I am pre-empting Foodie-finds Fridays because I just received two free tickets to the 3rd annual Whiskey Live show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It takes place next Friday Oct 24th, from 7-10 pm, and I want you all to have the opportunity to take a crack at getting these babies in your hot hands so you can enjoy some excellent imbibing.

The Prize: (more…)

Do you ever wonder what other cultures eat on the very North American tradition of Thanksgiving? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Polish have perogies and the Indians have curry, because I know in my parent’s Italian home it’s not a holiday meal without pasta! I spoke with Donna Paris, another editor at the magazine – and fellow Italian – and she concurs that her family has the de rigueur pasta as well. I must point out that this is no small eating feat. To have a pasta dinner followed by a turkey with all of the trimmings is not a banquet for the faint (read: week) of heart, or small of stomach. It’s a marathon meal that takes stamina, a few days of fasting and an inside tip to not eat the bread in the bread basket if you want to make it to the finish line. (more…)

This week Tandy asks me: “Is there a difference between stock and broth? Some recipes call for stock, but we find it impossible to find in Canadian general grocery stores. Is stock an American term for broth? Please help”.

Here is my answer: (more…)

Lynda Collins emailed me with this question about fruit coulis: I unexpectedly had guests cancel a visit. I had prepared raspberry coulis as part of the dessert. Is it possible to freeze the coulis to use at a later date? (more…)

My blog on Saskatoon Berries has proven to be very popular. A foodie-file reader was asking for a recipe for saskatoon berry pie. I found a recipe that Canadian Living published in our Market Fresh special issue. Since I’m still getting alot of interest in Saskatoon Berries, I thought I would post the recipe here.

Here it is! (more…)

On the pier below Wharf Street in the heart of Victoria, you will find the restaurant Red Fish Blue Fish, who take minimizing their environmental impact seriously. Aside from the garbage and recycle separating, reusable bamboo trays and sustainable fish on the menu; this fish shack has “up-cycled” it’s diggs from a reclaimed steel cargo container. (more…)

Marcus Samuleson from Aquavit restaurant in New York had a cooking demo at DISH Cooking Studio last Thursday. He was showcasing Bluestar’s cooking ranges and cook-tops. His new venture Merkato55 just opened last month and features a pan African menu.

His menu featured african flavours - shrimp with piri piri sauce, Kofta Meatballs with Okra tomato sauce and ethiopian beef stir fry served on Injera bread. He brought these spice blends for his audience to appreciate - they look like the colours of Africa. (more…)

The first time I had Irish soda bread was at a tea room in St. George Ontario. They serve a plain version with honey and butter and a “spotted dog” dotted with currants. I immediately loved it when I discovered how easy it is to make, it became a staple in my baking repertoire for many years. It was one of the first things I ever mastered baking as a kid. The magic of the bread is the baking soda reacting with the acid in the buttermilk that makes the bread rise and creates a beautiful crunchy crust. I especially love it toasted and buttered. I have been reading many outraged postings by Irish folk who are mortified by what passes as Irish soda bread, I especially liked the taking down on “Society for the Preservation of Soda Bread” where (more…)

This is a second blog on the Georgain Cheese bread, also known as Khachapuri or Hachapuri, because I guess my pictures looked so good that people have been asking me for the recipe. Well I don’t blame them, it is delicious and well worth and easy to make.

This is the recipe for the dough:

(more…)

The test kitchen was clearing out their cupboards right before the holidays and I picked up this Aebleskiver pan, also known as a munks pan. Aebleskiver’s are Danish pancakes cooked in this pan to make round balls of dough. They are traditionally flavoured with cardamom, dusted with icing sugar and served with fruit preserves or filled with apples. I have my nephew spending a few days with me so I thought we should try out the pan. We flavoured our batter with vanilla and a bit of cinnamon. I had some Crofters organic jams on my shelf so we filled them with blueberry and sour cherry preserves. They were really fun to make and eat; my nephew had them again this morning for breakfast doused in maple syrup. (more…)