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
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
Back to basics: vinegar
First We Eat: Vinegar has come a long way from being a staple used to make pickles
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
First We Eat: It not only enhances food’s flavour but traditionally used to celebrate friendship and new homes
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
First We Eat: In unstable times there can be comfort in cooking
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
First We Eat: If you love chocolate try this sourdough cake recipe
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
Classic cheese fondue
First We Eat: Now is the perfect time to enjoy a leisurely fondue as we continue to stay closer to home
Life in a pandemic takes its toll in many ways. One of the noticeable changes is how we spend our leisure time. No trips this year — not that I was actively planning, and not that I go often, but I’d love to see Europe again. I want to see Asia, too, and Australia, Africa, […] Read more
M.F.K. Fisher and me
First We Eat: This food-writing author was an early influencer
I’ve been thinking rather a lot about M.F.K Fisher. That is unsurprising — she’s been one of my food-writing, writing candles in the night for decades, ever since I read her small and elegant book, A Cordiall Water. I went on to acquire everything Fisher wrote, including her wartime response to food rationing, How to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
