The Yum Yum Factor

What to do with a couple of leftover, cooked chorizo, two potatoes and some leeks? MAKE SOUP!

You might have noticed that I am not publishing new recipes quite as often as I used to lately, but, trust me, I have a good excuse. A few months ago, I was hired on to design the menu for a new spot in Toronto's east end, The Kingston Social House. They wanted to launch a wine/cocktail spot with a small but tasty menu that only opens from Thursday to Saturday nights. There are lots of other exciting things happening on the other days - Brunch on the weekends by Thick Cut brunch , regular community based workshops, an upcoming Tuesday night Tapa thing by a group of chefs.... it's bringing the little neighbourhood of Birchcliffe Village back to life! Kingston Social Nights belongs to the women Now that I am the executive cooker lady at The Kingston Social , aside from the regular menu, I have to come up a weekly special as well as a soup and this eats up a ton of my cooking energy. If you live in Toronto, I invite you to come to the Social for a drink and somethin...

This post is sponsored by   Persimon®  It's November and that means it's Persimmon season which also means it's time for  Persimon®  persimmons (Rojo Brillante) all the way from  Ribera del Xúquer in Spain. These particular fruit, known for their firm flesh and mild flavour, are ripe and ready to eat by the time they hit the grocery store, unlike other varieties  like the Hachiya which have to soften and ripen before they can be consumed. By getting these, you are taking the guess work out of it.  You will be able to find these in the store from now until February or until they run out of stock, so hurry up and grab a case or two while you can. Last year, I made a  Tarte Tartin  with my haul so this year,  Persimon® invited me to take part in their black box challenge, which is kind of like Chopped but I get to participate in my pjs in the comfort of my own kitchen. They send a bunch of bloggers a mystery box full of Spa...

The Contest Once again, the time comes in a young girl's life where she has to come up with a recipe for the annual Lentil's Canada recipe contest. This year, the theme is "Star of the Show" and all of the entrants must make a short video to go with their recipe, so here is mine   - please feel free to go and watch it, like it, share it using the hashtag #LoveLentils . You can see all of the great entries  here  2016 has been declared the International Year of the Pulse by the UN and the fact that Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of lentils was not lost on me. Even though I cook with them often anyway, I am making a concerted effort to make sure they are on the menu at least a couple times a week this winter. Last year, my Dulce De Lentil Ice Cream took first place in the Dessert Catagory, was featured in the Ebook along with my Spicy Caramel Corn With Crispy Lentils , a runner up in the freestyle catagory. The year before, my C...

Winter is just around the corner and I find myself craving stuff like chili, stew and soup. Went I came to the blog looking for my chili, I was surprised to find that I didn't have a straight up recipe for my regular chili. I found a great recipe for  Red Chili Pork and Beans , Lentil Chili , and a Chili Chicken Soup  but no simple, meaty chili. I was sure that I had posted it at some point and after a search, I found it on No reEats, the blog that documented my year of never repeating a recipe. To be honest, that year was such a blur of stress and mental anguish, that I think I have blocked most of the meals from my memory in order to protect my fragile psyche.  I made a batch of this stuff over the weekend and realized that I had to share it with you guys because it's too good to keep to myself. This fills my 5 quart heavy pot or my 5 quart crock pot. It freezes beautifully by the way. Chili with Chorizo makes approx 4-5 quarts small glug olive oil 500 ...

Who doesn't like meatloaf? You know who doesn't like meatloaf (apart from people who don't eat meat of course)? People who haven't eaten a delicious meatloaf, that's who. We eat it prepared in a few different ways to keep it interesting. One of our favourites is Italian Meatloaf  and Italian Meatloaf take 2  , we do a Korean Style Meatloaf  and a cranberry glazed turkey meatloaf that is full of thanksgiving flavours without the hassle of roasting a big turkey. I promised The Kid that I would make it this week. I am always looking for new ways to jazz things up a bit when I came across my smoked paprika. Hmmmm. What about doing some Spanish flavours in there? I am kind of all about Spanish food right now, ever since I did a tapas spread for our Christmas Eve soiree. I spent some time living and working in Madrid in my former life and these were the flavours that still linger in my noggin. I went out and got a bit of Spanish Manchego cheese and some quince ...

I love braising but I don't do it a ton because my very excellent braising pan is also massive and way too big to make dinner for the three of us. I bust it out a few times a year when we have people over but when it's just my wee bunch, it's just not small enough. Imagine my delight when I opened my box of Nordic Ware treats and found an enamelled aluminum 3qt braiser (along with a 3qt dutch oven and a contraption for cooking chicken drumsticks ). I was lucky enough to win a full pass to the 1st ever Canadian Food Bloggers Association of Canada's Food Blogger Conference , courtesy of Canadian Beef  and Nordic Ware is providing all of the participants with some nice swag. I may be in love with you, Nordic Ware people. Wow, that's a lot of links but check them all out anyway people.