Asiago Artichoke Dip

My gluten-intolerant friend was having a potluck this past winter and I was in a bit of a pickle. A lot of great ideas were already taken (she made a lasagna using rice noodles!) and everything I could think of had meat in it (the guest list was full of vegetarians!). A cheesy gluten-free vegetarian dip seemed like a good solution, so I tweaked the recipes I found online until they fit!

Macaroons

Important note: these are the North American coconut macaroons, not the swanky French meringue- and almond-based macarons. (The extra ‘O’ makes all the difference…)

Macaroons are incredibly easy to make. They’re one of those recipes where you read the  instructions and think to yourself “That’s it?” I really don’t understand why these aren’t sold at every bake sale or in every Christmas cookie tin. The boys in my family are always so excited about them that I’ve taken to making a double batch every time.

Turkey Lentil Soup

You know those recipes that run in families? Lentil soup runs in my family. I only discovered this when I sat down for dinner at my aunt’s house in Scotland and the first course was a soup just like my dad’s. They told me that my grandma taught all of them how to make it. Since moving to Canada, my dad adapted the recipe to use up Thanksgiving leftovers, so I used turkey to make this recipe – but chicken works well, or you can leave out the meat entirely for a lovely veggie soup.