Spring is such a short-lived luxury season. There are fiddleheads, there are asparagus, and then there are crab, sea urchin and sea snails. I like them all, but I like them more because they're so short-lived. Just three or four weeks max for my favourite sea urchins, and already … [Read more...] about Crab Season, the Atwater Market, and Sweet Crab Sushi
Main Dishes
Fake Miso Black Cod with Wild Labrador Turbot
Some people might think I'm crazy for coming back from Newfoundland in April with a suitcase 2/3rds full of fish instead of, say, clothes. Some people might say I'm crazy for going to Newfoundland in April in the first place (land of RDF, after all - rain, drizzle and fog). But I … [Read more...] about Fake Miso Black Cod with Wild Labrador Turbot
Seared Scallops with Carrot Purée and Orange-Butter Sauce: roasted pecans and pan-fried potatoes
It's easy to get into ruts, especially with vegetables. You can spend all day thinking about the best way to cook meat and then toss some carrots in a pot to boil away their beta-carotene as an after-thought. I don't even add salt and pepper, and I don't even cut them precisely. … [Read more...] about Seared Scallops with Carrot Purée and Orange-Butter Sauce: roasted pecans and pan-fried potatoes
Red Lentil Tadka Dal
I make a lot of dal. Some are good. Some are great. Some are not great. When I run out of freshly-made garam masala and decide to use the contents of an unmarked bag in my spice containers that may or may not at some point have been garam masala, my dal generally tends toward the … [Read more...] about Red Lentil Tadka Dal
Caribbean Grilled Chicken (or Slow-Cooker)
Ingredients 2 jars Caribbean Hot Pepper Sauce (mine - reduced to the appropriate amount below). DON'T use a regular high capsaicin hot sauce or you'll be swearing at me for a good few hours while your tongue burns 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or bone-in. Preferably … [Read more...] about Caribbean Grilled Chicken (or Slow-Cooker)
Coring Woes and the Other Cabbage: Indian Cabbage with Peas
I'm going to tell you a story you maybe don't want to hear. It has a delicious, happy ending though. Although the happy part comes before the really bad part , thus making it not exactly an ending, I suppose. I was making my second "I don't like cabbage" cabbage recipe last week … [Read more...] about Coring Woes and the Other Cabbage: Indian Cabbage with Peas
Malaysian Breakfast: Coconut Rice with Red Curry Sambal and Swiss Chard
Since realizing that green curry paste was as easy as tossing cilantro, Makrut lime leaves, onions, garlic and a few spices in a blender, I've been making a lot of green curry. But red curries were another matter. To get that red colour you'd need a LOT of red hot peppers, … [Read more...] about Malaysian Breakfast: Coconut Rice with Red Curry Sambal and Swiss Chard
“Spicy, Citrusy Black Beans” from Simply Recipes
Rarely do I follow a recipe this perfectly, but I was bound and determined to get this one right. I think I spent about an hour and a half (of my free time, not my work time!) choosing the best black bean recipe I could find. Usually I'd just go with one of the fall-backs - rice … [Read more...] about “Spicy, Citrusy Black Beans” from Simply Recipes
Slow-Cooker Indian Lemon Chicken
When I think lemon chicken, I think plain chicken breast, grilled, with too much acid squeezed over it. Then I think cornstarch-thickened sweet gloopy Chinese sauce with a tiny bit of soy and lots of MSG on deep-fried or shallow-fried chunks of whatever piece of chicken was the … [Read more...] about Slow-Cooker Indian Lemon Chicken
Local Organic Yellow Pea Curry (Almost Chana Masala)
Wondering what to do with those yellow whole peas in your Lufa Farms fresh basket? You can use them exactly as you'd use chickpeas. So soak them in a bowl of cold water overnight and then drain them and boil them with about two inches of water (2 cups dried chickpeas = 4 cups … [Read more...] about Local Organic Yellow Pea Curry (Almost Chana Masala)