Sunday Brunch: Smoked Salmon Sandwich with Asparagus Tartar

    
Sunday. Thank goodness for days like this. The alarm clock stashed away for another day, the coffee set to start later than usual and the calendar is empty. Blank. I usually put an X across these days because they're meant for slowing down and catching up. I take a zen-like approach to the day and do things when I feel like doing them. Simple Sundays.

We have our routines on weekends. Simple routines. They stay constant by changing. Coffee and pastry made the day before and talks about life and dreams. Both kinds. And when the morning light opens up for the day, I head to the market and shop. Groceries, fresh herbs and produce. Sunday love.
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Homemade Pizza Two Ways

Childhood memories follow me wherever I go. It doesn't take much for something to trigger a flashback to quieter days, easier days. It could be as simple as a song that transports me back to a school dance or it could be something I ate that takes me back to the kitchen I grew up in. The memories come flooding back. I live in the present while my mind drifts back and forth.

I remember moments from my childhood like it was yesterday. Some things are more vivid than others but the ones that stand out play like a movie in my head. I can see the reel spinning and I sit and watch the story unfold, only I know what happens because I lived it.

Like most kids, there was always one night of the week that was reserved for takeout. My mom would pull out the restaurant flyers from a drawer and scatter them on the table and we'd take aim at them. It was usually pizza or Chinese or something else that was easy and inexpensive and in fashion.

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Lunch Box Memories: Jam Muffins

I used to get a muffin in my lunch box as a kid. It was part savoury recess treat and part dessert. To be honest, I think I was more interested in the cool lunch boxes than the food back then. I remember my mom and I would head out minutes prior to Labour Day to pick up school supplies and grab a fancy lunch box and backpack. The boxes back then came with lithographed images and had all your favourite comic book heroes on them. They also should have come with a warning that the image on your box may get your ass beaten at school.

I used to love getting to school and at the first lull in the day reaching for my lunch box and rummaging through it. Peanut butter and jam. Check. Juice box. Check. And a cupcake. Sweet. Oh wait, it was a muffin. I never knew the difference. I did know that if it was a muffin stuffed with jam or chocolate or other sweet goodies, I could break it in half and use one half as a midday snack and the other half for dessert in the cafeteria. Seriously, how cool is that? A cupcake is what you think it is. Nothing more. A one-trick pony.
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Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tartlet

If our moods are predicated on the weather, than today was a very good day. It's still winter and we're knee deep in February but somebody pulled back the curtain on spring and gave us a glimpse of what's to come. I love all that winter has to offer but after a day like today I remember how fond I am of new beginnings.

Just as I appreciate the changes that winter brings, from the routines we dig into and the foods available for a few months, spring gives us a chance to breathe in the lighter fare for a while. It brings renewed optimism, locally produced goods and recipes that are fresh and new again.

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Leek, Potato & Bacon Soup

It was early afternoon and the wind outside was cold and gaining momentum. I heard a loud noise that was quickly followed by another. Some of our chairs were toppled by the strength of the wind. The air was equally cold and quickly turned the remaining snow in our driveway into a hard patch of ice. It was a day meant for staying inside huddled by the fireplace. It was the perfect day for soup.

I told my wife that I was going downstairs to make a batch of soup to keep us warm. I opened up the kitchen curtains to shine some light in and quickly started peeling vegetables. Making soup takes time and can't be rushed. It's as much about the process for me as it is the food. Stripping and washing the vegetables and chopping in an almost rhythmic beat.
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