Grub Scout

When life gives you green tomatoes...

2011-09-20T20:05:00.000-04:00

... you make green tomato salsa! I will admit, I had low hopes for our tomato crops this year. The fact that any of them grew at all was a pleasant surprise. The fact that most of them thrived and gave lots of fruit was astounding. That fruit, however, is still green on the vine and with the warmer days now fading behind us I know the chance of them ripening soon is slim. So tonight I picked

Help me identify these berries!

2011-09-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

These berries came from bushes on our hillside, but we're not sure exactly what they are. Can anyone help?

Growing Radishes = Gratifying

2011-07-26T16:58:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness for the radish. I was beginning to think I had black thumbs, but those tiny seeds have renewed my hope! They are so easy to grow and mercifully quick as well. If there's one thing I am learning from my gardening adventure this summer it is patience. Things are growing out there, but they are doing it at their own pace. So each time I check on the radishes and they've come up

Homemade brownies from cocoa powder

2011-05-11T08:41:00.000-04:00

I am almost ashamed to admit that, until last night, I had never made homemade brownies from scratch. I knew it could be done, but had never done anything other than mix up a batch from a box. Never again... the brownies I made last night were fantastic, with a rich chocolate taste and a dense, cake-like consistency. Here's my recipe: 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup plus

Black Radish and Walnut Slaw

2011-04-12T13:01:00.000-04:00

photo courtesy www.uniprix.com Last week we came to acquire some black radishes. I had never seen nor cooked with these before, so I did a little research and found out that they are a winter favourite in places like Russia and France. Some sites suggested cooking them like a turnip, but that didn't sound terribly appealing. Instead, I decided to make a salad. First I peeled the radishes,

Judging a recipe by its cover

2011-03-23T16:01:00.000-04:00

I have stacks - and I mean STACKS - of cookbooks. But I haven't cracked any of them open in ages. They're neatly packed away in boxes in the basement, waiting till we move to a home where I can get them up on to shelves. In the meantime, I turn to the internet when I need a recipe. My mother had a recipe box where she filed away her favourites. I have a folder of bookmarks in my browser. There

Quiche, from scratch, in less than an hour

2011-02-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

I've made quiche loads of times before but before today had never attempted my own crust. But high on the success of my sfeeha (middle eastern meat pies) last week, I thought I'd give it a go and soon found out it is super easy! I took one cup of flour and forked it together with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large mixing bowl. Then, using the same cup measure, I whisked together 1/4 cup olive oil

Quick and easy pickled carrots

2011-02-16T18:15:00.000-05:00

For a jar this size (20 oz), use about 2 cups of white vinegar. Add salt and sugar to taste and dissolve completely before pouring over the carrots. I used about 4 tablespoons of sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar, but play around with it to get it just right for you. Optional: add sliced chili peppers and/or julienned ginger.

My favourite cheeses

2011-01-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

In honour of National Cheese Lovers Day, here is a selection of my favourite cheeses:

The smell of zucchini bread on a snowy day

2011-01-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

I'm not ashamed to say I frequent the discount produce rack at the supermarket. There are often things on there that are clearly past their sell-by dates, but just as often there are perfectly usable, if ugly, fruits and vegetables. Two days ago I bought a bag of zucchinis that were not too beautiful. I used two in a vegetable soup and two more today in a nice and easy zucchini bread. One of

Non-non-dairy creamer

2011-01-07T13:20:00.000-05:00

Um.... FAIL! "Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer. Contains: Milk"

Frangipane and mixed berry tart

2010-08-16T18:29:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we picked masses of wild blackberries from our seaside property in Riverport, N.S. We also managed to scrape up the last of the season's wild blueberries and a few raspberries. With friends coming over for a Sunday dinner, we searched for an interesting way to serve the berries and came up with this fabulous frangipane tart, which is now my favourite new recipe. I plan to make it

Tips from 1940s Maritime Homemakers

2010-06-24T08:13:00.000-04:00

The Nova Scotia Public Archives do an incredible job of preserving historical documents and making them publicly available on the web. This morning I came across a wonderful 30-page book of wartime recipes for Maritime homemakers. Although we don't have to live on war rations these days, some of the tips and recommendations in this book are as sound today as they were in 1945. - stretch peanut

Barbecue Tonight Lives Up to Its Promise

2010-03-31T12:51:00.002-04:00