The soloution for a foodie living on her own in a new, exciting city

So I've moved to Vancouver on my own and here I am doing this thing that people call 'growing up'. I am blessed to have been born into a family of food lovers. I have been cooking for as long as I can remember and now that I live by myself it has become an even more integral part of my life. I have been delving into local grocery stores, markets and restaurants, but have no real forum to share these experiences in. Just the other day I made myself a braised halibut soup with bok choy, mushrooms, and a light miso broth. When I sat down to eat it, I was filled with a sense of happiness and contentment, but wished there was someone else there to appreciate it with me. I stand in my tiny kitchen at home and it's almost as if a force outside of myself grips me and produces these glorious meals. I've decided to open up a blog to share these things with you. I'll post recipes, although I am not known to stick to them, share tips that I've learned over the years, and hopefully open some eyes to the true joy that cooking can bring into your life. We are what we eat and I really take that saying to heart. Good food is not hard to make! Just make it a priority.

Here we go, bon appetite, and happy cooking!!


Tonight my friend Kayla is coming over for dinner. I picked up some really beautiful chicken breasts from Whole Foods market on West 4th Ave. I have them in the fridge right now marinating in olive oil, garlic and some fresh oregano. In the summertime when everything is fresh it's easy to keep the recipes simple and great tasting. I am going to make mashed potatoes and a carrot and red cabbage coleslaw to go along with the meat.

I am using red nugget potatoes for the mash, and I like to leave the skins on. Scrub them and put them in a high sided saucepan and fill with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are soft when stabbed with a fork. Drain them, saving a bit of the water to add back in later. Transfer them back into the saucepan and add a big lob of butter, a splash of milk or cream and salt and pepper to taste. What you add to your potatoes is totally up to you. You can experiment with broth (chicken, vegetable), sour cream, and or cheese. I like adding seasoned, sauteed green onions and some fresh minced flat-leaf parsley. The options are endless.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both side. Heat a stainless steel pan over high heat. Add the chicken skin side down into the hot pan and leave until it is crispy brown and lifts away from the bottom of the pan. Flip over and put into an oven preheated to 375 degrees. I don't really know how long it will take. Just until it's done. Maybe 7 minutes? It all depends on how big the breasts are. Make sure you let the chicken rest for a couple minutes before cutting into it, as it lets the juices return back into the centre of the meat.

For the coleslaw, julienne the carrots and cabbage. Make a simple dressing from mustard, garlic, lemon juice (or a vinegar of your choice) and olive oil. Whip with a fork to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the salad.

Voila, easy peasy. Dinner's ready.