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You can use any vegetables except potatoes, which don’t freeze well. I have made suggestions for the proportions of the vegetables, but what you choose is entirely up to you. Parsnips are sweet, and leeks and kohlrabi will add rich flavor. If you can’t get fresh turmeric it’s okay – the carrots will provide a warm yellow color – but do NOT use turmeric powder. Your soups will then taste like curry. Trust me on this, unless you don’t care.

I make lots of Romanian ciorba, hence the usage of lovage and dill in my vegetable bouillon.

For a fast soup on cold evenings, all you need to do is pop one or two vegetable bouillon squares into the pot with water or stock, and add meatballs, dumplings or potatoes. If you feel like it, you can add extra vegetables. But when the temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4°F) I don’t want to muck around in the kitchen, I want something easy, hearty and comforting.

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When making smoked chicken lollipops, take the time to lollipop the drumsticks carefully and safely. Use a sharp knife and, starting just above the knuckle of each drumstick, cut through the skin only, making a clean cut around the bone but not marking or cutting into it. Pull the skin up until it resembles a lollipop. Apply the rub, cover, and let the lollipops marinate in the refrigerator for at least hour or, preferably, overnight.

Before cooking the lollipops, you’ll want to get your smoker to a good temperature, probably about 121°C (250° F). For fuel, I use a 50/25/25 mix of hickory, applewood, and charcoal pellets.

Whenever I do a spicy dish or anything with a kick, I like to accompany it with a cooling yogurt sauce, like cilantro-lime raita. It’s so easy – combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and put into the fridge. Serve the smoked chicken lollipops with the sauce on the side.

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Mediterranean Stuffed Salmon can be made on the grill, in the oven, or on the stove top. I prefer the stove top because it cooks so quickly.  I recommend using a cast iron skillet for this dish as it can bear high heat, which you will want to for creating crispy skin.

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This jam is ideal for making pineapple jam tart, a favorite tart in Malaysia. These pineapple jam tarts are popular during Chinese New Year and Eid-al Fitr.

Pâte sablée is a classic French shortcrust pastry dough. find the recipe in the link for Peach Bellini Tart.

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Be sure to wear gloves for handling the hot peppers.  If you handle hot peppers often,  you will be okay with the heat on your hands but if you inadvertently touch other, more sensitive body parts, you may be in for an uncomfortable ride.  I have experienced habañero eyes more than once and it lasts for hours. You will not need to remove the skin or seeds from the tomatoes. It is much work and they will be strained out after cooking.

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Many people probably never heard of  lactic cheese, but it is worth getting to know.  The process to make this cheese is the same as for making chevre, or goat cheese.  The difference, of course, is that cow’s milk is used in the lactic cheese as opposed to goat milk.

The cheese is good refrigerated for about 2 weeks (if it lasts uneaten for that long). Mix it with herbs or spices, or in Smoked Salmon Cheese Dip.

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Beer, half n’ half, and fire roasted tomatoes seemed to make sense. I also used up all my garlic and parsley…thus the amounts shown in the recipe. These turned out great!  I am saving the leftover sauce as a base for a salmon soup or stew. Yum.

P.S. My husband will not be making the mussels again!

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