The Yum Yum Factor

This week was a busy week with far too much work and not enough play but at least it ended with some fun. I Heart Farmers, Canola Oil and a Farm Adventure I took my good friend, Ivy Lam, into her very first corn maze at Applewood Farm. No one was harmed. On Thursday, I was invited to grab a friend and tag along on the I Heart Farmers media tour sponsored by the Canadian Canola Growers . Along with our host and national treasure, Mairlyn Smith (who also prepared our amazing picnic lunch using heart healthy, Canadian canola oil in all of the recipes) and visiting guest farmer, Will Bergman , we went apple picking at Applewood Farm and Winery (maybe some apple booze tasting too) and then finished with a bit of flower arranging and picnicking at the ridiculously picturesque  South Pond Farms . Stay tuned for some more photos from our adventure and a chat with Will about the future of Canadian farming. Taste Matters  Scallop Ceviche in Semolina Puffs f...

Did you know that every night, in Toronto, more than 2000 youths are living in the street? Of those 2000, 70% of them site parental drug and alcohol issues, physical, psychological, sexual and emotional abuse as the reason for leaving home? 40% of homeless youth experience mental health issues but after 4 years of being on the street that number grows to 70%? This is why our community depends on places like Eva's Place, an emergency shelter for homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 24 in downtown Toronto. Eva's place not only provides shelter, but they also provide much needed support to help these young people either return home or to transition into more appropriate housing, finish their schooling, receive medial care, counselling and basic life skills training that you and I might take for granted. As well as the 40 bed emergency shelter, they run a harm reduction shelter called  Eva's Satellite   and Eva's Phoenix  for more long term housing and sup...

If Betty Draper had an Instant Pot, she probably would have drank less, cooked more and still would have been left with plenty of time and energy to keep her hair on point. Luckily, we can all get ourselves an electric pressure cooker and join the cult although my hair has never looked as good as Betty's. I have been working for a while to adapt my pressure cooker chili into a vegetarian, three bean chili so that I can have a nice, thick chili that has all the same flavours as my meat filled chili. Because there is no evaporation, it is easy to end up with a watery chili that is bland and lacklustre. Then, you must consider the fact that cooking dry beans in the pressure cooker with an acidic ingredient, like tomatoes, can result in unevenly cooked beans that can take up to four times longer to cook. Now, if I have all the time in the world, I am fine with that and just cook for longer with the tomato but this particular recipe was going to be the main dish featured in my u...

We finally made it to Buffalo for a trip to Trader Joe and Wegman's so I could stock up on some treats. Wegmans always means a flat of Rotel and my beloved Poland Springs Water (I KNOW IT'S JUST BOTTLED WATER BUT IT'S DELICIOUS WATER) Despite our best intentions, we always eat at the same place in Buffalo so this time, Shack chose the Lake Effect Diner for a late lunch before we started for home. I guess he remembered it from an episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives aka Giant Portions of Really Unhealthy Foods That Will Guarantee The Gout. The diner, reminiscent of a 50's Airstream, was adorable and spotless although absolutely empty when we showed up at about 3pm. I ordered a Greek Salad with some chicken that was the size of two heads with really fresh, crispy lettuce and tons of crumbled feta. I was assured, by our lovely waitress, that all dressings, jams, etc are made in house when I gave the little take out cup of dressing the side eye and she looked li...

Nothing is sexier than creme brulee. It's rich. It's thick. It's just sweet enough. It has a crust that only shatters when you tap it with a spoon to reveal the treasure that lays beneath it. Unfortunately, it is also a bit of an ordeal to make at home but not if you have a pressure cooker. Creme brulee in my Instant Pot is a revelation. Long gone are the days of tempering the custard, trying my best not to curdle it but straining it before adding it to the ramekins just in case there were little bits of scrambled egg in there. Bye bye water bath that I always slosh all over the damned place when I am trying to get the cumbersome pan in and out of a hot oven. No more heating up the house for an hour which ensured that this was NOT a dessert I often made in the summertime.  The most exciting thing about making our favourite dessert in the Instant Pot is that I if I don't want to have six pots of fatty goodness teasing me from the fridge, I can whip up a si...

the arroz de tomate of my dreams A few years ago we spent a couple of weeks in Northern Portugal and there were a few dishes that we ate constantly. We ate the garlicky clams with butter, vihno verde and cilantro every single day, the kid ate grilled sardines at least three times a day and at every meal, there was a bowl of tomato rice. Sometimes it was really soupy, like that one down there from Ponto Final  (I wrote about it here  ). It came in an earthenware cauldron and it continued to bubble and roil for most of the meal. That one was soupy and full of sausage but other times we were served a thicker version, usually with nothing else added in. I had forgotten about tomato rice until I attended a supper club that featured a multi course Portugese feast, prepared by my friend Paula Costa, of the blog, My Portuguese Kitchen   . Her rice was thick and creamy and full of seafood and since that night, I keep thinking about making it but it's been hot, I ...