Okay. So about that moment of summer vacation every day thing.

It escalated, unexpectedly.

My beautiful friend-since-tap-dance-class-in-grade-two Jaclyn came to visit in Vancouver, and we have been enjoying the following:

Hence the lack of blog posts.

But I figure I can make it up to you with Mango Kulfi.

Kulfi is Indian ice cream. Easy and delicious. No ice cream machine required. The mango variety is a beautiful shade of pastel orange, with lots of mango flavour and creamy texture.

The unique flavour of Kulfi comes from cooking down the milk. It concentrates and becomes sweeter. Yum.

Ready for how easy this is?

1. Boil milk & sugar.

2. Stir in pureed mangoes.

3. Freeze.

TA DA! Continue Reading »

This raspberry cream pie began it’s journey as no-bake raspberry cheescake. Whipped cream beaten into a cream cheese mixture, then swirled with crushed raspberries and dolloped into a graham cracker crust (or an oatmeal cookie crust, in this case). Simple and delicious. Inspired by the old school Kraft no-bake cheesecake, but with ingredients more delicious than “edible oil products”.

Then I got a little bit adventurous. I discovered an incredible greek yogurt in my fridge (11% fat, no less, this stuff is serious) and folded that in. Then I got a bit raspberry-happy and used probably twice what the delicate base could hold. It was delicious, yes, but it didn’t hold up so well when I removed the springform pan. Nothing terrible, it just had to be eaten really quickly. Tough life, eh?

If you stick to the recipe as written, you will have a lovely no-bake cheesecake. If you double the raspberries and add other delicious dairy products, you’d be better off making it in a pretty pie plate. Continue Reading »

EAT! Vancouver is a foodie’s heaven. It’s next weekend (June 10th to 12th). I am seriously excited. You should be too.

Vancouver chefs, cookbook authors, artisans, retailers… etc all in one place, offering cooking demos, food & cooking exhibits, yummy things to buy, and my favourite… drumroll please… the Bite of Vancouver, which consists of restaurants throughout the lower mainland offering appetizer size portions from their regular menus for a couple of bucks!

You can, as they say, “come for lunch and stay for dinner”.

Other highlights include wine, beer and spirits tasting (maybe you should take the bus as a precaution…), a garden pavilion (PS have you SEEN my herb garden?) and chef competitions .

And… drumroll again please… I’ve got a pair of free tickets for you!! Yay! Continue Reading »

Rhubarb cake is in my mom’s annual spring baking repertoire – essential, perhaps, because of the massive rhubarb plants she has cropping up in her yard. She also makes an annual giant batch of stewed rhubarb to serve on hot buttered toast, and yesterday she was describing a rhubarb puree that she dilutes with sparkling water, which (insert vodka) sounds lovely.

Rhubarb in the market makes spring official. It is the first in the parade of summer pie fruit, with the promise that strawberries, raspberries, peaches and blueberries will soon follow. After a long winter of root vegetables and starchy comfort food, tart rhubarb is a welcome freshness.

This is my mom’s rhubarb cake recipe. She calls it “Lunar Rhubarb Cake”, because the butter/brown sugar topping sinks into the batter making craters suggestive of the moon’s surface. I bet the moon’s surface doesn’t taste nearly this good…

Some like to sweeten rhubarb significantly. Some like to exaggerate the sour with lemon. I like my rhubarb slightly sweetened, but still puckersome. I think I just made a new word. I like it.

Continue Reading »

Rocky Road Bars are miraculous in their simplicity. They happen with only 5 ingredients in only 5 minutes. You probably want to tie your apron strings while you continue reading..

Something magical happens when chocolate and peanut butter, crunchy and creamy, salty and sweet come together. It hits all the spots, satisfies every craving.

Make no mistake, the humble rocky road bar is not entering any beauty contests. It is a beautiful mess though, don’t you think? As will you be if you don’t prepare yourself with an adequate napkin supply. The rocky road bar is best eaten alone, with enthusiasm and wild abandon. Then a mirror should be used before departing your accomdations. As I learned when I returned from grocery shopping to find chocolate on my cheek AND chin. I thought the produce guy was extra smiley… guess it wasn’t my cuteness in knee-high rubber boots (not raining), lulu pants (not running) and old hoodie (also with chocolate on it, incidentally). Continue Reading »