congratulations Heather R. You were the winner!! #19 as selected by Random.org Thanks everyone for your great comments – I think we will need to look into seasonal cooking again. A Little Bit of Foodsense loves cookbook giveaways!  And we are very excited to have another one for you. Thanks to our friends at Ten Thousand Villages  in Ottawa, you have a chance to win: Simply in Season First, I have to say I am a huge fan of Ten[...]

  Today’s guest post is brought to us by Sasha, who is also posting this along with a lot more great information on her Losing it Ottawa blog post.  I have been trying to get more vegetables onto my plate, and have been eating this daily for weeks now. The recipe was inspired by one for sautéed cherry tomatoes that I got from Brie, but it has evolved to the point where the cherry tomatoes are optional. What I love[...]

At the end of a grocery week, I always have random, slightly sad-looking fruits lying about in my crisper. This week it was two apples. Sad-looking apples aren’t great on their own and don’t really belong in my yogurt either. But perhaps they would go well with pancakes? Experiment time!  Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1½ tsp real vanilla extract 1½ cup homogenized milk 2[...]

This is a great cake recipe and was a crowd favorite when we were kids.  Not too sweet and perfect for an afternoon play date or coffee date.   Blend: 1 cup of oil 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups of sugar 1 cup of sour cream 1 tbsp vanilla Sift together: 2 cups of all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup chocolate chips Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture until blended.  Add chocolate chips[...]

This is a great family recipe.  We don’t love ginger, so I didn’t include it and didn’t have any green onion on hand and it turned out great. As a bonus, my 2 year old enjoyed munching on orange slices while dinner was cooking. Ingredients:   4 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves (8 to 9 oz. each) 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups of flour Salt and pepper to taste 2-3 tbsp. Olive oil 1 cup Orange Juice 1/2 tsp fresh ginger[...]

I love simple desserts that I can pop in the oven while we sit to eat and enjoy a warm treat when we are done.  Even better are desserts like these that can be prepared when company is over. Directions: In mini ramkins or oven safe bowls, fill with blueberries 2/3 of the way. Coat blueberries with a teaspoon of flour. Combine 1/4 oatmeal and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  Add in blueberry bowl. Top with small drops of butter[...]

This is the first risotto that I ever made, and probably my favourite.  I learned how to make it while visiting friends in Australia, then trying to write down all the steps when I got home.  I am sure that I have missed some things from the original recipe, but this is a favourite.  It’s one of my go-to vegetarian options for large family meals.  It was the veggie entree at my family Christmas dinner, but was well received by[...]

Sometimes easy and simple make the most delicious of meals.  This can be an appetizer or light supper. Ingredients (makes 6 pieces): Scampi tails Fresh Italian bread, sliced 1 tomato, diced 1 cup spinach, chopped 2 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 1 clove of garlic, crushed salt/pepper Directions: 1-Combine garlic and olive oil. Set aside. 2-Place bread slices on baking pan. Brush with garlic/olive oil.  Bake until almost crispy, flip sides and continue baking the other side until[...]