On the 25th someone said to me “only one month till Christmas!” Eee gads – it’s started already! Has the holiday season crept up and are you frantically trying to get everything done, already? Or are you like me and just sweating about how to get stuff done knowing you have no time for it at the present? Well I have decided to help out in the food arena at least. I will be appearing on CH-TV’s At Home and City TV’s Breakfast Television on Wednesday with time saving cooking ideas for the busy holiday season. (more…)

This is the cave where Ruth ages her cheeses, where the true magic takes place. A cheese may receive a different wash, a few herbs or left to age for 9 months – each process yields a unique cheese from the same ingredients. The humid environment and temperature are integral to the results. (more…)

Ruth Klahsen, artisan cheese maker of Montforte dairy invited me to make cheese with her last week. I ended up bringing a camera crew with me to capture the event on film (watch for a video on canadianliving.com where you can meet her and her delicious cheese!) (more…)

What features obscene amounts of chocolate and couture fashion? The third annual Cadbury Chocolate Couture Collection Fashion Show at the Carlu! Chocolate you say? Couture you say? Fashion you say? How does this all come together? Well - you take a bunch of top designers (the likes of Franco Mirabelli), the chocolatier Jen Stone, a couple of sewing machines, a whole whack of chocolate and a lot of imagination and you end up with a collection of whimsical and extravagant outfits and gowns on a runway. (more…)

I have a sister that lives in Connecticut so this past weekend I spent my time having a second Thanksgiving with our American friends. As much as I love a Canadian Thanksgiving, I have to say the Americans truly make their holiday spectacular from the Macy’s Day parade, to the all-day football games to the 30 people gatherings and the over the top thanksgiving spreads. The one I went to featured two turkeys (more…)

In the test kitchen we are always being sent products to give a whirl, see what we think and inspire ideas. This week Shasha Bread Company dropped off a couple of loaves of bread (the Athletes Multigrain is a new product) and a stash of their ginger snaps.

I sincerely hope all of you have tried ShaSha’s ginger snaps - they should be listed up there with back-bacon and butter tarts as a Canadian culinary gem. (more…)

I attended the tourism Vancouver event at the Gladstone Hotel and was treated by Glowbal Foods to a delicious appetizer of sweet potato ravioli with a whole beautifully fresh seared scallop on top, it was so sweet and delicious. I went back for more, which the chefs gladly fed me all night because I was asking them about the fish out west and they recognized a fellow foodie. (more…)

Q. What part of the pomegranate do you eat?
A.
You eat the arils. These are the little ruby red pods with a nutty seed in the centre. Eat the whole aril including the seed.

Q. How do I open a pomegranate?
A.
Method1
To get at the fruit some people like to score the outside, submerge the fruit into bowl big of water, break apart the sections and pop out the arils. They will drop to the bottom and the pith (the white part) will float at the top to be easily scooped up and discarded. Then drain the whole thing and ta da - pomegranate arils. (more…)

Q. What part of the pomegranate do you eat?
A.
You eat the arils. These are the little ruby red pods with a nutty seed in the centre. Eat the whole aril including the seed.

Q. How do I open a pomegranate?
A.
Method1
To get at the fruit some people like to score the outside, submerge the fruit into bowl big of water, break apart the sections and pop out the arils. They will drop to the bottom and the pith (the white part) will float at the top to be easily scooped up and discarded. Then drain the whole thing and ta da - pomegranate arils. (more…)

I have seen my first Pomegranates, the season has begun! I remember when the pomegranate was an odd foreign creature to the apple and orange palette of the western world predominantly used as a festive centrepiece. In 2004 I threw a very fancy re-launch party for a Persian carpet company in their elegant loft showroom where we served pomegranate champagne cocktails with specks of gold-leaf floating on the bubbles. (more…)