When was the last time you ate the candy you loved as a kid?

I picked some up this past week and couldn't believe how fun it was. Yes. Candy is fun. Just try putting some poprocks on your tongue and then make some noise. And then there was the fun dip. Did you know that double-dipping with a foodie is always allowed and sometimes a requirement?

Relish life
with
fun dip
gobstoppers
and
poprocks
Lick and
double-dip
in
pink
purple
orange
sugar
Pop
fizz
crackle
laugh
Taste test
Froot Loops
and
eat the rainbow
Be
loopy.


History of Lasagna
Lasagna is one of those “go-to” recipes for my family and something I pull out when we all need some comfort food. What’s comforting to me is that I know this is a dish that everyone loves.

People generally assume that Lasagna originated in Italy, although there has been some debate about that since the first recorded Lasagna recipe was in a cookbook written in England! This claim to Lasagna’s origin, however, has been heavily debated.

The word “lasagna” comes from the Greek (lasana) or (Lasanon) meaning “trivet or stand for a pot”. The Romans borrowed the word as “lasanum” in Latin, meaning “cooking pot”. So – lasagna is actually named for the cooking dish in which it is made.

Lasagna is a hugely popular dish in Canada. It was popular in my family and continues to be loved.

Story of Lynda’s evolving Lasagna
When my sister Lynda was 10, she started experimenting with the Lasagna recipe in the red plaid Betty Crocker cookbook that our mom used for most of her recipes. Through the years she continued to tweak it and add ingredients to make it extra tasty. She discovered that it is very important to use good quality cheese for the parmesan and the mozzarella on top. One time our dad used low fat mozzarella and it was a big disappointment. She also cooks it in the oven at 400˚F for 45 minutes and then puts it under the broiler for a few minutes to get the top brown and the cheese a bit crispy.

By simply leaving out the ground beef, this recipe also makes a great vegetarian Lasagna.

Recipe for Lynda's Lasagna

Serves 8

For the sauce:
1 lb. lean ground beef, browned
½ onion, diced fine
1 small can tomato paste
l large can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the cottage cheese layer:
1 egg
4 cups cottage cheese

1 package Lasagna noodles

For the topping:
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated

Brown the ground beef and add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Boil lasagna noodles in salted water and cook until just tender (al dente), about 8 minutes. Drain and set noodles in cool water so they don’t stick together.

In a bowl, mix egg, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese for the cottage cheese layer.

Place noodles on a 9” x 13” pan. Cover noodles with sauce, and create layers by adding the cottage cheese mixture and then repeating: Noodles, Sauce, Cottage Cheese.

For the topping, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a 350˚to 400˚F degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour and then place under broiler for a few minutes to make the cheese crunchy and brown.

Tasting Notes
You know lasagna is good when it is bubbling, brown on the top, and your mouth is watering when you are about to take the first bite. It’s easier to cut into nice squares for serving if you let it “rest” for 15 minutes after it comes out of the oven.

Link
Weird Al Yankovic singing “La La La Lasagna”

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"Have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air?"

I've loved that Pink! song since I saw it on the Grammy's this year.
It still sends shivers when I watch the video.

So, after I learned I had thyroid cancer and before the surgery, I bought some glitter and took it to a field, made a wish and threw a fistful in the air. Then, another evening after telling my three girls about my cancer, we took some more glitter to a field and threw fistfuls in the air and
made our wishes.

It's a good memory.

Blow the dandelion
Toss the glitter
Light a candle
Make a wish
Dream
Hope
Someday I'll be healthy
Someday I'll be happy
...One day...
But today I'll trust life
Breathe
Be
Love
Live


Borscht is said to have originated around 1880 – 1885. The date of origin does not seem to be in question. The ongoing debate is not when, but where. Both Ukrainians and Russians claim that it is a traditional soup originating in their particular country of origin.

The name itself is anything but pretentious. The word “borscht” derives from the Slavic “borschevik” which, simply translated, means “hogweed”. This weed was originally used to add a brownish-green color to the soup, but has long since been left off the list of ingredients for Borscht as we know it today. My paternal great grandparents, who are of German origin, came from an area once known as White Russia, and this is where this recipe originated.

Borscht is a full-bodied, nourishing soup, often used as the main course for a meal. It can be eaten hot or cold, though most prefer it hot, served with a dollop of sour cream. The rich flavor of the soup comes from the stock. And a typical discussion of Borscht among my relatives might go something like this.

“The flavour is in the stock you know. You can’t have good Borscht without good stock.” “But beef or ham – that is the question.” “Ach – it has to be ham – it has more rich flavour.” “But lots of recipes call for beef stock.” “Beef stock? No. Never. It has to be ham. Ham bone. That’s the best.”

So here it is: the evolving family recipe which had not been recorded until my uncle watched my aunt make it and wrote down her every move! This particular Borscht presents a beautiful pink colour because of the addition of whipping cream to the mixture.

The expression “Cheap as Borscht” is an expression used to signify something that is very inexpensive and yet has high value. 

Recipe for Traditional (Evolving) Family Borscht Recipe

Makes 10 servings

3 lb. soup bone (beef or ham; we prefer ham)
2-3 cups carrots
16 potatoes (10 diced; 6 cooked and mashed)
1 small head of cabbage
1 large onion
5 large beets, cooked and diced
1 can tomato paste
Fresh dill
2 cups whipping cream (to add to mashed potatoes)
Peppercorns (a handful)
1-3 bay leaves
Fennel, to taste
Salt to taste

1. Simmer the soup bone for an hour or more. Then skim off the fat and add the following:
• 2-3 cups carrots
• 10 diced potatoes
• ½ of the cabbage (sliced)

Cook until tender.

2. Cook the beets whole in their skins; run beets under cool water and slip the skins off; dice and then add 3 tsp. vinegar and some sugar

3. Sauté the onion.

4. To the onion, add the following:
• other half of the cabbage
• tomato paste
• can of water (from tomato paste can)

5. Cook 6 potatoes and mash with whipping cream.

6. Put vegetables all together. Add bay leaf and peppercorns and cook for 40 minutes.

7. Add dill and fennel to taste.

8. Season to taste with salt (may take quite a bit, depending on what soup stock you have used) and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

9. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream.

Some claim that Borscht

• is the ultimate cure for a hangover

• prevents the body from aging

• prevents disease

Sounds good to me!

"Have you ever looked fear in the face and said I just don't care?" —Pink!

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 Lately, I've decided I need to "try something new" every day.

Last week, I had a water balloon fight with my kids. At one point, I had to be a non-moving target for Jennifer, the youngest, since she was getting frustrated not being able to hit anyone with her water balloons. We had lots of laughs. And I was soaked.  
Another night, after watching the movie Step Up 3 with my kids, we were walking back to my place, and we were dancing in the parking lot. Anna, my middle child, was laughing, embarrassed by my attempts at dancing. But it was fun. I wouldn't have done that...probably before being diagnosed with cancer. It's funny how it changes you. Jennifer and I jumped on a park bench, leaped from it, and we all skipped, danced and enjoyed lots of giggles and laughter.

Yesterday I did a somersault.

When was the last time I did a somersault?
A head over heels tumble
A heels over head routine
Forwards, backwards, sideways, in the air
In my room
On the grass
In a crowd
360
Dizzy, disoriented, confused
Now
Leap
Jump
Tumble through air
Stick the landing
No more fear
Cartwheel next


This is one of the easiest recipes I've made in a long time. And right now, my life demands easy. With three kids, their activities and camps, work, blog, restaurant reviewing, and all the other stresses on my time, cooking dinner at home lately isn't first on my list. But I'd make this recipe again. My sister sent it to me after she'd made it many times for family and friends. It comes from the July 2006 edition of Gourmet, and it's a keeper.


Recipe for Grilled Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce

Recipe for Lime Butter Sauce

Recipe for Grilled Corn with Herbs


This salmon paired well with Inniskillin's Winemaker's Series 2008 Chardonnay (LCBO/Vintages #105379 $16.95) that was medium-bodied, with a touch of oak but not buttery.



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As the story goes, Caprèse Salad was first created in the 1950s in Italy.

So I imagine myself sitting in a little restaurant in Italy, in the region of Campania, perhaps, and before my meal, I order a Caprèse Salad. I know that to prepare this dish, the Chef will pick a top quality tomato in its prime—ripened on the vine. He will then lift some Mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) out of the liquid in the special place he stores it. The buffalo mozzarella will be fresh and springy—even a little juicy and creamy and definitely delicious.

To this, the Chef will add the other simple ingredients, always ensuring that the quality of each individual item is top notch. The Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Balsamic vinegar).The fresh basil from the Chef’s own herb garden. Using dried basil from a spice jar would be irreverent. Even the salt the Chef sprinkles on the salad as a final touch is special sea salt.

And so the simple, yet exquisite ingredients come together to create a salad delicious, yet deceiving in its simplicity. The same salad made with lesser ingredients would be ordinary, even mundane. But something magical happens in the fusion of these fine flavours and textures and the salad becomes a dish fit for royalty.

Paired with a medium bodied white wine, somewhat aromatic and fruity, Caprèse Salad is perfection on a summer plate.

I finish my Caprèse Salad, take a sip of wine, and order dinner.

Actually, that's not far from what I experienced in June -- only the location was Paris, not Italy.

I enjoyed a Caprèse Salad on the patio of a quaint café called Camille in Le Marais, Paris. While people-watching and sipping wine, I marvelled at the melding of these three perfect elements on my plate. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy this salad when you can get two of the key ingredients from your own garden or the local farmer's market.

Buffalo mozzarella is a type of mozzarella cheese that's made from water buffalo's milk, not from cow's milk. In Ottawa, you can get this cheese at La Bottega Nicastro Fine Food Shop or House of Cheese in the Byward Market.
When I returned home from Paris, a friend made this simple salad at his cottage using a drizzle of some fine Balsamic vinegar to dress it.


This salad pairs well with a fruity, light sipping wine such as Inniskillin's Winemaker's Series 2008 Pinot Gris (LCBO/Vintages #177766 $19.95) that's barrel aged. With its slightly crisp, tropical tones, it's a perfect afternoon-on-the-patio sipping wine.



Recipe

Serves 1

1 fresh tomato
4-5 leaves of Basil
4 oz buffalo mozzarella
Balsamic vinegar

Slice the tomatoes. Slice the mozzarella. Layer the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar (or make a homemade pesto to drizzle on top). Season with salt and pepper.


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The story of salmon is an interesting one. It is the story of a fish born in fresh water – a fish that gradually migrates out to the ocean, only to come back again to the fresh water when the time has come to reproduce. It is the story of a species determined to survive, sometimes against incredible odds.

Most of the salmon we purchase today comes from Canada, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Greenland and Norway. Since I live in Canada, it is a fish that is readily accessible and very popular.

Health Benefits

• Salmon is rich in Omega-3, which has many health benefits to its credit, including defensive action against many forms of cancer.
• Salmon helps to prevent and control high blood pressure, offering protection against heart attacks and strokes.
• Salmon is an excellent source of protein.
• Salmon is rich in nutrients but low in calories.

What’s not to like about all of that?

Sesame Secret

I’ve always known that salmon is one of those healthy foods that everyone ought to eat regularly. But for me, it is important that food also taste good. Fortunately, I’ve discovered some techniques that make salmon taste so good you’d think it was bad for you. See Saumon au Champagne (Salmon in Champagne Sauce) and Truite de Mer, Sauce Verte (whole poached salmon trout with herbed mayonnaise). And then there is this Sesame Salmon recipe, which has been a family favorite for some time now.

The magic ingredient in this recipe is the sesame seeds, which give the salmon an exotic, nutty and slightly Asian flavour. They are a good source of calcium and protein and are often used in both sweet and savoury dishes from Japan, China, the Middle East, South America, Africa and Asia.

Recipe for Sesame Salmon

Salmon Marinade:
Juice of one lemon
¼ cup sesame oil
¼ cup soy sauce

Combine marinade ingredients and marinate salmon for several hours.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Bake for about half an hour, until the salmon is cooked. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if desired.

Tasting Notes

The salmon is tender and flaky, the crunchy sesame seeds adding an interesting contrast in both taste and texture. This is a recipe to pull out again and again, and a pleaser for the whole family.

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