Food

Splake is a hybrid species of brook trout crossed with lake trout; it has a mild, slightly buttery flavour. As a cold-water fish in the trout family, it also contains some of the same heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Pair it with this highly flavourful beet sauce and tender-crisp carrots and you have a dish with a fetching presentation worthy of even the fanciest restaurants.

Other fish to try

Golden milk is an Ayurvedic beverage made with turmeric powder. Research has shown turmeric has potential effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases, including diabetes. A warm cup of golden milk is the perfect addition to your busy days.

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Potatoes are nature’s comfort food, magically working to create a smooth and creamy base in this very green Scandinavian soup. Watercress lends a welcome freshness while dill and buttermilk bring zip.

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Moist, chewy, and quite irresistible, these sweet blondies can be indulged in with impunity. The surprising inclusion of white beans adds protein and heart-healthy fibre, and it makes these squares the perfect guilt-free snack. If you’re not an apricot lover, don’t fret. You can use many jam and dried fruit substitutions to make these scrumptious blondies, such as

• strawberry jam and dried strawberries
• blackcurrant jam and dried blackcurrants
• cherry jam and dried sweet cherries (not the sour variety)

This fibre-rich, protein-packed salad makes a sublime side dish, or, if reduced to four servings, a perfect complete meal when served atop fresh salad greens with some crusty whole grain bread.

In my opinion, three ingredients that complete a savoury breakfast are avocado, kale, and eggs. I made this one morning when I was in the mood for something warm and fulfilling. You’ll feel like a Parisian with this open-faced sandwich!

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I love combining sweet and sour, and pickled grapes are an easy way to do that. They can be eaten as a snack or added to salads or mild-tasting food like white fish and chicken (they’re a key ingredient in the Roasted Chicken with Pickled Grapes recipe. Try roasting the grapes to intensify the flavour blend.

• Preserving technique: Cellar
• Yield: 1 qt (0.95 L)
• Time to make: 10 minutes or less
• Time to wait before eating: 1 week
• When to eat: Within 3 months

Cooking with autumn’s bounty of apples—whether you make a big batch of applesauce or a bumper crop of apple pies—can result in a lot of peels and cores destined for the compost. Knowing how to make apple cider vinegar at home is an easy way to repurpose the scraps! Because the amount of acidity in homemade vinegar is inconsistent, it should not be used for other canning projects, but it’s delicious anywhere else you’d use apple cider vinegar. (Try it in the Broiled Scallops with Apple Gastrique recipe.) *If you don’t have a 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) jar, use a food-safe bucket and a plate to weigh down the apple scraps.

• Preserving technique: Ferment
• Yield: 1 1/2 to 2 qt (1.4 to 1.9 L)
• Time to make: 10 minutes
• Time to wait before eating: 4 to 6 weeks
• When to eat: Within 1 to 2 years

Gravlax is one of the easiest preserves in the world to make. Season the fish, cover it in salt and something sweet, and wait for a few days before rinsing well. This recipe elevates it further with a soak in a bath of oil.

• Preserving technique: Salt
• Yield: 1 lb (450 g)
• Time to make: 15 minutes
• Time to wait before eating: 2 days
• When to eat: Within 10 days

My mother’s Maritime roots meant that scallops were an occasional midweek meal. As an adult, I would struggle with cooking scallops until our friend Chef Matt DeMille set me straight. His instructions were simple: “Brine them for a few minutes in salt water.” This removes the guesswork from cooking them and makes them easier to sear without overcooking. The gastrique can be made with 2 Tbsp (30 mL) of any jam instead of apple slices, or you may wish to add a bit of infused booze for more flavour. Both would be added at the same time as the lemon zest and honey.

For those who cannot or choose not to eat dairy or gluten, and even for those who can, this vegan chocolate pumpkin pie is the answer to the chocolate-covered good life. The pumpkin flavour is barely detected, instead acting as a structural backbone for the pudding. And, pumpkin provides antiaging skin support thanks to its high vitamin A content.

Smoked salmon, high in omega-3s for cognitive support and skin health, needs a bit of brightness to iron out its intensity—a hint of sharp mustard, verdant dill, lemon, carrot-infused cream cheese, and zippy pickled onions are just the things to do this. These carrot cream cheese bagels work for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner, and use a variety of harvest time superfoods.

Grab Swiss chard while still available at the market—this dark leafy green begins to wane (when locally grown) in the winter months. During harvest time, Swiss chard’s verdant leaves and crispy stems offer a delightfully refreshing alternative to lettuce-based salads when paired with juicy tomatoes, now also on their last legs.

All home cooks should have a go-to vegetable broth recipe in their arsenal. This version will make any broth-based soup swoon-worthy. Also use it instead of ho-hum water when cooking grains such as quinoa or rice, for deglazing pans, and sautéing greens. Going the extra mile and sautéing the vegetables first adds an extra layer of flavour.

Employ this golden root vegetable and the last of the garden’s fresh dill (or use dried) for a savoury grain tart. Try a slice warm with a poached egg or with goat cheese crumbled on top, or chilled, plain, to accompany a soup or salad at lunch tomorrow.

Homemade stock and a surprising sweetness, courtesy of bananas, is a surefire way to reinvent chicken curry. You’ll want to use bananas with yellow skin and only a few brown spots at most. The chicken is best served on a bed of rice to soak up the fruity curry sauce. The recipe can be halved to serve a smaller crowd.

Savoury mushroom broth is an inspiring liquid for steaming up a pan full of mussels. Owing to sustainable farming practices, mussels are one of the most eco-friendly options from the fishmonger. And they’re a cinch to prepare.

Making applesauce is one of the most efficient ways of tackling your bounty of apples. With just three ingredients—apples, water, and lemon juice—it’s a sweet treat you can feel good about.

Chicken thighs and legs are often not only the cheapest parts of the chicken, but also the most flavourful. Instead of using pickled grapes, you can rehydrate raisins in grape juice.

Fermented Brussels Sprouts

When freshly sliced, queso fresco is mild and somewhat bland in flavour; when melted, it puffs into marshmallow-like pillows with a buttery, nutty taste that will awaken your umami taste buds. The texture can vary depending on how much weight is applied to the cheese when it’s set.

Key queso fresco ingredients

Consider this broth an umami bomb and unlike anything you’ll find in the soup aisle of the supermarket. It’s a wonderful base for any Asian-inspired soup, but can also star in risottos. Or use it when braising fish such as salmon or halibut and sautéing up a bunch of sliced mushrooms.

This versatile, flavour-packed filling can top a tostada, fill a quesadilla, or stand alone as a hot dip. Using red lentil flour for the flatbread provides an unexpected pop of colour and a tasty backdrop to balance the spicy bite.

Make it a dip

This recipe offers quark au naturel. Slather generously on a croustade (the French culinary term for a crisp piece of bread) and adorn with a combination of herbs from the accompanying herb bouquet. Take quark out of fridge 15 minutes before serving, as cheeses are best served at room temperature. Edible flowers make the herb bouquet wonderful and varied throughout the summer and fall. Scarlet runner bean flowers are beautiful, as are chive flowers, borage blooms, arugula flowers, lavender, bachelor buttons, and any other herb flower. If plating for a crowd seated closely together, use a medium vase stuffed with fresh herbs and a bowl of fresh quark surrounded by croustades, with a variety of finishing salts and cold-pressed oils. Tear and taste in unison.

Serve this as a vegetarian main or side dish with whole grain bread and a leafy salad. Tap into the pudding; the Parmesan layer cracks like a crème brûlée, giving way to the supple, velvety bounty within. If serving this to a crowd—prepare yourself. Your guests will look at you differently and revere your very presence from this day forward. To wow your dinner guests, use a handheld blowtorch, tableside, to brown the cheese topping.