homemade shawarma
Shawarma is a traditional Turkish dish (originating in the Ottoman Empire) in which the meat is slowly roasted on a spit, then shaved off and wrapped in pita bread. In Canada, especially in Nova Scotia, it’s called a donair. While donairs are topped with a sweet, tangy sauce, a shawarma is typically topped with tahini.…
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zucchini frittata
Typically a frittata is cooked in a skillet and finished off in the oven. It’s an easy clean-up with just one cooking vessel. However, I’m going to make you dirty one more cooking pan…gasp! 🙂 I have been making frittatas for years.
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pineapple upside-down cake
We enjoy eating fresh pineapple. When weather permits, there’s nothing better than fresh pineapple spears cooked on the barbeque. We also like ’em dunked in melted chocolate…yum! But fresh pineapple is equally delicious in this vintage recipe, pineapple upside-down cake. Upside-down cakes have been around since the 1800s and were initially cooked on cast-iron skillets…
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fried brie with honey
I don’t know why, but Christmas always seems to sneak up on me…39 days to go! It feels like summer and fall whizzed by. Each year I am on the hunt for new appetizers. I had seen a recipe for pan-fried brie Half Baked Harvest posted. Tieghan had me at fried brie and this inspired…
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thumbprint cookies
I’ve been going through some of my vintage cookbooks. One of my all-time favourites is the Purity Cookbook. This cookbook was one of Canada’s earliest printed collections of recipes. The first edition was in 1917 and my edition is from 1967. My mom, paternal and maternal grandmothers all had this in their repertoire of cookbooks.
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lemon crinkle cookies
Crinkle cookies have been around since the early 1950s and were initially made with chocolate. Helen Fredell invented crinkle cookies in St. Paul, Minnesota. In Betty Crocker’s book, “Cooky Carnival,” Crocker talks about being served these cookies at Mrs. Fredell’s home and begging for the recipe.
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fried chicken
According to Wikipedia, the origin of fried chicken in the southern United States can be traced to Scottish and West African cuisine. Scottish fried chicken was cooked in fat, but unseasoned. West African fried chicken was seasoned, battered, and cooked in palm oil.
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creamy butternut squash papperdelle
Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am always looking for interesting ways to enhance leftover food. Most years, I usually have turkey leftovers but this year it was my squash casserole. Recently, I was at an Italian market and purchased a package of pappardelle rigate. This pasta was begging to be used! 🙂 The…
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green bean casserole
Canadian Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October. In the US, the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving is on the last Thursday of November. Every family has its own tradition which typically honours passed down recipes from mothers and grandmothers. I have always liked casseroles.
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taramasalata dip
Twenty-six years ago, Mr. S introduced me to a Greek fish dip called taramasalata. We had recently begun to date and at a restaurant, he ordered the dip. I was, at first, turned off by the ingredients. However, when one is in a new relationship, one tends to be more adventurous. 🙂 But how on…
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french omelette
Last month Mr. S and I were heading back home after fourteen days in Italy and Greece. I don’t mind the travel and look forward to some cooking shows on the plane’s entertainment system! Selena & Chef was one of the programs I watched and her first guest was Chef Ludo. He showed her how…
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the easiest no-churn ice cream
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Rah! Rah! Rah! I’m an artisanal kinda gal when it comes to ice cream. The other day I bought a small container from the farmers’ market; salted caramel with brownie chunks. It didn’t take long to consume and I was left wanting more.
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fruit galette (rustic easy-to-make pie)
Want to make a pie but not sure if you can? Let’s start with a galette; it’s a perfect introduction to making one. Because it is a freeform shape it does not require a pan. And, to make things even easier, purchase the pie crust. Galette (Norman word meaning flat cake) is a term used…
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