The basis for any good soup is a good stock and that’s especially important for getting the most flavour. When I make a stock, I buy the carcasses (three) from a chicken (you can use one whole chicken) or the leftover carcass of a roasted turkey and place them in a pot with a carrot, [...]

This recipe combines some of my favourite flavours: earthy mushrooms and nutty, smoky wild rice which really isn’t a rice! Wild rice is the seed of an aquatic rice that’s been consumed by Native Indians. Here in Canada, wild rice is grown in shallow lakes in rivers in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and north-western [...]

Although we’ve had a pretty mild winter by Canadian standards, we do still get the abrupt reminder that we (Canadians) live in the Great White North (Canada) and that yes, winters here are a long and cold. Last week we had temperatures that only warmed up to -8 Celcius in the day time and dipped [...]

Recipe update from October 2007: I love this soup kitchen classic and I make it at least once a year during soup season. It’s winter and we have soup season! I don’t tinker much with this Rocco DiSpirito recipe other than to use what leafy greens are available in the market. It could be escarole, [...]

This soup can be a base for many other cold weather or winter soups. I used this base to make a cream of asparagus soup and it can be adapted to many other “creamy” soups. Of note is that I’ve greatly reduced the use of cream to make the soup…well, creamy. I like using grated [...]

One of the most wonderful dishes one can have in the Greek repertoire of recipes is a fish or seafood soup. There’s Kakavia which is usually tomato based and contains whatever fish and seafood is in season or caught on that day. The best Kakavias contain the Scorpion fish. The other soups are called Psarosoupes [...]

Another Thanksgiving in Canada has passed and all that are left are some serving platters to put away and some leftover turkey. I try and choose a turkey that will be just a little more than what we need, ensuring we don’t have to eat turkey for a week! The first course that I served [...]

Recipe update: This recipe was originally posted in October 2008. Earlier that year when in Greece I had visited the island of Sifnos, on the southwest part of the Cyclades islands. Like in my other updated posts, I’ve given you better photos to tempt you to try the recipe. I’ve also tweaked this recipe by [...]

There are many reasons to try this soup out: Canadians got a head start on the long weekend with Canada Day on July 1st, the Americans are gearing up for a red, white and blue July 4th tomorrow, the heat is on with humidity also in the forecast and we’re all looking for ways to [...]

This soup has come a long way since I was inspired years ago by a delicious spiced cabbage soup I enjoyed at a soup and sandwich stand. I’ve been tinkering with ingredients, amounts and I’m finally content with the flavour, aroma and colour of this soup. I was never satisfied with the outcome of this [...]