Chocolate cake — inverted, with whipped cream and spoon.

Celebrating recovery with food

First We Eat: Long journey back from foot injury

It has been 18 months since a motorcyclist knocked me down and drove over my left foot. This morning I ran seven kilometres. That achievement is due as much to the perseverance of my physiotherapist as to my own bulldog nature. At the time of the accident, I was in the Comox Valley on Vancouver […] Read more

A piece of flapper pie was on The Singing Gardener’s dessert menu, courtesy of “Jim, the Pie Guy.” The reward was a song.

Tips for growing spectacular geraniums

Singing Gardener: Plus a shout out to Jim, the Pie Guy

What a pleasant surprise I had recently. Jim Hyrich, known as Jim, the Pie Guy, came by one day while I was away for a short time. In my absence he left some of his homemade flapper pie, along with an attached note: “Ted. These are a couple slices of my flapper pie. I am […] Read more


Looking for meat alternatives? How about a fresh Atlantic salmon fillet?

Making meatless meals

First We Eat: There are all kinds of choices if you’re giving up meat

Ash Wednesday fell on the last Wednesday of February. It marked the start of Lent, and in the Lenten tradition of sacrifice, simple living and self-denial, I am inclined to let go of eating meat. “I think I’ll go to Boston for this year’s Passover Seder,” my husband, Dave, says over supper. Like everything else, […] Read more

The flavourful leaves of Top Bunch collards can be used for making cabbage rolls.

Try collards in your cabbage rolls

Singing Gardener: Here are some tips on how to grow them

Here at my home turf in southern Manitoba, there are community gardens. The property owner rents out a piece of land during the summer to gardeners who are eager to do their own thing, and there’s always a waiting list to get a spot. The emphasis on planting as much of our own food as possible […] Read more


Whole star anise, cinnamon sticks and cloves are common ingredients in spice blends.

Spice it up

First We Eat: Curries come in a rich assortment of flavours and rely on many spices

I’ve been lucky in love. Along the way, I worked hard to learn from good relationships that ended as well as from more difficult ones. Last month, my husband, Dave, and I celebrated 15 years together. They have been happy and loving years, filled with joy and the wonder of living life together as an […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Food sales grew but margins tightened in 2022, FCC says

Modest further growth expected this year

Food and beverages sales increased in Canada last year, even as margins hit an historic low and consumers chose Canadian less. According to the latest FCC Food and Beverage Report, released Tuesday, sales increased 11 per cent to $156 billion in 2022. These gains came largely from higher export values and strength in the grain […] Read more


Here are just a few of the fats you can use for cooking. Pictured are (left to right) coconut oil, butter, olive oil in a carafe, pork fat, a jar of toasted sesame oil and schmaltz.


Don’t fear fat in your food

First We Eat: Fats are a prime nutrient source and serve more than one role in the kitchen

“What do you think of when you hear the word schmaltz?” I ask my husband Dave. He hesitates for half a heartbeat. “Soppy, sentimental writing or music,” he says. Dave’s a retired journalist, a card-carrying lover of edgy jazz and R&B, fan of hardbitten detective and police procedural TV shows and writer of lean short […] Read more

Photo: Getty Images

China to buy more homegrown soybeans for reserves

State-owned firms urged to prioritize domestic soy

Beijing | Reuters — China will step up buying of domestic soybeans by state reserves to encourage farmers to keep planting the crop, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday, as Beijing continues to push for greater self-sufficiency in oilseed. China started to increase soybean planting a year ago amid worries about its heavy reliance on […] Read more


(RyanJLane/E+/Getty Images)

Meat lobby says U.S. voluntary label rule could spur trade action

Ottawa to review Washington's proposed 'Product of USA' rule

U.S. meat industry lobbyists say Washington’s proposed new rules governing voluntary ‘Product of USA’ or ‘Made in the USA’ labels would “impose the same standard” as that country’s now-defunct mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law — and frustrate U.S. packers who import Canadian meat or livestock. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Food Safety and […] Read more

Around 20 per cent of Mexico’s corn imports from the U.S. are white corn, used to make food products such as tortillas. (Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. demands formal trade talks with Mexico over GMO corn dispute

U.S. says new rules a breach of CUSMA

Chicago/Washington | Reuters — The United States requested formal trade consultations with Mexico on Monday over U.S. objections to its southern neighbour’s plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced the request for technical talks after months of informal discussions with Mexican officials over […] Read more