Spaghetti Squash

I absolutely love this meal. I hate the way I feel after a big bowl of pasta, but I do it anyway because I just love eating it. With this variation I can have the best of both worlds, the feeling of eating spaghetti and the comfortable feeling of only having had vegetables for dinner.

Spaghetti squash is just so fun to eat, not to mention the fact that winter squash provides an excellent source of carotenes, vitamins B1, B6 and C, fiber and potassium. I could seriously eat this every night and not get bored.

My husband sliced the squash in half, sprinkled it with oil and set it face down on a pan in the oven. Once cooked he scraped out the strings of squash with a fork and placed them on a bed of baby spinach. A dollop of butter and yummy tomato sauce covered this golden tangle of noodles and a sprinkling of green onion, herbs, salt and shavings of aged gouda finished it off.

I just wish I could start over.

Tourtière Served with Turneeto and Beet Greens

Ok yes, we made that word up. But the cute little striped thing on my plate is a mixture of turnip, beet and potato – Turneeto! What better way to enjoy your winter vegetables? And my husband cooks them perfectly, the beet and turnip firm and flavourful, the potato just a bit softer. A little butter and salt to add to the yumminess.

Alongside my turneeto is some leftover tourtière – to die for, and some healthy beet greens.

Carrot, Ginger and Sage Soup

In case you haven't noticed, I've never been one to cook. I used to bake a lot of cookies when I was younger, which has made me less afraid to venture down the baking path. But because I started off on that end of things, I tend to carry over a lot of what would be misconceptions when it comes to cooking other foods. Like just because two things are delicious, doesn't mean they're delicious together. When you bake banana cake for example, the addition of chocolate chips is marvelous. Adding smoked oysters to a veggie pizza, not so much.

An even bigger one revolves around measuring. When I bake, I measure everything perfectly. I do the same when I cook; and every time my husband cringes.

Last night I decided to make a carrot soup. I spent about half an hour looking for the perfect recipe until my husband finally told me to just grab from what we had in the kitchen and go with it. “But I have to see how many carrots to put in, how many onions, and how much ginger.” He pulled me away from my computer and for the first time in my life, I cooked something without measuring (with a little help of course!).

Fry chopped onions (2), ginger, garlic and a bit of butter. Pour in about 6 cups of chicken stock, roughly 6 large carrots and a turnip – chopped. Simmer for 40 minutes. Add some chopped sage and rosemary and cook for another 20 minutes. Blend until smooth. Makes a savoury and velvety carrot soup.

Date Cookies

My lovely friend Amy brought me the perfect treat to start off the new year – date cookies. What better way to get over sweets (and I've been eating a lot of them lately) than with a healthy treat. It looks like a cookie. It even tastes like a cookie (a really soft one, sort of). It's all my brain needs! And so easy to make.

Get some dates, remove the pits and blend them until smooth. Take two spoons and form a small ball with the mixture. Drop the ball into a bowl of coconut shavings and coat. Press a yummy almond in the centre. Voilà! They're great at room temperature, chilled, or my favourite, right out of the freezer.

Shiitake Mushroom Risotto

Comfort food was all I wanted for dinner last night and my husband delivered. I absolutely loved this dish. Parm, rosemary, white wine and chicken stock were used to flavour this heavenly dish.

New Year’s Day Strata

My husband made a lovely strata for breakfast on New Year's day. He cubed up some baguette leftover from the night before and then tossed it with some butter, green onion and thyme and fried it for a bit. He then added some tomatoes and spinach. Then the egg and leftover cheddar and put the pan in the oven to cook. To make the bread crispy he broiled it for the last couple of minutes. It was fantastic, and just what I needed to get me going for the day (although I didn't get very far). He served this with some fried potatoes and onions.

Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve Cheese Fest

For the first time in 5 years we actually spent New Year's Eve at home. It was a bit strange as we really didn't know what to do. And it wasn't until that morning that we realized a lot of our friends didn't have any plans either. That's it, we're having a party!

My husband picked up a bunch of Oysters from the Whalesbone, along with some cheese and crackers, smoked salmon, terrines, etc. As everyone arrived, they too brought some lovely foods, mainly cheese – from smoked cheese to cheesecake and everything in between. Here's what the final spread consisted of:

• Fresh Caraquet and St Simon Oysters
• Yummy smoked salmon with capers and onions
• Duck breast on fried wontons with onion jam - heaven on a chip basically
• Wild boar and apricot terrines
• Zoya brought my favourite rillettes de canard
• Teresa brought delicious chocolate covered cheesecake bites
• Zoya's homemade rosemary and jalapeno jelly
• Spiced nuts
• Nuts and bolts
• Amy and Andrew brought some sausage that was gobbled up in no time.
• And vegetarian spring rolls that we didn't actually eat until the next day!

And then the cheese. Marc and Stacey brought in the mother load to add to my tiny collection as well as that from Amy and Andrew. I don't think I've ever seen so much cheese in my life. They even had them all labeled and served with the perfect sides. Amazing!

• 5 year old cheddar
• 4 year old aged Gouda
• Super strong Montboissé
• Flavourful Pied-de-vent (raw milk)
• Riopelle
• La Sauvagine
• Wensleydale cheddar with caramelized onions (amazing!)
• Cambozola – always a treat
• Double smoked cheddar
• Brie
• Soft goat cheese
• Classic Oka
• Sweet strawberries, grapes, dried cranberries, almonds and walnuts lined the plate
• Crisp crackers and fresh bread all available at our fingertips

I was certain we'd end up with a ton of leftovers – not so. That table of cheese became a centerpiece for conversation. That along with great wine, champagne and beer lead us all into the early morning hours.

We're so lucky to have such wonderful friends to ring in the new year with. Thanks to everyone for making the evening so special!