Dinner Party!

There’s nothing quite as satisfying or stressful as hosting a group of friends for dinner.

About a month ago, my friend Sean and I had six friends over for a low-key dinner party, and it was wonderful! I love planning meals – trying to create a seasonally appropriate theme for the dishes. We decided on classic comfort foods,a s the weather was starting to turn. Comfort foods are just the best, because you know the recipes are going to be great so you can play around a little bit.

Homemade sweet chilli sauce + oven-baked drumsticks

Happy August, everybody! I’ve really been enjoying my time off, and I hope y’all are making the most of what’s left of summer too. Let’s jump right into this, so we can all spend less time reading and more time outside (and eating).

Tandoori-inspired vegetarian quinoa

So I’ve only got one week left of my cleanse, and I think I’ve become pretty damn good at it.

This is only going to be a short post, but it’s a delicious one! My friend Carl made me this dish for dinner the other night and I was hooked. It’s rich, savoury, spicy, sweet, and all around easy to boot. It’s a vegetarian one-pot wonder full of veggies and protein – flavoured with Indian garam masala.

Spring Linguine with Ramps, Sheep’s Cheese, and Hazelnut Pesto

Farmer’s markets are the best place to be this time of year. They just buzz with happy people and cool local products from fresh garlic to peach sriracha jam.

Last weekend I got my first chance to go to the Ottawa Farmer’s Market at Lansdowne Park in the Glebe. It was phenomenal! I was accompanied by the ever-creative chef, Leona, who suggested a spring pasta centred on ramps: small, wild leeks with a mild onion flavour.