The Kitchen Operas

Ok, food blogging is just so neat! I love the reciprocal recipe factor:  The Lavender & Lemon Pound Cake I created (based on this recipe) became these Lavender, Lemon and Honey Soft Oat Bars  over at one of my most favourite blogs: Food Blog and the Dog.  So of course, I had to see if [...]

Sometime last year, I lent my copy of Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates to my fabulous foodie friend, Louise.  And then I forgot about it. Louise then brought me one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted: pumpkin butter!   Oh my word, similar to apple butter, but made with pumpkins, this is a spread perfect for [...]

Ok, ok.  I know, enough with the holiday food!  But I’ve got just one more holiday recipe for you, and this one’s good enough (where good = tasty & nutritious) that you can use it all year ’round! This was our family dessert for Christmas Eve (our big holiday meal), and it was a special [...]

Can I interest you in the best cookie I’ve ever made, ever? They’re 100% whole wheat, and buttery, and made with chunks of Toblerone instead of chocolate chips.  Ohhhhh yes, they are amazing!  My Dad declared them the best cookies he’s ever had, and everyone was surprised to discover they were whole wheat. They came [...]

I had a small holiday tea party for a few of my girlfriends last week, and wanted to make one really special baked treat. After making Kim Boyce’s 100% Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies from her amazing Good to the Grain, I’ve wanted to try every other recipe in the book.  And the one that [...]

I have had way too much fun playing around with oatmeal lately — and the latest combination is perfect for the holidays: apples, cranberries, and cinnamon!  Yum! I’ve added in some maple syrup and vanilla for a touch of sweetness, and this is one of my favourite oatmeal combinations yet.  I think I’m going to [...]

I have a new favourite breakfast: baked apples topped with oats, nuts, and coconut. A wonderful thing about this breakfast is that you can make it for dessert the night before, and make leftovers-on-purpose for breakfast the next day.  Then you have slow-cooked, aromatic baked apples for breakfast with no time spent in the kitchen [...]

I love French toast, and it seems to have become my Monday morning treat.  In a change from my regular Almond French Toast, I thought I’d try something new and mix some of my leftover pumpkin puree into the batter.   The French toast was a little bit soggier than usual with the extra pumpkin, [...]

This is a muffin recipe that I’ve been tinkering with for a while, in many different iterations. I love the crunchy texture and bite that cornmeal (polenta) adds to baked goods.  It’s perfect on the bottom of crusty artisan breads or homemade pizza crusts, and I just adore it in muffins and pancakes.  I even [...]

Time for another Daring Bakers‘ Challenge! And this time, there’s chocolate! The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard. For [...]