Hot Enough to Notice I get a lot of flack from fancy food types about my love of pepper jelly. That condiment forever relegated to the 1960’s poured over cream cheese and served on crackers as atomic age chic. And it’s true that the myriad insipid versions out there are about as exciting as a Nixon speech. When you … Read More →
Pow. Blam. Zing. I really do enjoy Nova Scotia despite the fact that they seem completely lost on a few major ethnic cuisines. Scottish and English food traditions are easily found as are all the delicious permutations of French, Quebecois, and Acadian but you’d hard pressed to find Japanese, authentic Chinese, or most any Southeast Asian fare you … Read More →
That's a BIG Sack 'O Taters Atlantic Canada would make Samwise Gamgee proud. We’re just covered in ‘taters’ as he’d tell Gollum. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick supply not only most of Canada’s spud needs but plenty cross the border to feed the eastern US. From ordinary bags of them in the market to McDonald’s insatiable industrial french fry demand … Read More →
Pickle crock (in)action. It just sits in the corner sulking most days. I got a call from a dear friend living down in the colonies today about her garden. It’s her first year in a new dirt space and she’s wrestling some unruly vine crops that have gotten out of hand. Tomatoes and squash and even more successfully – cucumbers. Scads of them. It’s a good year … Read More →
Not just for tortilla chips Salsa means very different things depending on where you’re standing on the planet. I’ll focus on the Americas to simplify the discussion but know that it finds its way onto tables across the rest of the globe just as often thanks to new found salsa popularity beyond its native lands. Outside the decades-old wisdom of … Read More →
Cranberry beans - also known as cattle beans for some odd reason. Imagine my shock. Shock I tell you! When a well known cookery show recently proclaimed to all the world that “canned beans are just as good as dry” one of my culinary foundations was shaken to the core. I had heard this from ‘shortcut chefs’ in the media far too often but having done my … Read More →
The Italian sort, doesn't taste even remotely like eggs. So this evening I’m at my local megamart and find that aubergine (eggplant if you prefer) are on sale. Never one to miss the chance for eggplant Parmesan I toss a few into my cart and eventually whisk towards the tills with my modest selection of supplies. Bless the girls that work the checkout lanes. … Read More →
Oat bread. Don't be afraid of the deep dark crust. I wanted a fast and foolproof loaf for everyday consumption but plain white bread from factory producers just wasn’t doing it for me on the flavour front. A hefty loaf that could toast as well as hold not-so-delicate sandwiches was the mission. I tried to fall in love with wholemeal (aka whole wheat) but to … Read More →
The old field entrance of the farm in Autumn Testing, testing… Is this thing on? (tap tap tap) Ok, so back to basics here on the farm. I’ve not had the drive to update you kind people of the interwebs for quite some time and I think that needs to change. You see, I need resources to build the empire. Commerce. A modest flow … Read More →
