Welsh Lamb Popsicles

Welsh Lamb Popsicles

Welsh Lamb Popsicles A good meat market is the go to place if you are looking for Welsh Lamb for Easter So much more tender flavor than Australian or Ontario . Welsh Low-land grazed extra special Welsh Lamb that comes from the lush, natural pastures of North Wales mainly from the Conwy Valley and the Vale of Clwyd. I’ve  followed chef Rick Stein’s recipe for Lamb and this rack will be perfect to refine it to perfection. If you’re a lamb connoisseur like me, this is the lamb other lambs wish they tasted like. I believe as a chef that one must continuously...
The Great Easter Egg Hunt

The Great Easter Egg Hunt

The Great Easter Egg Hunt Easter is just around the corner and time for that age old tradition of dying Easter Eggs. The ethnic origins are boundless with ornate decorations with spiritual meaning or humble designs and down right folk artistic. The best thing is to get the children involved in an Easter Egg hunt. Boiling eggs and then using flower petals, rose, daffodils, tulips and fruit dies such as blueberry, cranberry, pomegranate, lemon, lime and orange zest in warm water over a short period will make a good natural colouring agent. Just boil the eggs till hard...
Hot Cross Bunny’s

Hot Cross Bunny’s

What do you get when you pour some hot water down a rabbit hole? You get a Hot Cross Bunny. My dad always used to say that at Easter time and it is fast approaching. One of my favourite treats for this holiday are the scrumptious lite and tasty Hot Cross Buns. They make a nice side, buttered with a good cup of tea. I have added lots of different dried fruits with this retro recipe. They all taste great. This recipe is simple to do and if you have no mixer can be done in a bowl by hand like the old days. Enjoy the satisfaction and the smiles you will get when you take the...
Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup. Back when I returned to Vancouver I took on a chef position cooking for the nightly performance of  the Tony N Tina Wedding in it’s new location at 1066 Hastings street. The menu was fashioned after a typical Italian Wedding Party fare which started out with the soup. Why is it Called Italian Wedding Soup?  Ever wonder how it gets its name? I always thought maybe it was a traditional meal served at Italian weddings, but in actuality, it has nothing to do with a real wedding.  The name actually comes from the way the flavors combine, like a...
Bubba  Rumba  Salsa.

Bubba Rumba Salsa.

Bubba  Rumba  Salsa.  I do a lot of research travelling from farms to markets to find the right produce. Tomatoes are one of the most used items for my recipes. The quest to find the best tasting tomatoes takes a lot of trial and error circumstances. They all look so good sitting there on the grocers produce island. Looks can be deceiving! Picked green and held in controlled atmosphere till they are shipped to the retail stores takes out a big bite of flavour. You also notice that tomatoes cost big money at certain times of the year. I find that the mesh bag of tender...
Glazed Cottage Ham Roll

Glazed Cottage Ham Roll

  I was thinking about my mom and some of the meals she would throw together impromptu when needing to feed unexpected company. My dad being a chef was usually at the hotel cooking which made for a long day for him and he took over if needed when he got home. My mom or grandmother would do most the home cooking. It was here that I was shown how to put a farm family hearty meager meal together. A good pork cottage roll was always available and would hang in our cold storage getting tastier with age. It’s hard these days to find a good brined and smoked shoulder cut...