Nothing says "spring" like a sweet little lemon meringue tart that's great as a mid afternoon treat or a nice finish to a spring dinner. When it comes to baking, lemons are a very versatile ingredient; they can be used to make a large variety of desserts and baked goods, either sweet or savoury. To make this recipe quick and easy, I have used the Compliments pre-made tart shells, which you can find frozen and ready to bake in the freezer section at Sobeys.

I have always enjoyed baking, I think I get it from my Mom. I find it very therapeutic and relaxing, not to mention tasty! There is something very satisfying about taking basic ingredients, creaming and mixing them together in exact quantities, in the proper order and watching them magically transform in the oven into something that smells heavenly and tastes even better.

We had a string of rainy days last week and tried to make the most of it, venturing outside with Bruce and the kids to splash in some puddles. Back inside, I didn’t feel like getting into the mess that comes with baking, so I thought I would have a go at making some old school candy, nut brittle. I was a little nervous since the sugar was going to hit a scorching 300°F (149°C), the stove was totally off limits, I have had some really nasty burns from hot sugar! Having worked with sugar and syrups a fair bit as a pastry chef, I was pretty familiar with the technique, and to be honest it’s pretty simple.

I really enjoyed the year I lived in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with Jana and Caitrin! Some of my favourite memories, mostly food related, centered around the open air markets where we frequently shopped. I remember the first time we discovered boterkoek from one of the baker’s stands. At first it didn’t look like much, but the locals were buying it up like gang busters, so I had to see what the fuss was all about. Since we had just arrived in the Netherlands, my Dutch language skills were, well non existent, so I couldn’t ask the baker’s daughter or anyone for that matter what exactly I was buying.

What really gives a great Caribbean taste is the blend of many exciting spices. These range from onion powder, black peppers, pimento dust, sweet peppers, green peppers, crushed garlic, thyme, paprika, parsley, to sweet aromatic spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, and ginger. And the fun part is that you can use any of these spices in dishes varying from savory to sweet! Like this caramelized banana smoothie - a combination of sweet refreshing flavours with a kick of aromatic spices.