Autumn Harvest

Apples and Cranberries at the Market

Autumn is my favourite season, and is best enjoyed in my other island home of Montreal. With the cooling temperatures and changing landscape palette in southern Quebec comes the bountiful harvest of fresh fruits and vegetables that abound with flavour, colour and texture. The practice of apple picking at a farm is not only fun but also rewarding as you get to bring home fresh, crisp apples for making pies, cakes, and sauces.

I went apple picking last week in Hollis, New Hampshire with my sister Julie; some of the best apple varieties to pick at that time were Gala, Cortland, McIntosh, Rome and Red Delicious. Eating an apple freshly picked off the tree is an experience to behold. The ripe ones are crisp, juicy, and provide the maximum vitamin content. My favourite eating apple is the Fuji variety because they are sweet, crunchy, and juicy, however they were not ready to pick at the time of my visit.

Pumpkin Varieties at the Market

The Atwater Market in Montreal is a splash of colour with flowers galore interspersed with late summer/early autumn harvest produce. Pumpkins in a variety of colours, sizes and shapes are on display in their pre-Halloween glory. It is a tantalizing time to visit the market, and you are sure to return home with an enhanced appetite.

Colour Kaleidoscope of Chrysanthemums and Pumpkins

With all this fresh produce comes the desire to bake so that the home is well stocked with delicious homemade snacks. I whipped up a batch of Oatmeal, Cranberry, White Chocolate cookies made with whole wheat flour, brown sugar, organic rolled oats and roasted walnuts. I baked them a few minutes longer to ensure extra crispiness. The added walnuts enhance the nutty flavour of the oatmeal, and the white chocolate and dried cranberries impart a delightful sweet and sour taste to every bite. These cookies are wholesome, rustic and oh, so tasty.

Fresh Cranberries at the Market

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and White Chocolate

Now it is on to more baking from my stash of fresh apples. Happy harvest from Crumbs Homemade!

Pure Pesto

Sweet Basil from the Garden

An essential condiment in my kitchen is Pesto, which is basically a paste or sauce made from fresh sweet basil leaves, pine nuts, fresh garlic, grated parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil. It is so easy to prepare that I make sure to have it on hand regularly. Ideally if you can grow sweet basil in your herb garden, you can have the fresh leaves available whenever you are ready to prepare the Pesto. And there is nothing like preparing a dish using fresh herbs just cut from your home garden. Otherwise, basil leaves are usually available in most grocery outlets, but make sure the leaves that you purchase are not withered or blackened, but fresh looking and very green.

Easy to whip up with a food processor that grinds all the ingredients together, Pesto adds a burst of flavour to any dish, and is especially delicious as a spread in sandwiches, as a pasta sauce, for chip dips, or as a cracker spread. Once you start making it, you will always want to have it stocked in your refrigerator.

Tasty, healthy, and versatile - Pesto is one of those must haves in any kitchen.

Fresh Pesto

How Does Your Morning Stack Up?

Cornmeal Pancakes With Fresh Berries

What better way to wake up on a Sunday morning than to the aroma of homemade pancakes cooking in the kitchen? And these are just no ordinary pancakes. They are Cornmeal Pancakes made with a specific type of cornmeal - a gritty, coarse variety sourced from the Bridgetown outdoor market where fresh fruits, vegetables, and condiments abound. This type of cornmeal provides a tasty, wholesome corn flavour, something you can really sink your teeth into. The pancakes are made with buttermilk, eggs, and oil, and no added flour or sugar. Stacked aplenty, topped with fresh berries of your choice - my preference is blueberries or raspberries - and doused with pure Canadian maple syrup, this is a great, hearty way to start a laid back Sunday. As the saying goes, keep it "easy like Sunday morning".

Typical Bridgetown Market Scene

Summer Sensations

Fettuccine with Stir-Fry Vegetables

After a long, devastating drought not experienced in Barbados for decades, the dry winter months have finally passed. From the onset of the first brief downpours during the month of May, the Bajan landscape suddenly emerges in all its glory. Garden ornamentals start to bloom profusely, offering their abundance of colour, texture and aroma.

The common sites of summer include brilliant yellow Poui trees, fantastic Flamboyant trees, and mango trees in full fruit. Summer colours, flavours, and heat can all be translated in the kitchen through dishes filled with fresh fruits, vegetables and spices.

One such dish is a pasta favourite made with stir-fried vegetables served over pesto infused fettuccine. Onions, red bell peppers, and broccoli are lightly pan fried in olive oil with fresh garlic and dusted with hot cayenne powder. The fettuccine is prepared al dente and mixed with homemade pesto, and then topped with the stir-fry mixture. Serve at lunch time in the garden surrounded by tropical splendour...............

Anole lizard (Anolis extremus) on red Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia splendens)

White Petrea (Petrea volubilis)

Orange Aphelandra (Aphelandra var.)

............or at sundown on the patio while witnessing the glorious sunset. Top this off with a Crumbs Homemade favourite, and kick back and relax. It's going to be a fabulous summer!

Barbados sunset

Winter Warmth

Winter season in Barbados means plenty of sunshine, brisk tradewinds, and deep blue skies, all of which lure plenty of visitors out of the cold and onto the island's sun-kissed shores. Included in those visitors over this winter season were a number of my relatives and close friends who, as my guests, were treated to a dose of Bajan hospitality.

What this meant was rolling up my sleeves and dishing out plenty of home cooked specials, including local fresh fish prepared with curry and other flavourful herbs and spices, fresh vegetables and crisp salads, and loads of fresh fruits. To top off these favourites, I baked up a storm of goodies that kept everyone calling for more.


Featured prominently on my winter dessert menu were Date Nut Squares, Blondies, and Blueberry Gingerbread, all equally tantalizing and delicious. Arranging slices of these cakes on a single platter for tea or after meals was a highlight of the day. The difficulty was choosing which one to taste, and as expected, most of our guests gave in and sampled all.

It was a pleasure having my sister and business partner, Julie, back in Barbados for her usual double-header visit in December and February. Whenever we get together, no matter where we are, we bake excessively, much to the delight of whoever is around us. We have found that an overwhelming favourite is the Pumpkin Walnut Bread which is moist and tasty, with the added joy of roasted walnuts and sweet raisins in practically every whole wheat bite.


My guests have all returned back to their respective temperate locations well rested and well fed, with wonderful memories of their time spent in Barbados. It is time for me now to kick back and savour a slice of that Pumpkin Walnut Bread just baked and smelling amazing. Cheers!

Coconut Bakes

Relaxing with a hot cup of herb tea is my idea of winding down from a long, stressful day at work. Complete that image by adding a slice of freshly baked Coconut Bread, or a soft, chewy Coconut Raisin Drop, each made with freshly grated coconut, plump raisins, and whole wheat flour. The smell alone of something baking with coconut is heavenly; the taste is even more amazing.



Coconut Bread, or Sweet Bread as it is referred to here, is almost a staple in Barbados. Our version is less sweet and more "nutty", but just as satisfying. Most Sweet Breads are sprinkled with granulated sugar before being baked to produce a bread with a crunchy topping. We leave that step out to reduce the amount of sugar being consumed. In our view, adding a generous amount of raisins to the bread provides enough natural fructose (fruit sugar) which complements the nutty coconut flavour. This tea bread is moist and flavourful and oh so Caribbean.


The Coconut Raisin Drops tend to go first when offered at my dessert table. It's really very hard to just consume one of these absolutely delightful mini-cakes. That is why I usually have to make a double batch whenever I have visitors stop by. We also make a White Chocolate Cranberry variety which is also terrific. Sampling one of each is definitely the way to go!

Hola Granola

We all love to snack in between meals, but the question is what to snack on that doesn't make you regretful after you swallow the last bite. One of my favourite snacks is fresh granola, which can be eaten on its own, or as a topping on fat-free natural yogurt which is drizzled with real maple syrup and topped with fresh berries. Most days when I come home from work, I grab the granola bag and hope that it is not empty because my husband, Geoff, is virtually hooked on it. He insists that I make a fresh batch every weekend so that we don't run out during the week.

When my sister, Julie, was last in Barbados over the holidays, she made this granola in a flash and I was amazed at how delicious it was. It is super easy to make and the result is a naturally sweet and crunchy snack that is healthy and satisfying. We've added it to our Crumbs Homemade menu so that we can share it with you.