The Hungry Squid

There is nothing like a beautiful Maritime weekend to recharge your batteries. I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday outside, reading on the waterfront, drinking coffee in the sun, and wandering about town people-watching and spending some quality squid time. I think all of Halifax had the same idea:   to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and give one last hurrah to summer before resigning themselves to the damp chill of an East Coast October. I really don't mind the cold, though, and one of the best parts of the winter months is the abundance of warm, rich foods, the hearty drinks, and of course, the mountains of cookies and baked treats. Biscotti are one of my favorite; not too sweet, chock full of nuts and with an attractive crunch that melts away with a dunk or two into a hot allong é . This recipe yields a cookie that is all of those things, with vibrant, pleasantly bitter espresso flavor offset by creamy bittersweet chocolate and a homey, s...

One of the things that I miss the most about Montreal is its culinary diversity. Anywhere you go, you are bound to find a cultural pocket - a delicious hole-in-the-wall dumpling restaurant, an Italian grocer selling pickled baby octopus, a family-owned Indian restaurant with $0.50 samosas and dirt-cheap thalis. The further away from downtown you travel, the more you realize just how much of a hub the city is, a second home to people from every corner of the world whose new roots form a beautiful, ever-evolving urban landscape. Last week in Toronto, A and I took advantage of the city's foodie leanings and spent a couple of days eating at little restaurants in the ethnic patchwork quilt that is Kensington Market. We sampled delicious mahi mahi tacos, pickled mussels and corn ice cream, among other things, and intermittently worked at cool leafy cafes and browsed an endless array of interesting shops. This simple dish was made using a fantastic batch of za'atar that...

P/C: A This morning, my ears were cold during my run. Not just a little chilly, the way they are on a rainy July morning, but actually cold, and accompanied by numbing fingers and barely visible breath. It seems like fall is here again. It's so nice to be back in Halifax, after having spent a great, but busy, post-GMAT week with family and friends. Our friends' wedding festivities were so much fun, in spite of the moonshine, and my brother's big move into residence was accompanied by teary parents, as expected. And then it was off to visit my dear A in Toronto, where catch ups, coffee, and of course, cooking, abounded. My first night in town, A and I tried out a recipe from by one of our favorite chefs of the moment, Yotam Ottolenghi. His cookbook Jerusalem has provided M and me with an endless supply of delicious dinner ideas, and its sister book, Plenty , is much loved by my mother. The black pepper tofu dish we chose to try is one that is a delicious al...