Vegan Aquafaba Mayonnaise

  

We use a lot of chickpeas in our house, in everything from hummus to salads.   Up until a couple of years ago, it never occurred to me to use the leftover chickpea brine for anything, let alone as an egg substitute in both savoury recipes and desserts.   It turns out aquafaba, which is latin for “water bean”, aka bean water, makes a great replacement for recipes that call for egg whites. This past summer I tried a lemon meringue pie with aquafaba meringue, and delicate aquafaba macarons – the quality was so close to recipes made with egg whites it was hard to tell the difference.

Lobster Chowder

This is a rich chowder packed with hearty bits of lobster. It can be served in smaller bowls as a side dish, or larger bowls as the main course. 

Alberta Style Beef on a Bun

While I’ve called Western Alberta my home for most of my life, I spent a year living in Southern Alberta back in the early 2000’s. For that brief moment in time, Hanna was where I called home. 

While living there, I noticed that every single local event, fundraiser, rummage sale, rodeo, or business barbecue I attended involved a Southern Alberta staple – “Alberta Style Beef on a Bun”.  It didn’t matter if it was summer, fall, winter, or spring, if you were having an event in Hanna, this style of beef on a bun would be there.

Most beef on a bun recipes involve thinly shaved slices of roasted beef, topped with barbecue sauce, and nestled on a bun.  Alberta Style Beef on a Bun is unique in that it involves slow cooking the beef in a homemade barbecue sauce, and shredding the beef rather than slicing it. The result is a sweet, smoky, melt in your mouth beef on a bun experience.

Though it’s been several years since I lived in Hanna, and a solid few years since I’ve had a chance to visit, whenever I make this recipe I’m transported back to the year I spent there. I reminisce about all of the great memories that I made, most of them accompanying a bun or two topped with this Hanna hometown favourite.   

Turkey Leftovers Soup

  It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, and I have zero plans.  It's been a really long time since I've had zero plans for a couple of day, let alone a 3 day weekend.  I saw that my local grocery store had a really awesome sale on turkey's, so I picked one up and threw it in the oven around 1pm yesterday.   

Alberta Open Farm Days: Wooden Shoes Dairy

Alberta Open Farm Days: Leaman Exchange

 

A replica of the family's gas station, owned by Cecil Sharman

The Sharman family has lived in the Wildwood area for nearly 100 years, on Leaman Road, located just 15 minutes West of Wildwood, Alberta. 8 years ago, Leanne Sharman, Grandaughter of Cecil Sharman, purchased a farm on Leaman Road with her husband David Scott, and together with their family created a hobby farm they named Leaman Exchange. 

Alberta Open Farm Days: Farmer's Market Tour

  One of my favourite aspects of summer is the abundance of locally grown fruits and vegetables.  It's not uncommon for me to take the 3 hour road trip simply to visit some of my favourite markets.