Foodie Swellness: Staub specialty tomato cocotte

As I’ve mentioned, I’m working with Staub and trying out some of their products, and first up is their super adorable tomato cocotte.

For years, I’ve longed for a Dutch oven, namely Staub or Le Creuset. But the cost always stopped me from investing in one. How much braising and soup-cooking do or would I do, after all? (Oh, in case, you’re wondering what the heck a dutch oven is, it’s a large heavy cast-iron pot that you can use on the stovetop or in the oven. ) Now that I’m in a much smaller space (with limited storage space), is a large heavy pot really something I need?

And the answer is yes. I now wish I hadn’t stalled all these years to get one. For one, you can simply use it in whichever way you use a large pot (even if you’re not braising, I mean), I have no idea why but I never thought of it in this way, I really thought of it only for stews. Plus, this tomato cocotte from Staub is so cute that if you don’t have anywhere to store it, it looks great sitting on your stovetop (and even the classic Staub cocottes do as well). Plus, it may cost you a few hundred but it’ll last you a lifetime. Trust, you’ll come to love your heavy, sturdy cocotte very much.

On top of this, of course, there are all of the wonderful dishes you can make in a Staub cocotte. For one, I only recently learned you can bake the easiest no-knead bread using your Staub. Freshly baked bread is one of my weaknesses but I’ve never been motivated to make it from scratch because it seems like so much work, but this one is virtually zero work. I’m more than a little obsessed with this recipe. (And I run…so it’s OK if I eat all those carbs, right? Or that’s what I tell myself…) And there’s delicious recipes like this healthier version of chowder I made (I mostly followed this Canadian Living recipe for Cauliflower Corn Chowder — I had to substitute a few ingredients based on what I had in my kitchen). Next, I plan on trying a ratatouille recipe, and the recipe for braised brussel sprouts, which you can find on page 19 here in this Staub recipe book.

Leave a Comment June 6, 2016

Foodie Swellness: Riviera Petit Pot

The last time I was in Paris (about three years ago with L’Oreal and Julianne Moore), I fell in love with their yogurts, which come in darling glass jars. I kept one (I store hair ties in it).

Just recently launched in Ontario is Riviera Petit Pot, a line from Quebec of yogurts and dairy products such as sour cream, crème fraiche (which is always hard to find), butter and cheese. And the liquid-y products all come in those cute French-style glass jars. There’s just something pleasing about the experience of eating a yogurt out of the jar, both visually and in a tactile sense.

What the products taste like is, of course, what matters most and I like the full flavour of the yogurts; they’re not overly decadent tasting (I find some yogurts can seem like dessert and that’s not what I’m looking for at breakfast!) but also aren’t thin or have a tinny taste I find some yogurts have. Plus, Petit Pot has a fig yogurt (which I’ve never seen in the yogurt section) and it’s a nice departure from my usual choices (plain, honey or strawberry, and sometimes peach). The crème fraiche I used in a pasta dish and it turned out great.

I have butters, cheese and sour cream to taste test still but I have a feeling they’ll be as satisfying as the yogurts.

Riviera Petit Pot is available in select retailers across Ontario.

Leave a Comment March 9, 2016

Healthy Swellness: I’m a W Dish Creator

Hey, so I know it seems like all I do is run, eat and travel, but I swear I work as a freelance writer in between all of that. And one of my newest gigs is writing regularly as a W Dish Creator for the site’s health channel. So I create health…hahaha, OK, no I don’t. Creator is the term W Dish has for the handful of content contributors to the site. I’m in the fine company of ladies including Pay Chen, Sharlene Chiu and Jillian Harris.]

Look for new articles on W Dish several times a month (plus I’ll be tweeting links to them, too). My most recent article includes tips from celebrity fitness trainer Harley Pasternak on how to look fit and healthy on the red carpet.

Leave a Comment October 7, 2015