"The Best of Chef at Home" by Michael Smith...Impress Yourself in Your Own Kitchen with Maritime Potato Fish Cakes and 2 Other Recipes

Macaroni & Cheese

As a member of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine's project View & Review I was excited when I had the opportunity to receive the latest cookbook from one of my favourite Food Network stars....Michael Smith. The book came to me to review through the generosity of Canadian publisher MDG & Associates. Whenever possible I rejoice in "all things Canadian" so to say that my reviewing a book by "one of our own" was a real treat for me is an understatement. Excitement was the order of the day at The More Than Burnt Toast household!!!

The Best of Chef at Home is a followup of one of Chef Michael Smith's previous books Chef at Home. It's the second in the series and draws on recipes from all 6 seasons of his popular show Chef at Home. It is a collection of the comfort foods that Michael is most passionate about and makes in his own kitchen at home for his own family. This is the kind of book that makes you want to start cooking homey and comforting dishes right away with a few gourmet or vegetarian meals and twists thrown in.

When I received the book I sat down with a cup of tea and began to read. First of all I have to give the book kudos for it's great design. There is no dust jacket, just a pseudo jacket which saves you from those annoying covers that keep falling off. As I delved deeper I found that quite a few of the recipes I could make that day without taking a trip to the local grocers for ingredients. This not only makes cooking economical but convenient as well. This cookbook is filled with recipes that offer all of the comforts of a home cooked meal.

When I look back at the recipes here on More Than Burnt Toast I see that for the most part I have highlighted recipes that follow the same philosophies. A dish from my kitchen has to be flavourful and make good use of local ingredients whenever possible. I can honestly say that each and every recipe in this outstanding cookbook fits that bill. It was very hard to choose what to prepare from this cookbook with options such as Tomato Basil Bruschetta, Maritime Clam Chowder, Grilled Pineapple Red Onion Salad, Orange Ginger Beef, Brined Holiday Turkey with Herb Gravy and Molten Chocolate Cakes. In the end I decided I would create the challenge for myself to make dishes with ingredients I already had on hand. I believe that Michael would like that I have rediscovered my "freestyling" ways and used what I had available to present an overall review of his exceptional cookbook. Each of the recipes chosen used ingredients I already had in my pantry and refrigerator such as a velvety smooth macaroni and cheese, chewy chocolate chip cookies and down-home potato fish cakes.

The secret to chewy chocolate chip cookies.....corn syrup....

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Many of the 120 recipes are what can be labeled as comfort foods so it felt like I was already part of the family since I would readily prepare any of these same dishes for my own loved ones at home. The recipes are both simple and easy to adapt and reflect Michael's belief that making great food is about relaxing, enjoying the process, and losing yourself in the moment. With all the exotic cuisines available to us in our global market, we often forget how comforting simple and classic foods can be. This is THE perfect book for this season when all you want to do is begin nesting and move into hibernation mode. His cookbook includes everything from quick recipes for weekday meals to fancier dinner party fare for entertaining guests. No foie grois, no fluff just real food with real flavours.

Michael's laid-back approach encourages creativity in the kitchen. This cookbook contains countless suggestions for altering and adjusting each recipe until it is truly your own. I love how he teaches and encourages young cooks to experiment with food and try new things. His enthusiasm for food is definitely contagious and creates an inviting atmosphere throughout this cookbook in which people can learn to have fun in the kitchen. It has easy to follow instructions for each dish and helpful suggestions on how you can "freestyle" each dish. Essentially you have now doubled or tripled the 120 recipes published. The secret to successful "freestyle" cooking is to combine your own creativity with the basic idea and instinctive insight within each recipe. For example when I made the chocolate chip cookies I followed the "freestyling" suggestions and replaced 1/2 cup of the brown sugar with granulated sugar and then added 1/2 cup of toasted pecans as well.

Michael Smith's philosophy on his cooking shows as well as in previous cookbooks has always been that a recipe is only a guideline and needs only your creativity and what you have available to make a dish your own. One of the things I have appreciated most about the approach that Smith takes in this book is the fact that he repeatedly invites and encourages would-be chefs to experiment and get creative in the kitchen, with both quantities and ingredients alike. As he says, "You don't have to be a scientist, nutritionist or chef to be a great cook. Your food doesn't have to be picture perfect, enticingly exotic or new and exciting. Great cooking is simply about relaxing in the kitchen, and enjoying the process." As he suggests in this book why not try adding pine nuts to your chocolate chip cookies, curry powder in a classic chicken stew, or rosemary or saffron in your panna cotta? Every recipe contained in this cookbook is a timeless classic, and each encourages you to stir in your own personality. If you follow the basics in this cookbook, you can create flavourful food for your family and friends with a personal touch. They will love you all the more!!!!This makes this book perfect for the person who is just starting out or a seasoned veteran who wants to get back to their "foodie" roots.

Michael says, "As a chef I have an interesting relationship with cookbooks, I write them but I don’t rely on them. I see them as more a reference resource than a guidebook. I may find ideas in them but unless I’m baking I rarely follow the recipes exactly as written. Over the years this has resulted in some spectacular successes and some dismal failures, lets just say no-one will ever forget the Roast Thai Curry Turkey. That’s why this book is designed to be a launching point for your own "freestyling" kitchen adventures. Each recipe covers the basics you need but they also include lots of insight and freestyle suggestions so you can impress yourself in your own kitchen!"

I asked to share a recipe from the cookbook with you for Potato Fish Cakes. This one's for you my friend and partner in crime Giz. I know you are always looking for ways to enjoy fish. Historically, fish cakes have been one of the most common ways to enjoy seafood in the Maritime provinces in Canada where Michael lives. Traditionally they were made with salt cod. From the early sixteenth century, the huge and lucrative cod fisheries on the coasts and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland offshore attracted fishing vessels manned by Basque, Portuguese, French, and British sailors. Before settlement, these groups salted cod in summer fish-drying camps, and then dried it on "flakes." Michael's version uses lighter, fresh salmon you can find in your local grocery store or fishmongers. I am sure the salmon would have been amazing but I used fresh cod since it was what I had available in keeping with the "freestyling" challenge I set for myself in reviewing this cookbook.

Potato Fish Cakes

**Potato Fish Cakes**
by Chef Michael Smith from "The Best of Chef at Home"
Printed with permission

Splash or two of vegetable oil
2 boneless fillets salmon, or any other fish, about 12 ounces (340 g) total
Sprinkle or two of sea salt, freshly ground pepper
4 large baking (russet) potatoes, peeled
2 eggs, whisked together
1 tablespoon (15 mL) Dijon mustard
2 green onions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons (25 mL) all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons (25 mL) butter
*******************************
Preheat a sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat.

Add a splash of oil to the pan, enough to cover bottom with a thin film. Season the salmon with salt, pepper and carefully place in the pan to sear fillets on both sides until golden brown, crispy and cooked through.

Boil or steam potatoes. Toss hot potatoes into a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to mash until smooth. Add the salmon, eggs, mustard and green onions; season with more salt, pepper, if necessary and beat with a wooden spoon until everything is very well combined. Form into evenly shaped cakes and dredge in flour.

Clean out the skillet and preheat over medium-high heat. Add another splash of oil and 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 25 mL) of butter. When butter melts and sizzles, add fish cakes and pan-fry until golden and crispy on both sides.

Variation: Try adding some of your favourite fresh herbs -- tarragon, dill, parsley, oregano and thyme leaves all work well. For a flavour twist, you may substitute horseradish for the mustard. Fish cakes are traditionally served with mustard pickles but tartar sauce, cocktail sauce and even salsa are good as well.

Chef Michael Smith has been cooking professionally for over twenty years. An honours graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, his early career was spent in restaurants from London to South America. In 1992 he returned to Canada and joined the kitchen at PEI’s The Inn at Bay Fortune. Six years later, Chef Michael invited television cameras into the Inn’s country kitchen for his first hit television show, The Inn Chef. What followed was Food Network's Chef at Home, Chef at Large and his latest show Chef Abroad. He is the winner of the James Beard Award for Cooking Show Excellence. When he isn’t traveling the world with Chef Abroad, Michael loves spending time at home on PEI with his partner Rachel and their son Gabriel.

The book was launched at Fall Flavours, with Chef Michael's crew cooking all 120 recipes during the food festival.

"Remember words have no flavour; you have to add your own."

You may also like......


Classic Macaroni & Cheese
Macaroni & Cheese Casserole
Salmon Cakes with Tartar Sauce
Grown Up Mac 'n' Cheese
___________________________________________________________________

As foodies I am sure that many of us have thought of writing our own cookbook. We must think about this all the time. Oh maybe not for mass publication but at least for your children, your families, your friends or to create fundraisers for your local organizations. Over at BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine we're very fortunate to have partnered with a very kind sponsor who donated a prize. They are a family owned and orientated company dedicated to the mission of doing something to help in whatever way they can.

On another note, The BloggerAid Cook Book that we have worked so hard on for the past year will be available soon on our Amazon bookstore. It was published by Create Space and we are just waiting for the proof. We will let you know!!!!

The Cookbook People have not only donated one of their own software packages as a prize, they have gone the extra mile and sent out a challenge for all members of BloggerAid - Changing the Face of Famine. Their software allows you to create a quality cookbook. You can make one copy or as many copies as you like since you make it at home on your own computer

The Challenge?????

Simply make a blog post about their software on your site and the company has generously offered to donate $20 to the School Meals Programme for each member who mentions them. (Limit one per member.) You can discuss the $20 donation, their donation of software as a prize, or whatever. The Cookbook People will ship worldwide and are wonderful people to work with. Just let us know at blogs4famine(at)gmail(dot)com when you post so that we can tabulate the amount of money being raised and thanks for participating. The money will be sent directly to the Friends of the World Food Programme by The Cookbook People.

If 25 cents feeds one child at school for a day imagine how far $500 will go!!!!!!

A Recipe for Pumpkin Spiced Chili from Culinary School of the Rockies

Pumpkin Spiced Chili

I had some leftover pumpkin when I made that Cinnamon Streusel Topped Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving but wanted to make something out of the ordinary, something with WOW factor and not just another cake or loaf...although that would have been delicious!!!!!What caught my eye was a Pumpkin Spiced Chili I found in a newsletter I receive from Culinary School of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado that lightens up a chili recipe by using ground turkey with the added bonus of pureed pumpkin and don't forget the chilies!!!! You never know some day I may just visit and enjoy some of their cooking classes while visiting friends in Denver. I have also followed their blog Amuse-Bouche for some time which has delicious recipes as well.

Sights and Sounds of Pike Place Market...A Virtual Tour

I promised a quick tour of one of my favourite haunts when I headed south this past weekend. I was lucky enough to travel with 42 other women on a mission to "shop till you drop" in the Seattle area. In true "foodie" style I did my obligatory shopping, but, then spent the day where I really wanted to be at the market along with locals and tourists alike. When travelling I want the opportunity to meet the people who live there and experience the culture and food sensations of a country first hand.

Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington. It is just a hop skip and a jump from the border to this amazing experience from my home town. The sun was shining and a perfect day for a stroll to experience all that Pike Place Market has to offer.

There’s more to the market than just food, fish and flowers. It’s not only the culinary heartbeat, but it’s really the soul of what makes Seattle a great city. It is a place of business for many small farmers, artisans, antique dealers, theatres, small family-owned restaurants, fish mongers, fresh produce stands and merchants and remains one of Seattle's most popular tourist destinations.

The Market is built on the edge of a steep hill where they have made good use of every inch of space.The Market opened 101 years ago in August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. In 2007 the market celebrated it's 100 year anniversary and is internationally recognized as America's best farmers' market and the epicenter of Seattle's lively food culture.

Local farmers and craftspeople sell year-round in the arcades from tables they rent from the Market on a daily basis. The founders of Pike Place Market try to stay true to it's agricultural roots and maintain its integrity. The result is a jubilant, open-air celebration of fresh regional fruits and vegetables, seasonal flowers, herbs, seafood, spices, cheeses, hand-crafted work by artisans, eclectic shops, and fine restaurants and eateries.

The Market is a nine-acre National Historic District, and home to more than 100 farmers, 200 artists and craftspeople, 600 small businesses, 500 residents and 306 street performers (who are able perform anywhere there is a musical note painted on the sidewalk).

One of the interesting attractions we saw at Pike Market is the gum wall at the Market Theater in Post Alley. This Gum Wall, also known as the Wall of Gum, is one of the least known (attractions of the historic Pike Place Market which is usually known internationally for its fish throwers and as the location of the original Starbucks logo. This gum wall began with theater patrons waiting outside, placing a blob of chewing gum on the wall and sticking a penny or other coin in it. The coins would be picked off by other people, and the wall was cleaned of gum two or three times before the powers that be gave up and the wall became an interactive work of art. Now people chew wads of gum and shape letters and figures from it, as well as adding the conventional blobs. Yes that is gum all over the wall below. You can see other photos here and here....

Here in this revered nine-acre community with its cracked walkways and uneven but original cobblestone streets, the scents of seasonal flowers mingle with Dungeness crabs and spicy teas and the lively street musicians or "buskers" compete with the theatrical vendors. All have a story to tell.

My roommate and I decided to have lunch at Pike Place Chowder which is the home of Americas Best Chowder. They were eventually banned from competition and put in the Chowder Hall of Fame being unbeatable. Their clam chowder has won first-place awards everywhere in the country and may be the only chowder to have accomplished this fete on both coasts. This place does chowder, pure and simple. And while their great New England-style clam chowder has national awards, they also do Manhattan clam chowder, smoked salmon chowder, mixed seafood chowder, and even a Southwestern-style chowder with chicken and corn. We were lucky to sample 3 of their chowders including a Seared Scallop which was my personal favourite with a "nutty" flavour. This tiny place is tucked away in Pike Place Market's Post Alley.

If you every have the chance Pike Place Market is a must see.

A Recipe for Nutella Swirl Poundcake

Nutella Swirl Poundcake

When browsing through those monthly food magazines in our collections I am sure we all come across countless recipes that we bookmark to create in our own kitchens someday. Like everyone else I have stacks of cookbooks and magazines with recipes patiently waiting in line to show up in the More Than Burnt Toast kitchen.

Getting Back to My Canadian Roots with a Recipe for Pate Chinois

Pate Chinois

Throughout the years I have lived and worked in numerous provinces throughout Canada from the small fishing villages of Newfoundland, to the rolling foothills of Alberta. I grew up in an urban centre very close to the Greater Toronto Area in what is referred to as Mennonite country in the province of Ontario with it's rolling hills, orchards and farmland. This is where my passion for food and the "foodie" culture began to reach fever pitch. I now live and work in the Okanagan Valley in the interior of British Columbia framed by picture-postcard views of lakes and mountains and a cluster of outstanding wineries, countless orchards and seasonal farm stands, restaurants and artisan-food producers. They all take full advantage of our areas natural abundance and is very similar to where I grew up in Ontario. It is easy to see why Canadians are passionate about their food and what we consume.

A Recipe for Garlic-Leek Soup with Garlic Chips & Chives for World Food Day

Garlic-Leek Soup with Garlic Chips and Chives

Those of you who know me know that I support the World Food Programme and the issue of world famine in many ways. One way to raise awareness is with bringing your attention to World Food Day which is today October 16. It is one day set aside by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and has been celebrated each year since 1945. Please take the time to read about this day in my previous post on World Food Day and what we can each do as individuals to raise awareness.

Our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club Cooks With Wine....a Recipe for Baked Rice with Butternut Squash

Baked Rice with Butternut Squash

We are so glad that you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where 5 ladies nationwide get together to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. For the month of October we are "COOKING WITH WINE". The Baked Rice with Butternut Squash is very reminiscent of risotto without all the watching and stirring. It was not only flavourful and seasonal but every bit worth trying from the pages of Cooking Light magazine!!!!!

For this months dinner we shared a few bottles of wine virtually as well as creating a delicious menu from the pages of Cooking Light. As an excellent beginning to our incredible menu Shelby brought Cheese Fondue with Apples. Next on the menu was a gooey, cheesy French Onion Soup brought to the table by Helene. Jamie prepared our main dish of Salmon with White Wine Mustard Sauce which was the perfect balance of flavours. As a side dish to pair with the salmon I offered a baked risotto dish, Baked Rice with Butternut Squash as you see above. It was so flavourful and a perfect accompaniment. For dessert Aggie brought the most luscious seasonal Red Wine Pear Crisp with Spiced Streusel. What would you bring to the table? Visit the Cooking Light blog Test Kitchen Secrets and make something delicious from the pages of the magazine to add to our dinner...the more the merrier!!!!.

Autumn is here in full force in Okanagan Wine Country. These crisper, shorter days are a perfect time to watch the grapes ripen in the sun and indulge ourselves in the harvest celebrations. There are three main seasons of wine production in the Okanagan... Spring, Fall and Winter. The third, is the ice wine season which is a relatively new enterprise for our area. The Annual Okanagan Fall Wine Festival is an experience for anyone who loves fabulous wine accompanied by great food and unique events. Who wouldn't love a party that goes on for 10 days!!!! No wonder this event is rated as one of the top 100 events in North America!!!! Most of the tours of the Okanagan wineries are free and include sample tasting of this year's newest vintages. Special events, such as lunches, banquets and formal wine tasting gatherings require prepurchased tickets.

The Okanagan Valley is British Columbia's oldest and main grape-growing region. We lie on the same latitude as northern German and French vineyards but the Okanagan Valley is not all classified as a "cool-climate" growing region. We have distinct microclimates throughout the Valley, from the hot, sandy, desert soils in the southern valley to the cooler vineyard sites in the north, with their deep topsoil and clay. Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir grow in the south, while Pinot blanc, Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer are grown in the mid and northern regions, some left to freeze on the vine for our region's famed Icewines.

The British Columbia wine industry was reborn in the late 1980s when many cool-climate, hybrid grape varieties were uprooted and replaced with vinifera wine grapes which now thrive along Lakes Okanagan, Skaha and Osoyoos and as far north as just above the 50th latitude. As a result of this bold government-subsidized "pull-out program," 90% of the hybrid-grape vineyards in the Okanagan Valley were removed, setting the stage for plantings of vinifera grapes. Less than 10 inches of annual rainfall are typical here since this region falls within the northernmost extension of the Sonora Desert...a desert that shares its influence with both the Okanagan and eastern Washington wine regions.

This month our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club chose the theme COOKING WITH WINE in honour of the season. We all share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. Each issue covers light cuisine and includes more than 70 delicious and flavourful recipes. It also explores food and nutrition news as well as fitness, health and beauty.

We would love to share these ideas with you each month by putting together a delicious meal for each other through our Virtual Supper Club. The idea is simple because we all share a common interest in cooking and all things "foodie". This is a team effort where we get together virtually once a month and combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!!

Ultimately this is what has brought myself Val of More Than Burnt Toast, Helene of La Cuisine d'Helene, Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, Jamie of Mom's Cooking Club and Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen together to share their love of food, blogging and their commitment to a health conscious lifestyle to create the very 1st ever Virtual Supper Club sponsored by Cooking Light magazine!!!Check out this months menu where we share our ideas for a succulent dinner where everything is made with the nectar of the season.....WINE!!!!

We will also be featured on the Cooking Light blog site as well as sharing their fantastic recipes with you all!!!!!! Although distance prevents us from gathering as a group in each others homes we have enjoyed getting to know one another and have developed a menu from Cooking Light magazine that is sure to bring smiles when your family and friends share your table this autumnal season. See us on their blog Test Kitchen Secrets!!!

You may also like:

Butternut Squash Risotto
Jamie Oliver - Basic Risotto
Zabar's - Spring Fling Risotto
Simply Recipes - Butternut Squash Risotto
The Leftover Queen - Arancini - Fried Risotto Balls
Aldo Zilli - Top Chef Wild Mushroom Risotto
Daily Unadventures in Living - Zucchini and Lemon Risotto

We Give Thanks for a Recipe for Cinnamon Streusel-Nut Pumpkin Pie

Even if you are not celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend take a moment to think of those less fortunate than ourselves. Today is dedicated to the holiday that encourages us to step back and give thanks for all the blessings we have.

I am grateful that I have done all that I can to guide my daughter in spreading her wings and become the beautiful woman she is today. She is loving, kind and considerate of others. On this day she has taken on the challenge of preparing the feast...yes she has learned to cook in true foodie style...sometimes a little by osmosis and sometimes by sheer talent and intuitiveness. She is attending university to become a dietician so has plenty to teach her mom as well.

Today I am sharing with you my favourite pumpkin pie recipe. I don't recall where the recipe came from after a number of years, but I can attest to the fact that it adds a welcoming end to any holiday feast. For L'il Burnt Toast it just wouldn't be October without pumpkin pie somewhere along the road. You can find my recipe for Cinnamon Streusel-Nut Pumpkin Pie in a past post.

Let me share these other pumpkin recipes with you:

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Walnut Topping
Thanks for the Memories Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pots de Creme Three Ways Foodie with Family
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake My Cookbook Addiction
Pumpkin and Chocolate Layer Cake Baking Bites
Chocolate-Pumpkin Tart Martha

Fill the Cup for World Food Day with Garlic Potato Soup with Garlic Chips and Chives

World Food Day - October 16th

Those of you who know me know that I support the World Food Programme and the issue of world famine in many ways. One way to raise awareness is with bringing your attention to World Food Day which is one day set aside by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It has been celebrated each year on October 16 since 1945.

The theme for this years conference to raise awareness for world famine is:

Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis

As my way of raising awareness for the issue of hunger here in our own communities or worldwide I have created a recipe that can be served in a cup like the Red Cup representative of the School Meals Program. Serving food at school helps alleviate hunger among the world’s poorest children. If even one child is allowed to go to school it provides them with not only food but with an education and the tools which are key to a better future for themselves as well as their own communities. If one child is educated imagine what would happen to an entire village with children in school!!! The future starts with our children!!!

I encourage you to make your voice count by preparing a dish and raising awareness on your own blog. Your dish can be inexpensive, it can be something that represents your part of the world or simply prepare something you enjoy and would like to share. It can be a family favourite or a regional favourite that uses local and perhaps seasonal ingredients. Just serve it in a cup to represent feeding one child a healthy and nutritious lunch at school or enabling a girl to attend school rather than staying at home to help take care of her family.

Post your recipe on your blog with a link back to the World Food Day Day site and one/or all of Fill The Cup campaign or the School Meals Program.

Stay tuned on October 15th for my recipe for Garlic-Leek Soup with Garlic Chips and Chives that is not only an inexpensive dish to make but very versatile with ingredients that can be easily substituted.

The objectives of World Food Day are to heighten our awareness of the problem of hunger in the world and to bring to our attention to what we can do about it personally. It is a day to encourage us and our governments to be well informed on the issues and to have a plan of action!!! World Food Day brings to our attention the plight of 862 million undernourished people around the world ...even in our own backyards!! To find out more about what you can do in your area... visit their World Food Day site.

Our Social Network BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine supports the World Food Program and their School Meals Program and is raising funds right now with our cookbook project. (The BloggerAid Cookbook will be available soon after many months of a combined effort by our members). The WFP Fill The Cup Campaign aims to raise funds and awareness for their programs. The red cup is a symbol of hope, representing WFP’s approach to addressing child hunger. School meals often come in the form of porridge, served in a cup. WFP encourages people to “Fill the Cup” by making a donation or volunteering to help raise awareness.

It costs as little as 25 cents to provide a healthy meal to a child in school; $50 will feed a child for the entire year.

On a more personal level one way to help hunger in your community that has my full support is to help your local Food Bank. There are many families that need our help on a daily basis to bring nutritional food into their home. Our local Food Bank in our community of 107,000 people was established in 1983 to provide short-term support to local families and individuals in need of temporary assistance. Annually, they serve more than 30,000 people including nearly 10,000 children, distributing over $2 million in food.

Think about those in your own community this Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend.

A Recipe for Orchard Apple Salad... a taste of autumn

Orchard Apple Salad

I've been daydreaming about autumn again today, particularly about our local orchards and their fresh apple cider and delicious potato doughnuts sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon! With the magical smell of autumn in the air come other heavenly aromas of the season. Autumn trips to the apple orchard or cider mill are the type of thing that beautiful childhood memories are made of. I have been more than happy to pass these traditions down to my own daughter and someday my grandkids...hint...hint. My daughter follows my blog so that is for you kidlet! Some of these wonderful places have been around as long as the 1800s.

A Wander through San Francisco's Chinatown

San Francisco's Chinatown is the largest Chinese community on the West Coast, and the second largest in the United States next to New York City's. "This city within a city is a historic maze of mysterious sights, where an ancient culture from the other side of the world survives and flourishes with remarkable authenticity" It is one of the top tourist attractions in San Francisco which I had only a short time to wander through.

The reality of Chinatown is that there are two Chinatowns. One belongs to the locals, the other charms the tourists. They overlap and dance with each other, drawing more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Why the popularity? Because visitors expect something they won't find anywhere else. They expect to be stunned and enchanted and stuffed with great food. And you will. I can't wait to go back and explore on a deeper level and peel off the layers of what Chinatown is all about.

You don't need an itinerary to tackle Chinatown. Wandering aimlessly, weaving between locals and ducking into shops is enough of a plan. Main Street for tourists is Grant Avenue, which is more about cheap and kitschy plastic Buddhas than the long heritage of Chinatown. A word of advise if you are headed up to the North Beach area, Grant Street is a relatively flat route to the top without the use of the cable car system. It should definitely be seen, but moving on to the next block can be more rewarding.

Chinatown Gate is a gloriously decorated gate that marks the entry to Grant Avenue's Chinatown, the tourist's Chinatown. It was unveiled in 1970, and helped secure the street's status as the neighborhood's center. Once you're past the gate, you'll see elaborate 1920s streetlights sculpted to resemble golden dragons lighting the way. The sights and sounds of Chinatown are worth even a quick visit on your way to explore the rest of what San Francisco has to offer.

Beginning our Sojourn in San Francisco in North Beach's "Little Italy"

Visiting San Francisco isn't just about the famous sights like Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars. I found it to be a warm city full of engaging, friendly and welcoming people. I was in the city attending BlogHer Food which to the credit of all of the organizers was a very well run event with plenty of exciting activities, speakers and celebrity bloggers as well as Food Network stars amongst us. Please check out this article by Genie of The Inadvertent Gardener, who was the moderator of our session, about How to use your food (or non-food) blog to save the world .

I found myself in the city for several days before the conference so in true "foodie" fashion I had to get my fill of all that the city had to offer. I started off by exploring neighborhoods like North Beach. This can be a wonderful way to experience the city as the residents do. Seeking out some less well known sights in North Beach gave me the chance to relax, rub shoulders with residents and get a glimpse of the city as it really is.

North Beach's cafes, restaurants, and parks evoke a feeling of romantic Italy. Enjoy sipping a delicious coffee in a romantic outdoor cafe with a delicious pastry. Indulge in a huge pasta meal with perhaps a bit of wine... just a "smidge."

North Beach is that rare thing ...a neighborhood that manages to be a perennial hit with tourists like me, and also remains a beloved hangout for San Franciscans. It's best known as San Francisco's "Little Italy", with its high density of check clothed "ristorantes", "caffes" and Old World delicatessens. It's also a popular pilgrimage for fans of the Beat movement seeking the old haunts of Kerouac and Ginsberg. However, North Beach is no relic, and it has much to offer beyond pasta and poetry.

I went on a guided tour with Tom from Local Taste of the City Tours. As you taste everything from cappuccinos, chocolate truffles, sour dough and foccacia breads, cream filled pastries, macaroons the size of small tea plates, olive oils, specialty meats, arancini and more, your senses and your taste buds will come alive!!!!! I walked up the same steps to the church that Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe attended, I sat down in a cafe where Pavarotti, Bill Cosby and members of the Beat generation hung out. There was a little history thrown in along with more than our share of fabulous foods!!!!!It was a wonderful way to introduce myself to a new city...next stop was Chinatown!!!!

To get a taste of "Little Italy" try these recipes:

Taste.com.au - Suppli al telefono (bocconcini-filled risotto balls)About. com - Arancini di Riso