PUMPKIN PIE (LACTOSE FREE)

Happy Thanksgiving! This time last year, we were one week away from our wedding, hanging in the Eastern Townships with my family. I attempted my first pumpkin pie last year, and it turned out so well, that I was put in charge of dessert again this year. I relied heavily on my Oma's fool-proof shortbread tart crust, and adapted a basic filling recipe to my dairy-free needs. Simple and delicious. I hope you like it.

KOMBUCHA

KOMBUCHA

Ingredients:

11 cups water
6 tea bags (black)
2/3 cup sugar (white or organic cane)
1 1/3 cup starter kombucha

scoby

What to do:
Make the tea. Boil water in a large pot. Add sugar, and whisk to dissolve. Add tea bags, cover, and let steep overnight (or over the course of the day). Once cooled completely, remove the tea bags.

First fermentation. In a large glass vessel, combine your steeped tea and starter kombucha. This can be either store-bought kombucha, or the liquid you've stored your scoby in. With clean hands, transfer the scoby into the jar. Cover jar with a dishcloth, seal with an elastic band, and set aside for the first round of fermentation (7-10 days, depending on how warm your house is).

Bottling and second fermentation. After 7-10 days, using clean hands, gently remove the scoby. You can either use it immediately in another batch of kombucha, or store it in the fridge, in a small glass jar with enough kombucha liquid to keep it covered. Transfer your kombucha into smaller bottles, and add any second fermentation add-ins (see below). Seal the bottles, and set them aside for the second round of fermentation (3 days).

After 3 days, move the bottles to the fridge and enjoy!

Second Fermentation Add-ins

ginger-maple// 
Blend on a high speed a 4" piece of ginger, 1/2 cup water and 1 Tbsp maple syrup. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Split evenly between the bottles.

cherry//
add 1-2 Tbsp ready made cherry juice to each bottle; alternatively, blend pitted cherries and a bit of water on high speed. Strain through a fine mesh sieve before adding to bottles.

AN ISRAELI THEMED DINNER PARTY

Two years ago, post licensing exams, two girlfriends and I got together to cook the #foodofourpeoples. We started with gnocchi, then followed a few months later with pesto. We soon realized that after spending a day in the kitchen, it was way more fun to include more people, and wine, when feasting on the fruits of our labour. So just like that, the #foodofourpeoples dinner parties were born.

First up was a Portuguese feast, featuring family wine, Portuguese stew and custard tarts. Then we devoured an Italian meal, filled with cured meats, tortellini, veal cutlets and panettone. And finally, last night, we hosted an Israeli themed dinner, inspired by some of my favourite local middle eastern restaurants (here and here).

A NEW YEAR'S EVE SUNDAY ROAST

My favourite kind of evening is a low key night at home with friends, with good food and good wine. Toss in a roaring cottage fire, boardgames and festive decorations, and I am one happy camper. With a little bit of prep, a Sunday roast comes together effortlessly, and easily feeds a crowd. Combine that with a handful of simple sides, and no one will go home hungry. Here's a breakdown of how we tackled our new year's eve Sunday Roast. Happy 2018!

OUR WEDDING: PART I [AND SWEET POTATOES WITH POMEGRANATE AND MINT]

Back in January, we had this crazy idea to bring all our favourite people to a place we love for a weekend of wedding festivities. It was important to us to get more than one evening with our guests, and the County seemed like the perfect place to do that. So we set out to plan a weekend that we knew we would love, and hoped that our friends and family would love it too.

The weekend started with a welcome dinner at County Road Beer Co. We've loved Hinterland Winery ever since our first trip to the County, so we knew that their neighbouring brewery would not disappoint. They worked with us to develop a beautiful seasonal menu, we set out some of our favourite bubbly, and we let the evening just run its course. We lucked out with the weather, allowing us to take advantage of their large outdoor patio, and guests just mingled, chatted, laughed, ate and drank. It was the perfect start to the weekend.

A NOVEMBER BOWL WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

November is always a weird eating month for us. Caught in between all the incredible Fall produce and the warm bowls of winter stews and curries, our meals often feel confused. I'll make a light soup, a giant bowl of noodles, or some sort of bulked up salad - light on the greens, heavy on the grains and roasted veg.

I was running out of weekday lunch time inspiration, so turned to the menu at a salad joint in Toronto for some inspiration. Modelled after their "maple greens" bowl, this November bowl is perfect for this time of year - with brussels sprouts, roasted squash, dried cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette laced with maple syrup.

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

We're heading out of town tomorrow to get married (!!!), and snacks for the car/airbnb was a must. The cooler bag will be packed with all the usual suspects (trail mix, grapes, cucumber slices and hummus), but we needed something a little more festive.

That's where these pumpkin muffins come in. They're super easy to throw together, and the pumpkin purée and seasonal spices just scream October. They may not be fancy, but they will forever remind me of the time we hopped on the 401 and drove west to our wedding. Can't wait!