All posts filed under: Gourmet Cooking & Recipes

healthy cooking to healthy choices to healthy you

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Funny, how in the 50’s and 60’s all the way to about early 2013-2014, it was all about canned goods, frozen packaged foods, and boxed goodies here in the U.S. (I can’t really speak for the rest of the world). Although disappointingly, I found the same sort of push in most of Europe, tapping heavy into working couples who have no time to make anything from scratch. Now we have nothing but information, about what to eat and what to avoid. Sometimes too much information confusing us into making bad choices, or even the choices once reported as good choices, we learn on Facebook and Twitter to being suddenly bad choices. (Are you confused? Good, that’s the point. Anyway, we can’t be sure of anything. But my motto is-if you are not sure, go the moderation route. If you are somewhat sure, then click on each photo to learn about the best choices. {Click here to get there – Heidi Swanson} From Amazon:  San Francisco-based photographer and cookbook author Heidi Swanson is the creator of …

recipe: grilled avocado and caprese

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Why is it on Monday’s I ‘m thinking about food? Anyway, over the weekend I found this recipe online and surprised my hubby with it. It’s funny I hardly followed the step by step. I simply looked at the photograph and knew exactly how to recreate. I also poached eggs and dropped it on top. It was delicious.  So, either way you try it, this is a fun and simple meal for a Friday night wind down with a bottle of your favorite cab. {photo and recipe credit click here}

healthy recipe: appetizer or a snack spinach and goat cheese pastry

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There are days I don’t want to eat dinner. I simply want to snack on cheese, crackers, olives and a glass of wine. Of course with a classic film playing on the tube. As always while I search for ideas to try something new, I stumble upon recipes which I feel the need to share. A prime example of the one below – click the photo to get to the recipe. {source}

restaurant challenge: san francisco, los angeles and new york

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Who doesn’t love a good restaurant, a new place to eat, some different style of cooking to experience, especially if you happen to be from out-of-town, travelling through San Francisco (my hometown), Los Angeles (my playground), New York (my inspiration). With that said, click on each photo to be redirected to some of the local best kitchens/restaurants/cafes/eateries and let me know what you think? Have you tried any of the places? {Please note I absolutely take no credit for photo or list of restaurant. To find out who deserves the credits, please click here}

recipe: fun grilled cheese sandwich

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My weakness indeed. I can eat cheese every day, twice even, but I know my limitations and opt to eat healthy mostly and cheesy foods maybe once a week. I loved this grilled cheese sandwich and since I make a variation of it at home, I wanted to share it with all of you. My variation is freshly sliced tomatoes and just ripe avocado, and if the tomatoes are old, I stew them and spread that across the sandwich. Delicious doesn’t even express how good this sandwich is – in moderation of course. 😉 – choice of bread is left up to you. I use toasted Italian or French sliced bread. For The real recipe please click here and under no circumstances do I take credit for the photo – it came from here. I am just luring you with it.

healthy recipe: sweet potato lovers

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I love sweet potato and always incorporated it with my meals. So, naturally I look for variations in recipe for this starchy treat. I found one here and of course I had to share it. Big Comfy Sweet Potatoes Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 medium-large sweet potatoes (organic, if possible) 1 ½ cups black beans (equivalent to 1 can) 1 ripe avocado Optional toppings: cilantro green onion sprouts lime wedges crumbled goat’s cheese crushed chili flakes Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Prick sweet potatoes a few times with a fork. Place on a baking sheet in the oven and roast for 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the potato. You will know it’s done when a knife can easily pierce the skin and the center is soft. 2. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and slice each one down the center, almost through to the bottom. Open up to reveal its orange flesh. 3. Stuff the sweet potato with black beans and top it with avocado, and any other herbs, sprouts or veggies you like. …

eating healhty for breakfast or not

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  Every morning with the except of Sundays I eat healthy. Oatmeal and a cup of black coffee. On Sundays however, I take great pleasure in making breakfast. Whether it’s pancakes, eggs and bacon or an egg sandwich or a frittata. I use healthy ingredients of course but also don’t mind if there are a few fatty ingredients either. This past Sunday I made pancakes with the recipe I found here the week before. I was excited and although I often do make pancakes with buckwheat instead of regular flour, I appreciated the recipe; adding of course a few of my favorite ingredients  instead. The Original Recipe 1 cup buckwheat flour 1 tbsp baking powder pinch of salt *** I never use salt in my cooking 1 cup milk *** I used almond milk instead 2 tbsp melted butter 2 tbsp maple syrup *** I used agave syrup instead 1/2 cup green onions, shredded blue cheese, cut in small pieces *** I used caseco Mexican cheese, not a fond of blue cheese bacon, fried olive …

edinburgh scotland – day one

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It mattered not the weather is cold for a San Franciscan, we bundled up and left the hotel a little after ten in the morning to do, as usual, a walking tour – not really with any particular place in mind. It was enlightening, beautiful and I returned to my hotel finally after eight at night, understanding the ties between Montreal, Canada and Scotland.  Edinburgh and Montreal are for sure sister cities, very identical in so many ways. Oh and the food in Edinburgh, has to be the best I’ve had in Europe. Sorry Italy and France.