bacon and gruyère egg bites – breakfast on the go!
Eleven days ago our daughter, Laura, became a missus. It was an intimate affair and not at all what was initially planned. Having said that, there’s something even more special when surrounded by immediate family. The morning of the wedding, Laura came to our room to get her makeup done. She had stopped to pick…
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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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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…
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diy kumquat infused vodka
Back in June 2015, my cocktail world as I knew it (virtually nonexistent) made an unexpected, but very pleasant discovery; I liked bourbon! Up until that time, my favorite tipple was vodka and tonic with lime. As a youngster, I recall my mom and dad enjoying a drink from a packet called a whiskey sour…
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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…
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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…
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stracciatella soup (italian egg drop soup)
No muss, no fuss. This soup is one of the easiest you’ll ever make and with minimal ingredients. What’s more, you can have it ready to serve in less than 15 minutes! Egg drop soup is a favorite in Rome and in central Italy. Stracciatella refers to the shredding of the eggs into little rags…
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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…
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braised chicken wings – happy Chinese new year!
With Chinese New Year one week away, this celebration always gets me in the mood for Chinese cuisine. Our time spent in Asia saw us with a keen curiosity for local food and traditions surrounding holidays and events. While I have tried a variety of Chinese food, some came with much distaste (chicken feet, innards…
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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…
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