Getting Festive: Caramelized Onion and Cranberry Focaccia

 This is a sponsored post. While I was compensated financially, all opinions are my own. 

I’m back with more Spanish Sweet Onion love, and this recipe is so perfect for the upcoming holiday season. I mean, just look at it! This is the sort of thing I want to nibble on while the furnace is purring and the windows are frosting up. It’s decidedly winter here, with the massive dump of snow from last weekend putting us firmly in place. Literally. I ventured out on the roadways for the first time in a week and only got stuck once, which is rather successful I think. It was nice to come home and relax with a slice of this savoury onion and cranberry focaccia. There’s enough sweetness from the onions to play with the tart cranberries, and that sprinkle of flaky salt brings everything together. It was a big hit in my house!

Apple Skillet Pancake with Rosemary & Cheddar

Perusing the produce aisle isn’t super fun in February.  The prices are high, the selection isn’t great and it seems like everything has to travel so far to get to Saskatoon, especially the fruit.  I don’t even look at the fresh berries, and I don’t like melons.  Bananas are only good for banana bread in my world, and mangoes are alright, but you never quite know what you’re going to get when you slice them open.  This lack of availability combined with my pickiness means I load up on gorgeous citrus because it tastes so good right now, frozen berries and apples.  All the apples.

Good Feeling: Sweet & Spicy Rosemary Pecans

"Anything can happen, anything can be!"  ~ Shel Silverstein

One of my favourite songs ever is "Good Feeling", by the Violent Femmes.  The general gist is how you wish for that good feeling to stay with you, just a little longer.  I suppose that's how I feel about this bright and shiny new year.  All of the good stuff that came my way in 2015, I want it to stick around for as long as possible.  2015 will be remembered as the Year of My Amazing Luck, which is a nice upgrade from the years of "Enough Already", and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"  2013, 2014, I'm looking at you.  I like the turning over of a new calendar year.  Like our buddy Shel said, anything can happen.   That's the brilliant thing about a blank slate - you can set intentions for how you want your life to unfold.  Obviously you won't always get what you want, but then again, you very well may.  I hope that 2016 is full of magic and adventure, courage and creativity.  May there be more laughter than tears, and more hellos that goodbyes.  I'm sending off 2015 with a grateful heart, and I'm eager to see what this new year will look like.  No doubt it won't always be smooth sailing, but I've got a good feeling we're all gonna rock it.  Happy New Year!  

 

Apricot and Pecan Stuffing for Turkey

Oh my gosh you guys.  It's October.  Already.  Which means there are only three months left in this year.  Holy cow.  Time has slid on by, hasn't it?  Usually I'm all melancholic about the upcoming fall and winter, but this year I'm embracing it.  For the first time in my life I get to devote my career to writing.  Like, come over here and pinch me already.  My seasonal pastry chef gig ends in a couple of weeks (that's right, no one golfs in Saskatchewan in the winter) which means my focus will shift to working on the cookbook as well as my regular food writing gigs.  I'm super pumped.  Not because I get to work in my pyjamas and sleep in past 5:30, but because I'm pretty much living out my dream.  That's a pretty big deal.  I'm also traveling to Montreal later this month, which I'm crazy excited about.  The annual Food Bloggers of Canada conference is taking place, and it couldn't happen in a prettier town.  Given that I used to live there 20 years ago, Montreal holds a special place in my heart, and it will be fun to revisit it with old and new friends.  And the food.  Oh lord the food.  Bagels, croissants, poutine - I'll pretty much be carb loading all week.  And I can't wait.  If you know of any must-visit places to eat and drink while there, let me know in the comments! 

Skillet Cornbread with Goat Cheese & Fig Jam

May long weekend - the unofficial start to summer - is just around the corner, and loads of happy campers are preparing to head to the wilderness for a little escapism.  But not this gal.  Call me crazy but I'm a fan ofindoor plumbing; not sleeping on the cold, hard ground; and I believe in a decent barrier between me and bears.  I get grumpy if I'm damp and cold for too long, and I like washing my hair.  Daily.  I am what would be called a comfort camper, and that's probably why I don't get invited camping a whole lot.  But if you want to invite me to your cozy cottage by the lake (you have a shower, right?), I'd be down with that and even make you dinner.  My culinary skills make me a valuable houseguest - true story.  

Remember: Rosemary & Olive Oil Bundt Cake

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance.  Pray you, love, remember. ~ William Shakespeare

So here's the thing that remains after the loved one has left.  Memories.  All of those memories you carry around, lodged in your heart and mind.  And it doesn't take much to rouse one up - a song on the radio.  The smell of something on the stove.  Driving by the place where you met for the first time.  Standing in your kitchen where he would always kiss the back of your neck.  That dress you wore on his birthday.  Looking out at the snow-covered garden where you attempted to grow kale because he really, really loved it.  I'm surrounded and can't help but remember.  As the days go on, maybe the memories will fade a little, retreating into that little corner of my heart saved for loves lost.

White Chocolate & Rosemary Cranberry Blondies

Allrighty then.  How's everyone doing?  Are you keeping it all together and finding a little merry along the way?  Me neither.  Oh, I jest.  Things are looking up around here, and in just 48 hours time I can release a huge sigh and begin a much needed vacation.  I have but a few plans, mostly involving pajamas and books and Mad Men Season 4 (I'm so behind!), and walks with the handsome man down some snowy path.  And chocolate; of course there will be chocolate.  Speaking of chocolate, let's just jump to the blondies, shall we?  I know you have a bazillion things to do, as do I, and I don't want to keep you from running to Costco, or wrapping up your mother-in-law's scarf or (ahem) making these lovely, lovely blondies.