Tomato Veggie Soup with Parmesan

Tomatoes are a member of the nightshade family. Cooking them will reduce their vitamin C content but it also increase their trans-lycopene content. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant thought to protect cells from damage. It can be found in all red coloured fruits and vegetables but is very high in tomatoes. The cooking process changes […]

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Oatcakes with Rosemary and Spruce Honey

Oatcakes, where to begin? Crackers, cookies or scones? Sweet or plain? Crisp or soft? Wheat in or gluten free? Baking soda or powder? Hot water or buttermilk? Rolled or steel-cut oats? The choices go on and on and on. What makes that so lovely is that playing with options will get you through the entire […]

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Almond Baked Turkey Scotch Eggs

One story suggests that Scotch eggs have been around since Fortnum & Mason, a London department store, invented them in 1738. The Scotch part may have originally come from “scotched” rather than Scotland meaning “with anchovies” in the way that “a la mode” now means “with ice cream” and “Veronique” implies there are fresh grapes […]

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Fresh Corn and Red Pepper Cakes

If anyone is waiting on this weekend (2016) to celebrate Mabon together with the full moon, here is a quick fresh corn pancake recipe that can be made larger for meals or smaller, as I have done here for sharing with friends. This full moon is also known as Harvest Moon. Farmers could work well into […]

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Zucchini Bean Chocolate Cake (Yes! you read it right)

Many gluten free cakes benefit from being chocolate as the extra flavouring helps to cover the taste of the substitute flours. This cake does not even pretend. It goes the alternate ingredient route with beans that add moisture, substance and disappear into the batter just like the zucchini does. I added a cube of my frozen blackberry […]

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No Flour Chocolate Cake

I could tell lovely stories of dark chocolate cake uses for symbolizing lightless Winter Solstice nights but really, if you like chocolate cake, you are good to go any time of the year and since this one has half a dozen eggs in it, it would be more than a bit of a stretch to suggest this harkens […]

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Oat Pumpkin Pancakes with Bacon & Pecans ( Gluten free )

It was not a dark and stormy night. The clock said it was eight in the morning but you would never know it by looking out the window this morning. Time for pancakes! I had an open container of pumpkin puree in the fridge, this is October and Thanksgiving weekend to boot, so why not […]

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Cornbread for Mabon – Part Three

Vibrant fall colours, like the oranges, reds and purples we see in autumn leaves and Michaelmas daisies are wonderfully appropriate additions to a Mabon table. Golden hued apricots, the intense reds of cranberries and the earthy shades of purple grapes all reflect the tones of fall. There are many ways to bring these colours to […]

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Cornbread for Mabon – Part Two

In the Hopi legends of the beginning of this world, the story is told of the tribes that had been cared for under the ground while the Earth was healed. When they emerged and gathered together in one place, each was asked to choose the seeds of a grain. The choices made determined where in […]

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Cornbread for Mabon – Part One

“…By and by the harvest and the labour ended, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves…” If you have a Protestant connection somewhere in your past you will likely find these words familiar. They come from a hymn by Knowles Shaw. Mabon, named for the son/sun of Modron, Welsh goddess of Motherhood is the […]

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