My grandmother always had a pot of soup on the stove. Made with love, fresh herbs, and the best vegetables from her garden. Soup is comforting, easy to prepare, and could be a meal in itself if you add meat or beans and any grain, like rice or pasta.
1. Start with 6 to 8 cups of a good broth.
2. Bring it to a boil and add about 2 cups of any vegetables you have, making sure to include garlic, onions, or leek. Top with fresh (or dry) herbs like thyme, oregano, sage, or rosemary.
3. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes until the veggies are perfectly cooked, to your taste. Season with salt and pepper and add any left over chicken, rice, or pasta.
Enjoy!
If you like that recipe, you will also like the perfect Lobster Bisque.
Congratulations to the winner and finalists of the Canada’s Best Sandwich Contest organized by Ace Bakery. Jean Émond form Montreal won the Grand prize with his North African Lamb Sandwich with Harissa and Figs. Very original!
Canada’s four regional finalists faced off in a Sandwich Showdown in the Cooking School at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, where they created their sandwiches in front of a judging panel and live audience. After tasting each of the creations, Bob Blumer, Julie Van Rosendaal, popular Calgary-based blogger behind DinnerWithJulie.com, and Marcus Mariathas, ACE Bakery’s master baker, evaluated each recipe based on taste appeal, creativity, innovation and originality in order to select a winner.
“All four finalists inspired us with their culinary skills and imagination in the kitchen, and it was a challenge to decide on just one winner,” said Bob Blumer, host of Food Network Canada’s World’s Weirdest Restaurants. “Émond’s unique mix of ingredients created a delicious flavour combination that danced off our taste buds. Along with the beautiful presentation, the recipe really stood out to the judges and was a notch above the others.”
Congratulations to the three other finalists, your sandwiches look amazing!
Meghan Légère from Toronto, Ontario made a great Roasted plums with lavender pancetta and brie sandwich, Linh Huynh from Calgary, offered a beautiful Korean BBQ Chicken Sandwich with kimchee and spiced mayo, and Ashley Seely from Rothesay, New Brunswick delivered this fabulous Spiced steak sandwich with fresh cheese and lemon dressing salad.
Inspiring!
It's oyster season and we want to make the most of it! Tasting oysters for me is like receiving a kiss from the sea and it gets even better when paired with the right wine.
With oysters, you want a crisp and mineral white wine and here's some of my top pairing, under $25:
Sauvignon blanc is always a safe bet, lately I had a chance to taste a new wine from New Zealand, Whitehaven, perfectly balanced and not too aromatic, like some tend to be in the Marlborough region. LCBO 308288 - $ 18.95
Wines from Alsace also work perfectly, a Pinot blanc, a Reisling, or even a bubbly Crémant, JOSEPH CATTIN PINOT BLANC 2011, VINTAGES 224642 - $ 15.95
Of course one of the best wines to be paired with oysters is Sancerre, and you can never go wrong with a Chablis, both are from chalky soils which gives the wines the perfect minerality to complement oysters. Sancerre Fouassier VINTAGES 267948 - $ 24.95 and SIMONNET-FEBVRE CHABLIS 2010 - VINTAGES 41780 - $ 19.95
And last but not least, another perfect match is bubbles! I love Hinterland from Prince Edward County, in my opinion, they make the best sparkling wine in Canada, HINTERLAND WHITECAP 2012 VINTAGES 332809 - $ 22.00
If you are not familiar with oysters, please refer to my post Oyster 101 an easy guide on how to choose, shuck and if there are any left… store the best gift from the sea.
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