Cuisine Canada Scene

What once was old is new again

My husband, bless his soul, says all this patting ourselves on the back over local food is ridiculous.  And he’s really got a point.  As he says, “I ate local food every day of my life until I left my home and came to Canada.”  The vast majority of our world eats local food every [...]

Grilling Medallions

When you come to our house you get served beef.  This is pretty much a given. This weekend we had my parents up for a casual Saturday dinner.  I try to theme dinners – this Saturday night was France.  I served Steak Frites.  The steaks were lovely perfectly portioned grilling medallions.  The frites were a [...]

Taken with a Grain of Salt

If the Globe and Mail is right, the Food Industry did it in the Pantry with a Salt Shaker. The Globe just ran an interesting 2-part series on salt. Part 1, Under Pressure, examines the effects of high sodium levels in the diet. Apparently there’s so much salt in our diets that even teenagers are [...]

CSA — Worth Expanding?

These are the practiced hands of Natasha Akiwenzie. She and her husband Andrew own and operate Akiwenzie’s Fish. Their whitefish, pulled responsibly right from Georgian Bay, makes its way to Toronto Farmers’ Markets and onto the menus of top Toronto chefs like Jamie Kennedy. They’re a small. They’re struggling. And I suspect they aren’t alone. [...]

A Staycation Rotisserie

Canada is a nation of grillers. And no surprise here, beef continues to be #1 on the grill. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my steak and I love my beef burgers (in fact we had burgers for dinner last night), but to me the ultimate in easy prep and taste is a roast [...]

Sweet Cicely

Lily of Heaven First let me tell you whence her name has sprung, Cecilia, meaning as the books agree, Lily of Heaven in our English tongue To signify her chaste virginity. –Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Second Nun’s Prologue I’m already harvesting the first sweetly anise sprigs of Sweet Cicely (Myrris odorata) from my kitchen garden here [...]

Fiddleheads — Leading the Parade

When fiddleheads (or “têtes de violons” to us in Quebec) start popping up from the wet forest floor, we know spring is really upon us. Their arrival kicks off the growing season at Les Jardins Sauvages, our woodland table specializing in wild edibles. Everyone jumps to life, suddenly excited, celebratory, and very busy. Cooks and [...]