There used to be a restaurant in Saskatoon called Cousin Nik's that specialized in Greek fare. One of our favorites when we visited was their Greek Ribs, so imagine my surprise when I got the owner's cookbook, only to discover that some of the ingredients and methods were far from traditional. What surprised me most was the inclusion of... Read more →

Eggplant Puttanescawith Handmade Fettuccini One of the things I have been enjoying about the Saskatoon Farmers Market this year is the availability of fresh eggplant. What we have enjoyed most so far is Eggplant Parmigiana, but recently I got a hankering to see if I could find a recipe for Eggplant Puttanesca. Puttanesca is... Read more →

A friend of mine just made a small batch of salsa and put in 5 habanero peppers. She wanted it to be smoking hot but to her dismay it came out mild. It did get a tiny bit hotter after a couple weeks but still is mild. Any idea why it didn't turn out hotter? - Ruth I can think of a number of reasons why your friend's salsa ended up not... Read more →

My oldest daughter is a vegetarian, so visits home can be a challenge and a learning opportunity for the 'head cook'. On her last visit, I wanted to try something new. I had read that dried mushrooms ground into a fine powder was one way to add flavor depth to food. Some refer to this meatiness as Umami. To test the idea, I made the... Read more →

Most of us have all heard the tale of how, at age fourteen, the young Italian Catherine de' Medici married Henry II of France and subsequently, perhaps single-handedly, brought about the creation of what we now think of as French cuisine. Not so, according to John Mariani. In his book "How Italian Food Conquered the World", he... Read more →

What is the difference between salsa and Pico de Gallo? They seem to be used interchangeably on restaurant menus. --Denise Salsa is the Mexican word for "sauce". It can include both cooked salsas, like those found on supermarket shelves across North America, or "Salsa Cruda", meaning uncooked sauce. A salsa cruda is typically prepared... Read more →