The Kitchen Operas

We’ve been doing a lot of salads around here lately, and it’s been a lot of the same thing over and over again… delicious versions of either our veggie Caesar salad over Romaine or my lemony arugula salad.  But after a while, 2 salad options get a bit tiring, but we still want salad.  So [...]

I used one of my favourite spicy peppers here: chipotle in adobo (smoked jalapeno peppers in a tomato sauce).

So we’ve been eating out a lot due to some schedule craziness around here, and last night I wanted a really nourishing and delicious dinner.  But all I had in the house were some really weird odds and ends (tomatillos, alfalfa sprouts, red lentil stew, rhubarb, mushrooms), and a whole bunch of squash. I’m saving [...]

Ok, for one last blast of summer entertaining, you need to make these. I hosted a Pampered Chef party this summer, along with my Mum and my friend Heather, where we made these amazing appetizers. And they are the easiest and most-impressive little delicious nibbles.  So now you get the recipe! We used nectarines, green [...]

I’ve been having a little too much fun catching up on foodie TV shows, and I have really enjoyed this season’s Top Chef Canada and The F Word (if you’re in Canada, you can watch them here). On one episode of The F Word, they featured Chinese dumplings, and I had to eat them immediately. [...]

So earlier this week, I picked up a bag of kelp noodles (the Sea Tangle brand, if you’re wondering), and stuck them in the fridge. “What the heck are kelp noodles????“, you may be asking?  Well, they are just like they sound.  They’re made from kelp (seaweed) and have no taste of their own, so [...]

Ah, eggplant, how I love you.  My most favourite of all the Indian dishes is Baingan Bharta, eggplant that is roasted then mashed and cooked with my favourite Indian spices. If I had to give up all other Indian food, this is the one dish I would keep.  (Wait!  Can I also keep dhal, idlis, [...]

I make no claims to the authenticity of this soup, but it sure is delicious.  I am borrowing heavily from Thai Tom Yum Soup, and the other Asian flavours that I enjoy, but you likely won’t find this soup anywhere other than in my kitchen… and now (hopefully), your kitchen! We’ve had this soup as [...]

I’d never worked with tomatillos until this weekend, and I think they’re going to become a new staple around here. I managed to pick up all of my “San Miguel at Home” produce, including tomatillos, at Emporium Latino (243 Augusta Avenue, in Kensington Market).  And somehow I got out of the shop without picking up [...]

Somehow, everything I ate in Mexico became “this is my absolute favourite vegetable!!” or “this is my favourite food ever!!!”  And nopales (cactus) has become one of my favourite vegetables. As cactus are the ubiquitous plant in the area of San Miguel, they became an obvious choice for a Mexican culinary staple.  Cooked Prickly Pear [...]