Basler Leckerli date back to the 17th century. At the time, making gingerbread was a recognized trade. The use of roughly chopped ingredients differentiated the gingerbread made in Basel from that made in other parts of Switzerland and Germany, where they were made with finely ground nuts. Go to Basel today and the tradition continues. Leckerli are available year-round from a local shop called Läckerli Huus (House of Läckerli), but I find homemade ones taste better!

This recipe is from my mom and originates, of course, in her hometown of Basel, Switzerland. It contains neither fat nor eggs. The cookies are dense and wonderfully flavoured with honey, candied citrus peel, almonds and spices.

Recipe: Basler Leckerli

Quantities in weight – scale required!

500 g honey
300 g sugar (I have successfully cut the amount of sugar in half and use only 150 g)
300 g slivered almonds (the ones that look like little sticks)
70 g candied lemon peel
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
50 mL rum
500 g flour

Glaze:
250 g icing sugar
2 tbsp rum
2 tbsp water

The honey and flour mixture for Basler Leckerli before rolling out. It's quite sticky, but needs to be worked while still hot. Sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.

Basler Leckerli rolled out and ready for baking.

Working quickly to cut the baked Basler Leckerli while still hot.

The glazed Basler Leckerli. Final step: let cool completely, separate and store in an airtight container.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, greasing and flouring the paper. I also grease the baking sheet to prevent the paper from sliding around.

In a large pot, bring honey and sugar to a boil. Add almonds and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly stir in rum, spices, candied lemon peel, and flour.

Place honey and flour mixture on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle liberally with flour to prevent mixture from sticking to rolling pin and roll out evenly. I find this step is easier done by two people: one person to hold the baking sheet and the second to roll out the dough. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Prepare glaze while cookies are in the oven. Mix rum, then water into icing sugar one tablespoon at a time. If necessary, add more water one teaspoon at a time to achieve the right consistency. The glaze should be very thick.

Remove cookies from oven and slide onto cutting board. Cut immediately into squares/rectangles and glaze while still hot. I find the best way to spread the glaze is to use a metal spatula; spoon the glaze onto cut cookies in sections and spread quickly with the spatula. Doing this step with two people can make sure that the glaze gets on before the cookies are too cool for it to spread nicely.

These cookies store for a long time in an airtight container. It’s not unusual for them to be/get a bit hard. Either leave them like that and bite carefully (great for dunking in tea or coffee) or put piece of bread in the container to soften them up.

I admit, the portion I ate was twice this size!

Baby already knows her mother well. One of the only daytime tv shows I consider worth watching on the few channels we receive is In the Kitchen with Stefano Faita. I only recently discovered it, because it happens to coincide with one of Baby’s feedings. Now I watch it as long as Baby’s feeding schedule allows.

The other day Stefano did a show about using leftover bread. The last recipe of the episode was a bread pudding. He brought back memories of my childhood.

When I was little, we had bread pudding for dinner every once in a while. My mom would diligently let dry every scrap piece of bread and collect them in an old ice cream container. When the container was full, it was time for bread pudding. She’d soak the bread in a milk and egg mixture, then mix in some sliced apples and raisins. Only lightly sweetened, she’d serve it with homemade vanilla sauce.

Inspired by Stefano and with memories on my mind, I decided it was time to make bread pudding. We would eat it for dinner/dessert following a hearty soup. I admit that I purposely bought bread for the recipe, because I wanted to use an appropriate egg bread. (We ate a light rye bread at home when I was growing up. Inevitably this old rye bread found its way into the bread pudding and the flavour of the bread was a bit too pronounced for my taste… What I always expected to be a more dessert-like meal just wasn’t.)

Since the loaf was big enough for two dishes, I made two versions (on separate occasions); both were much less healthy than my mom’s. The first was a dark chocolate and sour cherry bread pudding and the second was a white chocolate, blueberry and hazelnut bread pudding. I’d make them both again. So simple, so yummy, and a perfect way to use old bread

Recipe: Dark Chocolate and Sour Cherry Bread Pudding

Makes one 9″ x 9″ dish. Tastes great – almost better – the next day!

4 cups egg bread (day old; I used Rideau Bakery‘s egg bread; one loaf was good for two dishes)
1½ cups sour cherries (I used frozen ones, but I think preserved ones (from a jar) would work too)
2 tbsp rum (optional)
½ cup chopped dark chocolate (I used Lindt)
4 eggs
½ cup sugar
3 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream (35%)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9″ x 9″ square baking dish.

Combine sour cherries and rum. Set aside. (If using sour cherries from a jar, drain them first, although it’s ok if there’s a bit of cherry juice in the mix.)

Bread pudding before baking.

Tear bread into pieces and place in a large bowl. Add sour cherry mixture and chocolate. Toss lightly to combine.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with sugar until combined. Whisk in milk and cream. Pour egg custard mixture over bread and stir to evenly combine. Let stand for 15 minutes so that bread absorbs the egg mixture.

Pour bread and custard mixture to the buttered dish; it will fill the dish to the top. Bake until custard is set, and top of bread pudding springs back lightly when touched, approx. 45 minutes.

Recipe: White Chocolate, Blueberry and Hazelnut Bread Pudding

Makes one 9″ x 9″ dish. Tastes great – almost better – the next day!

4 cups egg bread (day old; I used Rideau Bakery‘s egg bread; one loaf was good for two dishes)
1½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup chopped white chocolate (I used Callebaut)
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
4 eggs
½ cup sugar
3 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream (35%)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9″ x 9″ square baking dish.

Tear bread into pieces and place in a large bowl. Add blueberries, white chocolate and three-quarters of the hazelnuts (keep the rest to sprinkle on top). Toss lightly to combine.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with sugar until combined. Whisk in milk and cream. Pour egg custard mixture over bread and stir to evenly combine. Let stand for 15 minutes so that bread absorbs the egg mixture.

Pour bread and custard mixture to the buttered dish; it will fill the dish to the top. Sprinkle reserved hazelnuts on top. Bake until custard is set, and top of bread pudding springs back lightly when touched, approx. 45 minutes.

Pursuing one of my favourite pastimes with Baby.

Since Baby arrived my priorities, aside from taking care of her, have been getting exercise and fresh air and eating right. Just like Baby, I get grumpy and tired if I don’t eat regularly and properly. Also, it’s no secret that I love to eat and cooking is one of my favourite activities.

No surprise then that before having Baby, I was already thinking about how to nourish myself once she arrived, knowing that I’d be regularly occupied with her and, for a while at least, less mobile. The arrangement we came up with worked well and we’ve continued to prepare and enjoy satisfying meals!

For the first three weeks after her birth, the deal was that David, who was off from work, was responsible for food and making sure I ate properly. He did the cooking and didn’t even use any of the meals we’d prepared in advance. Then my mom visited for two weeks and took over the kitchen. She spoiled us with her excellent cooking and baking. She actually added to our freezer stores.

We’ve even tried some new recipes, all of which are keepers:

• Spicy-sweet green beans (we added some thinly sliced pork and served it with rice)
• Lebanese-style green beans with chickpeas (our garden produced a lot of green beans this year)
• Stuffed zucchini from Ottolenghi’s Plenty cookbook
• An unfrosted version of this zucchini-almond cake
• Banana oat bars (my new favourite quick-to-make snack)
• An eggplant-tomato-feta cheese dish (inspired by what we had in the fridge)
• Sage and brown butter apple pie (deliciously fresh and bright-tasting apple pie)

Last week, we started our new routine of weekly menus. It starts with a meal plan – a tried and tested tool! – using what we have on hand. We cook at least one weekday meal on Sunday, making sure there’s enough for at least two lunches (a hearty soup is easiest). Then we dip into our freezer stores for one meal per week and gratefully accept grandmaman’s offer to cook dinner on Thursdays.

The days we cook fresh, the meal is prepared bit-by-bit whenever I have a moment throughout the day.  By the time David gets home from work, it’s ready to cook. Often I’ll do the cooking myself, because it gives me a break from Baby – as much as I love her, I welcome a break by that time of day! – and the satisfaction of doing something I enjoy. We’re not cooking superheros though, and have also resorted to take-out several times in the last seven weeks.

Last night this tart, a fall favourite,  followed a meal of homemade soup. Making it was a three-day affair: I made the dough and lined the cake pan the first day, blind baked it the second, and finished the tart on the third. That’s not unusual these days – whatever it takes to get it done!

Recipe: Alsatian Apple Cream Tart

1 recipe pastry dough
4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths (use apples that will hold their form during baking; I used Cortlands)
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup cream (either 15% or 35%; the latter will give a richer, creamier result)
3 egg yolks (I’ve also made it with 2 whole eggs; using yolks will give a richer, creamier result)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup raisins
1 pinch salt

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9″ cake pan.

Prepare the pastry dough. Roll it out to 1/4″ thick and line the cake pan. Weigh it down and blind bake it for 10-15 minutes. Remove weights and continue baking for another 10 minutes until lightly coloured. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

In a bowl, toss apple slices with lemon juice and two tablespoons of the sugar. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine cream, egg (yolks), vanilla, raisins, the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and salt.

Arrange apple slices on tart shell. Pour cream mixture over apples. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until apples are done. Allow to cool slightly before removing from cake pan.

Homegrown vegetables for my midwife and my little sprout.

My baby girl was born just over a week ago, at the same time as a generous harvest of tomatoes, zucchini, beans, kale and Swiss chard from our garden. That means my midwife has been getting “bonus pay” in vegetables!

At the end of every house call — there were three in the first five days after birth — my midwife would leave our house with a bag full of fresh garden goodies. One day she even forgot her baby check-up bag in our living room, leaving instead with just the bag of vegetables!

One slice of tomato from the middle of the fruit seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper and touched with some mayonnaise made a great sandwich: flavourful, juicy, meaty.

"Tomato steak sandwich" made with a supersize Brandywine tomato.

These tomatoes mature slowly (last year, they never ripened), so hopefully we’ll get several more before the end of the season.

It's amazing how the vine supports the weight of these supersize tomatoes.

This year though we have an extra incentive to have prepared meals at our fingertips. In as early as a couple of days, at the latest within a couple of weeks, we will be three! In anticipation of the busy and sleepless time ahead, we have been busy cooking and baking. I’ve been balancing the heat outside with the heat of the kitchen, and have pulled chocolate zucchini cakes, banana breads, oatmeal-chocolate-walnut-cranberry cookies and sunflower butter cookies out of the oven.

Meanwhile, David has been the master of the main meals, making turkey pot pies, lasagna, beef and tomatillo stew, sausages, lentil chili. Lentil chili is something we make every year at this time. It’s the perfect way to use the many zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and herbs growing fast and furious in the garden, and makes a colourful and healthy meal.

Recipe: Summer Lentil Chili

The vegetable measurements need not be precise. A little more or a little less garden goodness won’t make a big difference!

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-large carrot, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp chili powder
1 generous tbsp each ground cumin and ground coriander
2 cups brown lentils, rinsed and cleaned
5 cups vegetable stock
6-8 cups tomatoes, roughly chopped
2-3 medium zucchini, sliced/cubed
4 red peppers, chopped
4 cobs of corn, kernels removed
1 hot pepper (depending on how much heat you want, slice in half and remove seeds or pierce skin with a toothpick before adding)
2 generous tbsp each fresh thyme, oregano and basil, chopped
Salt to taste

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot. Sauté onions, garlic and carrot until tender. Stir bay leaf, chili powder, cumin and coriander into onion mixture. Add lentils and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes or until lentils are tender and liquid is reduced by half. Mix in tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, corn kernels and hot pepper. Cook 10-20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and hot pepper. Stir in herbs. Season to taste.

We freeze our summer lentil chili in 1L yoghurt containers and get approx. 4 containers per recipe.

Recipe: Asparagus Quiche

1 recipe pastry dough (This time I made mine with spelt flour, added a 1/4 cup of ground flax seed to the mix, and reduced the butter from 1/2 cup to 7 tbsp.)
1 kg asparagus, washed, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
3/4 cup of heavy cream
3/4 cup of milk
3 eggs, beaten lightly
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
butter/olive oil to sauté asapragus

Heat oven to 375°F. Butter a 9″ quiche pan.

Prepare the pastry dough. Roll it out to 1/4″ thick and line the quiche pan. Weigh it down and blind bake it for 10-15 minutes. Remove weights and continue baking for another 10 minutes until lightly coloured. Remove from oven.

Sauté asapragus in butter/olive oil for approx. 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Combine the lightly beaten eggs with cream, milk and seasonings.

Place sauteed asparagus in quiche shell. Pour egg and cream mixture over asparagus.

Bake 25-35 minutes until lightly browned and mixture is set. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This year I took the risk of planting some cold-hardy seeds early in the season. I think it was the weekend of April 16. I planted peas, snow peas, mesclun salad, mâche, a kale mix and radishes. The weather forecast looked promising: above 10 degrees, but not yet too warm. Perfect for these cool loving plants. Besides, I figured, if they don’t grow now, I’ll just plant again later.

Then the weather, not surprisingly, changed. It stayed below 10 degrees. It rained, a lot. Nevertheless, the seeds sprouted. My risk is being rewarded. Now I’ll try some succession planting, and put in second rows of peas and snow peas. It will be interesting to see how the growth of the two rows compares.

Cool weather-loving seeds growing strong.

Meanwhile I also planted the tomato, pepper, and tomatillo seedlings I’ve been growing indoors since mid-March. This year, to avoid transplanting small seedlings from starter cells to pots, I planted them directly into small pots. Although it was less work, I ended up with some scraggly looking seedlings with long, thin and crooked stems. I think the earth in my pots wasn’t sufficiently packed and I didn’t plant deep enough. Also, the pots were near a window on a tray, which means that they were always leaning toward the light, giving me crooked stems. I’ll have to revise my strategy next year.

The tomatoes in particular looked pretty sad when I planted them outside last Saturday. I thought the strong winds would take some of them down. But my scraggly seedlings literally weathered the storm and are looking perky today. (Nothing like the few we bought at the nursery, but I’m confident they’ll catch up and produce as much fruit as the others.)

I’m excited about the garden this year.

Cabbage seedling planted among tulips and perennial flowers.

I switched things up again after realizing that some plants were not well paired last year, e.g. the pole beans created too much shade for the Swiss chard planted in front of them. I’m also trying companion planting for the first time. The tomatoes are sharing a bed with carrots and spring onions. The beans, planted in a new location that should allow for easier climbing and picking, are matched up with herbs. Cabbage family plants (incl. broccoli, Brussel sprouts and cauliflower) are not good companions for most other vegetables – with the exception of kohlrabi, which is playing host to beets and lettuce – so they’re being kept separate, in some places interspersed among the perennials in the flower bed. Nasturtiums, calendula flowers and sunflowers will make for some colourful borders.

Most of the hard work is done. Now Mother Nature can do her magic. And I’ll focus on the not-so-small-anymore sprout growing inside me.

Food is not the only criterion we consider when choosing a vacation destination, but it is among the top 3. I admit we fall into the “will-travel-for-food” crowd and seek out tasty morsels wherever we happen to be.

I’m usually the one who does the research. I start with the tourism bureaus; some places are big into food tourism and have great websites to promote local foods, producers, and tasty eats. I do city searches on Serious Eats, one of my favourite food websites, and Saveur, which does a great job at showcasing city trends and off-the-beaten-track places. I may check the local buzz on Urbanspoon. Finally, I discovered Tasting Table, which sends out interesting tidbits of daily food news in a national (American) edition, as well as city-specific newsletters for Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Once at the destination, we will often plan where to eat first and then arrange our other activities around our chosen food stops. It may sound a little food-obsessed, but I happen to like to know that I’m going to eat something good and not be stuck having to find a “good place.” For me there are few things worse than bad food value and having to settle for a mediocre meal. Nevertheless, we still travel with a budget. We usually splurge on one more expensive dinner and find ways to keep our costs down by eating lunch (instead of dinner) at other restaurants we want to try, eating ethnic foods, and even cooking ourselves if possible.

So where did we go and where did we eat?! Chicago, Vancouver, Oregon, and Salt Spring Island.

Chicago

Sign inviting passers-by to eat a Chicago-style hot dog, i.e. topped with mustard, sweet relish, chopped onion, a pickle spear, tomato wedge, and a sprinkle of celery salt.

It was 5 pm when we got to Chicago after two days of driving. We were hungry and getting cranky. We’d decided to stop at Calumet Fisheries (tip from Saveur Magazine) on the way into town. Thanks to the GPS, we managed to navigate our way to this little shack somewhere in South Chicago without any problems. Inside, a diverse 15-person line snaked its way around the tiny place. The dinner of smoked shrimp and fried fish hit the spot and was a perfect introduction to Chicago’s food scene.

We punctuated our week-long stay with what I would consider reasonably healthy and interesting fast food places for lunch. Near Cloud Gate we ate Cuban sandwiches and salads with Caribbean flavours followed with rich, sweet coffee and alfajores at Cafecito. We found fresh and tasty sandwiches at Hannah’s Bretzel tucked into a downtown office building. Also downtown, we stopped at one of the several Wow Bao locations to have a fun meal of fusion-style steamed buns. One day we connected food stops on foot in a 12 km triangle, walking first to what seemed like the middle-of-nowhere to eat the obligatory Chicago hot dog at  Hot Doug’s, then stopping for a beer at the then recently opened Revolution Brewery — which happened to be hosting delegates from the Craft Brew Conference and World Beer Cup while we were there — and ending the afternoon with a taco snack at Tierra Caliente, a Latino supermarket with a lunch counter hidden at the back. Not the kind of place we’d usually wander into, but a rewarding stop for our tastebuds! We did coffee breaks at Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, where coffee and tea are treated like a fine wine and their preparations release aromas in ways you don’t experience in other coffee shops.

Brewing coffee at Intelligentsia.

It would have been amazing if our budget had allowed a meal at Alinea, but that was not the case (and I don’t know if I could justify to myself spending that much on a meal). Our dinner splurge was at The Publican, a place in the Warehouse District I discovered via Tasting Table. When I read about The Publican, I knew right away that it would appeal to David and, despite the offal-centric menu, I was tempted by many of the dishes and the originality of the space. We ordered more than we should have, but were delighted with our selection. The charcuterie plate was the highlight, showcasing a selection of homemade cured and prepared meats including lambcetta and the.most.sublime. homemade coriander and vanilla mustard. It was like eating savoury jam.

We loved Chicago, not only for the food, but also its architecture, attractions, and an unpretentious big-city sophistication blended with a relaxed ambiance. We’ll go back, there’s no doubt!

Vancouver

Super fresh sushi lunch for four from Village Sushi.

Always a pleasure to be back in my hometown, and there are a couple of places that are musts on every trip. Village Sushi in Steveston is one of them. A small establishment run by a husband and wife team, they serve lovingly prepared, exceptionally fresh, and high quality sushi. What’s more, David and I eat our fill for $20-$25 including tip. Another regular stop is Oyama Sausage Company at Granville Island where we inevitably buy guanciale – I have yet to find it in Ottawa – and one of their saucisson sec; Oyama has much more to offer though. Vij’s Rangoli is another place we visit regularly to enjoy a feast of inspired Indian cuisine.

Oyama Sausage Co. at Granville Island offers a huge selection of carefully crafted sausages and other meat products made with high-quality ingredients.

On this trip we discovered Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen tucked into a strip mall in central Richmond (home of the Olympic oval). A bright and clean establishment with a partly open kitchen at the back of the dining room. On one side there was a window through which we could observe a woman diligently and deftly making by hand one dumpling after another. The menu was different than the typical Chinese restaurant and it was hard to choose. In the end we had a combination of dishes that were new to us and familiar ones that we felt would be interesting to try in this restaurant. All of it was good, but I particularly appreciated the Buddha’s Delight made with Chinese cabbage, lily buds, at least two types each of tofu and mushrooms, and something I couldn’t identify, maybe wheat gluten. Next time I’d like to go back with a larger group to be able to try more!

The menu at Chens Shanghai Kitchen.

One of the best things about going to Vancouver though, is being treated to good things from my parents’ kitchen and garden. Notable from the last visit are home-smoked salmon and fresh quince from the tree.

Oregon

Market fresh in Portland.

Oregon is one of those places that actively promotes food tourism and has an elaborate website dedicated to the subject. Very useful for trip planning. After spending a couple of days in Portland, with its thriving food and micro-brew scene, we drove through the lush Willamette Valley to get to Newport on the Oregon Coast, an active fishing town with a working waterfront, and ended with a too-short one-night stop in Astoria, which was for me the surprise gem of the trip.

Most of our “serious” eating happened in Portland. At Clyde Common, we witnessed the delivery of a whole lamb from a nearby farm as we sat at a communal table eating delicious lunch sandwiches. From our seats at the end of the bar at Olympic Provisions, we had a view of the kitchen and saw them breaking down meats and preparing their housemade sausages. Famous for its food carts, we were lucky to score a comforting meal of chicken and rice at Nong’s Khao Man Gai before the chef ran out. We also had some hearty and tasty breakfasts at Buddha Bites. Meanwhile the burger at Violetta, a food-cart-turned-restaurant, hit the spot after a long day of walking around town.

Making charcuterie at Olympic Provisions, Portland. We were lucky to get the seats with a view from the lunch counter.

Our dinner splurge, which happened to be our anniversary dinner, was at Beaker & Flask. We came across the restaurant in a magazine article in which the chef at Beast, one of Portland’s top restaurants, mentioned that Beaker & Flask was one of her favourites. We figured if she liked it, then we would too! Although known for its cocktails, the food was outstanding, and the service genuinely friendly and professional. For me, the most delicious discovery during this meal was the Padrón pepper. Lightly fried and salted, it was part of an vegetarian antipasti plate I’d ordered. Addictive. I’m hoping I can find some seeds and grow some myself! Meanwhile David had an enlightened conversation with one of the waiters about forcemeat, his latest food interest.

Colourful fish & chip lunch place in Newport.

On our way to the Pacific Coast, we did some wine tasting and picked up a couple of bottles on our drive through the Willamette Valley. We were enthusiastically welcomed at the Willamette Valley Cheese Company, where we tasted a surprisingly flavourful mozzarella cheese – the traditional method of hand-pulling the cheese makes all the difference. Our lunch stop was in the charming town of McMinnville, well worth a visit.

Vineyards at Ponzi Estate, Willamette Valley.

With the sound of the waves accompanying our meal, we ate fish and chips in Newport, but missed out on Dungeness crab, the official state crustacean. And well, our stay in Astoria located on the banks of the Columbia River just across from Washington State (where The Goonies and Kindergarden Cop were shot) was just too short. Nevertheless, we managed to stop in at Josephson’s for some smoked fish (next day’s lunch) and had dinner at the Fort George Brewery + Public House, which happened to be serving its seasonal Hopstoria Fresh Hop Ale made with hops collected from local gardens and backyards. How cool is that?! Astoria definitely deserves a second visit.

Oregon brewers sticker collection at Fort George Brewery + Public House.

Our accommodations in Oregon are worth mentioning: the contemporary Hotel Modera in Portland (got lucky; we booked a Travelocity secret hotel), the charming if a little musty Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport with stunning views of the coast (when it wasn’t foggy or raining), and the historic Commodore Hotel in Astoria.

We only spent a week driving around Oregon, but that short visit convinced me that I need to go back for a longer (at least three-week) road trip!

Salt Spring Island

We drove from Oregon to Port Angeles where we took a ferry to Victoria, then another ferry to Salt Spring Island. I think Salt Spring Island is a great place for a holiday. For me, it has the right combination of nature (countryside, forest, ocean, elevation, coastal wildlife), art, and food.

My favourite food stops are the Salt Spring Island Cheese Company, maker of goat’s and sheep’s milk cheese, Salt Spring Island Bread Co., maker of organic artisan breads baked in a wood-fired oven, and Bruce’s Kitchen. The Farmer’s Market in Ganges is also lovely to buy fresh island produce and chat with the locals.

The Salt Spring Island Cheese Company is located in a beautiful wooded area. A short self-guided tour takes visitors around the outside of the building where the cheese is made offering windows on each step of the cheese-making process. But the best part is tasting the cheese in the shop! My favourites are the soft fresh chèvres and the surface ripened Juliette.

The drive up to the Salt Spring Island Bread Co. is worth it as much for the bread as for the view of the ocean from the hilltop location. It’s also worth buying several loaves of the delicious bread, since the bakery is not open every day.

Bruces Kitchen on Salt Spring Island. Even without the words, the sign visually says it all!

Bruce of Bruce’s Kitchen used to live and work (at Mariposa Farm and the Urban Element among others) in Ottawa. He moved West several years ago and opened Bruce’s Kitchen where he serves up daily specials made with the best local ingredients. His passion for food definitely flavours the fresh and wholesome dishes he cooks up in his tiny kitchen.

Wow, all these memories of great food eaten in great places are making my mouth water and my feet itch! Luckily we’ll be packing our bags soon.

Now that I’m eating for two – yes! – Birchermüesli has become my pregnancy superfood. It’s full of the vitamins and minerals recommended for pregnant women. In addition, the combination provides protein and fiber, and is easy to digest. I’ve also noticed that I feel more like cooling fresh foods than I normally would, especially for this time of year, and Birchermüesli perfectly satisfies the craving. (Usually I reserve Birchermüesli for the summer when fresh fruit is plentiful, the days are hot and I don’t feel like cooking – I’ll eat it for dinner.)

The beauty of this recipe is its flexibility. It’s easy to adapt it to what’s in season and to personal taste. Lately I’ve been using fresh mango and blueberries and strawberries that I froze last summer. Another nice winter version would be with raisins and/or other chopped dried fruit, ground or chopped nuts and banana (add just before serving). In fall, chopped pear and dried cranberries. In the summer, the options abound with fresh berries, melon, peaches, nectarines, apricots, …

Pregnant or not, Birchermüesli is one of those things I feel good about eating. I’d actually consider it one of my comfort foods.

Recipe: Birchermüesli (Swiss Raw Food “Cereal”)

The ingredients listed below are the basic combination. Seasonality and creativity can dictate the details. I have to admit that I don’t measure the ingredients, so they are approximate – adjust proportion of oatmeal vs. yoghurt to suit personal preference. I often make it in the evening to eat the next morning. This method allows the oatmeal to soften. If you have issues with leaving cut fruit sit overnight, then add just before serving. Serves 2-4.

2 cups oatmeal (old-fashioned, not quick cook)
2 1/2 cups yoghurt
1 apple, finely grated
1/2 orange, juiced (could also be lemon, grapefruit or a combination)
1/2 cup ground nuts or hemp hearts
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
3 cups fresh fruit, chopped if necessary (frozen berries work well too)
1/2 cup raisins, chopped nuts (toasting the nuts adds nice flavour) or dried fruit (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let stand at least one hour (or overnight) before serving.

These ingredients made it into my most recent version of Birchermüesli, but this recipe is so easy to adapt to personal taste: switch up the fruit, add ground or chopped nuts, raisins or other chopped dried fruit. My dad likes to enhance it with a bit whipped cream! Note the special grater for the apple. It's a special "Bircher" grater and reduces the flesh to a pulp (most likely to make it even easier to digest).