I always think of cream soup as being one of the most elegant starters for a special meal. However, cream soups can be a little tricky to perfect. Getting today’s soup just right has taken me a few tries. Checking many sources and heeding their advice, rice was used as …

Last year we travelled to Southern Spain. It’s hard to imagine how quickly the days have passed since that trip. This year we headed to Morocco. As always, for me, learning about food is part of our preparations for the trip. Markipedia is doing his bit to ensure we don’t …

Regarding dessert, tiny fruits merit tiny tarts like this recipe for a fresh apricot tart. I am trying to make smaller desserts: small-batch cookies, cakes, and (case in point) tarts. This approach yields fewer tempting leftovers. As it turns out, I have a very small and rather adorable pie plate …

Until recently, I had never poached anything solely in butter. When Provence WineZine friends Susan and Towny gave me some vanilla salt, I wanted to use it as a finishing salt for halibut poached in butter. I googled “butter poached halibut” and was alarmed to find that fully submerging four …

One of my favourite things is going to the farmers market on Sunday morning with the menu set for the week and my shopping list in hand. There is a sense of purpose, of complete control. That is until I see the beautiful baby eggplants next to the perfectly ripe …

Once again, I was awakened by a dream about food. This one, though, was even more specific than the one for Bistecca con Crema di Porcini. This dream was about a dessert and included all the parts of the recipe — the crust, the fruit layer, and the custard. I …

Certain foods are harbingers of the season. Asparagus, fresh peas, and morel mushrooms are culinary ingredients often associated with springtime. Sure, you can find all three during other periods of the year. But honestly, is there anything better than fresh asparagus in the spring? This recipe for seared and roasted …

Today’s recipe is inspired by a meal I had years ago in Italy’s wine country – Montalcino. However, it could just as easily appear on a menu in Provence, where grapes are grown locally, and meatballs (boulettes de viande) are popular. The Italian dish, Polpettine con le Uve, not only …

Scallops are inherently sweet, so adding the sweet flavours of butter, tarragon, and carrots to the scallops adds more sweetness to the dish. It is delicate and delicious, but my taste buds crave a little contrast. So to create the perfect Cocoa & Lavender culinary marriage of sweet and tart, …

As is the case with many of you, we take travel seriously. Last fall, we travelled to Southern Spain—Andalucia for the first time, and thus my culinary inspiration for these delicious Coquilles Saint-Jacques with a Spanish flair – Vieiras de Santiago. Once we know where we are going, the prep …