I don’t do as much wine-country touring in the winter as I do in the summer, rather I have hunkering down in the Niagara Farmhouse down to a fine art. After a busy Saturday of hockey mom duty, Sunday means curling up inside and spending time baking with the kids, whittling away the afternoon on ambitious cooking projects or baking elaborate sweets and photographing the riches. The long day in the kitchen is rewarded with warming up by the fire with a glass of red.  (favourite winter sipper is a Small Lot Gamay from Malivoire – very quaffable!)

Here we go. I have been stalling long enough on this here blog. Is that what this is going to be I wonder-   a blog, a space to upload the gazillion photos that I take on the weekends, a journal of my cooking journeys both here in Niagara and beyond?

The control-enthusiast in me had wanted to get really clear on what this space was going to be before hitting “publish”- but I have decided that 2017 is a year of following my heart and addressing my longing for days in the kitchen culminating in dinner parties with friends- no matter if the picture, or dinner, is perfect.

So, welcome friends. Here are a few of my plans for 2017:

1. attend a cooking course here in Niagara
2. attend a cooking courses at Ballymaloe (Ireland!) or in France! or Italy!
3. learn more about my favourite Niagara purveyors (hello cheese, wine, bread, butter-tarts)
4. throw some helluva fun dinner parties at the farmhouse!

   

   
   

Our little farmhouse is surrounded by large maples and pines that graced the original 100-acre Stoner Farm. The property now is just shy of an acre – but the maples still turn a bright orange-  and the young sugar maples we planted when we moved in- a brilliant red.