I had a plan. Replace all-purpose flour with a mix of tapioca flour and brown rice flour with a little baking soda and a few tablespoons of flax meal. The tapioca and flax keep it together, the rice flour keeps it apart. The baking soda helps keep it from turning into a dense … [Read more...] about When Gluten-free Fails You: Spicy Gingerbread Cake
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
Sucking it Up and Finally Using my Cabbage: Gujarati Cabbage with Carrots
I tried making sauerkraut, my crock got moldy. I tried doing fresh slaw, my intestines revolted. So I'm going to tell you a secret. I started giving away green cabbage from my Lufa Farms Fresh Basket! Shh! I'd see that unsightly cabbage in the box and I'd groan. For one, it was … [Read more...] about Sucking it Up and Finally Using my Cabbage: Gujarati Cabbage with Carrots
Gluten-free, Dairy-free Oatmeal Raisin (or Chocolate Chip) Cookies
The name is a lie. There are no oats in these cookies. You might think there are when you taste them, but there aren't. Instead the cookies are based on the magic of quinoa flakes. They don't keep their flake form when they bake, so I guess thhey're not that magical, but they're … [Read more...] about Gluten-free, Dairy-free Oatmeal Raisin (or Chocolate Chip) Cookies
Orange, Fennel and Red Cabbage Salad
I used to hate fennel. Anise, black licorice, ouzo, pastis - I hated all of it. I especially hated it with orange. But then I realized that I liked it depending on what I ate it with, and I especially loved it roasted, when it sweetened and softened in flavour. From there I … [Read more...] about Orange, Fennel and Red Cabbage Salad
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
Pop it Up and Throw it Down: From Supper Parties for Chili Pepper-Lovers to Montreal’s Best Peruvian Restaurants
2 questions: Why aren't pop-up supper clubs the thing to do in Montreal? And why aren't there more upscale Peruvian and Mexican places in Montreal? Yes, ceviche is everywhere, but most of the cooks dicing up tuna tartar can't even pronounce "aji amarillo" ("ah-HEE … [Read more...] about Pop it Up and Throw it Down: From Supper Parties for Chili Pepper-Lovers to Montreal’s Best Peruvian Restaurants
On Uni, Sweet Shrimp and Lake Trout Sushi
Uni is an acquired taste. I have acquired it. It wasn't hard. It's slimy, fairly bland, a little bitter (iron?), and a little sweet. I think it's the bright orange part that bothers most people. And the fact that uni is the gonads of the sea urchin. That could do it too, I … [Read more...] about On Uni, Sweet Shrimp and Lake Trout Sushi
On Reunions and Croissants
Have you ever been hit by a memory so hard it hurts? Like a wave washing from the top of your head to the bottom of your heart. There's a split second of disorientation as you're thrown off balance with a deep throb of beautiful pain. In that tiny amount of time you get to live … [Read more...] about On Reunions and Croissants
“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