Kitchen & Garden

Classic Croque-Monsieur Sandwich (a next-level ham and cheese melt)

August 27, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 2 Comments

The classic croque-monsieur is an elevated ham and cheese melt. Think melted gruyère cheese, thick slices of ham, crusty sourdough bread, a hint of dijon mustard, and all of it smothered with a velvety white béchamel sauce. Scrumptious!

I didn’t grow up eating croque-monsieurs. I grew up eating plain old grilled cheese sandwiches with a dollop of Heinz ketchup and tomato soup. I’m not knocking grilled cheese either; I adore grilled cheese sandwiches!

The croque-monsieur is something else though. The first time I had a croque-monsieur, a timeless French sandwich, I was in my second year of university. One of my best friends invited me to her dorm room and made me this sandwich.

“It’s a croque-monsieur,” she explained. A ham and cheese sandwich taken to the next level. If you’re new to this particular breed of sandwich, you’re in for a treat!

CROQUE-MONSIEUR RECIPE VIDEO

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Rustic Puff Pastry Tomato Tart with Pesto and Kale

August 23, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 1 Comment

This lemony rustic tomato tart with pesto and kale is bursting with flavour and oozing with fresh mozzarella cheese. Made with a puff pastry base, it’s easy to put together for a weekday meal, all you need is a salad!

rustic tomato tart puff pastry pesto kale

A SUMMERY PUFF PASTRY TOMATO TART

This is my first year growing tomatoes and getting a crop that doesn’t disappear overnight thanks to a pesky neighbourhood squirrel. This is also my first year having kale in my backyard. Slipping into the backyard to snip off kale leaves has been a joy, but I planted a lot, and I know my tomatoes are only getting started. Soon there’s going to be a canning party in my kitchen, but for now, I can keep up with the bounty. I can go outside and my full tomato harvest is enough for a small salad or for a rustic tomato tart. I went with the latter.

TOMATO TART RECIPE VIDEO

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Flaky Kefir Milk Biscuits With Cheddar and Thyme (an easy skillet recipe)

August 20, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 7 Comments

These kefir milk biscuits are wonderfully flaky. Made with cheddar and thyme, this easy skillet biscuit recipe is sure to be a hit!

I like carbs. Give me a crusty loaf of sourdough bread or a rustic rye and I’m a happy gal. The local bakery is one of my happy places, and that’s what usually sits on the kitchen counter if I haven’t baked a loaf myself.

On weekends, bread plays an important part at the breakfast table, which is why I was distressed one Friday evening when I realized we were going into the weekend bread-less.

“It’s fine,” my husband reassured me, waving his hand. “I’m going to make biscuits in the morning,”.

“You’re going to make biscuits?” I echoed, dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “That’s ambitious of you.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he insisted, waving his hand nonchalantly.

To my shock and awe, he set about to work the following morning and whipped up a batch of breakfast biscuits.

So I decided to make them better.

With kefir.

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The Spicy Green Caesar Smoothie (a powerful fibre-packed green smoothie)

August 13, 2019 by Sylvia Rose Leave a Comment

This spicy green caesar smoothie is not your average green smoothie. Blend this up to get in your daily servings of vegetables and a zesty kick to jumpstart your day. It’s everything your body craves!

IS A SPICY GREEN CAESAR SMOOTHIE LIKE AN ACTUAL CAESAR?

First off, the spicy green caesar smoothie is missing almost all of the elements that make a real caesar cocktail. For one, there’s no tomato clam juice, nor is there Worcestershire sauce, nor Tabasco. Not even vodka. “How dare you!” you might say hotly, your finger pointed accusingly at me. “That’s not a caesar, that’s cocktail appropriation!”. Well, yes, but let’s not be hasty! Allow me to make my plea.

MAKING THE GREEN SMOOTHIE: A VIDEO

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A Cast Iron Cooking for Beginners (a basic FAQ)

August 9, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 3 Comments

Cast-iron cooking is making a roaring comeback to kitchens everywhere. Learn how to season, cook, and care for cast iron cookware in this beginner’s crash course.

WHY SHOULD I COOK WITH CAST IRON?

Cast iron cooking is by no means a new phenomenon. It’s a centuries-old practice dating back to the 1700s. Vintage cast iron skillets await a new season of cookery while more and more people grow disenchanted with non-stick pans. Have you ever heard of perfluorooctanoic acid before? It belongs to a carcinogenic family of chemicals called PFAS (that stands for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances), and it puts the non in non-stick pan. The FDA just published their findings on PFAS, which you can read here. I also enjoyed this article summing up the FDA’s report.

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11 Frugal Kitchen Rules to Waste Less & Save More

August 6, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 17 Comments

Far from being a modern money-saving trend, frugality is an old-fashioned virtue that has stood the test of time. During the Great Depression and both World Wars, frugality in the kitchen became a necessity for survival. Homemakers stretched every scrap, reused what they could, and embraced creative ways of cooking and storing food.In today’s world of rising food costs, environmental concerns, and a growing desire to live more intentionally, these timeless practices remain as relevant as ever.

Whether you’re looking to trim your grocery bill, reduce waste, or reclaim some old-fashioned kitchen know-how, these frugal kitchen rules will help you do just that. Some are practical, some are time-tested, and all of them are doable. They’ve made a difference in my own home, and I hope they’ll make one in yours, too.

Let’s dive in!

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