Appetizers

Easy Cheese Fondue: Everything You Need to Know

November 15, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 3 Comments

Cheese fondue parties are as hygge as it gets. Master this delicious communal meal with these simple tips and tricks to throw a stellar fondue party and to make a store bought bag of fondue taste incredible.

WHAT’S CHEESE FONDUE?

Cheese fondue is up there on my list of things I love.

Fondue is a French word that translates to “melted”, so a cheese fondue is a cheese that’s melted.

A pot of it.

It’s the perfect meal to gather your favourite people around the table to dip various food items into the melty, cheesy goodness.

Like raclette and hot pot, it’s an intimate communal meal that’s special and unique. Knowing that, is it any surprise that fondue parties were all the rage in the ’60s and ’70s?

By the way, cheese fondue is just one type of fondue. There’s also meat fondue and chocolate fondue, but we’ll talk about those another day.

Also, this post may contain affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to purchase something after clicking on one of the links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

If you need more hygge in your life, you’ll want to host a fondue party! And in case you missed the hygge train, it’s a Danish mindset about creating cozy comfort. If you want to learn more about it, Meik Wiking wrote a book about hygge in 2017.

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How to Make Vinaigrette from Scratch

November 5, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 12 Comments

Making salad dressing from scratch doesn’t need to be complicated. Learn the basic formula behind making great tasting vinaigrettes and never buy salad dressing from the store again!

A SHORT LESSON IN READING LABELS

Do you remember the last time you studied the label of a commercial salad dressing?

One of my favourite salad dressings when I was a kid was a zesty Italian dressing made by a major player in the consumer packaged goods industry.

Do you want to take a look at some of the ingredients?

Soybean and canola oils (ask me another day why those aren't good for you)
Xanthan gum, a thickening agent which appears safe, but may lead to digestive problems if consumed in large quantities. It is pervasive in the food and cosmetics industries, and is also a common ingredient in paints, adhesives, and pesticides.
Potassium sorbate, which "maintains quality", but may also lead to allergies if consumed in large quantities
Calcium disodium EDTA to "maintain flavour". In other words, it's a food preservative. It's also used in prescription medications and in eye drops. How appetizing!
Monoglyceridesto prevent oil separation (an emulsifier). Do you know what monoglycerides are? Trans fats. You know, the kind of fats that increase your chances of stroke and heart disease.

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Easy One Jar Dilly Beans Recipe

October 25, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 9 Comments

These one jar dilly beans are spicy, snappy and sour. Use them to take your cocktails up a notch, enliven your charcuterie boards, or for a cheeky out-of-the-jar snack.

MAKING ONE JAR DILLY BEANS

One jar dilly beans came about when I had a straggler harvest of beans in the garden and didn’t know what to do with them.

Green beans and yellow beans made an appearance at what seemed like every other meal that summer, but I never had enough to line my pantry with jars of dilly beans like I was hoping.

Staring at that bowlful of late harvest beans, the idea came to make a single jar that would go into my fridge straight away.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to purchase something after clicking on one of the links in this post, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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Oyster Parties: Everything You Need to Know

October 8, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 8 Comments

Throw the ultimate oyster party! Here are a few ideas on what to serve, what to drink, and how to shuck. It’s guaranteed to be a terrific time!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO AN OYSTER PARTY?

Oyster parties were off my radar up until I started going steady with my husband.

His parents have impeccable taste in food and love gathering and reuniting the family together over good food and wine.

Every year they drive over to New Brunswick and come back with more oysters than I care to count, and then, if all works out, there’s an evening of all-you-can-eat oysters.

They have mastered the art of oyster parties, and it’s become my favourite kind of party because, well, oysters are delicious.

If you don’t like oysters, this might not be the party for you, and if you don’t know whether or not you like oysters, then it’s high time you find out!

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Victory Borscht: An Easy Oil-Free Wartime Recipe

September 27, 2019 by Sylvia Rose 12 Comments

Victory Borscht is a winner in more ways than one. This jewel-coloured beauty of a soup is rich in flavour and completely oil-free. Let’s dive into the history behind this simple, hearty recipe and then learn how to make it yourself!

A GLIMPSE INTO WARTIME FRUGALITY

Let’s rewind to a time often glamorized for its style, gallantry, and grace: World War II. Although people lived with an elegance we rarely see today, they also lived with scarcity. Here, in a world full of abundance, we often overlook how resourceful our great-grandmothers had to be.

Frugality is a word that makes some folks cringe, but during WWII, it was a necessity, not an option. The women of that era didn’t have the luxury of being wasteful—they had to be creative and self-sufficient. Learning from them can teach us valuable skills we can apply today.

RELATED: WWII Food Rationing Tips

VICTORY BORSCHT RECIPE VIDEO

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Easy Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

September 24, 2019 by Sylvia Rose Leave a Comment

Beets are not only a terrific source of nutrients, they’re also delicious! Learn how to make this easy roasted beet salad with an orange vinaigrette, walnuts, and as much goat cheese as you can handle.

roasted beet salad with walnuts, goat cheese and orange vinaigrette

ROASTED BEET SALAD FOR ALL OCCASIONS

Whether you need a side for dinner, a dish for a potluck, or you just have a craving for beets (I’m not alone, am I?), this roasted beet salad is ready to rise up to the occasion.

Dressed with a simple orange vinaigrette and studded with walnuts, goat cheese crumbles and fresh dill, it’s guaranteed that each forkful will offer a bite of goodness.

I also love that it’s easy to make, especially if you roast the beets ahead of time!

Best of all, you can play with this recipe, in fact, I encourage you to do so!

If the aforementioned flavours don’t excite you, fret not, I’m including a few other flavour combinations below that you can experiment with.

ROASTED BEET SALAD VIDEO

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