It's December and that means it's time for me to bake batches and batches of Fudgy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies! December is the month when I bake up a storm in the kitchen. I get all my Christmas baking done and the house smells like cookies for weeks! ~HAPPY HOLIDAYS!~ Each year, as a little thank you, I bake cookies for our Canada Post mail carrier and our other delivery … [Read more...]
Baklava Two Ways
One of my mom's favourite treats is Baklava. We're going to do Baklava two ways today, because I have two great ways to make it. One is my favourite way and the way I first learned how to make it, and the other way is my aunt's way. My Tita Fely always cooks for huge crowds. I would say that she is probably the best cook in my mom's family. When it comes to cooking … [Read more...]
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Homemade cinnamon rolls are a favourite with my husband, daughter, and our friends and family. The funny thing is that though I love baking for others, I actually am not a fan of baked goods? I love the incredible smells that permeate the air while I've got goodies baking in the oven. The entire house smells heavenly. I'm just not a bread/pastry/sweets person. Wait. … [Read more...]
Homemade Kimchi
Mmmm. There's nothing better than homemade kimchi. You won't believe how easy it is to make! In my other life (the one before I moved to Manitoulin Island), I used to teach English at Western Town College and then at Pacific Gateway International College in Toronto. Some of my Korean students taught me how to make homemade kimchi. That was almost twenty years ago, and … [Read more...]
Homemade Brown Sugar Boba
Little One loves bubble tea and boba milk, so when she saw Inga Lam's homemade brown sugar boba video, she just had to make it! We live on a small island in rural Northern Ontario, and there are no bubble tea shops here. Whenever we go to the city, Little One always has to get her boba fix. If anything, this pandemic has been giving Little One lots of time to teach … [Read more...]
Cheesy Bacon Beer Bread
I've had many requests for our Cheesy Bacon Beer Bread recipe. Here it is! A few Summers ago, a dear friend of mine baked some Cheesy Beer Bread for my husband (that farm boy loves his bread). He enjoyed it so much that I tried to recreate the recipe in my head. I basically used a basic bread recipe my mother-in-law taught me and tweaked it a bit to include the … [Read more...]
Layered Eggplant, Zucchini, Tomato Gratin & a #BakersSecret Giveaway!
One of my absolute favourite dishes is my Layered Eggplant, Zucchini, Tomato Gratin. Years ago, I used to just put throw in all my vegetables for my ratatouille in a baking dish and cook them, but I find the presentation for this dish is so visually appealing. When it comes to making side dishes for our meals, I love a very generous helping of vegetables. I've been … [Read more...]
Refreshing Raspberry Cider Vinegar Drink
This Raspberry Cider Vinegar Drink makes me think of the Raspberry Cordial from Anne of Green Gables. It was Summer sometime in the mid 1980s. The sun was shining and the gentle breeze made my dusty rose Venetian blinds sway. I remember the gentle clicking sound the blinds made when they hit my window sill. School was out for Summer, and I was lost in my new favourite book. … [Read more...]
Hasselback Potatoes – Another Family Favourite
I married a beef farmer. He loves his meat and potatoes. He really loves his meat and potatoes. This means I've got to pull out all my favourite potato recipes, as well as be on the look out for new recipes to try! I have been seeing Hasselback Potatoes on all of my social media networks. In fact, I'd be pretty hard pressed to go online and not come across photos and … [Read more...]
Chicken Dumpling Stew
On cold Winter days, Little One wants nothing but soups, stews and chili. In fact, our seven-year old is currently obsessed with chicken dumpling stew! If she had it her way, we'd have soup every night of the week! One of her favourites is my Dad's chicken dumpling stew. Grampy's stew is a Trinidadian Dumpling Stew (can use beef instead of chicken) and includes … [Read more...]
How to Sprout Seeds, Grains, and Beans
From my earliest recollections, sprouting our own bean sprouts has been something our family did. My Dad, being an expert green thumb and fan of all things innovative and science-based, always had some kind of "science project" going on. Whether it be hybridizing and creating new species of fancy Japanese goldfish to cross-pollinating flowers like orchids and daylilies, or … [Read more...]
Pea Soup and Cheesy Dill Biscuits
To say we've got a little snow is a severe understatement. We recently got dumped with snow, but that's okay! I realize many people may think I'm a bit wacky, but I LOVE the snow! Apart from playing in the snow, building snowmen and snow forts, many other great things come from Winter! One of my favourites come to mind -- making homemade soup! Winter = cold. Cold = … [Read more...]