It’s September, and that means an abundance of succulent, savory-sweet, drip-down-your-chin tomatoes. One of my favourite pleasures is to be in the garden, weeding, harvesting, and to pick a tomato from the vine, bite into that wonderful fruit warm from the sun, and just let all that flavour burst in my mouth. It feels sinful. And isn’t. Among my many tomato strategies is to make salsa, which I often ended up using not just as…
Either Friday or Saturday evening Gary and I plan a special evening: yummy food, music or a movie. This week my culinary adventures took me to Ontario organically raised lamb, and domestic salad. I give you: Spicy honey marinated lamb chops, along with kale and blueberry salad the Lamb 4/person lamb loin chops The Marinade (for service for two) 1/2 cup Ontario honey 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 1 teaspoon chili flakes (or fresh chili,…
Summer Dining with Catfish Ceviche When it looks like it’s just going to be too hot to cook, either on the range or the barbecue, a little forethought can provide you with a deliciously savoury and cool dinner. In this case, the main event is ceviche, a quick-pickled fish concoction which is purported to be as old as 2000 years in Peru, but more likely of Moorish origins when Spanish conquistadors colonized the area. However,…
This time of year one of the early delights of the herb garden is sorrel, that wonderful perennial green, salty and savoury, a spring delight. It occurred to me sorrel would make a delicious cold soup, a variation on watercress soup and vichyssoise. 4 medium white potatoes, scrubbed and cut into about 1″ cubes 2 cloves garlic, peeled 1/2 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped a few grinds of fresh black pepper 1/4 teaspoon sea…
This is a succulent, fresh salad to serve as a compliment to chicken or fish. a bounty of ripe mangoes Mango cashew salad 1 large, ripe mango, peeled and cut into small pieces 1 small apple, preferably a tart variety, washed, cored and cut into small pieces 2 green onions finely minced 1 orange, peeled and sectioned 1/3 cup whole cashews zest of one orange juice of one orange 1/4 cup olive oil 3 tbs….
Recently had another Sunday kitchen therapy day. Had a quantity of chicken drumsticks in the freezer. Had a hankering for something slow-roasted, sweet and savoury. Came up with this concoction which turned out to be schmecking good. light to dark maple syrup Maple Ginger Chicken 1 1/2 cups dark maple syrup (don’t use pancake syrup) 1/4 cup lemon juice zest of one lemon 1/4 cup teriyaki 3 cloves garlic 2″ fresh ginger 1 dried chilli…
It’s Sunday. A kitchen therapy day. I had a pork shoulder roast in the freezer, bone in, saddle attached, and thought I’d experiment with a fusion of eastern fragrances and tastes in a slow-roasted environment. pork shoulder roast The ingredients. olive oil bulb of whole fennel, stalks included, washed and sliced thickly red pepper, washed, seeded and cut into chunks whole bulb of garlic, peeled and minced; or frozen, pureed garlic scapes, about 2 tbsp….
So the great roasted beast (turkey) happened for Christmas Day, and with only two of us that means a lot of leftovers. I don’t mind leftovers. Leftovers means lots of creativity in the kitchen. I also had a mango that needed to be used, and leftover cranberry chutney. After skimming a few recipes for chicken mango curry, I decided to wing it (please pardon the pun), and voilà, this is what I came up with. Turkey Mango…
Yesterday was another kitchen therapy day, and on the menu were pork tenderloin and some lovely red Anjou pears. So, what to do with them? Here’s what resulted, but alas no pictures this time. Wrapped Pork Tenderloin12 pieces dried tomatoes3 cloves garlic1 small chilli pepper6-12 spears of asparagus, depending how large the are the spears, washed and tough ends removedpastry, enough for a double crust pie1 pork tenderloin, silver-skin removedsalt and pepper Preheat oven to…
Seems I needed a little more kitchen therapy this weekend, inspired in part by some lovely shoulder lamb chops Gary brought home from a wonderful little Mennonite market in Teviotdale. So, Saturday evening we sat down to a delicious meal, Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas playing in the background, candlelight, and wine. The recipes I concocted for our fare follow. Roasted garlic and rosemary lamb chopsApple pecan salad Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Lamb Chops2 thick-cut shoulder…