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!
Tag Archives: cooking
Peppers of all colours
The Bell peppers are really sweet right now. They are sweetest in July/August when they can fully ripen before harvest. The local red, orange and yellow peppers are the sweetest of all and they also contain the most vitamin C, … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch, Main Course, Vegetables
Tagged bacon, bell pepper, cooking, food, green pepper, orange pepper, recipes, red pepper
2 Comments
Looking for Cinderella’s pumpkin, is it midnight yet?
I bought a pumpkin at Dan’s Farm that may be what you are looking for. It is a French pumpkin – here is some info from a website that sells the seeds: “The Pumpkin French Cinderella, ‘Cucurbita maxima’, is a … Continue reading
Posted in Side, Soup, Vegetables
Tagged Cinderella pumpkin, cooking, food, oxo potato peeler, pumpkin, recipe, recipes, thanksgiving
5 Comments
Hedgehogs…not the chocolate kind
November is getting late in the season for chanterelles, but nature is kind to us on Vancouver Island as the even better Hydnum Repandum or hedgehog mushroom is now prime in old-growth forests. We found two kinds, the small orangey … Continue reading
Posted in Side
Tagged cooking, food, hedgehog, hydnum repandum, mushroom, recipe, recipes, wild mushroom
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Chanterelle and onion tart, could be my best chanterelle recipe? tell me!
Saturday November 6 was probably the last good day to pick chanterelles, as the heavy rain wants to turn them into mushy fungi. The rain, however, did not stop Michel, Dunnery, Jules (the mushroom sniffing Jack Russel) and … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer, Lunch, Vegetarian
Tagged chanterelle tart, cooking, food, onion chanterelles tart, recipes, vegetarian
7 Comments
Golden beets, grown down the street
Carolyn and Paul down my street grow an amazing selection of vegetables, and they have generously brought me Romaine lettuce, green onions, heirloom tomatoes and a magnificent specimen of golden beet. Maybe it is the sea view, but most likely … Continue reading
Posted in Vegetables
Tagged beets with sage, betteraves, cooking, food, Golden beet, recipe, recipes, roasted beets, root cellar
4 Comments
Pine Mushroom scalloped potatoes
October 16th was Pine mushroom day in my family. The weather was perfect Indian summer and there were more than a dozen cars parked at or near my secret mushroom picking spot on Vancouver Island. It did not bode well, … Continue reading
Posted in Side
Tagged cooking, food, matsutake, mushroom, pine mushroom, pine mushroom scallopped potatoes, recipe, recipes
2 Comments
Fresh California figs and Noix de Grenoble tart
This an Indian summer dessert, as it is best made from fresh very ripe figs. In this instance, I bought a tray of fresh figs at the Root Cellar in Victoria. The crate indicates that they are either “black mission”(Halloween … Continue reading
Posted in Dessert
Tagged cooking, fig and walnut tart, food, fresh figs, noix de grenoble, recipe, recipes, tarte aux figues et aux noix
3 Comments
Pumpkin Gnocchi for Halloween
Anita Whyte and I use to work together in Toronto some years ago promoting French tourism, gastronomy and good life in general. She has not had a chance to move to the West Coast yet, so she is now a … Continue reading
Posted in Little help from my friends
Tagged cooking, food, gnocchi, halloween, pumpkin gnocchi, recipe, recipes
1 Comment
Grenoble walnut square
I grew up in Grenoble, the walnut capital of the world. In the country side around the city, there are acres and acres of walnut trees, and one can tell easily that they are walnut trees, because their shade is … Continue reading
Posted in Baking
Tagged cooking, food, noix de grenoble, recipe, recipes, square, walnut square, walnuts
5 Comments
Duck pâté with olives
This is a good appetizer to share and it has to be made in advance which is convenient on the day of the party. Pretty much, you should start in the morning by roasting a whole 5 pound duck in … Continue reading
Languedoc Garlic soup
Gardeners, this is for you. The home-grown garlic is ready to be picked and for this soup, the fresher, the better. My father-twice-in law Hugh just sent beautiful heads of garlic from his sunny Vancouver garden and I peeled 12 … Continue reading
Posted in Soup
Tagged cooking, flu prevention, food, Garlic soup, recipe, recipes, soupe a lail
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Bison Bourguignon
This does not sound right, no bisons in the Bourgogne, that’s for sure! This bison meat stew though was better than any genuine boeuf bourguignon. I know you are already thinking Julia Child and all the trouble involved with cooking … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged Bison, boeuf bourguignon, bourguignon, cooking, dinner, food, healthy stew, recipe, recipes
7 Comments
Six root vegetable gratin
Thanksgiving dinner is coming up soon and although mashed potatoes are always high on the request list, the root vegetable gratin would be a seasonal dish that would go very well along with a turkey. It requires no work when … Continue reading
Posted in Vegetables
Tagged Celery root, cooking, food, gratin, parsnip, recipe, recipes, root vegetable, thanksgiving dinner, turnip, yam
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Roasted Zucchini with cheese
Sharon gave me this odd colour zucchini from her Oak Bay garden explaining that this European seed produced a much tastier vegetable than the local produce, and it did! This one was hand-picked and harvested by Richard on September 15th. Growing … Continue reading
Posted in Little help from my friends, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Tagged Asiago, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, Zucchini
3 Comments
10 kg of White Chanterelles
Recipes including Chanterelles: Chanterelle omelet Chanterelle tart Chanterelle quiche . . Chanterelles in butter and parsley What do we do with 10 kg of white chanterelles? First, I air-dry them spread on trays for a day especially if they were … Continue reading
Posted in Events
Tagged Chanterelle, chanterelles, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, what to do with chanterelles
2 Comments
Chanterelle mini-tart appetizer
That was a lot of chanterelles we picked and they have been on my menu every day. Last night was a more unusual appetizer, kind of a tapenade of chanterelles in a small tart shell. This a good use for … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer
Tagged appetizer tart, chanterelle tapenade, chanterelles, chanterelles tart, cooking, food, goat cheese, recipe, recipes, sun-dried tomatoes, tarts
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Easy moist pound cake with yogurt
This is one that you can just whip up in no time, and that is a good thing because it will disappear just as fast. We used to make them all the time when I was a kid and really … Continue reading
Posted in Baking
Tagged baking, cooking, food, nutella, pound cake, quatre quart, recipe, recipes, yogurt cake
3 Comments
Chanterelle Omelette
It was quite foggy and it rained a lot yesterday, but it was not a bad day to go mushroom picking on Vancouver Island. My friend Sharon and I covered miles and miles trying to identify new picking grounds without … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch, Main Course
Tagged Chanterelle, chanterelle omelette, chanterelles, cooking, food, mushroom, omelette, recipe, recipes, white chanterelle, wild mushroom
2 Comments
Peaches in light syrup
The peaches are best right now at the end of summer and it is tempting to buy a whole case. Of course, that is too much to eat right away for most people. Cooking them in syrup is a nice … Continue reading
Posted in Dessert
Tagged cooking, food, Peaches in syrup, peches au sirop, recipe, recipes
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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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Cake au beurre (Fruit Cake)
This is the French version of Fruit cake, they just call it cake and often serve it for the afternoon snack with tea or even at breakfast, how decadent! 1 cup butter 3/4 cup light brown sugar 4 eggs 2+ … Continue reading
Posted in Baking
Tagged cake aux fruits secs, cooking, dry fruit, food, Fruit cake, raisin, recipe, recipes
1 Comment
Pain d’épices du goûter
Literally, a spice bread usually served to French children after school as a snack, either plain or with unsalted butter and sometimes jam as well. I used to love it when I was a kid. It was store bought and … Continue reading
Posted in Baking
Tagged children treat, cooking, food, gouter, honey, honey cake, pain d'épices, recipe, recipes, spice bread
2 Comments
Brandade de saumon
This would normally have been made with salt cod, but we have overfished, alas, and there is hardly any cod left. I feel that we should not eat anymore for now, and decided to make brandade with another plentiful fish, … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer
Tagged Brandade, brandade de saumon, cooking, food, french, Provence, recipe, recipes
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Old Fashioned Apricot Jam
Mamie Odette made apricot jam every year, and this right into her seventies and even maybe eighties. This is the only jam she would make, she thought that it was the only jam worth making at home. I don’t quite … Continue reading
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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Tomates farcies, a wonderful alternate to burgers
If there is no BBQ available, ground beef will do very well in “tomates farcies” or stuffed tomatoes, a perfectly healthy dish for a student budget. You need two small to medium size tomatoes per person. A large one would … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged budget meal, cooking, food, french cuisine, ground beef, ground bison, recipe, recipes, stuffed tomatoes, tomates farcies
2 Comments
Cucumber soup
I was given two small home-grown cucumbers by Carling today, the dark green coarse skin garden kind which is so tasty. Perfect for a refreshing chilled soup. I peeled them, cut them in quarters lengthwise, removed the seeds and put … Continue reading
Posted in Soup
Tagged chilled soup, cooking, cucumber soup, food, low-fat, recipe, recipes
4 Comments
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
Fresh cream of pea, no cream required
This is a cold soup with a light green colour, nothing to compare with traditional Royal Navy style pea soup, more like a contemporary designer pastel…The taste is also completely different because there are no split peas in it, but … Continue reading
Posted in Soup
Tagged buttermilk, cold soup, cooking, Cream of pea, food, fresh pea soup, low-fat, no cream, nutrition, pea soup, recipe, recipes, root cellar
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Chicken in “Gros Sel”
Of course, this dish is for show, pretty amazing when you break the salt crust to deliver a moist chicken with incredible flavour. No such thing as dry chicken breast. It is not a lot of extra work but there … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged chicken, coarse salt, cooking, food, French cooking, french cuisine, gros sel, kosher salt, moist chicken, recipe, recipes, salt
2 Comments
Pommes Mousseline (aka mashed potatoes)
At a restaurant, people eat “pommes mousseline”, but at home they eat “purée” and here it is mashed potatoes. Of course, one can have great mashed if they add enough cream. But, at home, I prefer this much healthier recipe … Continue reading
Posted in Side
Tagged cooking, food, mashed potatoes, pommes mousseline, puree, recipe, recipes
1 Comment
Gateau de semoule better than cream of wheat pudding!
This was another favorite of Mémé Marie-Louise always pushing for healthy desserts. This meets her criteria with lots of iron, low fat, and a delicious taste. Frankly, you could do worse than eat this for breakfast! Soak 3/4 cup golden … Continue reading
Posted in Dessert
Tagged cooking, cream of wheat, food, gateau, pudding, recipe, recipes, wheatlets
2 Comments
Cream Spinach
Another favorite at Chez Solange Restaurant in London in the seventies where I started as a waitress with a French accent. It is often served with a roasted ham with tomates provençales on the side for a colorful plate. Interesting … Continue reading
Posted in Vegetables
Tagged cooking, cream spinach. Epinards a la creme, food, recipe, recipes
1 Comment
Chilled Watercress Soup
This is very refreshing on a hot summer lunch, like today. We have not really had many yet here in Victoria, BC. this year. Start by rubbing a split garlic clove at the bottom of a small pot, then turn … Continue reading
Posted in Soup
Tagged cooking, food, recipes, soupe au cresson, soupe froide, watercress soup
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Gratin de Poireaux
This is a nice filling dish and my vegetarian guest tonight seem to love it, I had no left-overs. Pick your leeks well, only young leeks that do not have a woody core in the centre. The centre should be … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course, Side
Tagged cooking, food, gratin, gratin de poireaux, leek au gratin, leeks, poireaux, recipes, vegetarian
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Strawberry delight
The local strawberries are ready for picking almost everywhere in Canada. There are so many good things to make with them, but if you want to really enjoy the amazing strawberry flavour, here is what my grand-mother used to do … Continue reading
Posted in Dessert
Tagged cooking, food, local strawberries, opinel, recipe, recipes, strawberries, yogurt
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Beurre Blanc sauce on Spring Salmon Steak
Tonight was Father’s Day dinner and we had wild Pacific Spring salmon, also called Chinook or King salmon. It was served with a sauce au beurre blanc, fresh peas, and Ravioles de Romans. Ravioles are a small herb ravioli from … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged beurre blanc, chinook, cooking, dinner, food, France, king salmon, recipe, recipes, spring salmon
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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
Creamy Hummus with zing!
Summer time is here and the need for healthy snacks to take sailing or to parties. My version of hummus is easy, all the ingredients are readily available, completely healthy. It is very low-fat, and check that zing! Chop three … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer
Tagged appetizer, chick peas, cooking, dip, food, hummus, low-fat, recipes
3 Comments
Les Frites
When my brother finished his degree at the Lausanne Hotel school, he had to report for compulsory military service in France for one year. Like all new recruits, he had to do “les classes” or new recruit break-in for three … Continue reading
Roasted Butternut squash
We seem to have had a cold snap with fierce winds here in Victoria and felt like a lamb roast dinner to warm up. One of the vegetables was a roasted butternut squash. I used to make this the traditional … Continue reading
Posted in Vegetables
Tagged butternut, cooking, dinner, food, maple syrup, recipe, recipes, roasted squash, squash
6 Comments
Chocolate tea biscuit brick
This is another recipe from my childhood. Biscuits Brun had a gigantic tea biscuit factory on the outskirts of town. The Brun family built it in 1883 primarily to make biscuits for the military. The first war made them a … Continue reading
Posted in Dessert
Tagged biscuits brun, chocolate, cooking, food, lu, recipe, recipes, tea biscuit
3 Comments
Morel cream sauce on Roast Chicken
In Ontario, we used to go Morel picking in the Ganaraska Forest and come back with baskets full of the delicious spring fungi. My luck has not been good here in BC, I have not found my own spots and … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged chicken, cooking, dinner, food, morel, morel cream sauce, morels, recipe, recipes
2 Comments
Stuffed orange peppers
This is an easy thing to make, it looks amazing, the ” but” being that it takes time to make. Mostly time to cook though, not a lot of work, so a pretty good menu choice. Most people will eat … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged cooking, dinner, easy, food, orange peppers, recipe, recipes, sausage, stuffed peppers
5 Comments
Baby white turnips
They are irresistible right now, so fresh and sweet. Vantreight Farm grows them in Sanichton, just north of Victoria on Vancouver island and I keep buying more at the” Root Cellar” produce stand. I have had them as a side … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer, Vegetables
Tagged appetizer, baby turnip, baby white turnip, cooking, food, recipe, recipes, root cellar, turnip, vantreight farms, vegetable, white turnip
1 Comment
Macédoine de légumes or Russian Salad
The question is : have you eaten your seven vegetables today? The answer is likely negative unless you had Macédoine de légumes for lunch. Let me explain, the name comes from Macedonia, the country formed by a bunch of smaller … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch, Vegetables
Tagged carrot, cooking, corn, food, green bean, lunch, macédoine de légumes, mayonnaise, nutirtion, peas, recipe, recipes, turnip
5 Comments
Onion Quiche (really tarte à l’oignon)
I got help today. When my husband makes apple pie, there is always enough pastry left for a small quiche for lunch the next day. The dish is only 8 inches in diameter and the amounts given below for the … Continue reading
Posted in Lunch
Tagged cooking, food, lunch, onion, onion quiche, onion tart, quiche, recipe, recipes, tarte a l oignon
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Canada duck with cherry jus
The simple way to make duck is to roast it in the oven exactly like the roast chicken from May 27th, except longer, much longer… and even then my last duck was not tender. So unless you are cooking magrets … Continue reading
Posted in Main Course
Tagged cooking, duck, duck fat, food, jus, matsutake, pine mushroom, recipe, recipes
2 Comments
Fanny Bay Oyster shot
Last night for a small dinner party at home, I thought I should have an appetizer other than a cheese tray (kills your appetite) or cold cuts (I had made the country pâté* for first course), so I chose something … Continue reading
Posted in Appetizer
Tagged cooking, digby scallop, Fanny bay, food, oyster, recipe, recipes, scallop, watercress
2 Comments
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