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Tag Archives First We Eat

Dry-roasting quinoa before cooking is necessary to remove the bitterness imparted by naturally-occurring saponins on the seeds’ exterior.
Farm Life

Brunching, part 2: Quinoa

First We Eat: Grain dishes can be augmented with various textures and flavours

By
Threshing, winnowing, drying. Those ancient words resonate with us, and for good reason. Humans have been harvesting grains to use for food by these timeless methods for millennia. Just think of wheat, barley, rice — and quinoa (pronounced keen wah). Quinoa, like amaranth, is not a grain, but a high-fibre pseudo-grain — an herb, in […] Read more
quiche in a parallelogram shaped pan
Columns, Farm Life

Brunching, part 1: Quiche

First We Eat: Build it properly with a wall of flavours, and real men can and will eat quiche

By
When Dave and I started to plan a recent family gathering, we quickly realized a daytime event was more likely to suit our guests than an evening supper. Even as the sun moves back north and daylight hours lengthen, time spent talking after eating often means our guests would face a drive home on gravel […] Read more
More seeds than I need from Seedy Saturday -- but good for sharing.
Columns, Farm Life

Seedy Saturdays

First We Eat: A freshly pulled carrot from the garden will remind you why this vegetable is such a mainstay

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Back in March, I joined a crowd of people purposefully moving from booth to table to booth at St. Mary’s Wellness and Education Centre in Saskatoon. The occasion was the annual Seedy Saturday, an opportunity amidst the snow and ice for gardeners to buy seeds and think about spring. Seedy Saturdays occur across Canada under […] Read more
The citrus and honey mustard dressing recipe you’ll see below is as good on fruit or fish as it is on greens.
Columns, Farm Life

Eating while retreating

Homemade dressings can help with mindful eating while elevating any salad

By
I am standing in a laneway lined by a double row of blue spruces, a shelled bit of peanut on my ungloved palm. It’s only a few seconds before a black-capped chickadee settles on one of my outstretched fingers, its tiny wire claws gripping my skin tightly. It’s an alien feeling, and I work hard […] Read more
egg
Columns, Farm Life

Bigger than breakfast, part 2: Eggs

A food with these properties can either anchor or support a dish at any time of day

By
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
Dusting Liège waffles with icing sugar is optional.
Columns, Farm Life

Bigger than breakfast, part 1: Liège waffles

Unlike for the modern waffle, this batter needs a head start of a day or two

By
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
Grated and diced apples can add texture to muffins.
Apples, Columns, Farm Life

Winter fruit, part 3: The versatility of apples

Apples add character to a dish, even when not the star ingredient

By
I first saw Meryl Streep in 1979 in Kramer vs. Kramer and then in Sophie’s Choice. Both earned her Oscars. A wonderful string of movies followed: Manhattan, Silkwood, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Hours and Out of Africa, to name a few. In 1990 at the Screen Actors’ Guild national women’s conference, Streep spoke out […] Read more
Blueberries from last summer, when it was too hot to even consider canning, were kept frozen until the arrival of better jam-making weather.
Columns, Farm Life, Fruit/Vegetables

Fruits in a Prairie winter, part 1: Blueberries

Picked fresh or cooked into favourite foods, those purple berries leave their mark in memories

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Last week I made jam from blueberries I had frozen last summer, when it was just too hot to consider canning. Stirring the pot reminded me of other lovely ways and words with the blue fruit. “The way the night tastes” is how the U.S. poet W.S. Merwin described blueberries. Another poet, Mary Oliver, wrote […] Read more
Cookie dough on sheet ready for first baking.
Farm Life

Metaphors in baking

First We Eat: A geologic way to think of cakes and cookies

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I drove into the southern heartland of Saskatchewan last week, threading through the Qu’Appelle Valley, rolling down undulating slopes past hoodoos to the valley floor, across the bridge, then back up again to the upper deck of land that faces south. The escarpment in the south end of the province remains invisible to anyone traversing […] Read more
Dry roasting whole spices in a cast iron pan.
Farm Life

New Canadiana Cookbooks: Prairie

Seasonal, farm-fresh recipes celebrate Prairie traditions

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A flurry of recent books dishes up Prairie eats, among them tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine by Shane Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King; Only in Saskatchewan: Recipes and Stories from the Province’s Best-Loved Eateries by Naomi Hansen; Eat Alberta First: A Year of Local Recipes from Where the Prairies Meet the Mountains by Karen Anderson; and Vegetables: […] Read more

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