I am not a soba making noodle master. This is a soba making master: Unfortunately, I watched this after making my own noodles. Fortunately, I had a pasta maker. What that meant was that the noodles looked awesome but were horribly over-mixed and dense. The process was … [Read more...] about Homemade Soba Noodles: 100% Buckwheat Gluten Free Pasta with Dashi Soba Broth
Main Dishes
Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Risotto
"Rice, say the Italians, is born in water and dies in wine," writes author Margaret Visser in her book Much Depends on Dinner. Would that we could all be so lucky? Hmm...that makes me sound a bit like an alcoholic, when I really just meant that I like swimming... Point … [Read more...] about Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Risotto
Shrimp and Cod Chowder (Dairy-Free)
Facts: My dad loves seafood chowder and I wanted to make it for him. Problem: It contains gluten and dairy. Goal: Create a gluten free, dairy free seafood chowder recipe that's as good as the original. Challenge: I didn't want to use coconut milk because it makes … [Read more...] about Shrimp and Cod Chowder (Dairy-Free)
Tender Pressure Cooker Calamari with Red Wine-Tomato Sauce (aka a Messy Sunset and How to Clean Squid)
I'm standing at my kitchen counter. Late afternoon light is streaming in through the windows as I take my uncleaned squid tubes and tentacles from the fridge. It was $1 less a pound to buy them uncleaned, with the inky skin, entrails and plastic-like clean quills (it's actually … [Read more...] about Tender Pressure Cooker Calamari with Red Wine-Tomato Sauce (aka a Messy Sunset and How to Clean Squid)
Cooking with Seal, Part 3: Rogan Josh
Alright, last kick at the can, I thought as I stared at the cubes of defrosted seal meat in front of me. I'd bought pounds of it at The Fish Depot in downtown St. John's over Christmas and brought this last pound of meat home with me in my luggage. Direct flight with good … [Read more...] about Cooking with Seal, Part 3: Rogan Josh
Cooking with Seal, Part 2: Ribs
For Part 2 in my 'How to cook seal' adventure, I decided to make ribs. It wasn't that hard a decision since the guy at The Fish Depot in downtown St. John's, NL only had seal cubes and seal ribs. I'd used the cubes to make meatballs, so now it was time to make ribs. I used a BBQ … [Read more...] about Cooking with Seal, Part 2: Ribs
Cooking With Seal, Part 1: Meatballs
This might seem weird, but yes, I cooked seal meatballs. The upsides: It's lean protein, high iron and totally sustainable (they're eating all the cod and these are not the cute baby ones). There are no antibiotics or grain in the feed since it's a wild meat. And it tastes … [Read more...] about Cooking With Seal, Part 1: Meatballs
Slow-Braised Arctic Char Fillets with Gremolata (Dairy-Free)
The inspiration for this dish came from a dinner at Lili.Co in Montreal. From our table a few steps from the bar/open kitchen, we watched a chef spend more than five minutes slowly basting a fillet of fish in hot, seasoned oil, essentially poaching it in oil. He then topped it … [Read more...] about Slow-Braised Arctic Char Fillets with Gremolata (Dairy-Free)
Vegan Dinner Party: Balsamic-Braised Oyster Mushrooms on Pressure Caramelized Parsnip Purée with Bok Choy and Flame-Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Do you have that one vegan friend that you never invite to a dinner party? That's me. And I'm not even vegan! (Gluten and lactose intolerant, no pork, no beef, no tofu and the list goes on, generally FODMAPs at the moment.) It's a little annoying to not get invited to a lot of … [Read more...] about Vegan Dinner Party: Balsamic-Braised Oyster Mushrooms on Pressure Caramelized Parsnip Purée with Bok Choy and Flame-Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Champagne and Caviar
When your wine importer friend whose company motto is "No shit in my wine" says "Let's have a Champagne and caviar night!" and offers to bring both the natural Champagne and the caviar, you don't say no. Only an idiot would say no. I'm occasionally not an idiot. And only a … [Read more...] about Champagne and Caviar