My roommate is leaving me in just a week.  A tough food critic and devoted “The Next Food Network Star” follower, this meal will have to win her over, once and for all.  This summer has been very inspiring and has fostered many culinary adventures.  From expanding my palate, improving my culinary skills, growing my own veggies, and selecting finer ingredients, it has been awesome. In honour of my roommate, the finalists on “The Next Food Network Star” (Aarti, Herb, and Tom), my love of burrito bowls, the produce grown in my garden, and local food movements, I give you [...]

Kale is a superfood that anyone can grow.  I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this leafy plant as a decoration in outdoor planters.  Basically if you have a square foot of space you can plant a few kale seeds and end up with an amazingly versatile food. Kale can be sauteed, eaten raw (it can be bitter if the leaves are large) and in our house baked.  My kids love eating these green crunchy chips.  This time I made them on our BBQ while making sausages. Ingredients: – a bunch of kale (7 or 8 leaves) – garlic powder – small [...]

We had company down last weekend and I decided we would make something we’ve never eaten before. This is what we came up with. The burger was MASSIVE, and I would recommend making 8 patties instead of 4, but the burgers were delicious… no doubt about that!

Another variation on a BBQ spice rub, this time around, for those who seek the heat! This rub isn’t for the faint of heart, but it certainly isn’t the hottest I’ve had.

Read on for details!

Yet another of my spice creations, this time, a more versatile rub that would be at home on chicken, pork, veal and most white fish! Perfect for grilling on a hot summer day!

Read on for the simple ingredient list!

This is a very simple spice mixture that is excellent for use in spicy seafood dishes, and even as a base for a good carribean jerk rub. The idea is that once it’s grilled, the spices will blacken, giving the food a wonderful flavor and color!

Check out the simple directions after the jump!

Well, the weather was so darn nice yesterday that we couldn’t resist the urge to bbq some amazing top sirloin steaks we got at a local butcher’s. We marinated the steak in olive oil, garlic and fresh thyme for 4 hours and we ended up eating quite possibly the most tender steak I’ve ever had.

Introducing the Melanie Burger! She hand made the patties and chose the toppings and this is the end result. No real recipe on this one, just a great looking burger picture to salivate to. Enjoy!