Pasta

Three Farmers Camelina Oil and a Give Away

September 15, 2011

Is bright yellow the new olive green? These tiny mustard-coloured seeds are from the Camelina plant. Although popular in Europe since the 1940s, Camelina oil has been commercially available in Canada only since December 2010. I’m no trend spotter, but if I’m right, Camelina might be Canada’s answer to imported extra virgin olive oil.

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Romanesco

November 19, 2009

Despite looking like something from Deep Space Nine Cardassian cuisine, this spiral-studded vegetable has been growing right here on Earth for a few hundred years. Romanesco, or Roman cauliflower, might look strange, but its taste is very familiar — a gentle cross between broccoli and cauliflower. When I saw it at the Farmers’ Market a [...]

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Quick Fresh Tomato and Herb Pasta

November 11, 2009

Bet you thought I was done with the fresh tomato recipes for a while. So did I. But I was given some environmentally conscious, on-the-vine hydroponic Ontario tomatoes (say that three times fast!) at the Royal Winter Fair and I just couldn’t bear to toss them in a salad. With some stoic herbs still toughing [...]

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Fried Green Tomato Parmesan

September 29, 2009

The deed is done. I have picked all the tomatoes, uprooted the plants and put the garden to bed. I’d like to think the tomatoes didn’t want to go any more than I wanted to remove them. I had ambitious plans to deal with the garden on Sunday. But it was unseasonably hot and muggy. [...]

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Garlic Scape and Fresh Herb Pesto

July 7, 2009

Yesterday I issued a plea for ideas of what to do with garlic scapes. The answers rolled in. I heard from people via Twitter, Facebook, email and the comments section. Thank you all. I was thrilled with your response. Of course, with so many great solutions to choose from, I left my decision until late [...]

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Italian Week – Spaghetti and Meatballs

September 19, 2008

I don’t have a drop of Italian blood in me. Fortunately, Debbie does. And with typical Italian generosity, she shares her family’s spaghetti and meatball secrets. It’s a true family recipe, not one ripped from the pages of a magazine and incorporated into family lore over time. How do I know? Until earlier this month, [...]

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Viva Italia

July 10, 2006

No one in our neighbourhood could have missed the fact that Italy won the World Cup yesterday. We live a couple of blocks from the Italian-Canadian Club who were hosting their Italian Festival during the soccer finals. The horn honking and flag waving started almost immediately after victory was declared, and went on for hours, [...]

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