Garlic Shrimp Florentine with Tomatoes and Garlic Breadcrumbs for Feed The Hope

Garlic Shrimp Florentine with Tomatoes

and Garlic Breadcrumbs

Back in 1867 a newcomer to Canada from Vedano, Italy by the name of Carlo Onorato Catelli established Canada's first pasta plant on Saint-Paul Street in Old Montreal where he paved the way making macaroni and vermicelli by hand. Since then, the small operation has grown to include a full range of CATELLI® pasta shapes and varieties.

From now until June 16th the company is running their Help Catelli Feed the Hope campaign where you can enter their weekly contest and win $250 in groceries as well as $250 for your local food bank. You can also help Catelli set a record and be one of the 5,000 people to sign up and pledge to eat pasta on May 31st for Hunger Awareness Day. For every person that signs up Catelli will donate 1 serving of pasta for every family in need. If they reach 5,000 people they will donate 10,000 extra servings.

4 Days, 4 Airports, Time Spent at Eat, Write, Retreat...Priceless

“Do what you love…we all have something to offer…just be”

– Shauna aka Gluten Free Girl

Last Wednesday morning I packed my suitcases, threw them in the back of the car and headed to work like any day during the week. That day is a blur since my mind was on my anticipated trip to Washington DC. An apology to all our patients if I mislabeled your urine samples! A four hour drive to Vancouver, a 4 AM cab ride to the airport, 4 airports, 3 days on the East coast, and I am back home in the Okanagan Valley. My sleep depraved mind has been attempting to make sense of this overwhelming, once in a lifetime opportunity.

 More Than Burnt Toast has been silent for a week now as I wrap my brain around all that I have learned, sift through all the swag, photos, e-mails and detox from an action packed weekend. I apologize if you're one of the 1,000's of e-mails in my Hotmail account I just deleted. There are people to thank for the 3 days I spent at Eat, Write, Retreat. I took away so much valuable information, met many talented people, learned to say endive (ahn-deev), was a "new food trier" and came away richer and energized in more ways than one.It was a non-stop feeding and learning frenzy!!!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday...See You When I Return

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.

Chicken with Tonnato Mayonnaise and Fresh Spring Greens for an Alfresco Dinner

As seen on Honest Cooking

When I first started learning to cook in my home kitchen, one of the initial things I discovered was that the key to outstanding meals was using good quality ingredients. As time passed I realized that this meant either growing or purchasing the best local ingredients available which with today's trends has become easier and easier with a resurgence of farmers markets, specialty food shops and local producers.

 What has taken me years to understand is that recipes are merely guidelines and are open to any interpretation. I used to follow recipes to the letter and they always turned out well, but as the years progressed, and I have become confident in the kitchen, I am more open to experimentation and substitution. A good example would be this Layered Chef's Salad with Tuna Mayonnaise Dressing reminiscent of an Italian tonnato sauce that I discovered a lifetime ago from the Silver Palate series of cookbooks. Even as a teenager I collected recipes like hockey cards and had a burgeoning cookbook collection.

Spicy Paneer for Invite a Blogger to Your Table

Spicy Paneer

Forget the mystery of the Taj Mahal, the residence of the Dali Lama or the sacred waters of the Ganges River the true mystery for me is producing outstanding East Indian cooking and the intricate layering of spices. Most Indian dishes are easily constructed but complexly layered. The assortment of mouthwatering recipes of Indian food is simply awe inspiring and for a "newbie" like me rather daunting. It is often said that `variety is the spice of life, and never has a proverb held so true than it does to describe Indian cuisine

Nowadays I can at least spell asafetida and make paneer but finding most of the exotic ingredients used in Indian cooking is a fruitless safari here in K-town. Come to the rescue Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen who lives and blogs in Southern Ontario with a focus on East Indian cuisine. Lisa sent me a care package of some of her favourite spices and combinations to get me started. This gives me the confidence to skim, saute and sneeze my way through layers of spices, vegetables and meats and demystify East Indian cooking for life. I am looking forward to the day I no longer need to stop for East Indian takeout at one of our local hangouts and can move the cooking and recipe developing into my own kitchen. Thank you Lisa for getting me started and developing a life long passion for another cuisine.

Seattle Woodfire Oven Dinner

Photo by Lynn Craig, Cookie Baker Lynn

This post was taken down by Blogger due to technical issues, I am so glad that I can repost and bring you our adventures in Seattle...I apologize to anyone who has already commented or read this article previously.

In 2004/2005 Don Hogeland of Sortachef in Seattle built his woodfired oven, firing it up in Spring and ambitiously entertaining throughout the summer. Fast forward to 2011 and he has perfected the oven pizza as well as many other treats cooked by the same method. One day soon you may find Don teaching classes on how to build your own backyard woodfire oven! Selfishly I would love it if Don and his beautiful wife Cathy, The Salad Queen, would teach cooking classes in their home based on their woodfire oven. I would sign up! How often does a person get the opportunity to bake pizza in an outdoor wood oven? Nothing is more intimate, or more effective at creating friendships, than cooking and sharing meals together and a wood fire oven is a sure conversation starter.

Don and his wife Cathy are masters in the kitchen from making their own fennel and chicken sausage for a meat lovers pizza to a specially prepared Spelt pizza dough for a friend attending the dinner who has allergies to wheat. Visit his site for his infamous pizza recipes and many fascinating travel stories and recipes.

Twisted Caprese Salad with Sea Grass Oil from l'Anse aux Herbes

Twisted Caprese Salad with Sea Grass Oil

from l'Anse aux Herbes

In the province of Quebec there is an archipelago The Magdalen Islands where shipwrecked and Acadian ancestors have lived for 300 years. They are magical islands lined by blood-red cliffs and pristine beaches.

A kingdom of wild scents and flavours, the Magdalen Islands make their l’Anse aux Herbes products uniquely organic and original. Everyday, the inhabitants breathe in fresh, salty sea air which infuses every one of their scented oils and savoury herbs grown on the island. L'Anse aux Herbes is located in the enchanting site of Belle Anse, renowned for its beautiful sunsets over the sea and cliffs. In the warmth of the summer heat their herb gardens and medicinal plants grow all around their beautiful 12-acre site. They offer a range of culinary and health products from flavoured olive oils such as "Shallots and Herbs", "Sea Parsley" and "Tomato" and organic canola oil infused with Magdalen Island lobster. They also offer seasonings such as "Surf and Turf" and "Cajun," basil mustard, comfrey and chamomile balms, herbal teas and massage oils.

Celebrate Mom with Maple Pavlova Topped with Ice Wine Whipped Cream and Raspberries

To all the Mothers and all the special women in your life I wish you all a Happy Mothers Day!!!!! Today is the day when we thank you all and recognize how you have shaped our lives and the person we have become. It is not just a Hallmark holiday but a time to rejoice in all that we hold dear and truly celebrate how important and significant you really are in our lives.

 I just finished speaking with my own mom who lives on the other side of the country with the rest of my family. It always leaves a warm and fuzzy glow whenever I talk to her. I think that Mary over at One Perfect Bite sums it up best when she says, " I have, all my life, had the good fortune to find myself in the company of warm and generous women. Today, my thoughts embrace them all in a haze that glows more golden as it's burnished by time."

Follow the British Columbia Food Trail with Creamy Morel Mushrooms on Grilled Ciabatta Bread

Creamy Mushrooms on Grilled Ciabatta Bread

As seen on Honest Cooking.

When sick, or tired, or far from home, everyone seems to yearn for the gastronomic equivalent of a warm sweater, a kiss on the forehead, or a favourite blanket. Comfort foods nourish the soul as well as our bodies and tend to be familiar foods that remind us of simpler times or of a contented childhood. Comfort food is generally associated with the onset of cooler weather but what comforts you when a Spring day turns wet, gray and cold and the weather feels anything but Spring-like? The best medicine is undeniably some delicious comfort food. Just like the pending season your senses can be awakened with anything from a creamy soup of garden fresh peas, an asparagus-heavy risotto or a pudding dotted with rhubarb.

Spring is a season where comfort foods reign. It is not uncommon even in Spring for my home to be filled with warm, fragrant and earthy aromas of a slow cooked roast or bubbling crock pot, but, there is absolutely NOTHING on the planet as comforting to me as a delicious, homemade macaroni and cheese. There's something very satisfying about making this classic yourself from start to finish. I serve my favourite Beechers Macaroni and Cheese with another favourite comfort food to reach culinary nirvana , a soul-satisfying creamy mushroom topped ciabatta . I make no apologies whatsoever for either dish with their cheese, butter and carbs.

A Berry-licious Menu with a Salad of Mesclun with Berries and Sweet Spiced Almonds

Mesclun with Berries and Sweet Spiced Almonds

We are so glad you have decided to join us once again for our Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This is a monthly event where 5 ladies and one gent in two neighbouring countries, Canada and the United States, get together to create a delicious meal with a theme in mind. We are now in our second year and continue to share a love for Cooking Light magazine which has an emphasis on healthy eating and living. This is a team effort where we combine what Cooking Light readers like best...good food with great company!!! Every month millions of readers turn to Cooking Light for recipes, advice on nutrition and fitness. This months theme "A Berry-Licious Season" was chosen by Roz of La Bella Vita.

Lets see what we have cooked up for you with this months theme. If you would care to join in either link your post using berries or add your link to the Linky tool below.

Walnut Pancakes with Maple-Glazed Apples to Celebrate Spring

Walnut Pancakes with Maple-Glazed Apples

There are two things that I miss about living in Southern Ontario...the kaleidoscope of autumn leaves on a Sunday drive or gentle hike through the countryside... and secondly the run of maple syrup in early Spring. I seem to migrate back to Ontario every 5 years to visit my family so as an ode to Ontario with its rolling hills, multitude of lakes, world class cities and multicultural diversity I decided to relish in the rebirth of Spring and have pancakes for breakfast with roasted walnuts, maple syrup infused apples and drizzled with even more delicious warm maple syrup. Spring is an off and on again type of season just like this recipe that I made for breakfast weeks ago

Fluffy, nutty, and perfumed with allspice, these pancakes are topped with thinly sliced apples cooked lightly in Ontario maple syrup. Serve these beauties with warm syrup to drizzle on the side. I found the recipe in a friends copy of Stonewall Kitchen. What a delicious way to celebrate the beginning of a new season as well as use up the rest of the buttermilk. The recipe makes 8 delicious, nutty pancakes but if you are expecting company it is easily doubled or even tripled. I made this recipe and used up the last of the buttermilk and the last of the maple syrup.