Hot Cross Buns are made with a yeasted enriched dough that is fragrant with warm spices. Usually, dried fruit is added. These buns are an Easter tradition in many homes. Traditionally eaten on Good Friday, and marking the end of Lent, Hot Cross Buns, with their signature cross on the top, carry the symbolism of the crucifixion of Jesus. Continue reading Billowy Soft Hot Cross Buns
While many cast French Onion Soup as fine dining restaurant fare, it really is easy enough to make this soup at home. Read on for my recipe, hints, and tips for making this Classic French Onion Soup in your own kitchen. Yes, you really can make fine restaurant-quality food at home and your kitchen will have the intoxicating aroma of a French bistro! Continue reading Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
I love an elegant afternoon tea on any given day of the year but there are certain holidays and special days that really open up many options for creative and inspiring tea events. For me, St. Patrick’s Day is one of them as the colors of the Ireland flag are great inspiration for the color theme of the tea table as well as for the food itself. What follows is my Irish-themed St. Patrick’s Day Afternoon Tea. Continue reading St. Patrick’s Day Afternoon Tea
Mini Bundt cakes have become quite popular and trendy and they are ideal individual desserts that present so attractively on a plate. Today, I used my pan of fluted mini Bundt pan molds (each having a 1-cup capacity) to make individual Mini Blueberry Bundt Cakes with a lemon glaze. Continue reading Mini Blueberry Bundt Cakes
It’s no secret that I love anything to do with afternoon tea. Living where I do, here in PEI, we do not have places that offer afternoon tea year-round but that really does not make a huge difference to me as I like to prepare and enjoy afternoon tea at home, whether that’s for one or more people.
Today, it’s a prelude to St. Patrick’s Day afternoon tea for one and the color theme is distinctly green with a hint of orange as, at the time of writing, we are mere days away from St. Patrick’s Day. Continue reading St. Patrick’s Day Afternoon Tea for One
Homemade Baked Beans make a hearty stick-to-the-ribs meal. Add some homemade bread or biscuits along with molasses and a simple yet tasty meal awaits. I originally published my traditional Baked Beans in Maple Syrup recipe in 2012 and that recipe can be accessed by clicking here. My newest recipe, Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce, differs from my original recipe in that the yellow eye beans are slowly baked in a sweet and savory tomato-based sauce giving them a lovely rich flavor and reddish-brown color. Continue reading Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce
Who would ever think that the lowly black beans, known for their fibre and protein content, could be transformed into moist, fudgy, decadent, and super tasty brownies! But, it’s true and these Black Bean Mocha Brownies (now my new favorite) do not have the slightest taste of beans! Serve the brownies to folks and don’t tell them there are black beans in them and I seriously doubt they’d ever guess as much. With maple syrup, cocoa powder, coffee, and vanilla as flavor enhancers along with almond flour, you’d be hard pressed to find a hint of bean flavor in these brownies. Continue reading Black Bean Mocha Brownies
Here is my suggested meal plan for the upcoming week which is Week 7 in our meal planning series. If you want to check out previous weeks’ meal plans, hotlinks to them are included at the end of this posting. Continue reading MEAL PLANNING – WEEK 7
For some reason, I always think of Raisin Pie as a late autumn or winter time pie. I suppose, perhaps, it might have something to do with spring, summer, and fall being the time when we think of fruit pies like rhubarb, strawberry, peach, and apple, for example, when such fruits are in season. In winter, those fruits are likely to be imported and more expensive so one tends to look for other types of fillings for pies. Continue reading Old-fashioned Raisin Pie Recipe
I am often asked for my recipe for pie pastry so that is the focus of this posting. There are many different kinds of pastry but, today, I am focusing on a basic all-purpose pastry suitable for both sweet and savory pies. But, first, let’s start with some hints and tips on making the pastry. There are many sources of information on pastry making and what follows is the method I have used for years with success to make my pastry. Hope it is of use. Continue reading How to Make Pie Pastry (plus Recipe)
Today marks a milestone for me as it was 10 years ago on this date that I created My Island Bistro Kitchen’s website.
Over the past 10 years, I have developed and published countless recipes, conducted interviews and written numerous stories about PEI food and beverage producers, attended and written about many Island food events, contributed to media articles, participated as a panelist on radio call-in shows, wrote reviews of select cookbooks, provided several recipe tutorials, created a series of weekly meal plans, set many tables with all kinds of pretty tablesettings, shared my gardening adventures, taken followers around the scenic Island on my many summer picnics and, yes, you’ve been invited to several teatimes, too! Whew! What a whirlwind it has been!
The food blog and website were created when I was looking for a focus that would allow me to pursue three of my passions – culinary, photography, and writing. Blogging had just really come into its own around the time that I created the website and so off I went on the recipe development, food photography, and food writing journey.
I aim to keep the recipes I develop and share real and do-able for the home cook and not too far “off the beaten track”. I am aware of the different levels of culinary skills and food budgets that followers may have. As such, I try to provide thorough instructions with my recipes and, with some exceptions but to the extent possible, to use equipment that is most likely to be common in the vast majority of kitchens so followers who choose to make the recipes can do so in their own kitchens. Where possible, I continue to try to feature and use locally produced food ingredients from here in Prince Edward Island.
So, on this, my 10th Blogiversary, I am grateful for those faithful followers of My Island Bistro Kitchen who have been with me from the start. I am also thankful for, and welcome, those who have joined (and continue to join) along the way. If you are new to “the Bistro”, a hearty warm welcome to you! I hope all will continue to follow “the Bistro” and invite their family and friends to follow along, too, as I have plans for more great recipes in the works.
Every anniversary merits some kind of celebratory cake so, it’s a simple white cake filled with cranberry curd today and decorated with sugared cranberries and rosemary just picked from my garden.
I have opted to pair some of my fuchsia, or cranberry-colored, teacups with this cake for today’s celebratory teatime. Tea was poured from the stunning bell-shaped carousel or marquee Sadler teapot in shades of ivory, gold, and burgundy. Isn’t it a stunner!
Barbara
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The primary inspiration for this Sausage, Black Beans, and Pasta Casserole came from an abundance of tomato sauce in my freezer. I had surplus tomatoes in the garden last year and, since I detest food waste of any kind, I made and froze a lot of tomato sauce (recipe here) that needed to be transformed into meals. Continue reading Sausage, Black Beans, and Pasta Casserole
Welcome to my Holly and Roses Holiday Afternoon Tea! If you are a regular follower of my food blog, you know I adore afternoon tea events. The Christmas season provides an excellent opportunity for a special holiday afternoon tea complete with seasonal china pieces and, naturally, all kinds of Christmas goodies.
This afternoon tea was inspired by my Royal Albert “December” teacups in the “Christmas Rose” pattern. These cups are from Royal Albert’s “Flower of the Month” series and the December pattern is aptly named “Christmas Rose”. Because the cups feature roses and holly, I have named this afternoon tea the Holly and Roses Holiday Afternoon Tea. Continue reading Holly and Roses Holiday Afternoon Tea
For my holiday dinner table this year, I set myself a two-fold challenge:
1) Design a tablescape using only materials I already owned (√) and
2) Use a color scheme I had not previously used for a Christmas tablescape (√)
I call this silver and white tablescape the Winter White Holiday Tablesetting. Continue reading Winter White Holiday Tablesetting
This is an oldie but always a goodie! This irresistible Hello Dolly Square is believed to have started circulating c. 1960s and may have been named in honor of the Hello Dolly musical of the same era. Continue reading Hello Dolly Square Recipe
Cranberries are a flavor often associated with Christmas so, today, I have taken seasonal cranberries and turned them into a divine Cranberry Curd for which the possibilities to enjoy it are endless and limited only by your creativity. Continue reading How to Make Cranberry Curd
These Rum Balls are adult-only treats. They are not intended for consumption by children. So, yay, the adults get to have their very own secret treats they don’t have to share with the kids! These rum-infused balls are a classic adult treat around the holidays. Continue reading Right Some Good Rum Balls
Mincemeat is a traditional Christmas food in many parts of the world, including mine. As mincemeat is a common staple ingredient in my pantry, I use mincemeat in a whole host of recipes including muffins, cookies, tarts, pies, squares, and quick breads. Today, however, I have used my own homemade Green Tomato Mincemeat to create a divine Steamed Mincemeat and Apple Pudding. Continue reading Steamed Mincemeat and Apple Pudding
These Christmas Fruitcake Drop Cookies are what I like to describe as a deconstructed light fruitcake turned into mighty tasty little cookies. The cookies, themselves, are not difficult or complicated to make though there are a couple of time delays required for them. One is the period required to soak the fruit in brandy and the second is the cookie dough resting period in the refrigerator. Continue reading Christmas Fruitcake Drop Cookies
A hearty Beef Stew is a soul-satisfying and tummy-filling meal. It’s pure stick-to-the-ribs comfort food, especially on cool autumn or cold winter days. Made with basic ingredients, what makes this hearty Rustic Homestyle Beef Stew so wonderfully tasty (in addition to the Beef Seasoning Mix) is the long, slow, moist heat method of cooking a tougher cut of meat in a small amount of flavorful liquid to tenderize the meat. I believe this is what makes the difference between a bland, lacklustre beef stew and a super flavorful one. Continue reading Rustic Homestyle Beef Stew
