Risotto is not a finicky dish to make. Picture yourself in a large Italian farmhouse kitchen, with a big apron tied firmly around your middle. Put a couple of pins in your hair to keep things neat. The stove has been on most of the day while you’re making bread. You have a large pot…
Tag: gluten free
Winter Soup with Potatoes, White Beans & Cumin
A number of years ago, I catered a family event where all the siblings were in their sixties, and they hadn’t all seen each other for years. They had planned a wonderful weekend together using Thetis as their base. One evening they gathered for a simple, progressive meal before they watched a DVD of their…
Emily Allen’s Fruitcake
This is our family’s fruitcake. My parents had it for their wedding cake; we had it for ours, and many cousins and other relatives have as well. Pounds of it are made every Christmas, soaked in brandy and left to age. It makes a great snack for hiking, boating & fishing on the west coast…
Creamed Brussels Sprouts Soup
Our neighbouring farmer called today, looking for any sort of meat grinder that could make short work of the pig fat she had on hand, in preparation for rendering. I had an old rotary model that had made many shepherd’s pies in the past, and lovely lamb for moussaka. She came over to pick it…
Beet Soup with Chinese Spices
My first memory of beets was at one of my Aunt Laura’s epic Sunday lunches. She would serve many different vegetables, along with the Sunday “joint”. This was what we used to call a large piece of meat with a big bone in it. It would be cooked on the old oil stove. There would…
farmhouse cook 