Looking for something fun and easy to do with your family?  Here's a recipe that is more of an activity than a recipe. Bonus:  It is a great way to get your kids in the kitchen to help you.  Super bonus?  They will think you are their hero when you tell them the ingredients: candy + marshmallows + popcorn.  Super crazy bonus?  You get to pulverize the candy in the blender and make Cinnamon Heart Dust.  They will literally think you are the bomb!

I’m currently having a love affair with Thai food.  It’s one of my favourite cuisines out there.  It’s not only incredibly tasty but also very, very healthy.  It is one of the few cuisines that takes most of its flavour influences from pastes made from all natural ingredients; usually spices and herbs mixed with shallots, garlic, and ginger.  Couple that with a coconut base and you have food that is as good for you as it is tasty, a perfect mix in my book! 

This salad has been on my dinner table a lot in the past couple of weeks.  The variety of vegetables we typically use in salads  tend to run a little scarce in the winter, so I am always trying to come up with new salad combinations to make those veggies a little more enticing.  This particular combo has been getting rave reviews so I decided I needed to share!

I have to say I am not a big fan of store bought salad dressings.  They tend to be filled with a ton of additives, sugar, and preservatives, and while they may be a quick and tasty way to top your weeknight salads, I've often thought there must be a better way.  Well, here it is!

This is another recipe from the old-school Italian archives.  Very quick, foolproof, and always delicious, the two secret ingredients make this broccoli lip-smacking good. This recipe cooks really really quickly, so pay attention to the heating instructions throughout the recipe to make sure you get that delicious, gorgeous crunch.

These are one of my favourite weekend treats.  They are a snap to whip together and can even be assembled the night before.  They fill the house with the incredible smell of freshly baked chocolate-coffee goodness, and are a sure-fire way to get your family jumping out of bed and into the kitchen.  

Scones That Taste Like French Toast

Ingredients

My mom has been making this granola for ages and over the years it's gone through a bit of a transition as she experimented with different ingredients.  Here’s the latest version, full of healthy nuts and oats and sprinkled with some dried cranberries to add that festive twist.  Feel free to experiment yourself, as the recipe is pretty fool-proof and you can add pretty much any type of seeds, nuts, or dried fruit to the mix.

You will not believe how fast these appetizers come together!  They are a simple riff on a jalapeño popper, but a little healthier and a little more sophisticated.  You can pre-assemble them and keep them in the fridge until you need them, or prep them and keep them in the freezer too.  Either way, once assembled, they can be ready and on the table in 12 minutes.  I love serving them on some crusty bread or adding them to a plate of BBQ’d vegetables.  Try these and watch them disappear.

I threw this together one evening last week and I gotta say, it is the bomb! We’ve had it a couple of times since and there is never a scrap left on the table. You can whip it up in less than half an hour, and it tastes fantastic the next day in a sandwich. It’s a great combo of flavours, and perfect for a quick dinner or an impressive brunch dish. Try it and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

This old school recipe has been in my family for ages because in the autumn there are always a couple of vegetables that hang around in abundance. It's a super easy preparation that you can throw together in about 10 minutes flat. A great combo of sweet peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and onions, this mixture is great in a sandwich or served over rice, scrambled eggs, or pasta. I can a dozen jars or so every fall and pull it out for company throughout the year.

Ingredients:

This is that special time of year when tomatoes are at their very best. Sweet, meaty and sun-kissed, they are packed with flavour and shine at the heart of this dish. I came up with this recipe by way of a happy accident and it has since become a family favorite. You can get this on the table in about 20 minutes from scratch, or even better, it is a great way to jazz up pasta leftovers. I like mine veggie-style with only the tomato topping, but feel free to add some sliced sausage or chicken breast if you're looking for a protein punch.

This is a very unique time of year. The days are getting a tad shorter, the nights are getting a little cooler and the local garden veggies are pouring in. 

This is an all-time classic at my place. I grew up with a version of this on my table after dinner almost every night during peach season. My mom used to make it with red wine, but this is my spin on the old classic. The flavours work really well together and the basil adds just the right touch. Serve it really cold right out of the fridge and it makes a refreshing and light dessert. It is super easy to whip up and looks gorgeous on your table after a big summer BBQ meal. If you’ve got kids at the table, you can make a version for them with white grape juice. Cheers!

Anything covered in cheese and fried has got be good, right? This recipe is no exception.  

I love to serve this at brunch, as an appetizer or as part of a charcuterie plate. They always go, and fast. Fresh asparagus is everywhere during the summer months, and this recipe is a great way to add a crunchy cheesy twist to one of my favourite summer veggies.

It is zucchini season, and coming from someone who has zucchini growing in the garden, when they’re here they arrive in large abundance. This is one of my favourite recipes—super quick and easy to get on the table. It works great as a light lunch or as a side for dinner. Chop up some prosciutto or leftover steak, and it quickly becomes a main. I’ve paired it with a ton of roasted garlic, one of my favourite partners to really create a yummy tasty dish.

It’s that time of year again. Tomatoes are back! Tomatoes are my all time favourite food and every year about this time I get lost in the kitchen making all kinds of tomato based dishes. This is one of my regular-go-to-faithful recipes that begins to appear on my table a couple of times a week right about now. It’s super quick and easy (a requirement), with little prep and clean up and is simple to can if you want to save a little jar of summer magic for those colder winter months.

Doesn’t that sound incredibly delicious?  When you find out just how simple and fast this recipe is to pull together, you will be raving about it to all your friends. Big, big news.  

This is one of my all-time favourite summer recipes. This salad finds its way to my table several times a week these days. It is so hard to resist throwing this together when the tomato season hits and fresh corn is everywhere. It is a sensational combination and super easy to whip together. During the summer season, I always make a little extra corn on the cob, grill it, shear it, and keep it in the fridge. It is a fantastic sweet and crunchy addition to any salad, but is super fantastic with tomatoes and bacon. Try serving this at your next BBQ or weeknight dinner and watch it disappear!

This dessert is a nod to some wonderful flavours I first experienced on my honeymoon. Beaches, southern India and fresh pineapple slices dusted with spices, nuts and hot pepper. Perfect inspiration for a new spin on a familiar dessert. Summer puts me in the mood to grill almost everything, including dessert. This is a wonderful twist on an old classic, where I grill the pineapple before I add it to the cake. A little extra punch? Indian inspired hot and spicy flavours added to the pineapple while still on the grill which takes this classic over the top.