Food, Travel, and Cooking!
An old favourite of mine; excellent served with roast pork loin, especially a juicy, bone-in roast . I also use it as an accompaniment to my hazelnut chicken breasts and anything else that takes my fancy! Like I said before, I love barley. If I have leftovers, they will become part of a soup. You […]
My “take” on a Lorenza de’Medici recipe. We think the addition of pancetta and a splash of white wine to the sauce makes it even more delicious. I often make half the recipe for our primo which goes especially well with lamb marinated in my go to marinade for lamb. And I hone in on local leeks, which are so sweet and […]
Years ago I read an article about ramps in Gourmet Magazine. I was really curious, what the heck are they? Turns out they are hunted & gathered in the spring and are also known as wild leeks. A good friend, who is a chef, used her connections & got us some. Still don’t know the secret places they are found though! […]
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here. This is a lovely soup that I like to make with veggies from the Farmer’s Market and herbs from the garden. It’s nice to serve as a first course or as a main course served with wholegrain bread and perhaps some cheese. Once the veggies […]
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here. This excellent soup can be made with over-wintered leeks or when the leeks become available at the end of summer/beginning of fall and if you’re lucky, you might find some at the Farmer’s Market in December! The chives say spring to me, as once February […]
We have added a number of new vegetables to our repertoire over the past couple of years. There must be an Italian influence here somewhere! We are now including fennel, Romanesco cauliflower, leeks, cavolo nero or lacinato kale, savoy cabbage, butternut squash, kabocha squash and quince. With the leeks I have made gratins and […]
To Clean Domestic Leeks: Trim root end, remove outside layer of leek, trim leek keeping only the white and light green parts.. Save the dark green parts for making stock. They can be frozen. Cut down the length of the stem and holding each half under cold running water, rinse thoroughly, making sure you […]
Quite simply, I love barley whether in soups or a casserole or in my version of barley risotto. It is creamy and dare I say it, “good for you”. Makes 4 – 6 Servings 1 cup pearl barley, placed in a bowl & covered with cold water for up to 6 hours 1 cup leeks, cleaned […]
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here. Similar to my ramp (wild leek) tart but this one has nutmeg instead of herbs. Not only is it delicious in the spring, but also in the fall & winter when the new leeks become available. Makes an 8″ or 9″ Tart Pre-baked pie shell** I prefer to use a glass pie dish […]
Ramps grow in the wild. There are foragers that bring them to the Farmer’s Market or at times, the Wild Guy at Granville Island. They have a slight garlic flavour to them & are delicious. If you are unable to find some, use regular leeks. Makes an 8″ or 9″ Tart Pre-baked pie shell** I prefer to […]