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I can’t resist eating pasta whenever I immerse myself in “The Godfather,” and carbonara is one of my favourites.
Farm Life, FarmLife

Food and ‘family’

First We Eat: Just like in one of my favourite movies — food plays an important role

By
Like most of us, Dave and I have been binge watching movies. High among my all-time favourites is “The Godfather” I, II and III. I particularly admire the attention that director Francis Ford Coppola pays to food, making it integral to many pivotal “family” scenes. We enter the tragedy at Connie Corleone’s wedding, rich with […] Read more
On days like that, the big kitchen is not warm unless I keep the fire bustling in the wood stove and have pots on all four burners of the gas stove, located at opposing ends of the kitchen.
Farm Life, FarmLife

Hot soup for a cold day

First We Eat: Try variations of this basic recipe to help get through the frigid weather

By
Before the polar vortex returned and the morning thermometer read -40 C, I spent some time splitting birch for the wood stove in the kitchen. We live in a house that’s over 100 years old, and my mom thinks that it was originally assembled from two grain bins bolted together; three steps lead down from […] Read more
In my grandmother’s kitchen she is remembered
Farm Life, FarmLife

In my grandmother’s kitchen she is remembered

First We Eat: Memories are kept alive as we live on in the rural home of my grandparents

By
Dave and I live in my grandparents’ house in rural Saskatchewan. Back in the day it was a three-room farmhouse, the long narrow kitchen its beating heart, the other two rooms chilly and dark — heated only by the wood stove and illuminated by kerosene lanterns. Electricity came in the 1950s, when the local farmers […] Read more
Some of my bottles hold self-infused vinegars — my own fruits, berries and herbs stuffed into jars of cider or wine vinegars.
Farm Life, FarmLife

Back to basics: vinegar

First We Eat: Vinegar has come a long way from being a staple used to make pickles

By
I was thrilled to recently read about Alchemist Vinegar, artisanal vinegars made by Paul Poutanen, owner of Tippa, a distiller in Okotoks, Alberta. I promptly ordered a sampler and am awaiting its arrival. I love vinegar, and six open bottles occupy prime real estate on the butcher block beside my stove. They offer testament to […] Read more
Back to basics with salt
Farm Life, FarmLife

Back to basics with salt

First We Eat: It not only enhances food’s flavour but traditionally used to celebrate friendship and new homes

By
Let’s start over. Yes, we are still in the grip of a pandemic. But there’s hope, and food is part of it. To reboot, here’s the first in several parts on culinary essentials — the balancing act of salt, acid, heat and sweetness. Today, salt. Like many cooks, I keep an array of salts on […] Read more
Pandemic cooking revival
Farm Life, FarmLife

Pandemic cooking revival

First We Eat: In unstable times there can be comfort in cooking

By
Food has always been essential, right up there with sleep, water and shelter. But it’s more than that: food is what we use to mark momentous occasions and events — brunch with the bunch, cake for a birthday, anniversary suppers, restaurant date nights, cookies with the kids after school. We’ve lost many of those occasions […] Read more
Salad rolls with dip.
FarmLife

How can you get your kids to care about food?

First We Eat: Try these tips to get them thinking and talking about what they eat

By
When my millennial kids were young, on the last Friday of each month I showed up at school early, having first made a trip to the recycling centre to return our household’s contributions. “Noon dismal,” my kids called it, that early discharge. We made it into a family ritual by going out for Vietnamese pho, […] Read more
Chicken, Lemon and Wild Rice Soup.
FarmLife

Helping kids learn to cook

First We Eat: By creating a fun and safe environment even a young child can help out in the kitchen

By
The knife was small, with a curved tip and serrated blade. As knives go, it looked safe. But that didn’t prevent my anxiety the first time I put it into my child’s hand. He was four, and stood on a sturdy chair. He used that knife to saw up carrots and celery, spuds, an apple. […] Read more
Spread out the work over the day to make assembly a quick job. Makes four rounds or two large rectangles.
FarmLife

How to share food with people outside of your household

First We Eat: Dropping off a meal is still one of the best ways to show you care

By
Worrying about food is part of the times, especially for those of us who feel responsible for others — our elderly friends and relatives, new moms with a babe in arms, immune-compromised cousins, kids at university or on a tight budget. Drop- ping off a meal is still one of the best ways to administer […] Read more
Anything for dessert — as long as it’s chocolate
FarmLife

Anything for dessert — as long as it’s chocolate

First We Eat: If you love chocolate try this sourdough cake recipe

By
My family recently marked the first anniversary of my dad’s death. I miss him. He and Mom lived fairly close by, and Dave and I visited them weekly for movie night with our dog Jake, sometimes with dessert in hand. Like a good chocolate, Dad had a soft heart within a crusty exterior. Chocolate was […] Read more

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