Only some of the recipes I share with you were created from scratch by me, although they are all either original, or used as part of a book review, or with the permission of the author/chef/cook.

In this case, original means either I created them from scratch, or they grew from an idea I got from a dish I saw on television, or at a dinner party; or that I began with a recipe I saw somewhere and ended up with something with several ingredients changed and a number of differences in how I made it.

I have my Mom’s smudged and spattered old recipes, including some favourite ones, but I’ve also found the same ones, in some instances, also appeared in an old Betty Crocker cookbook, or came to me from someone else’s mom.

So, it’s not always easy to determine when you use someone else’s recipe, whether it is in fact, original.

Some people believe it’s important to identify the root of the recipe you use, but often I don’t even know where I got the root recipe, so that’s not always easy.

I do continue to include my friend’s or relative’s name with it, if I know that’s where it came from. That’s my hug for that person.

In one of my columns several years ago, I used a pecan pie recipe I had received decades earlier from the mom of a dear friend. Although she had passed on, it just happened that one of her children read the column in the Capital News, clipped it out and a few days later, when she got together with her siblings, they decided they’d make it, in their mom’s memory.

Ironically, it wasn’t even a recipe they had, so they were grateful I’d shared it, even though I could never had guessed the impact my use of it would have.

Lots of my recipes have those sorts of memories for me, just as my cooking is often nostalgic, bringing back memories of the occasions when a friend or family member has made it with me, or for me.

I’ve agreed to take part in an Okanagan Institute Express session on Thurs., Nov. 26 at the Bohemian Cafe on Bernard Avenue to talk about food writing; how I got started and where I see the future of food writing; why I write a food column and where I come up with the ideas, week after week, year after year.

With that in mind, I’d love to see you there, and I’m asking that everyone bring with them a favourite, original recipe which I could share with my readers in the new year.

You could share it with me by e-mail at: jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com whether or not you’re able to make it for the Okanagan Institute’s weekly hour-long Express session.

I look forward to seeing and/or hearing from you.

Incidentally, both these recipes are new creations of mine, but you can be sure they use something from my years of food experience.

Stuffed Cucumber Rollups

These are simple to make and look quite flashy and fun. They taste pretty good too. The filling makes a good spread for crackers as well. With the red and green, they’d be pretty around Christmas.

long English cucumber

1/4 c. cream cheese

1 tbsp. minced red pepper

1 tbsp. Asian sweet chili sauce

1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

pinch of coarse sea salt

fresh cilantro, chives or parsley

toothpicks

Soften cream cheese and combine with finely-minced red pepper, chili sauce, sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Refrigerate until ready to make rollups.

Use a peeler to slice long strips of cucumber with ribbons of green skin on either side. Use the first very-green slice for something else. About half the cucumber’s length is suitable for one rollup.

Lay out on your work area.

Cut a pencil-width strip of cream cheese about the same width as your cucumber strip and lay it at the bottom.

Roll the strip of cucumber up around the cream cheese and secure the ends with a toothpick.

Stand up to serve, topped with a tiny sprig of fresh herb.

Makes 2 doz. or so.

Crispy Curried Beef Packets

For Grey Cup, try forming these into football shapes, using whatever pastry strikes your fancy. For Christmas, perhaps you could wrap them up like a present or a scrunch up the top like a Santa sack. I used wonton wrappers last time and they were great. Baking times here are based on that. You can easily double the recipe.

For a spectacular wine pairing with this, see if you can find a bottle of Sandhill's Small Lots Vioignier to go with this, recently judged the top white wine in the country. There's lots of luscious fruit, but also bright acidity in it.

Filling:

1/4 lb. (112 g) ground beef

1 tbsp. (15 ml) minced ginger

1/2 c, (125 ml) onions

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp. (15 ml) curry powder

1 stalk bok choy

1 tbsp. (15 ml) chutney

1/4 tsp. (1 ml) salt

pastry such as wonton wrappers

Finely chop onions, ginger, garlic and bok choy (You could substitute celery).

In a medium frypan with a drizzle of oil over medium heat, soften onions and ginger, then add minced garlic and stir in the curry powder, letting it cook for a minute.

Next, push the vegetables to the side and add the lean ground beef. Stir a bit while it browns and add the bok choy or celery and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cool.

If using wonton wrappers, place a teaspoon of filling at one end and roll up, folding in the sides as you go, ending with a drop of water on the remaining wrapper to seal. Set on a pan, seam side down.

Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes.

Makes about two dozen little rolls.