meat-board

Taralli – Fennel Bread Rings for Sunday Lunch

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I need to come clean.  I messed up this recipe pretty majorly from the beginning — and all the way through to the end.  It doesn’t happen often in my little island kitchen, but when it does, it’s epic.

But you wouldn’t know if from the picture, would you?  And they don’t just look good, they’re delicious too.  Despite the fact that I left out a great part of the liquid in this recipe, and then added insult to injury by forgetting about these little “pretzels”  in the oven — for a long time — I’m not exactly sure how much too long I left them in there, but I do know I pulled them out after they had turned a little darker than planned

And yet, after that long, arduous journey, they’re still amazing.  Like go make these right now and don’t forget to set the oven timer, amazing.

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Meyer Lemon Chicken

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Welcome to Friday night at our house!  When we lived in the city (a distant memory now), Friday was a night when one of us grabbed some semi-crappy takeout on the way home.  The other one stopped by the liquor store for a couple of beer to go with our feast.

Nowadays, Howard usually takes the Dooze down to the beach for a walk on Friday afternoons and then stops by the beer and wine store for that same couple of beer.  As for our takeout options, they’re a little more limited.  There’s Pender Sushi or the pub at Port Browning (where they do a pretty fine pizza), but after that we’re on our own.

So to satisfy our Chinese, Indian, Thai, Greek and whatever other cravings you can think of, I’ve had to build a semi-authentic repertoire of ethnic recipes.  Lemon Chicken is one that I’ve never quite gotten right.  But all that changed last Friday, when I found a bag of Meyer lemons at the grocery store (and they were cheaper than regular lemons too!) <squeal> Continue reading →

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Tea Poached Fish and Oven-Braised Yam Fries

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Occupy Our Food Supply is a day of global action (today) to think about where your food comes from, who produces it and how safe it is.  The fact of the matter is that our food system has undergone a massive consolidation in the last thirty years.  A shockingly small number of corporations now hold the reigns of our food chain.

A recent article in the Huffington Post lists some sobering statistics:

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Tuesday Dooze – Walk on the Beach

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The Dooze and I go for a lot of early morning walks on the beach.  You can find us there most mornings, pretty much year ’round.  But we both agree that our favourite walks are on those special winter mornings when the sun shines clear and the water is as still as the surface of a drum.

One of the best parts of winter on Pender is that we’re often left to enjoy it on our own.  Summer has a wonderful energy — full of visitors discovering Pender for themselves –  and it’s satisfying to share our calm harbours with others.

But winter on Pender, for me, is all about luxuriating in our beautiful home, alone.  And by alone, I mean in the company of those I love.

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Top Five Friday – 5 Easy & Delicious Treats for Valentines

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I’m on a bit of a K.I.S.S. kick at the moment.  Two blogs will do that to a girl.  I’ve been spending a lot of time in front of the computer, which means less time in the kitchen…and dinners that are less than elaborate.

With that in mind, I’ve already planned our Valentine’s dinner — I’m way better off when I have a plan, aren’t you?

My plan consisted of phoning Howard at work and asking him to take me to Pender Sushi next Tuesday.  He made the reservation that very afternoon, and now my plans are complete!

Like I said, I’m way better with a plan.  The simpler, the better.

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