This is the lean time for me. I am a freelancer and, in my field, there is not much work in August or September. Don’t cry too many tears for me. I could buckle down and live within my means for my two months of underemployment, but I usually travel and have fun cooking food…
Chocolate Pudding with Smoked Salt and Burnt Almonds
My sister is a gourmet chocolatier. She makes chocolate for a small exquisite chocolate producer in Vancouver, Canada called Cocoa Nymph. I especially recommend the Sea Nymph bar (it has sea salt and english toffee). I also really like the Sesame Bianco, which involves sesame and sea salt, but they don’t seem to sell…
Bresaola and Arugula Salad
When people have to give up gluten, they usually go through a lot of grieving over the loss of bread…good bread. I have to admit that bread was not that hard for me to give up. It had given me a tummy ache for my entire life, so I think even before giving up gluten…
Anise Pavlova with Plum Preserves and Almond Cream
So, I have to confess to never, ever having eaten a pavlova made by a real pastry chef. Once, my friend Helena took me to a fancy market when I was visiting her Vancouver to show me the beautiful pavlovas that they made there, but we just admired them. My point is that I think…
Marzipan Cake with Baked Figs and Mint (Gluten-Free or not)
This cake is fluffy from egg whites and nutty, rich and aromatic from toasted almonds. It’s topped with fresh figs that are baked until they are glazed, syrupy and plump. The fresh mint is hard to place but it balances the sweetness of the cake and figs. I brought it to our friend Eric’s birthday…
Lamb, Fig and Eggplant Moussaka (Gluten-free or not)
I have had the pleasure of eating a lot of fresh figs as of late. I hope that you have too. If not, consider making this moussaka. My mum’s friend Keith grows figs and he told me recently that figs were good in moussaka. I tend to trust Keith since he was the first person…
All Salmon, All TheTime Ieva’s Salmon/ Ground Cherry and Almond Sauce
My recent trip to British Columbia was all about Salmon. I ate a lot of Salmon. We did not eat salmon EVERY day…but on the days that we were not eating salmon, we were talking about eating salmon. On Gabriola Island, we were eating a lot of pink salmon, which seemed to be the…
Chia Seed Pudding with Figs and Blackberries
Chia seeds are weird. If you add nut milk to them and let them sit overnight, they make an amazing pudding that is a little bit like tapioca. They have almost no flavour, so you can add extracts or seasonings to make any kind of pudding that you fancy. They are supposed to be really,…
Crab Apples Pickled in Sherry Vinegar and Five Spice Powder
My Estonian grandmother planted a fruit tree for each of her grandchildren when they were born. Mine was the crab apple tree. When I was about seven years old, I asked my grandmother why my tree was the one with fruit that was so hard and sour. She told me that the crab apple tree…
Dark Hazelnut Linzertorte with Blackberry Filling (Gluten-free)
I have been visiting my mother on Gabriola Island in British Colombia, Canada. My dad chose Gabriola as the place he wanted to retire and build a house before he passed away and, a year ago, my husband and I got married here. My mum comes takes her vacation at the house every August and…
Big Sis Little Dish 