Black Currant Jam

Black Currant Jam

When I was very little, I thought my mother knew everything. Absolutely everything. If I had a question, she had an answer. If I had a problem, she had a solution. She cured my near-fatal bout of the mumps with teeny-tiny vanilla cupcakes. She could 

Apricot Sherbet with Black Currant Sauce

Apricot Sherbet with Black Currant Sauce

Seasons jumble in my head. Apricots and black currants are oh-so summer, except when the apricots are peaches and the currants are jam. Then it’s late fall — Thanksgiving to be specific. Confused? So am I. I started out with two tasks on my agenda 1) 

Extra-Crispy Peach and Blueberry Crisp

Extra-Crispy Peach and Blueberry Crisp

Writing a book is a lot like working in theatre. “Hurry up and wait!” is the mantra. You learn your lines (or write them in this case), hit your marks (deadlines) and then wait. For months. You watch the clock, the calendar and your nails 

Rhubarb-Raspberry Ice Cream

Rhubarb-Raspberry Ice Cream

Remember the colour wheel from Grade 6 art class where you learned that blue and orange were complementary colours and if you mixed them together you got icky khaki brown? Eventually, you or the evil genius in the next row figured out all the complementary 

Rhubarb-Raspberry Loaf and Muffins

Rhubarb-Raspberry Loaf and Muffins

Everything’s behind schedule. The spring bulbs, the roses, the fruit. And me. Especially me. While I chastise myself for tardiness, I’m actually pleased that Mother Nature is dragging her earth-encrusted feet. Here it is, almost July, and I’m harvesting armloads of rhubarb with leaves as 

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream — A Photo Essay

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream — A Photo Essay

Ask and you shall receive. A couple of weeks ago, I posted to Instagram a shot of my recently purchased, tiny chocolate mint plant. I asked if I should make ice cream or tea. The resounding answer was ice cream. If you insist. This was a 

Smoked Sugar Ice Cream with Roasted Strawberries

Smoked Sugar Ice Cream with Roasted Strawberries

Day 5. Recipe 5. I’m out of barbecue tools and the propane’s running low. What I’m not short on is enthusiasm for my new grill. Every day this week I’ve been serving up dishes designed for flame and test driving grill gadgets sent to me 

Spicy Grilled Broccolini

Spicy Grilled Broccolini

Developing recipes for unfamiliar culinary tools is a bit like having coffee with someone you met through an online dating site. You’ve memorized their profile, you’ve Googled them to see what others think, and you’ve figured out how to make them like you. But no matter 

Easy Lavender Honey Chicken

Easy Lavender Honey Chicken

It is not winter here inside my kitchen. The four inches of crystallized water piled up on the back porch is just an illusion created by the white curtains and the angle of the light. That sound isn’t howling wind. It’s a neighbour’s dog, Or