The Yum Yum Factor

If you are not lucky enough to have a nonna of your very own, you can soothe your inner Italian soul with Per La Famiglia, Memories and Recipes of Southern Italian Home Kitchen, the newest cookbook by Emily Richards. Part cookbook, part scrapbook, the book is full of photos, memories and family stories and as soon as my complimentary copy showed up on my doorstep, I read the whole thing, cover to cover. I remember Emily Richards from the Canadian Living Test Kitchen back when I was a new mom and spent hours on end watching the food network. Alongside Elizabeth Baird, she injected a youthful enthusiasm for food that helped to inspire me to get out of bed and back into the kitchen again. Fast forward to today and Emily is still inspiring Canadians to get into the kitchen and cook delicious, whole foods as part of the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, regular daytime tv guest spots, cooking classes and cookbooks. The stories reflect the immigrant story for many, ma...

There are a million recipes out there for babaganoush, a popular, Middle Eastern, smoky eggplant dip so why am I sharing one more? To me, the actual dip is just a blueprint that you can use to then dress it up as you wish. I like mine kind of thick, so it's also a spread and have found that it's as great smeared on crostini or in a wrap as it is eaten as a dip with a piece of pita bread so I replace the lemon juice with the rind of a pickled lemon. I also love the addition of pickled turnip as much for their sour crunch as for their beautiful pop of colour in what, otherwise, is a sea of grey and grey food is never appealing on it's own. The toasted walnuts might not be authentic but that's how I like it so that's how I make it. Smoky Eggplant Spread 1 large eggplant 1 clove garlic, grated on a rasp or fine grater OR chopped very finely 1 tsp kosher salt *1 preserved or pickled lemon 3 tbls tahini 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp cumin a...

I had to make a dip for a party and was going to make hummas but realized that I always make hummas. I haven't made babaganoush in years so I set out to find a recipe that sounded like the one I used that last time I made it. Martha Stewart's sounded pretty bang on so I used it as my base. Instead of one large eggplant, I used two medium sized eggplants and I think the proportions were fine. The only real change I made was to add a handful of chopped parsley because I like a bit of green in there and it's just a little more fresh with parsely. I used to buy this amazing, garlicky eggplant dip from a woman at St Lawrence Market. It was really kind of wet, it was really smokey, it had tomato and no tahini and it was soooooo good. I can't find out what it's called or find a recipe for it so if anyone reading this knows what I am talking about, please take pity on a girl and let me know. Babaganoush 2 medium or 1 large eggplant 2 cloves of garlic 4 tbls o...