Seize It: Mocha Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze

Forever is composed of nows. ~ Emily Dickinson

Friends gathered in my sunlit living room, once my orange cat was wrangled inside (despite his best attempts to avert such wrangling - he's got the spring fever too).  A few of us meet every now and again to talk food and food happenings in and around the city.   It's a great afternoon of gossip catching up on what we've all been up to, what new restaurants are happening and where to get the best marble rye.  Oh and we eat.  That's goes without saying.  But then one of us walked in with a bottle of cava and proclaimed we were celebrating.  Not just any celebration mind you, but four years of being cancer free.  If that doesn't call for champagne and cake, I don't know what does.  Pop that cork and let's drink up, ladies!

Double Mushroom Pizza with Bacon & Balsamic Drizzle

I'm SUPER thrilled to be guest posting on the Mushrooms Canada blog today.  This pizza was created specially for them, and mushroom lovers everywhere! 

Just Waking Up: Breakfast Tacos with Avocado Salsa

 

"Springtime is the land awakening.  The March winds are the morning yawn."  Lewis Grizzard


Give it up for being officially into Spring!  While there are still bits and pieces of snow scattered here and there, and the night-time temps are well into freezing, the big melt is on.  I even dug out my blue rubber boots, and almost teared up from the sheer joy of pulling them on, once again.  Yep, total weirdo.  I've seen life, in my flowerbeds - glimpses of green beneath the mulch of dead leaves.  It's subtle, but it's there.  Earth is beginning to turn over, and shed Winter's dead weight.  I'm crazy in love with this time of year.  I felt the warmth of the sun on my back today and thought of this song.  Always a sucker for fresh starts and a general rebirth of well being, Spring is my time and I dig it.  Hardcore.

Better, with Butter: Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

 

Good news:  I'm beginning to feel human again.  For the better part of the last ten days I've been knocked out by this horrendous flu making the rounds.  You know the one.  Starts innocently enough with a little tickle in the back of the throat, then progresses to incessant coughing, followed by the chills and the sweats, and a trip to the drugstore to stare blankly in front of the cold and flu meds, only to plead with the pharmacist please, please tell me which one will let me sleep at night.  When none of that helps, you find your bad self in your doctor's office, only to be told you have a chest infection and to take it easy.  Prescription in hand, you drive home in a daytime-decongestant-daze, propel yourself onto the couch and miss almost a week's worth of work.  Throw in a heavy dose of self pity, and you've got my life, lately.

Lucky: Lentil & Chickpea Curry with Coconut Milk

 

There are plenty of things I love about living in this beautiful province - the copious amounts of sunshine, even in the depths of winter; the endless, blue blue sky; the quirky, lovely people; the fact that we never, ever change our clocks forwards or backwards; how we call a hoodie a bunnyhug; and that we boast some of the most fertile, productive agricultural land in the whole world.  Saskatchewan is a prolific producer of Durum wheat, canola, mustard, peas, and of course lentils.  A whopping 61% of the world's finest lentils are grown practically in my backyard.  Please forgive if I sound like a Sask tourism ad - I just really dig my little corner of the world.

Caramelized Banana & Bourbon Upside-Down Tart

 

Bananas aren't my favourite fruit.  In fact, I mostly buy them for the sole purpose of banana bread, of which I'm a huge fan (especially if it contains chocolate and pecans!).  There's the off chance I might grab a few bites if it fits into my banana window.  What?  You don't know about the banana window?  For me, I'll only eat a banana if it's got the faintest bit of green, but not so under-ripe that the peel won't come off cleanly.  The texture must be firm.  If it goes any longer and I detect mush, then forget about it.  Don't even get me started on bananas that have already turned spotty - I'll leave the room if someone eats one of those in front of me.  They make fine baking bananas though so into the freezer they go to turn black; at the ready for any impromptu banana bread baking.  You're probably thinking I have massive issues a thing about textures and you're not wrong.

Artichoke & Asiago Poppers for Oscar Night

In a perfect world, you'd have seen these delicious morsels of artichoke goodness well before Colin Firth presented Meryl Streep her Best Actress Oscar (my favourite moment of Sunday night - my boyfriend looked so handsome and Meryl so eloquent and perfectly charming).  It's been crazy busy around here, with this and that and trying to find time to sleep and eat too.  Luckily I'm snagging a few seconds to blab about my favourite movies of late and to tell you about these most delicious appetizers.  Believe me, you want this recipe in your appetizer file.