As I sat in an outdoor café on Rue Cler in Paris sipping on a cup of cocoa, my eyes couldn’t help but stare at the lunch at the next table. It looked like a grilled cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top, but somehow exotic. I was dying to dig in. I wanted to feel the crunch between my teeth, the softness of the egg on my tongue and savour the flavours in my mouth. I wanted to know what the ingredients were and how it was all put together so seductively. It’s called a Croque Madame. […]

I remember when I first launched my website. It was over a decade ago. It had information about me, some of my favourite recipes and opinions about food – how cool. But then it just sat there. It was too expensive to update new recipes and I had no idea who was using it. Then came facebook. This was even better! I could update it by the minute, even photographs, I could even talk to people on line! One weekend I made a frozen peach cake. When it was all done I stood back to look at this wonderful […]

Every year we do the same thing. We approach the holidays with a certain amount of trepidation. It’s not so much what we’ll make for dinner because who doesn’t get excited about mixing tradition with new dishes and sharing them with friends and family. But much of the stress comes from what to buy for others. Don’t get me wrong kids are easy, but adults? That’s another matter all together. So here’s a thought. Many families no longer exchange gifts among adults for the simple reason they’ve exhausted the possibilities and at a certain stage, we need less. More […]

It’s a beautifully sunny and warm fall day in Niagara, the leaves have turned magnificent colours and it’s inspired me to get out and be among it all. I put on a good pair of walking shoes and headed up the damp, silent escarpment accompanied only by acorn gathering squirrels. I came out at Queenston Heights Park at the top of the escarpment. Brock’s Monument towered over the stone gates and the flowers in between reminded me of a scene in Europe – perhaps Paris. I continued past the roundabout and headed for the river. The Niagara River is […]