Experimental vegetarian cooking and urban gardening in Ontario, Canada
So I’m a fan of cocktails (martinis especially), and I want to start making them at home. That may sound easy enough, but there’s a problem: Most cocktail recipes call for two or three types of liqueurs, and each bottle costs anywhere from 20 to 30 bucks. Is it really worth it to spend 100 bucks or more at the […]
So this week has been fairly uneventful. The CSA Box has the usual items. I kept things simple. I steamed the broccoli, blanched it, then froze it for later use. I made the usual snacks and meals with the onions and potatoes and salad greens. I had a bunch of green beans leftover from last week, and I managed to […]
Can you believe that it’s almost October? It seems like the summer passed by so fast. With the nighttime temperatures dropping, it’s time to start harvesting the cold-sensitive plants. I decided to deal with the plants at home first. Although I didn’t do much with the front garden this year, I did grow a large basil plant in the yard, […]
Fresh cherries are only available for a short time in Canada. What I usually do is buy a small amount (as they’re expensive!) and bring them home. In the evening, I put them into a small bowl and bring it onto the balcony so I can eat them while reading a book. I sit in a lawn chair in the […]
I put together this recipe one night while trying to use up the asparagus and cherry tomatoes in the fridge. The basil pesto adds healthy fat and protein from the olive oil and nuts, making it more filling than sugar-laden salad dressings. If using store-bought pesto, aim for a high-quality brand that contains pine nuts and olive oil (rather than […]
Today I’m posting a review of kefir grains along with instructions for making your very own kefir at home. The people at Kefir Kitchen have generously sent me a free sample of their grains (the starter bacteria), all the way from Turkey to Canada, in exchange for a written review of the product. In case you’re wondering what the heck […]
Do you ever feel bad when you throw away veggie scraps, even if they are going into the compost? I know I do. It’s not as if there is anything wrong with the leftover bits of parsley and thyme, or with that one dinky carrot sitting alone in the crisper bin. It would be nice to do something with them, but […]
I keep hearing about fermented foods and how great they are supposed to be for our gut health. A good deal of this talk (from where I’m sitting anyway) comes from yogurt commercials. In these commercials, health-conscious women walk around their kitchens talking excitedly about the health benefits of their favourite yogurt brand. Live cultures! good bacteria! Eat yogurt for […]
Shouldn’t apples be part of the main dish too, sometimes? It’s that time of year for apple crumbles and apple pies, apple muffins and apple cider. Any baked good that exists can and will be stuffed with apples. It’s glorious. But should we really have to wait until dessert to have our apples and eat them too? Of course not! […]
I have a confession to make. I wasn’t planning to post about yogurt until I had mastered it. The plan was to be like Bruce Wayne in the movie Batman Begins, when he goes off to the mountains and trains to become a kick-ass superhero. Only instead of learning ninja moves, I would learn to make yogurt from all types of milk – almond, coconut, cashew, soy – the […]
