Harvesting Dinner

Celebrating The Everyday Feast

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The ever elusive «me» time

My dear blog, I miss you… The last few weeks have taken me in another direction. Spring cleaning has really made a dent on leisure time but it could not be pushed off any longer. Tender loving care has been poured into the cottage over the course of 3 full weekends, including minor renovations and normal «opening it for the season» chores. The city home was also begging for that deep spring scrub. Since retirement is not yet in the cards for me, my hobbies have been put on temporary simmer, including recipe exploration, elaborate meal planning and writing, while I… Read More

Tartelette aux Tomates – Because Food Always Sounds So Romantic in French

Sometimes I just feel like posting a recipe because it is so darn good! No stories attached and none required except maybe this recipe is a teeny bit better when local tomatoes are in season. Having friends over? It is a prefect and easy appetizer that pairs perfectly well with a chilled rosé. 1 sheet of butter puff pastry* Heaping ½ cup of soft goat cheese  ¼ cup sour cream or crème fraîche Fresh chopped chives Small tomatoes: I used heirloom cherry tomatoes to add colour Basil pesto (your own or from the store) or plain olive oil Fresh basil for garnish… Read More

Muffelettes: A Rat Race Antidote

Within seconds of waking up, the night’s cobwebs have dissipated from my mind. Woooshhh… Swept away with a deft eyelash sweep. My head has not yet lifted itself from the pillow, my mind is already seizing the day. I often wish I could lazily lift a heavy eyelid just to let it happily slide back over my eye and cocoon right back into the warmth of my bed, capturing, reveling into and extending the moment of cathartic limbo between dreamland and reality. Noooo, none of that for me: my brain lights up as suddenly as if flickering a light switch. An incandescent 100… Read More

“A Lovely Blog Award” Nomination

Earlier this month, a fellow blogger , Natascha from Natascha’s Palace, nominated my blog for the Lovely Blog Award. I consider myself a “baby” blogger. Having just started this fun and creative adventure in September 2014, I was tickled pink to read her message about this! I have to tell you a little bit about Natascha: she is the very first blogger I started to interact with.  She is Canadian now living in Madrid (how I envy her) and her blog posts talk to me all the time! She offers beautiful yet simple recipes and when we are lucky enough, she tells us a… Read More

White Turnip and Celery Leaves Salad

Ever wonder what to do with those unusual vegetables that seem to be popping up everywhere these days? I mean vegetables that may be a staple somewhere in the world but that are completely unfamiliar to you? I only discovered white turnips a couple of years ago. Before then, I was familiar with the more common (and often less loved) yellow rutabaga as well as the common turnip, which has a white and purple skin. I didn’t even know the white turnips existed! That is a bit sad since of all of the turnips I have tried, it is by… Read More

Breaking Barriers and Self Discovery… A Diet Story Part 3

There is something to be said about having a lot to do. Busy minds and bodies usually produce healthy people. Hubby and I still had so much work ahead of us, I had no time to dwell over my lack of comfort foods. As well, I was warmly surrounded by my community: my dearest friends, my immediate family, my extended circle of loved ones and acquaintances. So as the days turned into weeks, the pounds just kept coming off. Some days were challenging: we were so busy coordinating the renovations to our 100 year old downtown apartment and getting the… Read More

My Kitchen’s Work Horse

I often get asked how to decide which setting and temperature to use in the oven so I thought maybe I should share a few tips. This post will probably be more useful for North Americans since we use Farenheit for temprature; slightly odd since everything else in Canada is centigrade… Many home cooks have told me they are confused with the different options newer ovens offer. At this point, you may think this post may be a waste of time… and sure, it is not the type of post that is full of cooking inspiration, mouthwatering photos and romantic… Read More

Closing One Door… A Diet Story Part 2

So here I was, defeated and disgusted but not hopeless! Without hope, I would have never signed-up for this drastic, expensive and self-funded program. From the moment I made the call, things started to move rather quickly: within a few days, I had an appointment booked for my assessment. This meant that the diet would start the very next day following the assessment, yikes!!! Do I need to S.P.E.L.L. out what my eating patterns were like in the 72 hours preceding the big cut off from planet food? Damn girl, I can write the book on the last supper!!! Oh… Read More