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Fresh Pasta – Pasta Fresca all’uovo
I’ve been wanting to learn to make fresh pasta for quite a few years; I did make an attempt at it a while back, when I was replicating historical recipes (something I’m still really interested in). I found rolling the dough out with a rolling pin didn’t really work for me – I either didn’t have the upper body strength or the patience to get the thinness I was looking for. I’ve waffled on buying a pasta machine, because they’re a bit pricey and I’m not a fan of having kitchen gadgets take up space unless they’re really getting used. But then a friend lent theirs to me, and I’m…
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Chicken and Rice Soup
I love this Chicken and Rice Soup, which was suggested to me by a friend on Twitter after I was given a giant bag of rice last year. But the way the original recipe was formatted and written at Bon Appetit (with autoplay video links, ugh!) made me crazy. So I’ve re-written it with some small changes (I hate kale, so I sub in spinach). I find the soup base itself a nice substantial chicken soup, but the garlic oil makes it addictive, and I always double that part of the recipe, at least. The rice does sometimes break down into mush, but I don’t mind that – it just…
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Poulet en cocotte (Roast Chicken in a Pot)
Like many people, I spent this Thanksgiving apart from my family due to the pandemic. I’d had a rough week for a whole bunch of reasons, and was feeling really sad about missing out; cooking a big feast with and for people I love is one of my favourite things. But we decided we’d eat together over video chat, so I went ahead and made up a whole dinner like I’d do at home, though on a smaller scale – pumpkin pie, stuffing, melting potatoes, spinach salad with macintosh apples and sliced almonds, and instead of a turkey, a lovely roast chicken. Roasting a chicken is pretty straightforward, and I’ve…
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
A comfort food based on roasted brussels sprouts, with caramelized onions, bacon, and a lovely vinaigrette - it's quick, easy, and delicious!
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Roasted Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables
This is a nice quick, healthy dinner that’s very filling and tasty. I’ve often made it for dinner and than saved leftovers for lunches. It definitely tastes best warm, though it’s okay cold. It’s also great with pasta, to make it a heartier meal – I had some leftover cooked pasta, and heated it up with some leftovers of this dish, and it was great. Adding the bocconcini a few minutes before serving gives it a chance to melt, which is really nice. You could also add oregano to the balsamic vinegar mixture, or a different variety of vegetables that roast well; I’ve never tried it with zucchini, but I…
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Black Bean Chipotle Soup
A deliciously spicy, flavourful soup that’s warming and filling. This time of year, I like bright, spicy flavours and hearty soups that kick you out of your post-festivities malaise and get you back into the kitchen. This soup was serendipitous; I didn’t feel like cooking, and I was irritated that the grocery store didn’t have half of the ingredients I needed for the recipe I wanted to make. I felt grumpy that I had to come up with something on the fly, and thought this was going to be one of those soups that you made and ate dutifully without really enjoying it. I cooked it based on a recipe,…
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Cassie’s Banana Bread
This is my sister Cassie’s banana bread recipe; I made it for the first time this week. Cassie’s critique was that I mashed the bananas too fine – she likes more chunks of banana in the baked loaf. So keep that in mind! This is a nice, straightforward recipe that turns out delicious every time – or at, least every time I’ve eaten it! Cassie’s Banana Bread Ingredients 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup melted butter 2/3 cup honey (less with more banana) 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking soda a pinch of salt Directions Preheat the oven to 350…
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The Perfect Omelette
Okay, the title is hyperbole – it’s a big claim to say that you can tell someone how to make the perfect omelette, and I’m still learning. I suspect that it’s one of those things that you can work your whole life to perfect. But this is as close to perfection as I’ve gotten it, and since I’ve reached new-to-me heights of omelette perfection, I thought I’d share. My go-to version is a fried onion and cheddar cheese omelette, but you can do any kind of fillings you like; the varieties are endless, and it’s very much about personal taste. This one is my staple because I always have cooking…
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Pear and Cardamom Caramel Cake
I love cardamom, and a couple of years ago my sister Cassie gave me a beautiful cookbook, The Cardamom Trail, by Chetna Makan. Aside from having beautiful pictures and lots of great writing, the recipes are fantastic. And tis weekend, I decided to try making the Pear and Cardamom Caramel Cake. I’ve never done an upside-down cake before, and it’s even been a while since I made anything in a springform pan! I had to buy a new one to make this recipe, as I made my delicious cheesecake for a friends’ birthday about a year ago, and left the springform at their place. I don’t know if it’s just me,…
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Pickled Onions
Last Summer I had tacos that came with pickled onions as a topping, and something about the flavours made me slightly obsessed. I thought about making pickled onions on and off for ages, but couldn’t find a recipe I really liked the look of, so I sort-of forgot about it. Then a few weeks ago I was in Montreal for the Folk Alliance International conference, and I was served a dish with the most delicious pickled onions ever, and it reminded me that they are easy to make and that I ought to just give them a shot and see if I could come up with something I liked. I…
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Lemon Cake (Vegan!)
I’m generally pretty suspicious of vegan baking – I’ve tried a few nearly-inedible vegan sweets in the past that really turned me off. But there are a lot of great bakers out there who’ve found ways to make really wonderful vegan treats, and in looking through their recipes I found that there’s a pretty consistent formula – somehow the vinegar does the trick. This lemon cake is tasty and moist, and honestly you wouldn’t know it was vegan by taste or texture. I baked this cake last week for my sister Sammi’s birthday – she and my other sister, Cassie, were doing Vegan February, so my usual go-to birthday treats,…
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Apple Cider Doughnuts
There’s a crispness in the air, the smell of woodsmoke and leaf mould fills my nose, and the trees are blazing in beautiful colours. All I want to do is bake and make comfort food, but I have a broken wrist, so most of my favourite recipes which involve rolling out dough or chopping vegetables are out of reach for the next few weeks while my bone knits back together. So here’s a recipe that I can do one-handed, and I’m sure you can too, though if you don’t have to I wouldn’t recommend it. These doughnuts are baked, so really they’re kind-of a circular muffin, but they’re very cute…
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Dill Pickles
Dill pickles are an easy start for a beginning canner, and a staple of most home canners’ Summers. Pickling cukes are new cucumbers, and are available from sometime in July through until maybe mid-September. They’re a nice quick project, easy to do on a week night after work, and the ingredients are easily available at local Farmers’ Markets and at most grocery stores. Dill Pickles Yield: 5-6 cups Prep Time: 30 minutes Processing Time: 10 minutes Resting Time: 24 hours When to eat: It’s fine to eat them immediately after you’ve canned them, but if you can, give them at least a month to let the flavours deepen. Once opened,…
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Dilly Beans
I love canning, and pickling is one of the easiest kinds of canning that you can do. It takes very little prep, it’s easy, and it’s one of the safest kinds of canning because of the acidic environment created by the vinegar. Which is why it’s great for beginners – especially Dilly Beans, which are cheap and easy to do. And who doesn’t love pickles? I took a trip down to the St. Lawrence Market‘s weekly Farmer’s Market this past weekend to pick up pickling dill, beans, and pickling cukes – I meant to grow my own dill this year, but due to poor pot placement in the pocket garden,…
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Dutch Oven Campfire Bread
I like camping, and being out in the woods; it’s energizing to be surrounded by trees and water and far away from city life (which I also love, but need a break from sometimes). When I was a kid, we used to go to Silent Lake Provincial Park to camp as a family, and we all love it there – particularly because the lake is closed to motorized vehicles, and it’s really peaceful with just canoes and kayaks exploring the lake. This year, my mom finally organized us into renting one of Silent Lake’s yurts for a few nights, and we headed up in early July. There are lots of…
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Nana Cynthia’s Crepes
My Nana Cynthia gave this recipe to my sister Sammi when she was about 10; we wanted crepes, so Sammi called up Nana and copied down the recipe from her. We were all pretty amused to see that Sammi had spelled them ‘creaps.’ To my mind, paper-thin, hot crepes with lemon juice and icing sugar are both the only way to eat crepes, and they are the best treat in the world. But this crepe is a neutral base, and you can use it for sweet or savoury fillings. This recipe simultaneously reminds me of my Nana and my sisters as well as Paris, which I’ve visited in the Springtime…
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Roasted Tomato Soup
I was never a soup person until, in my early twenties I spent some time working at a private golf club as a waiter. The chef at the club was fantastic, and tasting his daily soups (so that I could recommend them to our customers) converted me from a person who thought all soup tasted like tinned soups to someone who understood that flavours could combine beautifully and still taste delicious and fresh. This Roasted Tomato Soup reminds me of his soups; fragrant, hearty, and bursting with flavour. It’s the kind of thing I’m glad I know how to make, especially when the Winter is lingering and all I want…
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Salted Golden Caramel Bars
Salted Golden Caramel Bars are a fabulous recipe – simple, quick, and completely irresistible once it’s done. A pan of these rarely lasts more than a day at our house; that salty, gooey, buttery deliciousness is too hard to resist. I know salted caramel is a fad from a few years ago, but it’s also a classic – one of those things that will never go out of style. The other great thing about these bars is that they’re essentially glammed-up, slightly more adult, vegetarian Rice Krispie Squares. A lot of people don’t realize that marshmallows aren’t vegetarian (they’re made with gelatin, which is made from bones), and strict vegetarians…
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Turmeric Roasted Vegetables with Tahini Dressing
I’ve been experimenting with a few different flavourful salads over the past few months, and this one is a combination of two different recipes. Turmeric Roasted Vegetables are a nice filling lunch or dinner with a bright colour and an intense flavour. I find it really tasty and filling, especially for lunches. In these cold winter months, it’s nice to eat meals that are packed full of vitamin C and feel fresh and healthy. And Turmeric is so great – it not only adds visual interest and flavour, but is supposedly an anti-inflammatory. While this is a great meal for anyone, it’s also vegan and Whole30 compliant. When taking it…
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Roasted Squash with Shallots, Garlic, and Red Pepper
This tasty side dish was an on-the-fly invention during an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner (we ate at 9pm, unexpected friends dropped by, it was lovely). Roasted squash isn’t exactly rocket science, but it’s nice to get away from the usual squash with brown sugar and butter, and probably a smidge healthier. When this is done, the delicious caramelized sauce is almost like a vegan gravy – you may find yourself licking the pan. This recipe is Whole30 compliant, and if that’s not your jam you can add some butter to the squash when you’ve got it on your plate, but you really don’t need it at all – the sauce created…
