Huevos Rancheros (and other Mexican breakfast)

I am a lover of breakfast and also lover of Mexican food.  A few days a week during the school year I teach near a cafe that makes really good Huevos Rancheros.  I eat “lunch” with the kindergarteners at 10:30 AM so I order Huevos Rancheros…or rather the lady at the cafe sees me coming…

How to Roast Asparagus in Under 10 minutes

You know,  I am pretty sure that I had never tasted or even heard of asparagus until I came to the east coast to go to college.  When I did finally try it, I found it delicious but entirely unaffordable.  I find good prices on asparagus all the time now, which makes me very happy!…

Salad Rolls

When I was a pre-teen visiting my family in Vancouver, I liked to visit the food at Granville Island.  This goes to show that my idea of a good time has not changed all that much in 25 years.  I still go to look at food markets in whatever city I visit.  ANYWAY at twelve…

Quinoa with Wild Plantain, Dandelion and Peppers

I’ve been taking this permaculture class once a month. What that means is I’ve been talking with other people who are interested in strange, interesting and unexpected food plants. So we geek out. I just cooked a dish with a plant that I grew up with. I used to play with these all the time…

Improvise Stir Fry!

You know, everyone who I consider my tribe here in Vancouver–and I’m talkin’ my extended circle of friends and acquaintances–make stir fries. It’s my regional cuisine, and it’s a way of life. Why is this? The deep-rooted Chinese influence on the city? The chronically lingering hippy culture? Maybe it’s the fact that stir fries are…

Gluten-Free Quiche

My mother has a lot of friends who are boat people.  People who built their wooden boat by hand or restored an old fishing boat or catamaran before sailing it to New Zealand, or Fiji or Hawaii.  She married one of them when I was nine (my dad John Berry).  I wholeheartedly approved of the…

Tomato and Cream Cheese Omelet

Once upon a time, my friends Alex and Katherine took me to a diner in Portland, Maine for an excellent Tomato Omelet.  When I crave that omelet, this is what I make.  Of course there are all kinds of delicious omelet fillings!  I will list some suggestions in the recipe.  The hash browns pictured here…

Better gluten-free popovers

  I posted a recipe for gluten-free popovers in the post A Menu in Honour of Broccoli Soup. I’ve been experimenting, and I think that this recipe is better.  It uses Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free flour mix (Garbanzo, fava bean, tapioca and sourghum flours with potato starch)  instead of the rice, tapioca and potato mix…

Jain Coriander-Scented Millet and Mung Bean Pilaf with Homemade Ghee

Otherwise known as Ahmadabad Jain Pullao, this wonderful recipe comes from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian and Vegetarian Grain Cooking. I’ve been delving into this book lately, and finding that Indian cooking has a lot to do with different dairy preparation techniques. Yogurt is a complete main-stay, as is ghee…. USLI GHEE To make 3/4 cup…

Excellent Potato Pancakes (gluten-free)

I am not sure if my potato pancakes are Rosti or Latkes or Hash browns but they are truly excellent.  The ingredients and technique for making these pancakes are simple. The secret is in the tools….An old fashioned coarse grater called The Wonder Shredder and a well seasoned, wide cast iron skillet.  I got my Wonder Shredder…