Brussels sprouts have a bad rep. Growing up, this was the vegetable that kids dreaded, and would likely try to feed to the dog, sneak into the garbage, or bribe their little sister to eat. I always wondered why people had such a distaste for the "Bastard Cabbage", as I have started to call it.  I put together a Sunday roast for some friends recently, and being that some people do eat vegetables I decided to create a recipe that I could prepare in advance, as my oven would be very busy with the meat and the Yorkshire puddings. 

Come on, aren't they beautiful little bastards?

I Hacked Alice Waters' Scones. I know, the horror and scandal of it all. 

Im at Vickis Veggies with my friend Rossy for a couple of days, and woke up craving scones. We had not eaten much of anything, so away I went to play around with this recipe that Vicki found for me. Love Alice, but had to make it my own.

I invited some of my girls over for holiday drinks, and a meal was requested. It seems with my #BratPack girls that my reputation precedes me, and I needed to prove my skills are legit. Playing hard to get, I gave a solid maybe, and started menu planning.  I had been waiting on an opportunity to try out the beef I received at a blogger event put on by Canadian Beef, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a roast in the oven, and to use the new Lodge cast iron I picked up. Nothing like cooking with good cast iron and roasts are so easy, and satisfying. Best part is that leftovers can be used for so many things (tacos, sandwiches, salads, pastas, etc.). Season the meat, get a good sear on it, pop it in the oven, and forget about it for a while. Easy. I had a piece of meat that was just under a kilo, and I roasted it at 275 for 90 minutes. 

The holidays are fast approaching, and it is tine to get those survival kits ready for those last minute and unannounced guests that will inevitably drop in for a drink and a snack, or perhaps an impromptu party on a cold and snowy eve. Also, it is gift-giving season, and there are lots of great ideas out there of what to buy, and my preference always leans to food and drink so here are a bunch of suggestions. This issue of my Holiday Survival Guide is all about convenience, and some spots to go pick up a few items to have around the house or some unique food gifts for those foodies on your Naughty or Nice lists. There are some great independent retailers out there to support during the holidays, and here are some things I have come across. 

Yesterday we talked about beer, and today I present to you, my Holiday Survival Guide Fine Foods Edition.

Sunchoke & Roasted Garlic Soup

I got this recipe from my friend Ninja, who has been working this season at Vicki's Veggies but is a cook by training. We are always looking for new ways to use the veggies that we sell at the markets, and most people are not familiar with Sunchokes, so Ninja brought this recipe so people could have a way to prepare them, and also buy our potatoes and garlic :) 

The Jerusalem Artichoke is actually not related to an artichoke at all, nor does it have anything to do with The Holy Land. Actually, it is related to a sunflower and is we use its tuber as a root vegetable. I find it nutty in flavour, but some people find it is not dissimilar to the taste of an artichoke.

Remember when making soups that any measurements are just approximate, and you should just use your judgment and taste the soup as you go to adjust flavours to your personal taste. I used some garlic scapes that I has sitting around from the spring, and they worked really well in this soup. If you know what you are doing you can be playful with the flavours, and as you can see by my note below I used different herbs based on what I had around (adds "buy dried thyme" to to-do list).