By JAN MAIN May is a month of firsts: first time to the cottage, first barbecue, first picnic, first swim (brrrr!), first planting. May is also one of the most beautiful months; a feast for all the senses including taste and a perfect time for outside dining experiences. My friend Deb recommended these special occasion […]
By JAN MAIN Choux pastry is one crazy dough! It is different from our familiar pastry. This unique dough produces steam as it cooks in a hot oven and puffs into a ball leaving a cavity for either a savory or sweet filling. The sweet filling is usually sweetened whipped cream or custard. Thus, it […]
By JAN MAIN Happy Anniversary, Beach Metro Community News! During that 50-year period, there were hundreds of recipes printed, first as Ward 9 Community News, then as Beach Metro Community News. Over that time, cooking changed from being popular entertainment, where one would labour all weekend over a dinner party to be enjoyed with friends […]
By JAN MAIN We are having an old-fashioned winter – plenty of snow and cold! However, these recipes are designed to warm your heart, tantalize your taste buds and brighten up the bleakest winter day in order to say, Happy Valentine’s! Homemade Hot Chocolate This recipe courtesy of the Toronto Home Economics Association, written by […]
By JAN MAIN It’s no accident that the hardest winter months, January and February, have an abundance of citrus fruits: clementine, navel oranges, mandarins, grapefruits, pomelos and lemons, to add zip to our cooking, vitamins for our well being and sunshine to bleak days. Use the entire fruit, both the skin and the juice to […]
By JAN MAIN Christmas Day is almost here! Hopefully the Omicron variant won’t throw a wrench into our plans to celebrate with friends and family this year. However, after what was last year’s subdued Christmas due to the pandemic, I’m rusty when it comes to preparing for a larger gathering! My friends have confessed the […]
By JAN MAIN Bleak November days are perfect for stirring up the Christmas cake, puddings and those special cookies made for the holiday season. This baking improves with ageing or can be frozen, giving you a head start on the Christmas season. There is nothing better than sharing cooking activities with friends and family to […]
By JAN MAIN Of course, the big excitement for October (once Thanksgiving is over!) is, as most children will tell you, – Halloween! Certainly, judging by houses decorated with witches, ghosts and goblins, costumes and treats for sale, not to mention the magic symbol, pumpkins everywhere, Halloween has become a major event. And there is […]
By JAN MAIN The abundant harvest is over flowing in supermarkets, farmer’s markets and are own gardens – be it a pot of herbs, a tiny raised bed or a “proper patch.” Certain crops really show off – beans and squashes of all sorts from zucchini to pumpkins. I was reminded of this as I […]
By JAN MAIN “Mum, I’ve packed a jar of fresh pickles in your bag. You’ll have to refrigerate them when you get home. They’re not processed in a canner.” “Thanks Alexa.” Well, fresh pickles. We’ll have to see what they are like? It was some time later that I arrived home, unpacked, including the jar […]
