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Fresh Pasta – Pasta Fresca all’uovo
I’ve been wanting to learn to make fresh pasta for quite a few years; I did make an attempt at it a while back, when I was replicating historical recipes (something I’m still really interested in). I found rolling the dough out with a rolling pin didn’t really work for me – I either didn’t have the upper body strength or the patience to get the thinness I was looking for. I’ve waffled on buying a pasta machine, because they’re a bit pricey and I’m not a fan of having kitchen gadgets take up space unless they’re really getting used. But then a friend lent theirs to me, and I’m…
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Cassie’s Banana Bread
This is my sister Cassie’s banana bread recipe; I made it for the first time this week. Cassie’s critique was that I mashed the bananas too fine – she likes more chunks of banana in the baked loaf. So keep that in mind! This is a nice, straightforward recipe that turns out delicious every time – or at, least every time I’ve eaten it! Cassie’s Banana Bread Ingredients 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup melted butter 2/3 cup honey (less with more banana) 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking soda a pinch of salt Directions Preheat the oven to 350…
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Cranberry Muffins
Update 2019: Ten years later, this is still my favourite muffin recipe! I usually load it full of cranberries, but you can substitute other fruit – I think raspberries work really well, and blueberries would probably be great. But I love the tart-sweetness of the cranberries, and i usually add more than this recipe calls for. I also really like the way maple syrup sweetens the batter – it seems to blend better (in my opinion) than honey does, but either is great. 2009 Post: This is my favourite muffin recipe ever; not particularly sweet, packed full of tart cranberries, pretty much perfect. If you’re one for the coffee-shop sugar-bomb…
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The Perfect Omelette
Okay, the title is hyperbole – it’s a big claim to say that you can tell someone how to make the perfect omelette, and I’m still learning. I suspect that it’s one of those things that you can work your whole life to perfect. But this is as close to perfection as I’ve gotten it, and since I’ve reached new-to-me heights of omelette perfection, I thought I’d share. My go-to version is a fried onion and cheddar cheese omelette, but you can do any kind of fillings you like; the varieties are endless, and it’s very much about personal taste. This one is my staple because I always have cooking…
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Lemon Cake (Vegan!)
I’m generally pretty suspicious of vegan baking – I’ve tried a few nearly-inedible vegan sweets in the past that really turned me off. But there are a lot of great bakers out there who’ve found ways to make really wonderful vegan treats, and in looking through their recipes I found that there’s a pretty consistent formula – somehow the vinegar does the trick. This lemon cake is tasty and moist, and honestly you wouldn’t know it was vegan by taste or texture. I baked this cake last week for my sister Sammi’s birthday – she and my other sister, Cassie, were doing Vegan February, so my usual go-to birthday treats,…
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Apple Cider Doughnuts
There’s a crispness in the air, the smell of woodsmoke and leaf mould fills my nose, and the trees are blazing in beautiful colours. All I want to do is bake and make comfort food, but I have a broken wrist, so most of my favourite recipes which involve rolling out dough or chopping vegetables are out of reach for the next few weeks while my bone knits back together. So here’s a recipe that I can do one-handed, and I’m sure you can too, though if you don’t have to I wouldn’t recommend it. These doughnuts are baked, so really they’re kind-of a circular muffin, but they’re very cute…
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Honey Ginger Pumpkin Pie
I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to my traditional recipes, so generally speaking, I stick to the absolute most iconic version of a pie and do it very, very well. Last year, however, we had a bit of an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner, and I couldn’t track down my own pumpkin pie recipe (which is here, on my website – how hard is that, Candace?), and I found one I’d printed from somewhere ages ago and decided to give it a whirl. How did we end up putting together a full turkey dinner on the fly? Well, you see, my friends David and Meghan got married on Thanksgiving…
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Lentil Cottage Pie
Hearty, comforting, and vegetarian, this Lentil Cottage Pie is my sister Cassie’s recipe, and it’s a perfect vegetarian main dish for Autumn dinners like Thanksgiving. A few years ago, we were on a family trip in the Scottish Highlands, and we stopped at a small cafe in Helmsdale. Their vegetarian Cottage Pie was delicious and filling on a cold, windy Scottish day, and it inspired Cassie to create her own. This recipe could be made vegan with a few small alterations – mostly by omitting the butter and using oil or coconut oil instead. Lentil Cottage Pie Ingredients 3 lbs potatoes, cubed + salt 3 tbsp butter and olive oil…
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Canning Peaches – Hot Pack Method
Canned peaches can be eaten just as they are, or used in recipes that call for fresh ripe peaches. Try to get high-quality fruit at peak ripeness for best results. People always make canning seem super-difficult and complicated and time-consuming, but in fact it’s mostly washing things and cutting up fruit or vegetables. Don’t be afraid – just make sure your work area is clean, wash everything well, and follow the instructions below! I’ve added some notes at the bottom from my first experience canning peaches; they’re as much for myself as anyone else, but you may find them helpful! Canning Peaches – Hot Pack Method Yield: 5-6 Litres Prep time: It…
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Dill Pickles
Dill pickles are an easy start for a beginning canner, and a staple of most home canners’ Summers. Pickling cukes are new cucumbers, and are available from sometime in July through until maybe mid-September. They’re a nice quick project, easy to do on a week night after work, and the ingredients are easily available at local Farmers’ Markets and at most grocery stores. Dill Pickles Yield: 5-6 cups Prep Time: 30 minutes Processing Time: 10 minutes Resting Time: 24 hours When to eat: It’s fine to eat them immediately after you’ve canned them, but if you can, give them at least a month to let the flavours deepen. Once opened,…
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Dilly Beans
I love canning, and pickling is one of the easiest kinds of canning that you can do. It takes very little prep, it’s easy, and it’s one of the safest kinds of canning because of the acidic environment created by the vinegar. Which is why it’s great for beginners – especially Dilly Beans, which are cheap and easy to do. And who doesn’t love pickles? I took a trip down to the St. Lawrence Market‘s weekly Farmer’s Market this past weekend to pick up pickling dill, beans, and pickling cukes – I meant to grow my own dill this year, but due to poor pot placement in the pocket garden,…
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Dutch Oven Campfire Bread
I like camping, and being out in the woods; it’s energizing to be surrounded by trees and water and far away from city life (which I also love, but need a break from sometimes). When I was a kid, we used to go to Silent Lake Provincial Park to camp as a family, and we all love it there – particularly because the lake is closed to motorized vehicles, and it’s really peaceful with just canoes and kayaks exploring the lake. This year, my mom finally organized us into renting one of Silent Lake’s yurts for a few nights, and we headed up in early July. There are lots of…
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Nana Cynthia’s Crepes
My Nana Cynthia gave this recipe to my sister Sammi when she was about 10; we wanted crepes, so Sammi called up Nana and copied down the recipe from her. We were all pretty amused to see that Sammi had spelled them ‘creaps.’ To my mind, paper-thin, hot crepes with lemon juice and icing sugar are both the only way to eat crepes, and they are the best treat in the world. But this crepe is a neutral base, and you can use it for sweet or savoury fillings. This recipe simultaneously reminds me of my Nana and my sisters as well as Paris, which I’ve visited in the Springtime…
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Roasted Tomato Soup
I was never a soup person until, in my early twenties I spent some time working at a private golf club as a waiter. The chef at the club was fantastic, and tasting his daily soups (so that I could recommend them to our customers) converted me from a person who thought all soup tasted like tinned soups to someone who understood that flavours could combine beautifully and still taste delicious and fresh. This Roasted Tomato Soup reminds me of his soups; fragrant, hearty, and bursting with flavour. It’s the kind of thing I’m glad I know how to make, especially when the Winter is lingering and all I want…
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Salted Golden Caramel Bars
Salted Golden Caramel Bars are a fabulous recipe – simple, quick, and completely irresistible once it’s done. A pan of these rarely lasts more than a day at our house; that salty, gooey, buttery deliciousness is too hard to resist. I know salted caramel is a fad from a few years ago, but it’s also a classic – one of those things that will never go out of style. The other great thing about these bars is that they’re essentially glammed-up, slightly more adult, vegetarian Rice Krispie Squares. A lot of people don’t realize that marshmallows aren’t vegetarian (they’re made with gelatin, which is made from bones), and strict vegetarians…
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Turmeric Roasted Vegetables with Tahini Dressing
I’ve been experimenting with a few different flavourful salads over the past few months, and this one is a combination of two different recipes. Turmeric Roasted Vegetables are a nice filling lunch or dinner with a bright colour and an intense flavour. I find it really tasty and filling, especially for lunches. In these cold winter months, it’s nice to eat meals that are packed full of vitamin C and feel fresh and healthy. And Turmeric is so great – it not only adds visual interest and flavour, but is supposedly an anti-inflammatory. While this is a great meal for anyone, it’s also vegan and Whole30 compliant. When taking it…
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Roasted Squash with Shallots, Garlic, and Red Pepper
This tasty side dish was an on-the-fly invention during an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner (we ate at 9pm, unexpected friends dropped by, it was lovely). Roasted squash isn’t exactly rocket science, but it’s nice to get away from the usual squash with brown sugar and butter, and probably a smidge healthier. When this is done, the delicious caramelized sauce is almost like a vegan gravy – you may find yourself licking the pan. This recipe is Whole30 compliant, and if that’s not your jam you can add some butter to the squash when you’ve got it on your plate, but you really don’t need it at all – the sauce created…
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Buttery Garlic Basil Tomato Sauce
More often than anything else, I find myself craving a nice rich garlic basil tomato sauce. For ages, I’ve tried to find a recipe that hits all of those perfect notes, but nothing ever seemed to work – the flavours were never quite what I was hoping for. Until I had a moment of realization – restaurants put butter in everything; why would tomato sauce be an exception? It turned out that butter was exactly what I was missing (this recipe is great without it, but so, so good with it!) This is a quick, easy recipe that I use this in lots of different ways – over pasta, over…
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Preserved Lemons
Eight years ago, I travelled alone to Morocco and spent a month with no reservations or plans, moving from place to place as I liked and enjoying Moroccan culture, food, and affordable, comfortable railways. The first time I tried Preserved Lemons was in Meknes, in a restaurant overlooking the Place Hedim, opposite the Bab Mansour. I ordered Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons, and I swear it came with at least one full preserved lemon and the most succulent chicken I’ve ever eaten (see picture below!). As I watched small crowds gather around musicians performing in the square and sipped mint tea, I remember thinking that it was one of the…
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Mom’s Bread
One of the best things about visiting home is my mom’s bread – fresh, homemade, and delicious. She makes this recipe at least once a week, freezing two of the loaves to preserve their freshness until they’re ready to be eaten. They keep pretty well for a week or so in the freezer, probably longer. If my sisters and I are around, she has to bake a little more often – the moment that these loaves come out of the oven, we’ve often devoured half of a loaf, piping hot with loads of butter. Great as toast or for sandwiches, this is a nice flexible recipe. Thought baking bread…
