On the Prairies, the month is a hopeful time for food lovers: we’re perusing seed catalogues, planning our gardens and dreaming about salads made from the season’s first greens.
Tag Archives cooking
A literary celebration of food
First We Eat: Like a good meal, ‘One Book One Province’ is meant to offer a shared experience
Tools and techniques, part 1: Ovens, shmovens
First We Eat: Training a new kitchen range means putting it through all its capabilities
My oven finally surrendered after 15 years of hard use. It was traumatic for me — losing a trusted tool is a shock for any serious cook. After much debate and research, the new range was installed last month. I am getting to know it. That, too, is traumatic. The fact is, frequent usage shortens […] Read more
Books worth cooking from, part 3: Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom
First We Eat: The Ontario pastry chef’s book is meant to be accessible to beginners and pros alike
Perusing a library’s shelves, whether virtual or bricks-and-mortar, is always a pleasure, especially when I have food on my mind. To my great joy, I recently found an impressive new baking book from a Canadian pro. Pastry chef and TV/YouTube personality Anna Olson, who is married to chef Michael Olson, is a reassuringly approachable pastry […] Read more
Books worth cooking from, Part 1
The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope arranges recipes according to the non-profit’s core principles
How many cookbooks do you own? How many do you need? Which of each year’s new cookbooks are worth buying or borrowing? We’re going to take a look at several over the next few columns. Here’s the first! Chef José Andrés is famous in North America and his native Spain for his two dozen food […] Read more
Bigger than breakfast, part 2: Eggs
A food with these properties can either anchor or support a dish at any time of day
It’s hard to ignore the pejorative meanings of the word “egg” lurking under the straw scattered about the henhouse. So let’s just call out a few to clear the air: “egghead” is slang for a smart person; “egg on your face” means you’ve messed up and are embarrassed; “egging someone on” is to encourage foolish […] Read more
Bigger than breakfast, part 1: Liège waffles
Unlike for the modern waffle, this batter needs a head start of a day or two
In early May 2018, I spent a few days in Vancouver with my youngest son Dailyn and his partner Rachel. They were both running in the Vancouver marathon, and I was running my first half-marathon. I couldn’t think of a better place to enter the game: a flat, fast course, the seawall, Stanley Park. I […] Read more
New Canadiana Cookbooks: Where We Ate
First We Eat: A look at Canadian dining over the decades, through the lens of our country’s iconic eateries
As I read Where We Ate by Gabby Peyton, I fell down a rabbit hole of memory. The book, a history of Canadian dining from pre-Confederation to COVID, profiles 150 restaurants by decades. Turns out I have eaten in 26 of them. “Almost all our restaurant food is immigrant food,” Peyton writes. “We’d be remiss […] Read more
New Canadiana Cookbooks: The Miracle of Salt
First We Eat: Using an age-old technique to preserve, ferment and transform your food
One way to gauge the importance of something in culture is to look at the word’s use in everyday language. When it comes to salt, we have many linguistic idioms and turns of phrase. Salt of the earth. Salty old dog. Salty language. Rubbing salt in a wound. Taking things with a grain of salt. […] Read more
A new Canadiana cookbook
First We Eat: ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings’
Two things happen after I read What We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings, an essay collection with recipes published by Coach House Books. First, I take my elderly Momsy to our favourite dim sum palace, where we eat many types of Chinese dumplings. Then I take myself into my kitchen and make some […] Read more
New Canadiana cookbooks: Only in Saskatchewan
First We Eat: Author Naomi Hansen provides a guide to province’s best-loved eateries
The Saskatchewan Book Awards were a highlight of my family’s spring. My novel, Danceland Diary, was a shortlisted finalist in the fiction category, and we all converged on the awards gala in Saskatoon to mark the occasion. I decided to have fun regardless of outcome. My novel, which took nine years to write, has received […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
