Healthy, French, Home-cooking, always fresh, (almost) no cream required!
This is about simple cooking for my kids away from home, family and friends and friends of friends. Not quite recipes, just inspiration.Often, no exact quantities, certainly no scientific potions, but a bit of magic and lots of love! and you could always ask for more details.
Share my love of cooking, enjoy the Pacific West Coast bounty and help me pass along the French Heritage from my Grand-mothers and my Dad who taught me.Salt and Pepper
Even when I don't say so, use Baleine sea-salt and fresh ground pepper from your Peugeot pepper mill, goes without saying!
Category Archives: Starter
Orange Recipes for Halloween Dinner
https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2011/10/30/halloween-squash-or-pumpkin-au-gratin/ https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2010/05/06/carrot-salad-summer-crudite-may6-2010/ https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2011/01/31/roasted-yams-a-la-canadienne/ https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2010/11/02/soupe-a-la-courge-at-aux-chataignes-served-in-a-pumpkin/ https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2010/06/12/stuffed-orange-peppers/ https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2010/06/16/roasted-butternut-squash/ https://thecookingfrogblog.com/2011/03/31/blood-orange-tart-with-pistachios/
Posted in Appetizer, Dessert, Lunch, Main Course, Side, Soup, Starter, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged food, halloween recipe, orange, recipes, squash, verygoodrecipes
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Quick Rock Crab Cakes
It had been a long day sailing from Ucluelet through Clayoquot Sound on the way to Hot Springs Cove. 48,7 nautical miles, most of those on the big Pacific open Ocean on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, in swells … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer, Starter
Tagged Clayoquot Sound, crab, crab cakes, food, recipe, recipes, Rock Crab, Sea otter, seafood, verygoodrecipe
4 Comments
Refreshing Arugula Salad
This salad was prepared for a potluck and served after a multitude of delicious dishes. We thought that people would eat very little after the gourmet meal but, surprisingly, the digestive benefit of this salad was evident as soon as … Continue reading
Posted in Little help from my friends, Starter
Tagged aragula, arugula, arugula nutrition, arugula salad, vegetarian, very good recipes
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Heirloom Tomato Salad
It used to be that there were no really good tomatoes until the middle of summer, the kind that ripened on the plant in dry heat under the hot sun. They were firm, really red, sweet but with still a … Continue reading
Posted in Starter, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged basil, food, French tomato salad, heirloom tomato, recipes, shallot, verygoodrecipe
2 Comments
Wild fiddlehead and fresh Fava bean salad
Tis the season to get in the woods and pick edible greens. Fiddleheads (or crosses de fougères in French) are a delicious vegetables full of vitamins. They must be picked while they are still completely rolled up, and only the … Continue reading
Posted in Starter, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged crosses de fougeres, fava beans, fiddleheads, food, goat cheese, recipes, salad, verygoodrecipe
2 Comments
Edamame, Avocado, Beet salad : satisfy your winter craving for greens
If you scroll down all the way to the bottom of this page, you will notice a new “calorie counter” in the bottom right corner. It is very neat as it will tell you not only calories, but also all … Continue reading
Posted in Starter, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged avocado, beets, calorie counter, Edamame, food, high fiber salad, recipe, recipes, vegetarian salad
4 Comments
Quiche with spinach
There is a good idea for a quickly prepared impromptu lunch. Pretty much your regular “quiche lorraine” recipe with added spinach. We had that today with a fresh beet salad on the side. It was a perfect winter lunch. For … Continue reading
Fanny Bay Oyster Fritters, a New Year’s day appetizer for Kings
This is a Lucy and the Frog… I executed Lucy Waverman’s recipe (pasted below) from the Globe and Mail to the letter. It was easy, clear and incredibly good! My choice was the local Fanny Bay oysters from Vancouver Island, as we … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer, Starter
Tagged fanny bay oysters, food, lucy waverman, new year appetizer, oyster fritters, oysters, recipes, seafood
4 Comments
Edamame (green soya bean) salad
While there are still a few tasty tomatoes at the market, you can whip up this unusual nutritious salad in no time. I did not think much of edamame until I had them at The Marina Restaurant in a vegetarian … Continue reading
Posted in Starter
Tagged Edamame, food, green soya bean, matt rissling, oak bay marina, recipe, recipes, the marina restaurant
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Ratatouille quiche
With all the fall vegetables so plentiful at the farmers market, I made a huge amount of Ratatouille and of course, I had extra I saved for a quiche and a nice lunch. Click on ratatouille for the link to … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch, Starter
Tagged cooking, eggplant, food, peppers, ratatouille, ratatouille quiche, recipe, recipes, zuchini
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Crunchy Cucumber salad
This is another one of many different “crudités” that French people will prepare for a Sunday lunch, along with grated carrots, red cabbage, macédoine, etc… Field cucumbers are best. If the skin is coarse and bitter, peel the cucumber first, … Continue reading
Posted in Starter
Tagged crudites, cucumber, food, grainy Dijon mustard, recipe, recipes, vinaigrette
1 Comment
Cauliflower salad
This is one of my favorite salads, the best way to eat cauliflower in my opinion. This is a French classic family recipe, nothing fancy, just the fact that the cauliflower is cooked. Start by removing all the leaves from … Continue reading
Posted in Starter
Tagged cauliflower salad, cooking, food, French cooking, french salad, recipe, recipes, salade de chou-fleur
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Greek Salad
Can you chop vegetables? Then you can make Greek salad in no time. No cooking, no waiting, an easy dinner for a hot summer night. So I don’t get too many things dirty, I start by making the dressing right … Continue reading
Leek salad
Leek salad is a staple of French home cooking coming back to the menu about twice a month. Even children don’t seem to mind eating that vegetable, maybe because of the nice vinaigrette dressing. Choosing the leeks is the most … Continue reading
Posted in Starter
Tagged food, leek salad, leeks, mustard, recipe, recipes, salade de poireaux, vinaigrette
3 Comments
Pacific Fanny Bay Oysters in blue cheese sauce
Fanny Bay oysters are farmed on the East coast of Vancouver Island. They are a fairly large and very tasty oyster that is best eaten cooked. You will need an average of four oysters per person as a main course, … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course, Starter
Tagged blue cheese, Fanny bay, fanny bay oysters, food, oysters, recipe, recipes, vol au vent
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Tomato Pie
The tomatoes are starting to have taste and it is going to get even better with the sun coming out for summer. This pie is a very good recipe for very ripe or even over-ripe tomatoes. First, drop 5 tomatoes … Continue reading
Posted in Starter
Tagged food, kalamata olives, quiche, recipe, recipes, sun-dried tomatoes, Tomato pie, tomatoes
1 Comment
Cole slaw
Nice name for a cabbage salad…. which is exactly how it is made. Cut the green cabbage into quarters, remove the white hard core, shred with a knife, a mandoline or a food processor. Make a dressing in the serving … Continue reading
Tarte aux poireaux
Leeks are so tasty and so healthy that, in France, cooks almost always add one or more leeks to vegetable soup. As a filling for the tart, they have an intense flavor and are a nice way to get all … Continue reading
Beet and potato salad
This salad makes a really nice lunch and may be prepared in advance. It does take a long time to cook beets though, even in the pressure cooker, so I would advise selecting small beets of even size rather than … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch, Starter
Tagged beet salad, beets, cooking, food, french, lunch, nutritious, recipe, recipes, tuna
3 Comments
Gateau de Foie, a chicken liver soufflé
This is a great appetizer for a family occasion, as it looks very festive but is in fact pretty light. The recipe is a combination from my grand-mother with a few tips from Paul Bocuse to refine it. Veronica and … Continue reading
Belgian Endive Salad à la Grenobloise
This is a nice change for a salad, it is easy to make in advance and bring along as a potluck contribution. All the ingredients are gathered in a large salad bowl and the dressing is added at the last … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch, Starter
Tagged belgian endive, food, gruyere, recipe, recipes, walnut
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Petits radis roses au sel
Easier than a dip, can be made in advance and will not destroy your appetite! The radishes have to be washed well under cold water, cut the greens leaving just enough to hold the radish with your fingers, and cut … Continue reading
Warm lentil salad
Green lentils or Lentilles du Puy work well for this salad. This dish is very nourishing and can be served to athletes regularly because it is rich in iron, and especially when carbo-loading as an alternate to pasta. The recipe … Continue reading
Posted in Starter
Tagged athlete, carbo-loading, cider vinegar, Dijon Mustard, lentil, lentil salad, maille, recipes
2 Comments
Carrot Salad, summer “crudité”
First thing to do is to prepare the dressing directly in the serving bowl, so that the carrots can be stirred in the bowl as soon as they are grated. 1tbsp Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp wine vinegar, juice of one … Continue reading
Cadboro Bay Crab Cakes
The crabs are trapped in Cadboro Bay about 500 meters from home, year round. The bait is fresh fish. You only keep male Dungeness crabs bigger than 6 1/2 inches across the Chest (?). I hope that you are wearing … Continue reading
Potato Salad
Some really nice Yukon Gold potatoes or new potatoes are available right now, they are best for potato salad. Use potatoes of the same size, peel them or not, rinse in ice-cold water then, cook them whole on medium heat … Continue reading
Salade de Pissenlits (dandelions)
So again, you have to go pick your own, probably in the country unless your garden is herbicide free. Only pick very small young plants, the kind with smooth shiny dark green leaves, and only in early spring. Use an … Continue reading
