Eric Akis

1 week ago | timescolonist.com | Eric Akis

Meringues served with strawberries and whipped cream is a fine summer dessert. You can present it elegantly, too. Where a single serving size, perfectly piped meringues are set on a dessert plates and decadently topped with the cream, berries and a garnish, such as edible flowers. If that’s too much fuss for you, though, there is another way to combine meringues, strawberries and cream, and that is to literally make a “mess” with them.

1 week ago | timescolonist.com | Eric Akis

Like many folks, each week I review grocery store flyers to see what’s on ad. With regard to poultry, over the last few years, an item I’ve noticed appearing in them with some regularity is chicken drumsticks. When it comes to purchasing pieces of chicken, it seems most consumers prefer buying breasts and thighs. That in turn explains why every few weeks there might be a surplus of chicken drumsticks a food store will put on sale.

2 weeks ago | timescolonist.com | Eric Akis

In a recent column I offered a recipe for Burgundy-style beef burgers. Not long after that, a few readers reached out and asked me if I could also do one for a meat-free burger. I did that in a column back April, presenting a recipe for lentil quinoa patties that could be sandwiched in buns. In the past, I’ve also done recipes for mushroom burgers and fish burgers. Today, though, I decided to make a burger with a Middle Eastern-style food, falafel.

2 weeks ago | timescolonist.com | Eric Akis

The weather is warming up and it’s the perfect time of year to start combining two styles of food: A salad whipped up in your kitchen, plated with something you grill outside on your barbecue. Grilled veggie burgers served with tangy slaw, grilled steaks served with a fabulous Caesar salad or barbecued ribs accompanied with creamy potato salad are just a few of the possibilities for this feast.

3 weeks ago | timescolonist.com | Eric Akis

Locally grown strawberries are in season, making this a happy time of year for lovers of the fruit. Unlike imported berries, which are often picked under-ripe, white in the middle and hard and sturdy enough to ship many hundreds of kilometres, locally grown ones are ripe, red throughout and at their peak flavour. You can, of course, enjoy strawberries on their own, or incorporate them into recipes, both savoury and sweet.