Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
From Ancient Remedy to Beloved Dessert – A Spice Route Treasure – Rhubarb’s roots stretch back thousands of years to the mountainous regions of northern and central Asia (China, Mongolia, and Siberia), where it was cultivated primarily for medicinal purposes. The Chinese prized it as a digestive tonic and laxative,
Rhubarb Soda
Move over rhubarb pie! Rhubarb is a plant that was used by the Chinese for medicinal purposes as far back as 2700BC and showed up in North America around the early 1800’s. Its culinary usage is relatively new compared to its medicinal application. Rhubarb season is in the Spring and I grew up with my…
Tomato, Eggplant and Bocconcini Salad
This is a perfect dish for easy entertaining as it can be prepared ahead of time before your family and friends arrive. Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, and a good source of vitamin A and K. Eggplant features a host of vitamins and minerals. The skin of an eggplant is a potent…
Barbecued Pizza
My husband and I enjoy using the barbecue all year round and especially love grilling bread on it. Commercially produced pizza can be high in salt, fat and calories but if you prepare your own, you can make it according to your dietary needs. A vegetable pizza with just a little cheese can be healthy…
Meat-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
A cabbage roll consists of a cooked cabbage leaf wrapped around a filling, usually meat, and is cooked in a sauce. It’s a common cuisine of Europe and Western Asia as well as being popular in North America by early settlers from Eastern Europe. I have fond memories of my great grandmother making her cabbage…
Crispy Chicken with Tarragon Salt
Have you ever walked past a fast food restaurant and sometimes find the smells of foods being deep-fried hard to resist? This is what happened to me the other day but I resisted the temptation and instead decided to produce a batch of my own Colonel Sanders chicken! This recipe calls for sea salt which…
Semolina Cake with Strawberries in Rose Syrup (Basbousa)
This aromatic sweet is perfect for a picnic or backyard barbecue. The Basbousa, a Middle Eastern dessert, is sweet and soaked in syrup and has a spongy texture. Semolina is made from durum wheat and is yellow in color. It is usually the basis for dried products such as couscous and bulgur as well as…
Roasted Rack of Lamb with Anchovies and Rosemary
Sunday dinners at home usually meant meats roasted in the oven or in the summer my Mom would marinate roasts overnight and use the rotisserie on the barbecue. I can still hear the rotisserie as it labored to turn the meat around. Those aromas always strike a chord in my heart and so it was…
Grilled Tomatoes with Spinach Stuffing
Casual entertaining has always appealed to me and I like no-fuss recipes that can be easily made ahead of time and keeps me more in front of my guests than in the kitchen. The following recipe can be prepared up to the point where the spinach is grilled. When your guests arrive, finish off with…
Roast Onion and Celeriac Ravioli with Walnut Pesto
Almost every region in Italy has its version of stuffed pasta. Historically vegetable-based fillings were eaten year round by those too poor to buy meat but such is not the case today. Homemade pasta is so easy to make and not as fussy as one might think. Celeriac, (also known as celery root), is an…
Grilled Goat Cheese on Toast
For my birthday, my girlfriend Patti gave me the book, Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl. I was intrigued to read it as it was Ms. Reichl’s memoirs of her becoming a restaurant critic, not that I want to become one, just curious as to how people people get their start in such a…
Spring Pasta with Fiddleheads
Fiddleheads, you ask, are the unfurled fronds of a young ostrich fern. They are collected in the wild before the frond has opened and sold as a seasonal vegetable in stores and outdoor markets. They are called fiddleheads because they resemble the curled ornamentation (scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a fiddle. …
Lamb Exohiko
I enjoy reading other food blogger recipes and Peter, from Kalofagas (Greek Food and Beyond), is one I view on a regular basis. His food postings always show at least three or four photos of each recipe along with tidbits of information allowing the reader to get a feel for the dish from start to…