Tarta de Santiago

I did it! I walked 800 kilometres (500 miles) across Spain. It was brilliant. A long, slow, meditative walk across the country, over mountain ranges and across plains, through farms, villages, cities….

chocolate tahini cake

I’m about to board an airplane heading to Paris and then travel by train to St. Jean Pied de Port. From there, I’ll set off on foot to walk 800km across Spain on the Camino de Santiago: a journey I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time.

Advertisement

Stilton, walnut, raisin bread

Blue cheese is one of those things. Some do. And some just don’t.

a summer salad of arugula, cherries, and chèvre

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how fortunate I am living this sweet, simple, happy life, here in Kingston. I love this place. The shabby-chic-ness of it. The history. The old stone buildings. The massive waterways. The proximity to other places – Montreal, Ottawa, the Adirondacks – and yes, Toronto. And better yet, how fast I can leave everything behind and be in the middle of nowhere.

a pressed-crust pear and almond tart

It’s been so hot this summer. And so dry. The driest summer in Eastern Ontario since 1888. It reminds me of my years in Australia – especially the drought years when the heat seeped up from the floorboards and down from the attic, filling every crack, every corner of the house, while outside the yard baked under the intense Australian sun.

happen-to-be-vegan chocolate chip cookies

Chuck out all your old chocolate chip cookie recipes. Throw them out now because some genius just re-invented the wheel. Actually – genii. Two women, Erin Patinkin and Agatha Kulaga, founders of New York’s Ovenly are responsible for this just-happens-to-be-vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe. If you don’t know about Ovenly, you can read more here.

fettuccine with leeks and why food writing matters

“Leeks are the softly-softly of the onion family.”

Irish soda bread

Homemade Irish soda bread in 25 minutes or less – from start to finish including prep and cooking time!

Sweet Potato Soup

You know the Albert Camus quotation, “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer…”?

red wine jelly

This is a mashup of a couple of red wine jelly recipes. I like it so much that I’m posting it.

Four ingredients and twenty minutes and you’ve got yourself a wonderful jelly that works equally well with either savouries like a cheese platter or a turkey sandwich; or sweets like waffles or crepes. Or pile it atop toast and peanut butter. Maybe on a bagel with cream cheese.

If you buy the smallest mason jars (125 ml in Canada) you can make about 12 jars of this jelly out of one bottle (plus 1/4 cup more) of wine, making it so easy to spread the love.

• Servings: 10-12 125ml jars
• Time: 20mins
• Print

• 3 1/4 cups wine (you can use red, white, or rose or a mix. I used a Cabernet Sauvignon which resulted in a beautifully coloured jelly. NB. One bottle will not be enough. You will need to have a little from a second bottle – anything will do! I used a splash of a Pinot noir sitting on the counter to make up the extra 1/4 cup of wine needed)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 box of fruit pectin crystals (such as Certo or equivalent. My box was 57 grams but I think they are pretty universally standard)
• 4 cups sugar

1. First, sterilize the jars, lids, and sealers by whatever method you choose. I washed them thoroughly with hot soapy water, then rinsed and drained. Then I put them in the oven at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Most recipes also recommend boiling the lids and rims and then leaving them in the hot water until you are ready to use them.
2. Bring the wine, lemon juice and pectin to the boil in a large stainless steel pan, stirring frequently.
3. Once you have achieved a full boil, add the sugar and continue stirring. Bring the mixture back to a full boil again. Once it is boiling, immediately set the timer for 2 minutes. Leave the heat at medium-high and stir for the entire 2 minutes.
4. Once the timer goes off, remove the pan from the heat and pour into the sterilized jars. I used a large pyrex measuring cup with a pouring spout to fill the jars. Seal ASAP and set the jars aside for 24 hours in a place where they will not be disturbed.