Recipes

All root vegetables are perfect for making soup because they're all full of hearty flavour and soften easily as they simmer. One of my favourites is celery root, which isn't actually the root of the celery you see in the store. This variety is bred specifically for its roots instead of the stalks, making them sweet and distinct, with an earthy flavour not unlike celery.

You can enjoy the bright red flavours and intense nutritional density of these two harvest ingredients brought together in one distinctive dish. In this recipe they serve both as a delicious side dish and a tasty condiment. Red Cabbage has an amazing ability to absorb other flavours while retaining its texture. Cranberry and the traditional flavours of cranberry sauce make this the perfect side dish for holiday turkey or everyday chicken or pork!

Sometimes it’s just as easy to make a lot as a little. Here’s how to stew and transform one pork shoulder into two different flavoured meals. You can spend time to save time and avoid the dreaded “same old thing” blues by splitting the works into two meals!

Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients in your kitchen. It lets you get food to your family in a hurry without sacrificing flavour. With carbonara, you harness the power of the egg yolk for a quick pasta fix. You can have this dish ready in the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta. The heat from the freshly cooked pasta will thicken the egg yolk in the sauce at the last moment. You'll be amazed at how something to simple and so speedy can be so tasty.

One of the best ways to fill Half Your Plate (and all of your soup bowl) is with a simple pureed soup. They’re a time-honoured and super-simple way to get a whole lot of vegetable flavour on the table in a hurry – maybe even hide vegetables from finicky eaters. This one was custom created by Honourable Jeff Leal with Chef Michael Smith’s coaching!

One of the best ways to fill Half Your Plate (and all of your soup bowl) is with a simple pureed soup. They’re a time-honoured and super-simple way to get a whole lot of vegetable flavour on the table in a hurry – maybe even hide vegetables from finicky eaters. This one was custom created by Honourable Yasir Naqvi’s with Chef Michael Smith’s coaching!

One of the best ways to fill Half Your Plate (and all of your soup bowl) is with a simple pureed soup. They’re a time-honoured and super-simple way to get a whole lot of vegetable flavour on the table in a hurry – maybe even hide vegetables from finicky eaters. This one was custom created by Honourable Dipika Damerla with Chef Michael Smith’s coaching!

One of the best ways to fill Half Your Plate (and all of your soup bowl) is with a simple pureed soup. They’re a time-honoured and super-simple way to get a whole lot of vegetable flavour on the table in a hurry – maybe even hide vegetables from finicky eaters. This one was custom created by MPP Andrea Horwath with Chef Michael Smith’s coaching!

Every kid deserves to grow up experiencing the sheer thrill, the absolute joy and delight of watching popcorn leaping out of the pot and into the air. Around here it's a regular spectacle, and you don't need microwave to put on this show. Popcorn is fun for the whole family, and if you want to really impress the kids, go for the caramel.

There are as many ways to roast a chicken as there are cooks. This basic method is my favourite. Roasting the chicken perched on top of a thick bed of vegetables not only helps you prepare an entire meal at once but also guarantees that not a drop of flavour is lost. You can also skip all the normal laborious of slicing by simply shredding the meat into the works and tossing together a pan stew of sorts!

Who said baking a homemade dessert has to be difficult? Not me. This dessert could not be simpler and is fully customizable. It has 2 basic parts - the apple filling and the oatmeal topping. Choose any type of apple (or a combination), your favourite fresh or frozen berry, and any of the baking spices. Ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, or simply cinnamon all work.

Sweet potatoes are undeniably healthy being packed full of micronutrients, betacarotene and fibre. They're guaranteed nutritional powerhouses, even when you make one of my favourite holiday treats from south of the border, covered with a thick layer of marshmallows. I'm convinced this classic was created by parents whose kids weren't the least bit interested in how healthy sweet potatoes are, until they showed up at the table covered in marshmallows.