My kids love to get into the kitchen and create things. More often then not they announce what they want to make without checking on ingredients first. This salad was the exception as we just so happened to have all the fruit available. Aiden’s Fruit Salad is made by my son Aiden and on this […]
Back in 2002 I used to play on a local softball slow-pitch team. I was fairly new to Calgary and looking to get out and meet people. The same year I also joined an indoor soccer team and billiards team. It was around then I met my husband, through work of all places, and life […]
Chick peas are a good source of protein, iron and several other vitamins and minerals. I try to rotate them into my diet weekly by roasting, adding them to salads, or whipping up a batch of hummus to munch on when hunger hits since I tend to not eat a ton of meat. I secretly […]
Who remembers this popular green salad from the late 70’s and 80’s called Watergate Salad? It’s a salad known by names such as pistachio delight, shut the gate salad, green goop, green fluff and green stuff and these days can be found on the table during Thanksgiving or Easter celebrations. According to research efforts, the […]
Coleslaw or slaws are a delicious way to add flavour to burgers, pulled meats, sammy’s and more. You can make them spicy, tangy or sweet, but they must have that crunch factor. Everyone has their own favourite variation of a slaw, and this jicama, green apple slaw is one I came up with a couple […]
This dish was an easy sell to the kids. They love pasta and Israeli couscous are small, round, pasta-like granules made from semolina and wheat flour. Once they heard the word pasta they were happy to try it and pick out what foreign objects (in their minds it’s squash and red onion) didn’t belong. You […]
Meals during the week have to be quick since the kids have activities. These are the days they come home from school, play with the dog, check their emails, do their homework, eat and go to activities, so dinner has to be easy and fast. By the time they get home it’s bed time. Last […]
We always have luck growing carrots in containers on our deck. Not so much luck with radishes (worms) or lettuce (aphids) however but we haven’t given up yet amidst trying almost everything. The kids love to plant seeds, and watch them grow. It’s something they look forward to every year. They especially enjoy the coloured […]
Roasted potatoes just go with everything, and I defer to them more often than not because hubs loves them. My son on the other hand wouldn’t eat them for I’d say the first 5 years of his life. While he’s finally accepted potatoes, he still doesn’t like them mashed. In the summer I put them […]
Fresh produce in the winter time was limited where we grew up. During the holidays my mom would buy frozen brussels sprouts to cook up with our turkey. Her cooking method of choice was to boil and serve as is. I found them lacking in flavour and tough to swallow so I avoided whenever possible. […]
Several big family gatherings in July called for lots of great potluck, and easy to assemble type food. We had Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan represented in our house over the course of several days, leaving many mouths to feed. So I made big salads and big food. This super grain salad with quinoa was one […]
I enjoyed a childhood filled with an abundance of tree fruits. Cherry, apple, prune plums and crab apple trees adorned the front yard. I often wonder if the people who live in that house now enjoy the fruit trees as much as we did. I have fond memories of the battles my father would have […]
We had an International German student living with us for almost a year. She had a few food allergies and one of them was carrots. So I got used to cooking without carrots. Although the allergy was mainly to raw carrots, I just stopped using them so as to not “forget”. With my coleslaw’s I […]
What’s old is new again – at least when it comes to eating grains. Catelli Foods Corporation shared this message with us at a recent event here in Calgary. Several bloggers & food writers were invited to attend a one on one cooking demo with Canadian Celebrity Chef Lynn Crawford and Catelli Foods. The evening […]
Like several other posts, I started this one well over a month ago. But December was….I have to say, a write off. Both husband and I were sick (chest infections to some degree hit everyone in our house over the course of 5 weeks) and we had a hard time shaking the sick. His progressed […]
I’ve been absent the last little while as I’ve been dealing with some work stuff and have had to make some big decisions. I am coming out of the fog now and beginning to get inspired again! Always been a fan of a spicy noodle salad. This Asian Noodle Salad with Spicy Nuts is inspired […]
Growing up in the 70’s & 80’s, well life was much simpler back then. There was no technology to entertain us other than the great outdoors. It was the mid 80’s when my parents built and moved into a house on a 1/4 acre lot. I watched from afar as they planted a garden starting […]
When I made this for lunch this wasn’t the first thing that came to mind. In fact I had set my sights on bigger conquests for lunch, that day. But not everything is meant to be and so Roasted Cabbage Wedges with a Tahini Dressing and Fresh Salsa became lunch. And oh so delicious. I […]
A fun treat for the kids any time of the year. During Winter you may be limited to using whatever fruit is available in your grocery store. I know we definitely are here as certain out of season fruit that has been shipped in from afar, tends to taste bland and not good. In Summer […]
As I was making this for lunch one day, I kept hearing this song in my head….”if you like it then you shoulda put an egg on it”. So I did. This is one of those easy to make recipes that I throw together without thinking about it. The ones husband says I should post […]
I first came across this recipe years ago, after watching Chef Michael Smith make them on one of his shows…maybe Chef at Home? They were so easy to make, bake a potato, smash them, bake again. The recipe stuck and I started making them at least a couple times a year. These potatoes are so […]
This Tabbouleh recipe is one I got from my mom, so she gets full credit for this recipe. If I were to try and guess which year, it would have been around 1992. Yikes I’m old. Shortly after I moved to Vancouver my mom started seeing a nutritionist and taking better care of herself. I […]
One of my favourite foods growing up was potato pancakes. Besides grating potatoes, I honestly don’t know how my mom made them, nor do I recall if they had onion in them or not. But what I do remember is they were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, thin and oh so tasty. […]
Growing up my mom used to make stuffed peppers. She used ground meat, rice, tomato sauce or soup and a few other simple flavours. It was quite good and I always looked forward to it. Fast forward to the present. I am married to a man who does not like peppers. Lord give me strength. […]
Wanted to play with bacon one day so I decided to try making a candied bacon. That’s the problem when there is a package of bacon in the refrigerator, it demands to be made into something. Since I’ve heard so much about candied bacon and chocolate dipped bacon, I decided to pick one and candied […]
We’ve been patrons of the Loose Moose Theatre at the Crossroads Market for over six years (since my daughter was two). It’s always been an affordable, enjoyable and interactive afternoon outing for the entire family. If you decide to check out a performance, whatever you do, do not expect a quiet relaxing rest. While you […]
Most of us have heard about the Thanksgiving Side Dish of sauteed brussels sprouts with pancetta and toasted pine nuts. It’s simply delicious and a dish I’ve enjoyed in various forms, more recently at a friends for Thanksgiving Dinner. I had actually intended to make the dish one evening to see if the kids would […]
I’m very excited to be 1 of 3 food bloggers from across Canada chosen to review a Foodie Package from The Missing Ingredient, a Vancouver based company who offers a monthly food subscription service. Each month The Missing Ingredient will deliver to you (anywhere in Canada) 4-5 hand picked and tantalizing food items for you […]
This Pomegranate and Orange Quinoa Salad was made for our recent Ladies Halloween Wine Evening. Since it was a theme evening, I named it “blood clot salad with crunchy finger nails“. It was very well recieved and so much fun to make. It all started with a variation of this salad I’ve been making all […]
One of Calgary’s older neighbourhoods, Kensington, has been hosting it’s Annual Sun & Salsa Festival for as long as I can remember. The first time I attended was back in 2002! I love that you can bring the kids along and participate as a family in trying different salsas. Upwards of 20 local restaurants, pubs […]
