The Atwater Library in Montréal stands near the corner of St. Catherine and Atwater, an oasis of English in this French-speaking town. It’s a proper, old-fashioned library, with arched windows, marble floors, a reading room, and quirky librarians who still stamp the due date on slips in the books you borrow. Pure heaven. It was there… Continue reading Tuna tartlets
What better cookbook to consult for Christmas recipes than Nigella Lawson’s Feast? This dish instantly caught my eye because of the main ingredient, eggplant, which I love, combined with many other favourites: soft mozzarella, parmesan, pine nuts, and lashings of good olive oil. The deep tomato red and brilliant parsley green make it look truly… Continue reading Wrapped up in love
Making guys eat their veggies calls for pretty much the same tactics you’d employ with children. You need to serve up the dreaded légumes in creative ways, such as slicing them up really small, smothering them with a favourite dressing or melted cheese, or even puréeing them up before slipping them into soups and pasta sauce.… Continue reading Cheers for chopped cabbage
…and suddenly, it’s November! Days are shorter, colder, and darker – so it was great to get take a short “trip” to India this past weekend with my girls’ club, where we soaked in lots of light and warmth and colour. In honour of Diwali, the festival of light, we painted glass tea light holders.… Continue reading I blinked…
Remember the pumpkin my friend Anna gave me earlier this month? I carved it up today. The pumpkin’s stem kind of looks like a witch’s hat! I used various-shaped leaves as a template for the design I carved out. As for the pumpkin seeds, I dried them out in a warm oven, then tossed them… Continue reading A Punkin’ Good Time
I would never have thought of mashing cauliflower, let alone adding it to mashed potatoes. But I was at a fancy banquet recently, wondering what was lending such a subtle flavour to the mashed potatoes, and the banquet organizer told me that the chef had told her it was cauliflower. Genius. The chef wasn’t about… Continue reading Mashed potatoes and….cauliflower?
Tahini, or sesame paste, is a staple ingredient of Middle Eastern cuisine. It’s sold in most supermarkets, or you can make your own at home. I got introduced to tahini years ago, after having a delectable dip called baba ganoush at my brother-in-law’s mother’s house. Researching the ingredients, I discovered that it’s made of mashed… Continue reading Homemade Tahini-Based Dips
It’s World Cup time again, so I’ve invented this recipe in honour of the team I’ll be cheering for. Go Italy! Artichoke and Spinach Dip 4-6 canned artichoke hearts, well drained and chopped 1 cup fresh spinach, wilted in a hot pan with a little oil and salt, and well drained 1 cup chopped cooked shrimp… Continue reading Celebrating the Beautiful Game
Try this salad for an easy weeknight meal this summer. Serve with roasted red pepper bruschetta on the side. 4 cups chopped fresh spinach, washed and drained very well (better yet, use a salad spinner)6 slices thick bacon, cut into bits (Most grocery stores sell packages of bacon ends, which are cheaper than those nicely… Continue reading Wilted Spinach Salad and Roasted Red Pepper Bruschetta
The recipe for fried chicken livers came through my Twitter feed this week from Saveur magazine. After drooling for days, I decided to make it as an appy for Sunday lunch. It was absolutely worth pulling out the deep fryer for. Here’s the tweaked recipe, with my notes: *To make self-rising flour, just mix together… Continue reading Fried chicken livers – perfect warm weather appy
