Blog - Harvesting Dinner

So is real food really that expensive?

Seems the debate over Real Food versus Processed Food gets a lot of air time these days. Naturally, I read most posts, news feeds, articles and blogs on the matter. What strikes me as really odd is whenever the awful foods, (I mean the really awful junk that make up the ingredient list of the highly processed foods) are exposed, many people start bitching and complaining about how much it costs to eat healthy. Really???? Like, has anyone done the math? So let’s say you would start by eliminating from your grocery cart all the cookies, granola & cereal bars,… Read More

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Golly gee, not another muffin recipe in the blogging world! Well, you may just want to roll up your sleeves and dive right into this one because it may just turn you back on the muffin band wagon. I think the reason I enjoy baking muffins so much is because they are so simple to make yet are so fragrant and satisfying. Muffins can also be healthier than most baked goods. Of course, they should not be confused with cupcakes which are often being passed as muffins these days. Commercially prepared muffins/cupcakes get a bad rap as being less than stellar on the… Read More

The humble little red lentil…

Inexpensive, planet friendly, über healthy, colourful, comforting, delicate, easy to find, easy to cook! Is this a magical new super food??? Not! Simply the tiny little unassuming red lentil. A legume not too many talk about let alone let shine as the star of a recipe. Mostly known as the main ingredient in Dhal, an Indian soup, the little orangey gem deserves a bit more respect! I will spare you the blurb on all the scientific blah blah blah that makes this lentil (or any other lentil for that matter) a nutrition powerhouse, I’ll just insist that it is. I am… Read More

Baby Steps…

Visiting a farmer’s market awakens all my senses rendering the experience inherently sensual… I mean there is this connection that happens when the gap between what is in my plate and its source is basically reduced to a little canopied stand in an urban field. It is almost as if I were harvesting the goods myself… Well, in a way, I am harvesting: harvesting from the golden roots of our local artisans. Harvesting: from ingredients to information to recipes to kitchen tools and instruments… It has become the inspiration and my passion. Harvesting Dinner, my new blog, is being nurtured,… Read More

Mother’s Kitchen

The most succulent memories often emerge from a mother’s kitchen. Well at least mine do! Have you ever picked out friends simply because their mom was an amazing cook? I am guilty of that for sure!!! Always hoping to get invited for dinner somewhere… Especially if the family was having its own traditional, French Canadian version of spaghetti with meat sauce. When I was growing up, every family ate «spaghetti italien» as it was called at least once a week. And every family had the best sauce ever, or so they claimed! Seems I was on a mission to discover… Read More

French Bistro at Home – Moules Poulettes

There is nothing that reminds me more of a French Bistro than a big order of moules-frites! When my mom used to live in Montreal, a stop at the famous Bernard Street La Moulerie was often on the agenda. Sadly, I hear the restaurant is no longer and I only hope it was because the owners had to retire! La Moulerie was definitely an institution in Outremont for decades. My favorite mussel flavour is the traditional “Poulette” however, I can eat mussels with pretty much any sauce. They are so easy to prepare and so affordable. Every time I cook these delicate molluscs, I wonder why I do not make these… Read More

Beet soup with Crème Fraîche

This jewel coloured soup is delicate in flavour and very easy to make. 6-8 medium size beets 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 crushed clove of garlic 1 Tbsp olive oil ¼ cup white wine (optional) 750ml (approx.) vegetable or chicken stock 1 cup sour cream or crème fraîche (lucky for me, I had put my hands on unpasteurized sour cream and the soup was brought to another dimension!) 1 Tbsp butter Peel and cook the whole beets in a pot of salted boiling water until tender. (Or boil beets first and peel after if you prefer) Reserve one beet… Read More

Soup’s on! A Day of Canning…

Last Sunday, I woke up at my usual weekend time of 6ish, amazed that my body consistently refuses to sleep in until at least 7 am… It was a bit chilly in the house; you could certainly notice that fall was slowly but surely settling in permanently. Witnessing the transition between darkness and sunrise, the “little morning” as I like to refer to it, is by far my favourite time of the day… All is quiet around me with no one to disrupt this time of mine, and inevitably, my head usually fills up with many kitchen projects for the… Read More