And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. -Khalil Gibran
It’s time to say good-bye to our beloved Île d’Orléans strawberries until the next growing season. When I was growing up, strawberry season lasted about a month. One month. Can you believe that?! Present day, thanks to advances in farming techniques, we get to enjoy local strawberries until October! Despite a longer season though, these little wonders will surely be missed.
The beauty of dead hydrangeas is a memento of the broken promise of an endless summer.
Every year, for even a fleeting moment, I buy into the promise of an endless summer. It’s hard not to in the middle of a Montréal heat wave in the middle of July. This year has been especially deceiving because even well into October we’ve had some unseasonably warm days and a few more coming up according to the latest weather forecast. But the nights are getting cooler and the evenings darker and certainly autumn is here, settled in with deep roots. My hydrangeas can attest to that. They have dried up; beautifully as they always do, as beautiful as they were when they bloomed, only now in hues of brown and red. They are blessed, these gems, to have this endless beauty long after summer has passed, and promises of an endless summer are broken on a cool autumn evening. And celebrations of new sorts begin.
Autumn, here, is celebrated with simple delights such as apple pie.
From humble beginnings come great things.
A simple vegetable curry served with fresh rotis (Indian flatbread) is a typical lunch in a Gujarati home. This sort of humble food is deeply rooted in my humble beginnings. And though, now, things may have changed on the outside; at heart, nothing has, and this simple Gujarati girl still craves these simple yet delicious curries. I cook them not only to satisfy my own cravings but to ensure that I can at least pass this portion of my heritage to my Canadian born, half-Indian children.
Continue reading “indian-spiced cabbage with tomatoes and green peas”
It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and the markets are brimming with local produce. Although Montréal is a huge metropolitan, just a short drive out and you are sure to hit farmland. There are over 30 000 farms in Québec and our produce is our pride and joy and definitely something to be thankful for. One of the crops that shine at this time of the year are our gigantic leeks. What better way to use them up than by making leek soup?
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. —Robert Swann
Continue reading “the easiest and cheapest roasted chickpeas recipe ever”
Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity. -Guy Fieri
This is an easy muffin recipe, perfect for getting the kids involved as it does not require a stand mixer. 
This tart may look like a lot of work but it is super easy and perfect to make with kids. And even better is that it is so delicious and full of apple goodness. The only prerequisite of course is that you like apples!
Summer has come and passed, the innocent can never last. Wake me up when September ends. -Green Day
Apple picking is a ritual in these parts at this time of the year. It marks the end of summer perhaps more notably than the autumnal equinox itself.
Chicken Marsala rightfully claims the title as a classic dish. It is made with a few basic ingredients and is ridiculously easy to prepare and yet, so full of rich flavour. It’s amazing what a little Marsala wine can do to chicken and mushrooms.
Continue reading “classic chicken marsala”
While half of the world lives autumn, the other half lives spring. Have you noticed how balanced our life always is? -Roxana Jones
Happy Equinox! Today the sun is perfectly poised to shine directly on the equator. Of course, it is the Earth’s tilt that changes our position relative to the Sun. A tilt of merely 20-some-odd degrees and seasons happen!
Radishes are often thought of as a spring vegetable. Here in Montréal, they are one of the first of our local crop to debut at the market in early spring. But radishes are more correctly a cool weather vegetable and can be cultivated here all the way into late fall. They also have a short time to maturity ensuring that they can be harvested many times during their growing season. Here are two quick and easy ways to enjoy this cool weather friend.
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