It’s officially spring in Toronto, but it’s been unseasonably cold and we’ve had a second coming of winter with 5-cm dumps of snow in April! Mixing up a filling and savoury spinach quiche with springlike ingredients helps me wait for the snow to melt and the fragrant hyacinths to bloom. At work, I teach people how […]
French
Crème Brûlée
Donatello loves crème brûlée and always orders it whenever it appears on a menu. For his birthday in December, I made individual crème brûlées for him (and the family); and of course, he got the biggest one. After dinner and gifts, I pulled the ramekins of crème brûlée out of the fridge and lit up […]
The Year In Books: September with French Lessons by Peter Mayle
French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle chronicles the culinary adventures of an English writer living in Provence. While eating across the country with his friends, Mayle finds out how the French stress the importance of local and seasonal foods. One such example is how the chicken farmers of Bresse mark each bird […]
Marché Jean-Talon – Jean-Talon Market
Tomiko and I visited the Marché Jean-Talon in Montreal on a Friday morning, stocking up on snacks for our road trip through Quebec. It was great to see other tourists enjoying the market, as well as residents doing their own grocery shopping. The Marché Jean-Talon is more than just a farmers’ market: the sprawling market takes up a […]
The Year In Books: August with Made in Quebec by Julian Armstrong
Made In Quebec: A Culinary Journey by Julian Armstrong is about the rich food, recipes, and agriculture of la belle province. Unlike some regions of Canada, Quebec has a strong culinary history, with quintessential Quebecois dishes like poutine, tourtiere, and tarte au sucre. Tomiko and I went on a little food tour of Quebec, and used Armstrong’s […]