Warmth Amidst Iced Peaks

One of the best parts of a ski trip, don’t you think, is snuggling before a glowing fire as the snow and ice swirl among the mountains outside? Such is a pleasure unique to winter, and which Switzerland supplies in magical abundance. A perfect expression of this alpine coziness is a cookie bar enjoyed especially…

Dishwasher’s Holiday

Whether that dishwasher is a person, or an appliance, little matter. Making a complete dinner that cooks up in one tray is sure to save on dirty dishes now and on work later. That’s the beauty of Chicken Traybake, a concoction in which, as the name suggests, poultry, a side, and a sauce for both…

Dear Santa…

We made you a plateful of Berry Crumb Bars and we left them beneath the tree, as you can see above. We got the idea from AllRecipes magazine, which had the preparation in its October/November 2019 issue. You’ll be so proud, as it took fewer than ten ingredients to prepare these for your enjoyment. That’ll…

Gold, Delicious

The sun still dapples the land, warming the charmed air and keeping the frosts at bay; for the moment at least. In time, it will be away on holiday too. Until its irresistible return next year, that is. For now, though, it still smiles benevolently upon harvesting the wonders it spent all summer encouraging. Here…

Just Peachy, and You?

Is it possible even to be in anything other than a great mood when peaches are enjoying their moment? Bursting forth from every basket, table and shelf, from every roadside stand and farmers’ market, the globes are filled with fifteen times their weight (or thereabouts) of juicy, sweet, tangy, summery nectar. Seems to be the…

Make Some Noise, East Coast

Despite Canadians earning something of a reputation for being quiet, one of their more prominent desserts is anything but.  In fact, one of the sweeter specialties of the eastern (Maritime) provinces is something with the rather peculiar name of Blueberry Grunt, so-called due to the noise blueberries make as they cook down and partially reduce…

Ojibwa Spring

At last, life returns to the North Woods.  Throughout northern Minnesota people gather surging maple syrup and the first carrots coaxed from the thawed soil, and combine them with the last of the supplies laid in for the winter, including wild rice, collected locally in the fall, and dried fruit.  Taken together, all this makes…

aka Muffin, aka Doughnut…

The suspect is a master of disguise, mixing undetected among both muffins and doughnuts.  It bakes like a muffin, and even takes on its form, yet it’s robed in the cinnamon-sugar livery associated with doughnuts.  Opening one reveals the dense essence of a doughnut too, down to the traces of nutmeg. Cook’s Country dreamed up…

All Kinds of Fixins’

Right here we have a whole heap of buttermilk biscuits, fluffy, buttery and still steaming from the oven.  They’re savory just by themselves, but all sorts of toppings, fillings and other accompaniments wait  to take these to the next level, where they’ll satisfy not just the stomach, but also stir the soul, creating future nostalgia,…

Or So Vienna Says

From what the Austrian Tourism Board reports on its website, Apple Strudel is a Viennese specialty, and the recipe it offers there recreates a pastry that has become symbolic of the country.  Maybe, maybe not, but the country’s German cousins might have a competing claim or two of their own. No matter the dessert’s true…