This is an easy, comforting stew that can remain vegetarian or poured over chicken. The crunch from the peanuts and the peanut butter give it a distinctive (and addictive) taste. Toast the peanuts for extra flavor, and try cashews instead of peanuts for variety.

Recipe for Peanut Stew

Adapted from Wholehearted Cooking: Simply Delicious Low-Fat Recipes

Serves 6

1½ teaspoons peanut oil
1 cup medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
⅛ tsp Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter
¼ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
salt

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil. Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the curry powder and coriander, and cook for 1 minute.

Pour in the tomatoes, then add the salt, crushed pepper flakes and Tabasco. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Stir in the peanut butter and peanuts. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Serve with chicken, pasta, polenta or rice and a salad.

One of my favorite meals is brunch. And this Mother's Day, we're heading to the sugar bush (even though we've missed the prime tree-tapping-maple-syrup time). Wheeler's, which is just outside of Perth, Ontario, serves a delicious breakfast every day except Christmas Day! What draws me to their lodge pancake house is not the pancakes but their maple sausages. Yup. Best sausages ever. And the taffy on the snow is a treat. It's a spring tradition to trek out of town to this destination. But if you can't get to Wheeler's, these pancakes will work in a pinch. But I wish I had the recipe for Wheelers' maple sausages!!


Recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Pancakes

Makes 9 4-inch pancakes


2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1¾ cups milk
½ cup pumpkin purée
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
maple syrup

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

In a separate bowl, whick together the milk, purée, egg and oil. Add to the first mixture, stirring until smooth.

Spoon about ¼ cup batter onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with maple syrup.

I know why the caged bird sings

A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

- Maya Angelou

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A cool new magazine has just hit the market! Taste & Travel International is hot-off-the-press and available at Chapters bookstores across Canada.

Credit for launching this new magazine goes to publisher, Janet Boileau, who identifies culinary tourism as one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry. Assembling a stellar, international line-up of writers, photographers, cooks and recipe developers, she has put together a classy, glossy, informative and inspiring launch issue with close to 100 pages of solid content to inspire those who love to cook, those who have a palate for delectable food, and those who have a passion for travel.

This first issue introduces a feature article on Canada’s Epicurean Inns, written by Anita Stewart who tours Canada’s foremost culinary lodges and interviews the chefs who are creating world class menus using seasonal local ingredients. From the Rossmount Country Inn in New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada to the Wickanninish Inn in Tofino, B.C. on the west coast of Canada, Stewart has managed to wrestle signature recipes from each one of the chefs which she shares with Taste & Travel readers. This inaugural issue also features the first in a four-part series on seasonal Japanese cooking by Elizabeth Andoh. Throughout the magazine, interwoven with stories of travel, are intriguing, clip-out recipes.


Kudos to Janet Boileau for having the vision to transform the dream of this magazine into a reality. Janet has a Master of Arts in Gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu, a PhD in culinary history from the University of Adelaide in South Australia and has a solid background in magazine publishing. She's written articles for and travelled wth David Leite from Leite's Culinaria and has befriended many well-known celebrities in the food world.

I am pleased to be part of this inspiring new endeavor as the Food Editor. It was exciting to tackle new recipes and photograph exotic dishes I’d never experimented with before. {I highly recommend buying the issue just for the Enchiladas Suizas on page 80.}


Taste & Travel International sells for $6.95CAD at Chapters stores across Canada and will soon be available internationally. It will be published quarterly. Subscriptions are $25.00 for four issues and can be ordered from: distribution@TasteAndTravelMagazine.com or here. Soon, this magazine will be available internationally through Zinio, a service that transforms print magazines into digital format.

Giveaway

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To see an index of Julia Child-inspired recipes, click here.