It was a slow start to spring in our little corner of the world.  As the last of the rhubarb patch goes to seed, I thought I’d take one more bite with these tasty Rhubarb Muffins. This is the meeting of sweet and tart, finished with a sprinkle of nutmeg sugar and golden brown they’re...

Dad is a meat n’ potatoes kind of guy.  On Father’s Day years ago Mom created a burger with all of Dad’s favorite proteins which quickly became legend, even appearing on the menu of  his  local watering hole. “The Ollie Burger” – an all-meat tribute to my father, Ollie Horton. The Ollie Burger: Heavy on...

The Ottawa Bagelshop & Deli, home to wood-fired bagels in the Montreal-style, is our favorite Westboro stop for great deli and a bag of bagels, fresh from the oven. It is impossible for us to walk out of the Bagelshop without spending $80, trust me, we’ve tried.  Between Chef B’s (Benoit Gelinotte) cheese and charcuterie indulgences,...

Wino Wednesday, a monthly feature on Food Gypsy highlighting our favorite bottle from the past month of wine swilling.   If you love pinot like I love pinot – you’re going to love Hitching Post, Cork Dancer 2009. Bottled in Santa Barbara County by Hartley-Ostini, Hitching Post’s pinot noirs are legendary for their quality and...

In celebration of my current manifestation, I mark another year on this blue planet.  It’s been a delicious life filled with tastes and textures, joy and happiness, but not without turmoil, my fair share of tragedy, and tears. Without the sour notes how would we know the sweet ones?  Without the acuity of lemon how...

Boiled Peanuts, Fried Pickles  Biscuits & Gravy, Fried Yardbird and Chess Pie, soul food and casual style at Ottawa’s Union 613. Lunch with my gal Mary, delicious food, scandalous gossip.  I am greatly blessed to have gal pals who indulge me with patience as I shoot their food and often (by proxy) their cleavage.  I like to think of it...

This week we had the same vegetarian meal, twice in a row – by request rather than coercion.  We call that a hit and thus Coco’s Curried Naan-za became a new menu item in our house. At home, I am ‘Coco’, loving partner to the chef in my life, step-mom to an inquisitive, adorable four-year old.  Veggie meals are viewed with some suspicion around our...

Simple sides make weekday meals so much easier.  This is one of our favourites  just toss with olive oil, garlic and curry powder, and bang it in the oven and 20 minutes later; Curry Roasted Cauliflower. Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that works so many ways.  You can stream, puree, roast, grill, saute, soup or stew cauliflower and...

Lentils are a solid source of clean, plant based protein.  This curry you can eat hot, as a stew or cold, blended as a zippy dip.  This recipe is simple, fast, low fat and entirely plant based. We’re big fans of the lentil in our house.  On days when we’re too busy to cook we often pick up our favorite...

On this Wino Wednesday we tell a tale of vines in the new world and Canada’s newest breakout wine region, Prince Edward County.  As the winter droned on into what should have been the beginnings of spring, we loaded up for an off-season wine-tainted tour. A two hour drive from both Toronto and Montreal and three and...

Summer salad season, time for homemade mayo and Caesar salad,  avoid upset tummies with a little food safety know how and a bit of kitchen expertise.  Tip 1: how to coddle an egg. As a brief follow up to our Grilled Cesar Salad post, we thought this was a topic that deserved it’s own place on Food Gypsy as a...

The skies are blue and the snow is gone, it’s time to start up the grill and get cookin’!  Let’s start the season off right with a household favorite, a Grilled Caesar Salad. A little twist on the original Caesar, we lighten it up a bit for the summer months with a looser vinaigrette base.  Sometimes we grill thinly...