May 2013
3 posts
6 tags
Moving and a Cocktail [The Victorian]
The Friday before a long weekend is always rough. I can feel the anxiousness in my muscles, twitching and squirming and trying to maintain composure. It feels almost like the last month before summer holiday when I was in elementary school. We move next weekend and from tomorrow until next Saturday I will be buried in boxes and packing tape and eating off paper plates and wearing the same jeans...
7 tags
Saying Yes, Meaning No [Black Rice and Mushroom...
I’m a yes girl. Saying no has always been a task that stirred my anxiety (surprise, surprise). I don’t like to disappoint people and for some strange reason, saying no made me feel like I was letting someone down or hurting their feelings. It didn’t matter the invitation, I felt wholly obligated to say yes lest I disappoint the host, the organizer, my peers or even my...
9 tags
Knock Out That Cold [Spicy Kale Ginger Lemonade]
There is something ominous lurking around.
A dirty, nasty cold/flu that seems to be knocking my friends and family out one by one. I woke yesterday with a sandpaper throat and what felt like two corks in my sinus’. Immediately I started trying to knock it out before it did me in. Water (a lot of water), raw garlic (mashed into yogurt), oil of oregano and two full glasses of Green Juice...
April 2013
6 posts
10 tags
Finding My Past in Food [Healthier Egg Salad with...
My past with food isn’t as glamorous as I sometimes wish it was. I didn’t learn to mix, knead and roll pasta with my grandmother on Sundays and I wasn’t teetering on my tip toes, nose barely reaching the counter, while my Dad taught me how to break down a chicken, sear it to a golden brown and simmer it in tomatoes and capers, olives and hot peppers. It wasn’t my reality....
Finding the Warmth [Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats]
Today we need comfort. A reminder that amidst the cold, dark world we live in, there can be warmth.
As we all hold our collective breaths, scared of what might happen and scared of who might do it, it’s hard to feel the warmth. Hard to remember that there is so much good surrounding us; good that undoubtedly trumps the evil. Even though it may not seem so right now. If you’re...
6 tags
I Am On Fire [Food Bloggers of Canada Conference...
Oh me, oh my. Where do I begin? I suppose the beginning seems like the most logical place to begin. This past weekend I attended the very first Food Bloggers of Canada Conference. It was the first non-work-related conference I’ve attended and while it was a no-brainer for almost every other attendee, I went into it with much hesitation. I don’t talk about this often and I...
9 tags
Not Settling for Sawdust [Coconut Red Quinoa...
I love breakfast. Love it like I love a glass of wine at the end of a long day (and that says a lot) and can’t bear the thought of getting out of bed without knowing there is something scrumptious waiting for me when I do. The thought of waking to the same bowl of plain old oatmeal or natural peanut butter on whole wheat toast every day makes my heart sink. I’m not getting up for that – I refuse...
7 tags
A Lack of Thought [Almond Mint Arugula Falafel...
I keep coming here with the intention to write a big long spiel about stuff and things and life… and then I get here and just stare at the page, pick at my cuticles, sigh heavily, and walk away. I’m not sure if it’s a result of a busy few weeks or if I’m actually just getting really boring. I’m hoping it’s the former, because my cuticles are pretty ravaged....
9 tags
Speedy Meatless Monday [Caramelized Fennel,...
Spring may be inching closer, but that doesn’t mean the lingering chill in the air can’t be battled with a warm bowl of bright, fragrant soup.
Today’s meatless Monday dish has spent many cold, winter nights wrapping my bones in a blanket of steaming hot, vibrant red soup made rich with the addition of savory caramelized fennel and roasted garlic. The splash of lemon at the...
March 2013
7 posts
7 tags
Anchored Coffee Giveaway!
Coffee and I have developed a fetching relationship over the years. No longer drowned in cream (“too much moo”, as my friend Melody used to say when this happened) and 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar as was customary for the first 18 years of my life. I wake thinking of that first sip. Will it be from my kitchen? Maybe from the little cafe I frequent on work days? Either way, I look...
7 tags
Desperately Seeking Sun [Ginger-Cilantro...
I’m not usually so bitter towards winter.
We live in a city that inevitably gets 200cm (78”) or more of snowfall each season but come March, when we tend to get a day or two of teasing above zero weather, anger and frustration starts to set in after that warmth is quickly gusted away by yet another city-entombing snowfall. The boots, the shoveling, the digging and pushing and...
9 tags
MacGyvering Lunch [Anchovy Butter Toast with Spicy...
I always imagine what chef’s and other food writers eat when no one is looking, when their fridges are almost empty save for a bit of produce and pantry basics. In my mind, they use these few ingredients to whip up extravagant dishes, the way MacGyver might tunnel his way out of a sticky situation with nothing but a paperclip and coffee spoon.
After interviewing a few chefs for other...
Cookin' Greens are Entering the Dragon's Den...
I had the pleasure of working with Cookin’ Greens on a project recently. They are scheduled to air on Dragon’s Den, a show about aspiring entrepreneurs who pitch their ideas and businesses to five multi-millionaires, with the expertise and money to turn great ideas into incredible fortunes, and a few bloggers were asked to create some recipes that would showcase their healthy,...
Disappointment & Cake [Maple Porter Chocolate...
Disappointment is something I’ve never taken on with grace. It shrinks my insides and turns them black and jagged as shards of broken glass. I’m learning, as time passes, that taking on life’s disappointments, of which there will be many, I’m sure, with grace and calm is not always easy, but makes finding the light on the other end a lot less foggy and grim. This week...
Holy Expletive! [Bourbon-Soaked Mandarin & Vanilla...
Today is a quickie that I couldn’t resist sharing as immediately and urgently as possible. As I sat and sipped it a few evenings ago, spoon screeching against the side of the cup as I struggled to get every last bite into my waiting gob, I realized that this is exactly the type of dessert I could get down with on the regular. Simple, sweet with a bitter counterpart and something sour to...
A Lack of Brightness [Veal Scallopini with...
Winter is always a season that relies on the very best quality pantry staples. If you’re focused on buying and eating seasonally and locally, there is a good chance you’ve been eating little more than lack-luster kale, maybe some leeks or squash, garlic and onions - delicious, no doubt, but not the colourful produce we’re really craving. The odd time you let yourself buy one of those...
February 2013
3 posts
12 tags
Heart & Home [Coconut Flank & Broccoli Salad with...
I’m sorry… did I go to Mexico or was that just a sublime delusion?
I blinked and it was over. Days on days of burying my nose in My Berlin Kitchen, romancing over a life that wasn’t nearly mine, sipping piquante bloody mary’s or mojitos while observing a motley crew of intensely-hued tropical fish swim circles around my ever-browning toes, kissing dolphins on the nose...
7 tags
Flying Away to Mexico [Chorizo & White Bean Stew]
YOU GUYS.
This is my last post before I head to Riviera Maya, Mexico with my handsome man for a week of bun-sunning, toes-in-sanding, coconut-drinking, hammock-laying and maybe some tequila-drinking (FYI: “Maybe” means “absolutely, definitely, 100% a lot of tequila drinking”). We head there tomorrow morning and I haven’t quite had a chance to get excited yet because work and life have been so...
9 tags
Get your vegetables out of here! [Beef Shoulder...
I’m not crazy about chili. I don’t know why, but it’s not something that sets me off the way it seems to everyone else. Granted, I’ve been served plenty of chili that’s bland and flavorless, under-seasoned and made with pre-ground meat that doesn’t offer the tender, beefy texture a real chili should have. While I’m sure some of you swear by the addition...
January 2013
5 posts
7 tags
Little Puggish Nuts [Cocoa Hazelnut Granola with...
I’ve always thought hazelnuts to be lavish and exotic. We never really ate them or had them laying around as kids, aside from the holidays when we’d receive boxes and boxes of gold foil-wrapped Ferraro Rocher chocolates with one smooth, crunchy hazelnut entombed in milk chocolate and dipped into more chocolate studded with chopped hazelnuts. Peeling away the little crimped cup and...
8 tags
To Melt. To Thaw. [Portered French Onion Soup with...
This recipe comes at just the right time. When our bodies are craving warmth and solace from the bitter cold. The mercury seems to be on a never ending nose dive into the 30 belows and as it makes it’s decent, our bones stiffen, muscles tighten and groan as we reluctantly emerge from our blanket-covered indentations on the couch. We need to melt, to thaw our winter-permeated bones and come...
9 tags
Ode to the Egg [Sauteed Purple Kale with Charred...
There are few things I wouldn’t do for an egg in the morning. I wake up thinking of them, trying to recall what veg I have in the crisper, if I’ve any bread or cheese, onions or garlic, and deciding whether it’ll be fried in olive oil or scrambled low and slow until velvety and smooth. Something about an egg, so simple and pedestrian, really tugs at my heart. I adore them. And...
10 tags
Bright and Happy [Lemon-Herb Wild Mushrooms with...
Resolutions? Not up in here. I’m not much for them. Setting myself up to feel badly that I haven’t kept a promise made 12 months prior isn’t my idea of productive. That said, I do usually try to start a new year off on a healthier foot. This is mostly because I have eaten and drank myself into early diabetes and alcoholism over the Christmas holidays. Am I over exaggerating?...
13 tags
It Happened. [Spiced Coconut Barley with...
It happened. After years and years of taunting the stomach flu by eating every single questionable, 40 seconds over the 5 second rule, maybe-sort-of-moldy and definitely expired ingredient in my house, I paid. A nasty old stomach flu that struck me like boot in the face. All kinds of nastiness ensued and my appetite hid warily behind the angry mob that overtook my guts. All I wanted was...
December 2012
7 posts
10 tags
Kalikori Olive Oil; A Partnership [Olive Oil,...
I’ve been so looking forward to sharing this post! You know how excited I get when I try something new - I want to yell it from the rooftops so you can all be as tempted and seduced by new products, flavours and brands as I am. Or because I just like to yack and yack. That, too. When I started writing in this little corner of the internet, I decided I wouldn’t take...
6 tags
Getting Old Fashioned [Classic Old Fashioned with...
The holidays, while lovely and heart-warming and filled with good-intentions and niceness, sure can lead a woman to drink. Admittedly, I’ve jump on the booze-boat sooner than usual this year. A jigger of this, a splash of that, a little citrus and some cinnamon; this is my nightly ritual. I promise I’m not getting completely rocked and drunk-dialing ex boyfriends and coworkers, but...
9 tags
Sponsored Post: Nina Roy does NOT Like Eggnog...
Nina Roy DOES NOT like eggnog. And honestly, I can’t blame her in the slightest. Me and eggnog, we don’t get along all that well. It’s not that I don’t like it, its just that I don’t love it, need it, HAVE TO HAVE IT RIGHT NOW, OH MY GOD ITS DELICIOUS the way t of you feel about it. And there is nothing wrong with being that excited about eggnog (I feel that way...
5 tags
Artisan Food Basket Giveaway from Foodiepages...
Lotsa Motza Mozzarella Kit. Photo courtesy of foodiepages.ca. I have no idea when December got here, but it’s flying by just a little bit (a lotta bit) too fast, don’t you think? With Christmas just around the corner and a million things left on my list of to-do’s before the big day actually gets here, I’m feeling the pressure bearing...
8 tags
Farmers Feast - Chef Edition [Recipe: Pear and...
It’s been a little longer than usual since I’ve talked about the Farmers Feast, but I hope you’ll forgive me knowing it was for a most excellent reason. Tara and I decided this time around that it might be fun to switch things up a little and have two local chefs take on baskets of local produce, meat and other products from the Ottawa Farmers Market to see what their take on...
7 tags
Sponsored Post + Giveaway! [Daly's Express at the...
If you live in Ottawa, as I do, you know there is no shortage of soup or sandwiches in the downtown core. Whatever you do, and wherever you do it, there is a small to medium shop that sells the basics, and a few that even go far above and beyond the minestrone and ham sandwich. And then there are the ones that are delicious and varied enough that going back every day doesn’t seem so bad at...
9 tags
Nog-Hater's Rejoice! [Warm Coconut Milk with...
Eggnog.
You did one of two things when you read that. You were either reminded of delicious holiday memories filled with family and boozy (or booze-free, if such a thing exists) thick eggnog, or like me, you retched a little in your mouth. There is no in between with the raw, egg-heavy concoction. You love it, or you want the word banished from the English language. I feel I closer concede with...
November 2012
4 posts
12 tags
A Shift in Comfort [Chermoula Chicken with Toasted...
And just like that, winter came. And liked us so much it decided to stay for 4 long months. As the nipping air blows into town and we wrap our bones in layers over layers like flaky croissant dough around a piece of rich Swiss chocolate, I find myself feeling a constant power struggle in the kitchen. Comfort vs. Health. Does there need to be such a decision? Can’t we have it all? The...
11 tags
Me and My Salad [Cauliflower Salad with Almonds,...
As I shoved the last bite of this salad into my mouth the other day, I knew I would have to share it with you all. I’ll make this short, sweet, salty and sour.
It’s become clear that I not only have an issue with baked eggs, but cauliflower too. I can’t get enough lately. I want it all, and I want it now. This salad sort of threw itself together as I stood in the kitchen,...
6 tags
The Busyness [Braised Lemon, Leek & Pancetta Beans...
When things get a little crazy, as they’ve been lately, I find myself constantly daydreaming of sitting at home with a big plate of comfort food, Mr GL and our animals at my side, with a good movie playing. My happy place is there, with them (and maybe a nice bottle of wine). With every season change seems to come more work, though happy work I’m glad to have, more functions, more...
10 tags
Baked Eggs Only [Southern Style Shakshouka]
I woke up last week with a hankering of the worst kind for eggs baked in marinara. Since then, I’ve made it such an obscene amount times I’m almost embarrassed to say. What’s that saying about moderation? Something about eating everything in excess? Or something? The fact that I wrote about another type of baked eggs a mere 4 posts ago should tell you that I’m no longer...
October 2012
7 posts
8 tags
A Panicked Moment [Curry Roasted Cauliflower...
Sometimes it’s the moments of panic that surprise you. The final 40 minutes before you head out the door to a friend’s house when you realize your tiny bowl of hummus and pita chips doesn’t look like much of an offering. And so you panic; repeatedly opening and closing the fridge, hoping something in there will jump out and inspire a simple dish, you check the pantry to see what sort of beans are...
8 tags
Hangover Hero [Braised Brisket Ragu with Penne]
While many of you are spending your weekends busily cleaning house, running errands, driving kids from ballet to soccer, studying, working overtime or catching up on your reading, I’m suffering through a hangover from an overindulgent night spent with the best of friends. Or so was the case last weekend. We celebrated the inaugural issue of Herd Magazine, for which I contributed to, last...
7 tags
THE Cookie. The only cookie. [Brown Butter,...
It’s rare that we talk about cookies around here. If we’re being honest, it’s rare that we even eat cookies around here. Not because we don’t like them. Oh helllllll no! We like them a little too much. A plate piled high with 2 dozen cookies magically turns into crumbs in a matter of hours around here. Especially when there’s cold milk in the fridge. We can’t...
8 tags
When Good Things Come Together [Roasted Savoy...
Don’t you love when a meal just falls together like a stack of dominoes toppling over? All you have to do is open the fridge and magically everything you need is there, waiting for you to poke and prod it into a meal. That’s how this happened. I bought two heads of savoy cabbage thinking I’d use at least one for Thanksgiving, but it turns out it was one of the 3 ingredients in...
8 tags
We Came, We Drank, We Ate 3 Turkeys [Eggs Baked in...
Weeks of planning, days of prepping food and organizing the apartment and it’s done in a matter of hours (so maybe it was 8 hours in our case, but the eating part of that was a mere 40 minutes). Thanksgiving is gone as quickly as it crept up. This past Saturday, as we’ve done for the last 3 years, we invited 12 of our closest friends to join us in our tiny spare room around 2 fold up...
8 tags
Vegetable Kaleidoscope [Caramelized Onion,...
Since my handsome Mr GL started Horticulture Industries, our apartment has been slowly filling up with precious little gem he’s picked from the school garden. Huge red peppers so sweet they taste like they’ve been dipped in honey, red onions so potent your eyes water when you merely glace in their direction and carrots big enough to knock a grown man out with. Recently, the class...
3 tags
A Cozy Nook in Somerset West Village [327 Wine Bar...
I never thought I’d be gushing and crushing so hard on Ottawa’s newest restaurants this summer, but here we are, with news of another new(ish) kid on the block, 327 Wine Bar. I had the complete pleasure of dropping by 327 about a month or two ago (I’m really behind, ok? IM SORRY!) and was so impressed with every aspect of this cozy, sophisticated spot. As I pulled back on the...
September 2012
5 posts
9 tags
Saying Goodbye [Creole Deviled Eggs with Pickled...
I hate goodbyes. I’ve never been very good at them. They fill me with dread and anxiety when I know they’re looming in the shadows waiting for me. But as hard as knowing they are near is, a departure without warning stings a heck of a lot more. We said a sudden goodbye to our cat, May, last night. It seems her little heart just wasn’t working like it should. I held her little...
5 tags
Simple Simplicity [Linguine with Fennel and Clams]
Isn’t it such a pain when you decide to make a recipe that coins itself ”simple” and it turns out it has to sit or marinade for 12 hours, or calls for a bunch of random ingredients or kitchen equipment you might never use again? Simple should be -gasp - SIMPLE. There is a time and place for those long-winded, 40 ingredient recipes that call for 24 hours of your time and...
9 tags
Last Sigh of Summer | Farmers Feast #4 [Propeller...
I’m a season pusher. The crazy person wearing a wool sweater and heavy boots the second the mercury drops below 20 degrees. If it could be between +5 and +15 all year round, I’d be pleased as flaky apple pie (you know, because it would be apple season year round!) I’m ready for fall and tired of summer. Tired of being a sweaty mess wherever I show up. Totally over wearing...
7 tags
Eat. Dance. Admire. [Aboretum Festival; Ticket...
There used to be a time when finding something to do on weekends in Ottawa was damned near impossible unless you wanted to spend the night shot-gunning cans of Budweiser at [enter generic pub name here]. And believe me, I chugged my share of budweiser. But lately I’ve been finding myself in a panic over which events to attend on any given weekend – there is actually a choice these days!
The arts...
6 tags
The Sick and the Dead [Tuscan Tomato, Bread &...
I had hoped to come here and talk a little about the return of fall weather, warm blankets, hot tea, scarves and longer, cozier hugs… but life has gotten in the way and I’ve become Dr. Kelly while Mr. GL suffers through a terribly painful viral “thing” that’s left him unable to eat, sleep, or talk much. I won’t go into details since I doubt he wants me sharing...
August 2012
5 posts
9 tags
The Mushroom Man [Local Wild Mushroom Fettuccine]
Through the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve been honoured to meet some truly fascinating, incredibly inspiring people. Farmers, chefs, home cooks, sommeliers, fellow bloggers, food-loving bon vivants and so many more. It’s been such a gratifying pleasure to find myself in the presence of those who are as moved by good food and drink as I am. Recently, I had the great...
9 tags
Farmers, Chefs & Markets [Heirloom Tomato Tart w...
We rose, slower than usual, from our slumber Sunday morning, sipped our coffees as we rubbed our eyes, and had a small breakfast. We knew saving space in our tummies would pay off as we were in for a treat later in the afternoon. As we pulled into the parking lot of Brewer Park, the current home of the Ottawa Farmers Market, it was apparent that this was no regular day at the market. The parking...
7 tags
Humble Comforts [Roasted Tomato & Carrot Soup with...
Isn’t it remarkable that a certain smell or taste can instantly whisk you away to a time tucked deep in the cobwebbed nooks of your memory? One bite and you’re somewhere else, summoning thoughts and feelings as thought you’re right there, living through them again. Food is a wondrous thing, and the memories and traditions we craft around the table and share with friends, family and guests can...
