Roasting and long braising of meats fills the house with comforting aromas. Now that harvest and gardening are complete, there is time to linger awhile with meal making. Risotto Milanese with veal shanks Veal shanks are an inexpensive purchase at my local grocery store. I buy enough for a few meals and when I cook […] Read more
Author Archives
Sky’s the limit during British Columbia fruit season
British Columbia fruit season was my favourite season when I was growing up on the family farm in southeastern Saskatchewan. Every summer the general store took orders for cases of peaches, pears, cherries and plums. Every year my mother would water-bath can the delicious fruits and stock the cold room for winter meals. Meeting Kulwinder […] Read more
Apples and pumpkins are autumn’s kitchen companions
Two of my favourite foods from the fall harvest are pumpkins and apples so I was curious about how many ways I could combine them in recipes. My preference is to use sugar pumpkins because they are rich in flavour, slightly sweet and lower in water. A roasted sugar pumpkin yields a thick, rich pulp […] Read more
Late summer garden bounty provides culinary inspiration
Find inspiration for autumn meals at the garden or farmers markets. Peak of the season is bountiful with tomatoes, squashes, pumpkins, corn, potatoes and even strawberries. Yes, late summer strawberries were at the market when I went recently. I made a jar of quick strawberry jam. And zucchini. Who doesn’t want a new way to […] Read more
Common canning problems have easily fixed solutions
Failures happen when it comes to food preservation. But you shouldn’t swear off canning if you experience a few failings. It happens to the best home canners. Troubleshooting makes you a more confident and successful home canner. Don’t give up. First and foremost choose reliable sources of information and recipes. Great-grandma’s recipe will need to […] Read more
Food on sticks offers easy meals with big flavours
Kebabs are simply pieces of meat, vegetables or fruits threaded onto skewers and then broiled or grilled until the food is fully cooked, slightly charred but still juicy and tender. Serving kebabs has advantages. For one, you can serve more people per pound of meat and therefore reduce the cost of the meal. Portion control […] Read more
Variety of beverages can make summer more enjoyable
Summer is sipping time. We sip drinks to hydrate our bodies, to cool down and feel refreshed. Your first and best choice is cold water. Tap water is perfect. There are no plastic or glass bottles to recycle. If your tap water has a flavour or contaminants that you find unappealing then use a carafe […] Read more
Keep summer vegetables at the centre of meals this year
It’s peak of the season at farmers markets and home gardens across the country but what do you do with the armfuls of fresh vegetables? Are you tired of the same old recipes? Want to try something new? I have spent the past couple of weeks testing recipes and looking for new ways to use […] Read more
Sour cherries are the best; they may even be a sleep aid
Sour cherries make the best pies. They are a tarter cousin of the British Columbia cherry and they hold up well in recipes calling for a cherry sauce. They have a pleasantly sweet and intense flavour. The breeding of dwarf sour cherries began at the University of Saskatchewan in the 1940s by Les Kerr. Since […] Read more
Cooks have many options when preparing pork at home
Here are a few fun facts about pork. It is the world’s most widely consumed meat. So many cultures eat pork, including tacos in Mexico, souvlaki in Greece, salami and porchetta in Italy, jamon Iberico in Spain, satays in Indonesia, tourtiere in Canada and stir-fries in China. Each market hog represents 371 servings of pork. […] Read more
