Pierre and Candace were winging it and added butter chicken paste; feel free to use whatever blend you like, and enough to suit your taste.

Pierre’s Roasted Pumpkin with Braised Chickpeas

1 small pumpkin, quartered, seeded and roasted (or use butternut squash)

3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. curry paste
2 onions, diced
3 pork or chicken sausages, squeezed from the casing
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 19 oz (540 mL) can chickpeas, drained
1 19 oz (540 mL) can tomato puree
2 cups chicken stock or water

thick yogurt or sour cream and/or chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350?F. To roast your pumpkin, clean out the seeds and stringy innards, spread out in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan, drizzle with oil and roast for 45 minutes, or until soft and golden on top.

Get a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and sauté the onion with the curry paste. Sauté until the onions are caramelized. Add the sausage and break the meat up with a spoon as it cooks. Add the garlic, chickpeas, tomato purée and stock. Bring it all to a boil and simmer until the sauce reduces, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile scoop out the soft pumpkin meat and get rid of the tough skin. Break up the meat into pieces and plop it into the stewing beans.

When the sauce is nice and thick, it’s almost ready to serve. Add salt to taste and then get a big bowl out for serving. Scoop a big old steamy pile into the bowl and top it with a creamy dollop of sour cream or thick yogurt and sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro. Serves 4-6.

A Chile Is a Chili Is a Chilli

Many aspects of the chile are extremely confusing, from its historical misnomer (pepper) to the nomenclature of its many varieties, which even horticulturalists have difficulty sorting out. So it is probably not surprising that the spelling for the word itself is somewhat problematic. Is it chili, chilli or chile? You are likely to come across all of those spellings if you are reading up on the topic.

According to horticulturist and capsicum expert Paul Bosland, the name is derived from the word chil, which comes from the Aztec dialect and refers to plants from the Capsicum genus. The “e” ending is the correct Spanish spelling. English linguists (who probably didn’t know any better) changed it to an “i.”

Although most people associate the word chile with hot peppers, in fact the word refers to capsicums in general, whether they are spicy or not. The word chili refers to the dish, as in chili con carne.

Maple Apple Tarte Tatin

I’m a huge fan of the tarte tatin – that upside down pie started on the stovetop and baked in a skillet, then inverted onto a platter with caramel dripping from the apples down the sides. It’s a delicious mess, and a perfect dessert to make when you don’t have a lot of time but want something rustic, comforting, and totally fantastic. It’s good with pears too – they’re a bit juicier, so anticipate more drips.Continue reading→

Pierre’s Roasted Pumpkin with Braised Chickpeas

I love hearty winter curries, especially ones made with winter squash and chickpeas; here’s a simple one to keep you warm. While I was over for a conference call at Pierre‘s last week, he made roasted pumpkin with braised chickpeas as we chatted. It was the perfect lunch on the first day of deep snow – the kind that soaked the bottom six inches of your jeans and made your socks wet when you took your boots off.Continue reading→

Strawberry Mousse

Looking for a Valentine’s Day dessert? This strawberry mousse is really easy — and because it contains both gelatin and cream cheese it’s stable enough to make well in advance. Plus it’s pink. Very, very pink, making it perfect for the occasion.

Strawberry Mousse

1 pkg (10 g) strawberry flavoured gelatin powder
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 8 oz (250 g) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sliced strawberries (thawed frozen berries will work)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Combine the gelatin powder with the boiling water in a medium bowl and stir for about two minutes or until the powder is completely dissolved. Add the cold water.

In a stand mixer, cream the cheese and the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add the gelatin mixture. Fold in the strawberries and 1-1/2 cups of the whipped cream. Spoon into dessert cups and chill for at least two hours. Top with remaining whipped cream and serve.

Serves 6-8.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Cheesecake used to be a staple at birthdays and special occasions like Valentine’s Day – and this rich chocolate cheesecake was one of the most popular ones I made.

If memory serves (and it doesn’t always) it originally came from Gourmet or Bon Appétit, tweaked over the years… I hadn’t made it in practically decades, and I forgot how good it was. It’s not tricky to make, and can be done in advance – it needs time to chill in the fridge anyway. To make it extra special, top with strawberries or raspberries.Continue reading→

Maple Walnut Granola

I realize that one can only have so many formulas for granola, and at some point you settle into a regular combination you can mindlessly mix up and bake without much in the way of measuring. This is one such recipe. It comes from our friend Aimée, who’s first cookbook focuses on seasonal eating from her urban homestead just outside Montreal.

Since homemade granola is in constant rotation in our house, I chose hers to give a go; it’s very similar to my default granola, save for the applesauce and maple flakes (which, sadly, are not as readily available in Alberta). I had a jar of my sister’s crabapple sauce on my shelf, pink and sweet-tart, and so mixed some up, subbing sliced almonds for the sunflower seeds I had none of – that’s the great thing about granola, you can mix and match nuts and seeds and add whatever kind of dried fruit you like at the end.

Cheers Aimée! Your book is beautiful. (And so is the granola!)Continue reading→

Easy Cream Scones

When I have cream in my fridge that’s starting to go south, I turn them into a batch of scones. Dairy products are among the most often tossed of the food we buy that goes to waste – and most of it makes a pretty fine scone. Milk, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk – they’re all great for baking, and often interchangeable. But I love these super simple scones made with heavy cream – there’s no butter, which makes them easy to stir, pat and bake – but you’ll never miss it.

This basic scone recipe also makes a great blank canvas – try adding fresh, frozen or dried fruit, chopped chocolate, or grated orange or lemon zest.Continue reading→