bombette pugliesi – italian street food
The entertaining season is just around the corner! Christmas is in 47 days and now is a good time to think about what you’ll serve at your next soirée. I have my go-to finger foods but I always incorporate a few new ones every year. And boy, do I have a humdinger of an antipasto…
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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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pearl couscous, fresh peas, mint, pancetta & ricotta
Last month I posted a recipe on how to make fresh ricotta; a process that was kick-started by me purchasing a bag of fresh shelled peas. So, here I am today sharing with you that pasta dish I made using the homemade ricotta. Pearl couscous is also known as Israeli couscous and is larger than…
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all-dressed fiddleheads
Most people associate Spring vegetables with asparagus, leeks, rhubarb, ramps, and peas. But for a very brief time, fiddleheads are sold at markets and grocery stores. They are the unfurled fronds of a young ostrich fern and are collected in the wild before the frond has opened. They are aptly named because they resemble the…
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easy-to-make homemade ricotta
It all began with a bag of shelled green peas. I was thinking sautéed spring vegetables with pasta; the Italians call it primavera. But, I did not want to use traditional pasta such as linguine, penne, or tagliatelle. And, I had a yearning for some sort of fresh sauce, too, in lieu of a creamy…
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