Overview … This Sunday my weekly menu plan called for: Protein: Cod Fish Starchy Side: Potatoes Vegetable: Eggplant I must confess, the original menu plan called for haddock, but my local grocer actually had big beautiful cod loins available and I couldn’t resist the opportunity. I felt bad not visiting my fishmonger but the loins looked amazing […]
Seeing Only Red There’s no secret that I’m almost strictly a red wine drinker, preferring primarily Californian cabernet blends like Carnivor and Apothic Red, but as chance would have it a recent guest who prefers white caught us off-guard when Liz was suddenly out of her regular go-to pinot grigio. Pulling out a “gift” bottle, […]
Overview … This Wednesday my weekly menu plan called for: Protein: Duck Breast Starchy Side: Pasta Vegetable: Broccoli There is something magical about roasted duck breast, it can seem intimidating at first but it literally is one of the most delicious birds on the planet. I couldn’t wait to practice one of my favourite methods of preparing this […]
Overview … This Tuesday my weekly menu plan called for: Protein: Pork Chops Starchy Side: Beans Vegetable: Bok Choy With chops and bok choy on the menu, I couldn’t help but find inspiration in Asian-style cuisine. I’ll admit however that my starchy side ended up becoming a second vegetable; namely string green beans. Furthermore, I additionally […]
Overview … This Monday evening the weekly menu plan calls for: Protein: Scallops Starchy Side: Chickpeas Vegetable: Carrots Letting the combination simmer in my mind for a moment I couldn’t help but think of a beautiful dish from one of our favourite local Indian restaurants called Sahib’s. Their chickpea chana masala is irresistible and was motivation […]
Best Intentions When we became parents, Liz and I were simultaneously overcome with joy, fear, love, worry and every other emotion imaginable. Thankfully we have persevered and come through the last 5 years relatively unscathed, but beyond our emotional journey the culinary storm has been … insane. Before kids, we basically ate whatever we wanted, but […]
Leeks Are Lovely … Experimenting with vegetables in the kitchen is a necessary pass-time for any culinarian, we’re always on the lookout for a great side dish that strays from ordinary. Leeks are a member of the same family as onions and garlic, and could easily be likened to a large scallion but much […]
My Vegetable Motivation … Researching the culinary history of great recipes is somewhat of a passion of mine. I thoroughly enjoy learning about the true roots of a dish before I make it, especially when there are real people involved that I can associate with. Coxinhas happen to be precisely one of those magical foods […]
Christmas Inspiration … Special occasions call for special food, and a fancy Christmas menu is one of the best occasions of all for eating fantastic fare. This year I got inspiration from a couple sources, like the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas, and the impact of writings by Washington Irving on the culture of Christmas back […]
We’re just getting started here at IC, and I can’t wait to start talking food with all you wonderful people in the culinary community. Lots more to come, until then … happy cooking! Paul Tebo aka: the Impulsive Culinarian