by Helen Kain | Nov 5, 2023 | Cakes, Desserts, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Home, Recent, Summer Recipes
Orange and chocolate is a time-honoured combination for a reason—it’s delicious. This combination involves a rich dark chocolate brownie bowl filled with creamy orange mousse. The brownies are made with extra dark cocoa and baked in a special-purpose pan from...
by Helen Kain | Nov 5, 2023 | Black, Brown, Fall Tablescapes, Green, Home, Orange, Recent, Thanksgiving
Here is one turkey looking forward to Thanksgiving—Fitz and Floyd’s Omnibus Turkey Tureen is taking centre stage. He joins Woodland Wild Turkey dinner plates by Johnson Brothers and Wildwood Leaves salad plates from Pier 1. We have lots of wild turkeys in the...
by Helen Kain | Oct 26, 2023 | Antiques, Fall Tablescapes, Green, Home, Orange, Recent
Vibrant orange parrot tulips showcase the rich colours of Ashworth Ironstone. What could be more cheerful? The Ashworth Ironstone pattern has many jewel-toned accent colours, so choosing which one to highlight is hard. With a bunch of shockingly orange parrot tulips...
by Helen Kain | Oct 24, 2023 | Breakfast, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Home, Recent
Pumpkin lovers, rejoice. These crispy Belgian-style waffles are redolent with fall aromas and flavours. You can embellish them with butter, whipped cream, maple syrup, crystallized ginger or your favourite fruit compote. Apple Chutney is another great choice! Pumpkin...
by Helen Kain | Oct 24, 2023 | Fall Recipes, Holiday, Home, Lamb, Mains, Recent
Spiced Pumpkin and Lamb Tagine is a seasonal twist on a traditional Moroccan dish of braised meat and spices. It’s typically served over a bed of couscous or rice, perfect for sopping up every last delicious drop of the sauce. This recipe calls for roasting two...
by Helen Kain | Oct 22, 2023 | Bread & Scones, Breakfast, Holiday, Recent
Yorkshire Tea Cakes are a relative of the Sally Lunn. Their shiny golden-brown top has a soft, brioche-like interior, often studded with currants. They’re more a fruit bun than a cake. British tea shops describe them as a “toasted tea cake” as that’s how...
by Helen Kain | Oct 17, 2023 | Breakfast, Desserts, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Recent
Nothing spells cosy-comfort like a pumpkin scone. They’re a marvellous start to the day or a wonderfully indulgent mid-afternoon pick me up. And because they contain pumpkin (a vegetable!) they even pass muster as a healthy snack! Scones are easy to make—no...
by Helen Kain | Oct 13, 2023 | Black, Grey and Pewter, Halloween, Orange, Organization, Recent, Storage
Back in the Stone Age, when I was a child, we waited with delicious anticipation for the annual screening of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, on TV. Hard as it is to fathom today, it was shown once; if you wanted to watch it, you had to show up in front of...
by Helen Kain | Oct 13, 2023 | Cakes, Fall Recipes, Halloween, Holiday, Recent
Chocolate cupcakes are frosted with luscious chocolate French buttercream. The wings are made with sinfully delicious dark chocolate wafer cookies. Add the candy eyes and drop the cupcakes into spidery cupcake holders, and you’ve got deliciously fun Halloween...
by Helen Kain | Sep 29, 2023 | Brown, Fall Tablescapes, Orange, Thanksgiving
The week leading up to our early Canadian Thanksgiving celebration incorporated the usual preparations. I always wonder why I’m tired the day after the dinner. (Hmmmm—why might that be?) Monday: track down fresh turkey. Learn that none are to be had locally, and...
by Helen Kain | Sep 22, 2023 | Fall Recipes, Holiday, Recent, Soup
Banish those bad memories of bitter, boiled parsnips and indulge in this delicately spiced soup. The apples and potatoes add a touch of sweetness to the silky-smooth soup. The diced apple and chive garnish provide a touch of crunch. It will rapidly become a favourite....
by Helen Kain | Sep 22, 2023 | Fall Tablescapes, Grey and Pewter, Recent, Terracotta, Thanksgiving
What a gorgeous September we are having. Mellow sunny days followed by crisply cool nights—perfect for sleeping with open windows. And perfect for whetting the appetite! It seems that our long-time favourite apple orchard, Myers, did not survive Covid, much to my...
by Helen Kain | Sep 22, 2023 | Bread & Scones, Breakfast, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Recent
Lightly roasting the apples is key to the flavour of this delicious bread, as it removes excess moisture and concentrates the sugars in the apples. Thus, the loaf is evenly studded with succulent fruit and shows no unsightly gaps. It’s not overly sweet or...
by Helen Kain | Sep 16, 2023 | Fall Tablescapes, Green, Pink and Red, Recent
Thank goodness for Limelight Hydrangeas, whose chameleon-like nature provides bounty and beauty throughout the summer and into the autumn. In their early-season incarnation, their delicate lime-green cones add tonal contrast to the creamy white of their sister...
by Helen Kain | Sep 13, 2023 | Desserts, Fall Recipes, Holiday, Recipes By Type, Summer Recipes
Our local farmer’s market has a good selection of early plums, and I snagged some Early Goldens and Damsons, both of which are quite small by plum standards. Their stones are easily removed, and they’re also quite tart—perfect for baking. I combined them...