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.…
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BLT sandwich (brinjal, lettuce, tomato)
This isn’t your typical BLT sandwich as it uses eggplant bacon. Say what? Eggplant bacon has been circulating the web for quite some time but yours truly only recently heard about it when I saw it pop up on Instagram. Eggplant (aka aubergine or brinjal) is known for its deep purple and glossy skin. Some…
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strangolapreti (bread gnocchi with spinach)
I enjoy reading where things originate and even more, the meaning behind it. If you’ve ever eaten light, puffy pillows of gnocchi, you’ll be surprised to learn (or at least I was) to find out that gnocchi can also be made with stale breadcrumbs. Strangolapreti is a traditional dish in the Trento area of northern…
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baked squash slices – easy to make!
As a youngster, I never really cared for squash; it was so nondescript when boiled and mashed and usually ended up either too wet or too dry. That has since changed and I’ve come to enjoy it whether in a salad, casserole or soup. My kids love my grandmother’s baked squash casserole, however, this is…
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turkey pot pies
Canadian Thanksgiving was last weekend. Four hundred and forty-two years ago an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient, established a settlement in what is now called Newfoundland. He held a formal ceremony to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first…
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Ciro’s stracchino cheese crostini
What makes a delicious crostini? Two words; fresh ingredients. And when my farmers’ market has an Italian vendor selling his own cheese, I am ONE happy camper! Ciro Comencini moved to Nova Scotia with his wife, Alessia and their six children (soon to be seven!) in 2013. His dairy experience started with his family’s farm, just…
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local plum hand pies
September signals the slow end of a glorious summer but with it comes the bounty of the harvest. Stone fruits in Nova Scotia are in full swing now and I CANNOT get enough of peaches and plums! I recently purchased a bag of plums from Noggins Corner Farm Market and wanted to make hand pies…
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poached shrimp in olive oil
If there’s one staple I always have in my freezer, it’s a bag of frozen shrimp. They’re so versatile and many shrimp recipes out there are easy to prepare, economical and perfect for a mid-week meal. I recently poached shrimp in olive oil with a bit of butter as a last minute snack; I wasn’t…
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fried Brussels sprouts
When thinking about what appetizer to serve, most cooks don’t consider using cabbage and even less think about Brussels sprouts! As a kid, you would NEVER hear me say, “oh yes please, may I have more!” I disliked them for years. It wasn’t until I was and at my great aunt’s home when she served…
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what makes a good salad?
What makes a salad stand out? Last night, fondly enough, as I was preparing a salad (it was a scorcher of a day) I pondered the same thing. I looked at the ingredients laid out before me: avocado, leftover grilled steak, cherry tomatoes, fresh sugar snap peas, leftover grilled broccolini, and chilled lettuce leaves picked…
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oysters and mussels (PEI’s own merroir)
Oysters and mussels get their flavour from the sea much like wine gets theirs from the land (terroir). The chefs and fishermen of Prince Edward Island are coining their own treasures from the ocean by calling it merroir (from the sea). PEI is famous for its Malpeque oysters all due to a Paris exhibition in…
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5 cool foodie things to do in PEI
The culinary media tour I participated in last month resulted in my knowledge of Canada’s food island getting a good kick in the backside! I was relying on my memories of more than three decades ago! I pigeon-holed Prince Edward Island as a place to eat lobster in church basements, go camping, take in the…
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PEI – Canada’s Food Island
Earlier this month I received an email from Mark DeWolf of The Chronicle Herald asking if I would be interested in attending a 3-day media tour on Prince Edward Island. I said sure, send me the details. PEI holds fond memories for me (lobster suppers/camping) and has a special place in my heart so when…
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