Almost every one I know follows the same formula when constructing a “well balanced” dinner: you need a protein, a vegetable, and a starch. Steak and green beans and potatoes. Chicken and broccoli and rice. Ham and leek soup and a dinner roll. I think that’s one of the minor reasons why “one dish” meals [...]
A while ago I wrote about my quest for a “proper” soft sourdough pretzel in Winnipeg. I wanted the salty, puffy, toothsome, slightly bitter outside and a soft chewy interior - not the horrible, sweet bready things you get from a place like Auntie Anne’s. Some people knew what I was talking about, but the [...]
I have a soft spot in my heart for popovers, and I’m not sure why. I’m pretty sure I remember my mother (or maybe my grandmother) making them for dinner, usually as an accompaniment for a saucy main dish. (I think that they might have actually been Yorkshire puddings that we had, but they are [...]
Unfortunately, this summer was not great for our garden. We had a late start due to a cool spring, a wicked windstorm in early August, and just not enough days of sunny and hot. (The heat wave we saw in late July helped, but it was a little too late and too short to do [...]
We’ve been making regular visits to the St. Norbert Farmers’ Market (which totally gets bonus points for putting the apostrophe in the right place) throughout the summer. It’s huge and sprawling on Saturdays, while on Wednesdays it easilly fits under the main white tent. Unfortunately, I’m only off work every other weekend (which limits how [...]
One of the problems I’ve run into with trying to cook for just me and my husband is the size of recipes. Most recipes are designed for families or larger groups, and scaling these recipes can be a bit fiddly. (For example, how do you add 2/3 of an egg?) We make use of our [...]
I’ve been to a lot of restaurants, but there are very few which make me sit back and go “wow.” It takes a unique combination of environment, service and food to knock my socks off, but when it happens I can’t help but think, “We are so coming back here again.”
We first visited Sydney’s at [...]
Sometimes, you don’t want to do anything fancy.
As much as I love cooking with fresh ingredients, there are many times when it just seems like a huge chore. Sometimes I’m too busy. Sometimes it’s too hot. Sometimes I’m just feeling lazy. Fortunately, the cave man invented a device called a “can opener,” which - when [...]
A few years ago, I visited a health food store and picked up a bag of TVP. The cashier rang it up. While she was putting it into a bag, she paused and said, “What exactly do you do with this stuff?”
Texturized Vegetable Protein (aka “TVP”) is a soy replacement for ground beef. You used [...]
(Whew, back up and running finally! Sorry for the delay!)
There’s something about home-made jam. When we decided to go strawberry picking this year, I already had one thing in mind for the strawberries: jam. But how do you make jam. I had no idea. So… Internet to the rescue!
Bernardin, friend to Canadian home canners everywhere, [...]
