The boys and I at Sugarmoon Farm in Spring 2009.

Just a quick note about my upcoming dinner at Sugar Moon Farm Saturday, September 25th. This should be a great evening and I hope to see many of you out there! Reservations can be made by calling the farm at 1-866-81-maple or email info@sugarmoon.ca .

Menu

Salad Of Roasted Fall Squash And Old Growler Cheese With A Maple-Barberry Vinaigrette

***
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup With Maple Creme

***
Nova Scotia”Porchetta” With Crushed New Potatoes & Maple Roasted Heirloom Carrots

***
Maple Roasted Valley Pears With Fox Hill Quark Cheese

Related Posts

No related posts.

Fig & Prosciutto Salad

So, I’ve been trying to think about something that I could write about on a regular basis. I had a few thoughts about Top Ten Lists. I like it the idea, but I only have so many top tens in my life. I could talk about my kids, but who wants to hear about Zoe’s antics and Philippe’s poopy diapers. How about my Sunday nights? My Sunday night are sacred. It’s the one night out of the week that I usually try and make an effort to make a nice meal for the man in my life. So, without further ado, here it is, my first of hopefully many Sunday Night Dinner posts!

This particular Sunday was no different from any other; the were kids acting like crack heads, Doug was wiped from being out late the night before, and me, well, I was just my usual crab nebula-ish self. The dinner on this particular evening was looming overhead. What should I make? What do we have to use? Doug had shown up with a flat of figs for me on Saturday, and I had some prosciutto in the fridge that was screaming to be used. Was a salad in order? Perhaps. We made a quick trip to Pete’s Frootique, and I scored on a big piece of Bleu d’Auvergne cheese that was on sale, as well as a bottle of white wine vinegar that I needed to replace my last one. There were the dregs of a container of walnuts and in the freezer and some pears and greens that I picked up at the market the day before.

The answer was clear. A salad of figs, grilled prosciutto, julienned pears, Bleu d’Auvergne, walnuts and market greens  was on the menu. A simple vinaigrette of honey, olive oil and the white wine vinegar rounded out the dish. I paired the salad with some grilled honey apricot bread and we had a winner of a dinner. Doug was as happy as a pig in shit, and I had manged to make something out of almost nothing.

(Starting with this post, I plan to have my weekly Sunday Night Dinners posted every Monday morning. If you have any suggestion as to what I should make, feel free to send me a note.)

Related Posts

1. Chef Boyardee’s Got Nothing On Me!
2. Who Says You Can’t Make Friends With Salad?
3. La Petite Gourmande

Downtown Baby!

It is not very often that I get offered money to use for fun and frivolity. I was recently asked to spend $100 in downtown Halifax by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission; a task I thought would be a cake walk, but after agonizing over how and on what I would spend my big bucks, I realized that there is much more to our fair city than what meets the eye. But after putting some thought into what I would do, I decided to show you the places that are my favorites, and that put a smile on my face.

Having two kids under the age of two, and being a busy bee, I decided to stretch my big day into two; first a day of “adult” activities, and then a second day involving my brood.

It all began on a sunny Friday afternoon when my better half, Doug, met me down at the ferry terminal at Alderney Landing and we took a leisurely ride over to downtown Halifax on the ferry ($4.50 return) before we made our way to the Five Fishermen Grill for their Oyster Happy Hour.  Both of us are crazy for these slippery little suckers, so at a buck a piece (between 4;30-6:30pm daily), we each ate a dozen ($12 for me) and paired it with a glass of  Tideview Cider ($6.75). After eating our little hearts out, we made our way to Bishop’s Cellar for one of their “After Dinner Drinks” nights which happen on a regular basis (check out their website for dates, times & events). These events are a great opportunity to sample some wines or beers, not to mention the fact that they usually have nibblies to munch on just in case you’ve come from directly from work (admission is $10). With some wine and food in my belly, we walked the boardwalk and stopped periodically to check out the boats and to people watch, which one of my favorite activities! We then ventured up to The Carleton for another drink before heading back to the ferry terminal (add another $10 for drinks).  We finished the evening off with a sunset on the ferry ride back to the Darkside (sunset was free!) .

The next morning we were up and at ‘em early in eager anticipation of checking out the Seaport Farmers’ Market. Zoe, Philippe, Doug & I packed into the car and crossed the MacDonald bridge with fabulous farm fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and cheese in our sights. We entered the beautifully restored building to find it flooded with tons of natural light and hundreds of energetic market shoppers! Our first stop was Ted Hutten’s stand for zucchini blossoms ($8 for 2 pints) and teardrop tomatoes ($6 for 2 pints). After quick conversation with the man himself about a “brown” tomato that he wanted to show me in the coming weeks, we were off in search of Foxhill Cheese so that Zoe could get her gelato on. Rick Rand and his wife, Jeanita, run this family operated dairy farm in Port Williams, and have been a mandatory stop for us in the past few years. A market visit is not complete  without Zoe’s “kiddie cup” of gelato ($2.50). With a spoonful of strawberry gelato safely in her mouth, we were permitted to continue on our quest. Boulangerie La Vendeenne was next on the list. Their Honey and Apricot Sourdough Loaf ($4.75) is a must in our house and we cannot go without it under any circumstances. We braved the usual line up, as Jean-Marc’s bread is something that should never be missed. Next on the list was Roselane Farm where Manfred Bauer makes German deli delicacies. We always walk away with some sliced “grain loaf”, merguez sausage and even a few spicy pepperettes ($20).  We made a quick stop at Riverview Herbs for their 3 bags of herbs for $5 deal. Choices for this week were chervil tarragon and mint. We were able to squeeze in one more stop before the kids hit the point of no return, and that was at That Dutchman’s Farm stand for a piece of “Old Growler” ($8). Bags in hands, and kids ready for a nap, we headed home to enjoy the fruits of our morning and saw that we could spend $100 in downtown Halifax and have enough for two fun filled days!

After doing the big tally, I ended up spending about $98 on my “Big Days”. Not bad considering I managed to do tons of things – eat out, socialize and walk away with a weeks worth of groceries. Whether you spend $100, $5 or even less, there are many jewels and gems to be found in downtown Halifax. There is something for everyone!

Thanks Downtown Halifax Business Commission for including the Feisty Chef in your Big Day Downtown.
View My Big Day Downtown in a larger map

Related Posts

1. It was a meal fit for our new king!
2. La Petite Gourmande
3. A Tourist In My Own Town

Last Saturday I decided to participate in the Select Nova Scotia IncrEDIBLE Picnic at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. I concocted a little dish for the event called “Clam Chaos”. Some of you may have been a part of the lucky few one who got to try it (I sold out after 3 hours). Many had asked for a recipe, so here it is!

Clam Chaos

• 5lbs clams; steamed and shucked and kept in their cooking liquid until needed

• 1 lbs snow peas; julienned
• 1 apple; julienned
• 10 radishes; thinly sliced
• 1 lbs potatoes; thinly sliced and cooked
• 1/2 cup basil; chiffonade
• 1/2 cup parley; chopped
• 1/4 cup walnut oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 white wine vinegar
• salt & pepper
• truffle oil; optional

Mix all the ingredients together and add the drained clams at the end. This recipe makes enough for 4 people as a main course.

Tip: Use a mandolin or Benriner to prepare the thinkly sliced or julienned ingredients. As you may already know a Benriner is one of my favourite kitchen tools. Click here for my 10 Kitchen Tools I Can’t Live Without.

Related Posts

1. Peas, Glorious Peas!
2. If You’re Fond Of Sand Dunes & Salty Air
3. Cool As A “Sea” Cucumber

Simple, seasonal, sweet!

It seems that my sis in law and I have a similar pattern when it comes to having babies; they’re always close together! Jean just gave birth to bébé #2, Oscar, and also celebrated her own birthday a few days later. To celebrate her “birthing-day” and her birthday, we had Jean and her better half, Jake, over for a casual dinner.  My one promise for the evening was that I would prepare a decadent  dessert. Sure – I can cook, but when it comes to baking or pastries, pardon my language, I suck ass! So, in an attempt to impress the birthday girl while keeping it dead easy for me, I concocted a tart of fresh valley peaches and blueberries with a lemon pastry cream. How easy was this dessert you ask? So simple  that even brand new baby Oscar could have made it. Store bought puff pastry and my simple pastry cream recipe were all that was needed. I topped it off with seasonal fruit, some fresh mint from the backyard and I was done. Take it from me, the lady who can’t bake; if I can make it look and taste pretty, then so can you!

Pastry Cream

1 C. milk
1/2 C. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring.  Cook for 3-5 minutes until mixture thickens and can cover the back of a spoon.  Set aside and let cool. You can flavour your pastry cream in any number of ways. Try adding fresh fruit, lemon zest or event a few shots of rum.

Related Posts

1. Rhubarb and Brioche Trifle
2. The Key to the Pie
3. The Random Rhubarb

The famous Salade Fougères.

I am no food reviewer, and its not often that I write about restaurants or the meals I’ve eaten in them, but when it comes to Les Fougerès, I gotta give them a shout out!

Charlie & Jennifer Part are the brains behind this operation that is found deep in the Gatineau Hills (Chelsea to be exact). Originally, they owned a little “boite” in Toronto called Loons, but after babies and the allure of a simpler life, they moved their brood to Chelsea where Jennifer’s parents and sister happen to live. As a result, Les Fougères was born in the remnants of an old gas station. To be perfectly honest, my opinion of these two is biased, as I was once their sous chef (yep,that is me on page 142 of their cookbook!), but in the past thirteen years I have never had a bad experience. Yes, it is true that I got married there, and the ten course meal that we ate will go down in history as the best wedding meal EVER, but I won’t let that sway my opinion.

After three years of staying away, Doug and I finally made the trek back to Les Fougères several weeks ago and enjoyed a most spectacular lunch! Chicken liver pate & Salade Fougères for me (my usual), and Dougie had the wild game terrine and the special of the day;  a salad of garden greens, local beef tenderloin, strawberries, pistachios and a plethora of other garden goodies. Of course no meal would be complete without cheese, and with over a dozen Quebec cheeses to choose from we had our work cut out for us! To finish off our lunch I ordered a little sweet somethin-somethin to help me endure the trek back to Shawville – Frangipane of raspberries with Fleur De Sel ice cream.

After filling ourselves with sumptuous food, a quick stop at the Les Fougères food store was a must. Despite the fact that I would have happily purchased every single item in the shop, I walked away with their own brand of extra virgin olive oil and a few jars of anchovy stuffed olives.

Les Fougères will always remain a favorite for me, hold a special place in my heart and continue to inspire me to cook with balls! (as Charlie always told me to do!)

The other dishes during our amazing lunch.

Related Posts

1. Who Says You Can’t Make Friends With Salad?

A Bowl of Summer

With summer upon us, one of my favorite things to eat is strawberries. There are different types of these little gems that you can find, and now you can have them freshly picked all summer! Here are a few reasons why they hold a special place on my plate.

Memory number one; my dad taking me to a u-pick every Canada Day! We would wake up at the crack of dawn and venture to the nearest u-pick in the Pontiac. Baskets in hand, we would go row by row, grabbing the biggest and juiciest strawberries that we could find. Three quarters of these berries made it into my mouth before the basket, and I would shyly tell the attendant that I never ate any! Stains on the front of my shirt told a different story! Home we would go, many baskets in tow, and sit on our front lawn to watch the annual parade. Best way to eat these red berries; heavy cream poured on top with a sprinkling of sugar!

Memory number two; the wild strawberry jam my dad’s client used to make! Those “fraise de bois” had to be meticulously hand picked, and were tiny, and it took thousands to make a jar, but oh man, was it ever worth it! My mother would call this jar “gold”, and we were only allowed a taste on rare occasions. Unfortunately, the lovely lady that produced these golden jars of red goodness passed away, and with her went the recipe!

Memory number three; my Grandmere’s strawberry “mousse”. Actually, I don’t even know if that is what you would call it, but she would take the ripest, reddest of the bunch and macerate them with some white sugar. Next, she would whip the living daylights out of some egg whites, add more sugar to make a meringue and fold in the macerated berries! It was billowy bliss!

My last memory is of my sweet little monster eating handful upon handful of  strawberries from the farmers’ market. Her grubby little hands picking up each berry and placing it ever so gingerly into her mouth before producing a sigh of contentment.

I recently returned home to Shawville, Quebec, and was able to re-live some of these precious moments with my family! Hope you take the time to indulge in these “fraises fantastiques” this summer, and make some memories of your own.

Related Posts

No related posts.

Zoe the Cookie Monster

My mother often tells the story of my first cooking venture. When I was two, my mother had me propped up on a chair in our kitchen, so I could help her make oatmeal cookies. I was so enthusiastic about this, that when her back was turned I ate a whole cup of flour! Yep, down the hatch it went. Needless to say, it freaked my mother (and I am sure myself) out. As most of you know, flour and saliva basically turn into homemade “glue” – so I essentially glued my mouth shut. After some panic and cleaning my gooey mouth out, we proceeded to make the best oatmeal cookies ever.

I recently started my second maternity leave, and am now home with a 20 month old and a 5 week old. With that being said, I get cabin fever quite fairly regularly, especially on those typical Nova Scotian rainy days. On the past rainy day, I decided to continue the Lavallée tradition and make cookies with my lil’ cookie monster. I must admit that it was a very messy venture, but Zoe clearly enjoyed herself and luckily enough, she did not follow in her Momma’s footsteps by eating a cup of flour. The following recipe is the same one that I made with my mother many moons ago. 

Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 ¾ C flour
• 1 ¼ C sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 C rolled oats
• 1 C raisins (I mix raisins with dried cranberries!)
• 1 C oil (I use olive oil, but it calls for canola oil)
• ½ C milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt

Mix all the dry ingredients and the raisins. Add in the wet ingredients and give a quick mix. Place in spoonfuls on a baking sheet and place in a 400°F oven for 12 minutes.

If you have small children, cooking with them in the kitchen is a great time and worth the clean up in the end. Now, will Zoe follow in my footsteps and continue on the culinary path? I will keep you posted!

Related Posts

No related posts.

This salad isn't only crunchy - it gluten and dairy free.

I  recently had a request for a gluten and dairy free recipe. As most of you know by now, bread and cheese are two of my favourite things, but felt that I should expand my horizons and come up with a dish that would accommodate people that have allergies or aversions to these. So, with a few cookbooks in hand, I did some research and I came up with this fresh and simple dish that I haphazardly named “crunchy salad”.  Once you make it and try it out, you’ll understand why I’ve called it this. As always, this recipe is intended to be a guide for those of you at home. So take it and run with it! Who knows, yours may end up being a whole lot better than mine!

Crunchy Salad

• 1 english cucumber; diced
• 1 red pepper; julienned
• 4 carrots; julienne
• 1 pkg tofu; diced and fried
• ½ bunch cilantro; roughly chopped
• ½ C. basil; roughly chopped
• 1 C. cashews or peanuts; roughly chopped (optional)
• 4 scallions; julienne
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• ½ pineapple; large dice
• 12 x 16/20 shrimp, sauteed (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together with vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette

• ½ C. canola or grape seed oil
• ¼ C. sesame oil
• ½ C. tamari or soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• ½ inch ginger; peeled and minced
• 2 cloves garlic; minced
• ¼ C. chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp sambal olek (optional)

Whisk together all the ingredients and pour over the salad.

Related Posts

1. Super Soba Sunday
2. Barberry For You, Zereshk For Me
3. Cool As A “Sea” Cucumber

Grilled Goodness.

While scanning Twitter the other day, I came across a tweet by Smitten Kitchen about a “Shaved Asparagus Pizza“. Having just purchased 2lbs of fresh asparagus at the market that morning, and wanting to try out my pizza stone on our Weber grill, I decided to take the Smitten Kitchen recipe and use it as guideline.

First, I made a quick and easy pizza dough in my mixer and let it rise (see recipe below). Next came the building of the fire. Using a charcoal grill always requires some planning ahead and some carefully honed fire making skills! FYI….my fire making skills are outstanding! As my grill started to heat up, I put my stone on the grill and allowed it come up to temperature. This gave me a chance to prep the rest of my ingredients. A little shaved parmigiano-reggiano, mozzarella, some beautiful local asparagus from Caribou Island, basil from Riverview Herbs and a few crumbled sausages from Sweet Williams (grilled in advance) rounded out our ‘za toppings for the night.

After I rolled out my dough, I placed it on the white hot stone. I let it cook for 2 minutes then flipped it over and gave it another minute on the other side. Once this was done, I liberally drizzled my half cooked dough with extra virgin olive oil and then layered on the rest of the toppings. I returned the dressed pizza back to the stone, placed the cover on the grill and let ‘er cook for another 4-5 minutes.

The result was nothing less than incredible. It was one of the best pizzas that I’ve ever had! No joke! The crust was tender and crunchy, the toppings were warmed through, yet retained their freshness and the whole pizza had a delightful smokiness from the charcoal.   I suggest that if you own a pizza stone, throw it on the grill this summer and experiment with some different toppings – both savory and sweet. I cannot wait to to try this again!

Basic Pizza Dough

• 3 ¼ C. AP flour
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 ¼ C. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Place the dry ingredients in a stand up mixer with the hook attachment. Add wet ingredients and mix until the dough comes away from the sides and is elastic and smooth (about 5 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and put in warm place to rise for 1 hour. Once the dough has had a chance to rise, roll it out to any size or shape that you desire.

Click to enlarge.

Related Posts

1. Et Tu BBQ?
2. Chimichurri; A Gaucho’s Best Friend
3. It was a meal fit for our new king!