Seville oranges, halfway to being marmalade

Bitter. Oh, so bitter. Yet intensely fragrant. A fruit of perfect balance.

That’s the calling card of the Seville orange (Citrus aurantium), also known as the sour orange or bigarade. Its fleeting season, a scant few weeks in the dead of winter, makes this fruit’s appearance at markets a much-anticipated event.

With thick, pockmarked, and highly fragrant ...
Continue reading ...

Sweet corn soup shooters

Here’s the scene: People are arriving at your cocktail party on an icy January evening. The biting wind has driven the temperature down to a frigid –20°C. Guests unwind scarves from their necks, shake out their hair from the confines of toques, and sling their bulky long coats over the entryway banister before entering the dining area ...
Continue reading ...

Pastéis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts)

I say “natas”; you say “custard tarts.” We’re both right and they’re one of the simplest, most delicious pastries around. You’ll find a little history behind this popular sweet and tasting notes on natas from some Toronto bakeries in my “A Tart for All-Comers” piece published over at Continue reading ...

September sunset in Ottawa, Ontario

I stepped out onto our hotel room’s balcony to photograph this sunset while we were in Ottawa, Ontario, over the Labour Day weekend.

I stood there, mesmerized, long after the shutter had opened and closed.

Hot-air balloon parade over the Ottawa River

Perhaps the most charming part of our recent Labour Day Weekend getaway to Ottawa, Ontario, was our inadvertent participation in the 2009 Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival.

No matter where we were in the city at what time, the balloons eventually came into view: Friday night they drifted overhead as we ate ...
Continue reading ...

Round crusty loaf from Offshore Bakery in Southampton, Ontario

One of the treats mom and I brought back to Kincardine from Southampton during our August vacation. All things good food in Grey and Bruce Counties can be found via the Grey Bruce Agriculture and Culinary Association.

Beefsteak tomatoes at Ottawa’s ByWard Market

Has there ever been a varietal more aptly named than the “beefsteak” tomato? Weighty and dense, tender and flavourful. Best eaten in thick slices. Just like a nice cut of, well, beef steak.

My favourite thing about this tomato, however, is its reputation as a bit of a renegade. Its defiantly large size ...
Continue reading ...

Red Haven peach poached in rosé wine with blueberry-basil garnish

What you do: Boil rosé wine with some sugar and a cinnamon stick until mixture becomes syrupy. Add peeled peaches and simmer about 10 minutes, until they are tender but still hold their shape. Cool. Serve a peach in a pool of the rosé syrup garnished with blueberries and basil (cinnamon ...
Continue reading ...

Bathtub basil planter

I snapped this shot in an alleyway just north of Trinity Bellwoods Park during Toronto’s 2007 Alley Jaunt event. I was visiting Michael and the rest of the Wireless Toronto Art Squad and their installation of network “music” and poetry. On the Sunday afternoon, the two of us ...
Continue reading ...

Zucchini blossoms in my Aunt Janice’s garden

These bright beauties may look like regular ol’ zucchini blossoms, but they’re special. In my aunt’s backyard garden, these blossoms are now yielding Costata Romanesco zucchini, an Italian heirloom varietal that grows in a lovely shade of pale green and has raised ribs running the length of its body. I find it sweeter than ...
Continue reading ...