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My new cookbook is here!

October 16, 2012

  It is finally here. The second edition of my À la bonne franquette book has landed at last, updated and expanded to 120, count’em, 120 Québec chefs in all!     Regular readers of this blog may remember that, in 2010, I published the first À la bonne franquette with the help of 80 [...]

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Monsieur Basilic: Of basil and pink oyster mushrooms

March 3, 2012

    “Would I be interested, as a food blogger, to be matched to one of 2012′s trendiest organic products from Québec?” The invitation came from Expo Manger santé et vivre vert, the annual healthy living tradeshow whose 15th Edition will be held in Montreal from March 16 to 18. Given that I have my [...]

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Agrotourisme: Pancake festival in Old St-Eustache

September 18, 2011

  In theory, I love the idea of food fairs. In practice, I get annoyed at the process: parking can be a headache, popular booths have huge line-ups, crowds seem to move in pack, and you need need to take out your money (or your little ticket) every time you want to taste something even [...]

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From the streets to the stars: hamburger & haute cuisine

September 15, 2011

  Having your own blog can be a privilege, albeit one you give yourself. Sometimes life gives back and offers you the added privilege of using your blog to showcase a good cause. Which so much justifies those late nights in front of the computer when you wish you could just snuggle up to your [...]

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My best addresses: Le Crépuscule Farm (organic!)

March 31, 2011

Last weekend, our family finally watched Food Inc. I knew the movie would get to me, since I was a vegetarian for 7 years before I fell in love with a dedicated meat-lover. Still I did not expect Monsieur to react with such horror, since as an African he has witnessed many unspeakable doings on [...]

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Bourassa: The height of chalet grocery

January 16, 2011

It’s the must-stop for every Laurentian chalet-goer. S. Bourassa in Les Factoreries Vallée Saint-Sauveur offers a grocery experience so unique that our family, even without the prerequisite chalet, still drives up north for a bit of shopping. Why you say? Imagine a grocery with steel shelves, Costco-style, groaning under a dizzying array of products both [...]

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You say apple, I say ice cider

October 18, 2010

Agrotourism: Vergers Lacroix Leaves have started falling and so have apples. Both “Week-ends de Rougemont” in Montérégie and “Pommes en fête” apple festival in the Laurentians wound down last weekend, although it is still possible to visit, pick or simply buy homemade apple products on site. I went apple picking on both Montreal’s South and [...]

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Do you have the soul of a locavore?

October 10, 2010

Agrotourism: The Oka Abbey Store So you are planning a last ditch foray to the countryside for a bit of apple-a-pickin’ with family or friends? Why stop there when so many fine shops punctuate the roadside, welcoming you with a veritable bounty of homemade delicacies for the locavore in you. Case in point: The Oka [...]

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On being a cookbook ghost writer

October 4, 2010

Fall 2009 — Here I was, at Ô Chalet Restaurant near Montreal’s CBC tower, celebrating with a good friend and colleague the launch of 100 recettes, 100 vedettes Centraide, my third collective cookbook as a ghost writer. From Cercles de Fermières’ Qu’est-ce qu’on mange ? cookbook to TV show Des kiwis et des hommes’ culinary [...]

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Once upon a squash. Or 2. Or 10.

September 27, 2010

Agrotourism: Madame La Courge When fall comes to Montreal, apple lovers and friends can usually be found stuck in traffic as they escape to the Rougemont or Laurentians orchards for a basketful of fresh air and an orgy of apple nibbling, picking and tractor a-ridin’. Since Junior’s daycare had already planned such an outing, our [...]