-
Poulet en cocotte (Roast Chicken in a Pot)
Like many people, I spent this Thanksgiving apart from my family due to the pandemic. I’d had a rough week for a whole bunch of reasons, and was feeling really sad about missing out; cooking a big feast with and for people I love is one of my favourite things. But we decided we’d eat together over video chat, so I went ahead and made up a whole dinner like I’d do at home, though on a smaller scale – pumpkin pie, stuffing, melting potatoes, spinach salad with macintosh apples and sliced almonds, and instead of a turkey, a lovely roast chicken. Roasting a chicken is pretty straightforward, and I’ve…
-
Roasted Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetables
This is a nice quick, healthy dinner that’s very filling and tasty. I’ve often made it for dinner and than saved leftovers for lunches. It definitely tastes best warm, though it’s okay cold. It’s also great with pasta, to make it a heartier meal – I had some leftover cooked pasta, and heated it up with some leftovers of this dish, and it was great. Adding the bocconcini a few minutes before serving gives it a chance to melt, which is really nice. You could also add oregano to the balsamic vinegar mixture, or a different variety of vegetables that roast well; I’ve never tried it with zucchini, but I…
-
Chicken Burrito Bowls
Usually I don’t love marinating chicken. It takes extra time and planning (at least an hour), it feels wasteful (the leftover marinade goes down the drain, and people often recommend marinating chicken in a ziplock bag, which most will then throw away), and a lot of the time the flavours aren’t exciting enough to justify the extra prep and waste. But the marinated chicken for these Chicken Burrito Bowls turned out perfectly – flavourful, spicy, and delicious – and the amount of marinade leftover didn’t feel excessive. So I totally recommend this one, and if you can leave it overnight, it’s even better. It would probably work really well for…
-
Moroccan-Inspired Carrot Salad
This Morrocan-inspired carrot salad is perfect; healthy, lemony carrots and chickpeas with the salty feta and pistachios and a nice hit of sweetness from the dates and pomegranate arils.
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Lentils with Fennel and Sausage
My sister Cassie and I visited Paris last Spring, and by the time we’d gotten from Charles de Gaulle to our hotel in Montmartre and thrown our bags in our room, we were starving. We struck out looking for someplace that would satisfy both me and my vegetarian sister, and found this little corner restaurant with arborite tables and a friendly atmosphere and some vegetarian options on the menu. The waiters were super-nice (as was almost everyone in Paris), complimenting my pathetic attempts at speaking French, and my meal of lentils with fennel and sausage completely floored me. I love lentils in just about every way they can be served,…
