesan
Cabbage gets a bad rap if you ask me. It’s been around for three thousand years and yet it’s not front of mind in the vegetable world. Most will have eaten it raw in a coleslaw and not many will have tried it cooked on the stovetop or in the oven. Perhaps we don’t do…
Stracciatella Soup
No muss, no fuss. A Roman favourite, named for the eggs that shred into little rags as they’re stirred into hot broth with Parmesan.
steamed mussels with black bean garlic sauce
One of the first sauces we tried when we moved to Hong Kong was the black bean. The description alone made us wonder how much our senses were going to be assaulted. After all, how could fermented black soybeans taste anything but salty and smell stinky? That was the westernness coming out in me or…
Braised Chicken Wings
Sticky braised wings glazed in a savoury-sweet sauce, finished with sliced scallions.
brown butter gnocchettini dumplings
These aren’t your typical dumplings. And it might be a bit confusing if you are used to seeing dumplings the size of golf balls in a stew or soup. I’m pretty sure if my great, great paternal grandmother saw this dish she, too, would say these are not dumplings! Nanny Kent was born in Bohemia…