Red 4WD Tractors, 1957 – 2017 is a detailed history

Red 4WD Tractors, 1957 – 2017 is a detailed history

A new book for the tractor lover in your life

Lee Klancher’s new book Red 4WD Tractors, 1957 – 2017 is no lightweight, figuratively or literally. (That seems only fitting, given the high-horsepower subject matter.) The large format book runs over 370 pages and includes a more than ample helping of rare photos. With Red 4WD Tractors, Klancher follows up on his previous book about […] Read more

Beef stroganoff

Beef stroganoff history — a mix of fact and fancy

Prairie Palate: Many think it’s a Hungarian dish but it actually originated in Russia

For some time I have been under the erroneous assumption that beef stroganoff is a Hungarian dish. Must be the paprika and sour cream. The fact is, beef stroganoff originated in Russia with nary a dash of paprika. It was originally flavoured with mustard. I learned this culinary fact in September when I visited Russia […] Read more


Just a salad for dinner?

Just a salad for dinner?

Prairie Palate: Yes — if it’s a hearty one with pasta and meat like this Vietnamese Salad

You know that woman who goes out for dinner with her date (read: husband) and, despite a full and varied menu, orders a salad? OK, that’s me. I have nothing against a big bowl of pasta or a good steak (blue rare, please) or the seafood special of the day. I love it all. But […] Read more

Make an old-time Strawberry Pudding

Make an old-time Strawberry Pudding

Prairie Palate: The recipe first appeared in a newspaper in 1918

A century ago, Canada was at war. The battle for Vimy Ridge took place on April 9 to 12, 1917, during which 3,600 Canadians lost their lives and thousands were wounded. Back in Canada, families supported the war effort in many ways, including in their kitchens. They were encouraged to be frugal, eliminate kitchen waste, […] Read more


Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

In honour of my Irish grandmother here’s a traditional potato recipe

Since St. Patrick’s Day is nigh upon us, I dedicate today’s musings to my grandmother, Josephine O’Hara. Or, as I knew her best, Grandma Jo. Grandma Jo was proud of her Irish heritage. So proud, that dinner on St. Patrick’s Day was akin to Christmas or Easter. In other words, a feast. There would be […] Read more

Prairie version of the French salade nicoise

Prairie version of the French salade nicoise

Using leftovers of baked northern pike made a very ‘nice salad’

One day, my husband came home with a leg of deer under his arm, cleaned, wrapped and frozen. I made venison stew flavoured with juniper berries and thyme. Another day, I answered a knock at the door to find a friend, box in hand, offering me a moose roast and two breasts of grouse. The […] Read more


Pepitas are the seeds from an oilseed pumpkin variety.

Pumpkin seeds with no shells

Pepitas are loaded with nutrition and have no hulls

Growing up, pumpkin seeds were a once-a-year treat. As a child there was the confusion of whether they were to be shelled like a sunflower seed or just chewed. Personally, the hulls were a bit too fibrous, but once you got inside, those seeds were very yummy. As an adult I noticed that there were […] Read more

Choose a good cut of beef such as tenderloin or flat iron steak (see recipe further down).

Well done, medium, rare or… raw?

Prairie Palate: Steak Carpaccio

My friend Joanne said she would not eat raw lamb, and that was fine with me. So while everyone else at the table made adventurous forays to try the lamb, she watched bemused. When they liked it, she looked puzzled. And when the bowl was almost empty, she finally picked up a piece of pita […] Read more


flapper pie

Grandma’s prize-winning flapper pie

Prairie Palate: Flapper Pie recipe

[Updated May 9, 2017] I’ve been going through a box of my grandma’s souvenirs and so I can tell you that, in 1957, she won first prize for her flapper pie at the Saskatoon fair. She also won red ribbons for her saskatoon pie, cherry pie with lattice crust, toffee, chocolate cake (layer), four fruit […] Read more

A good old-fashioned baked beans recipe

A good old-fashioned baked beans recipe

Prairie Palate: These will warm you up on a cold winter's day and may bring back some good memories

It seems every old cowboy movie had a camp cook serving up a mess of baked beans. I can see John Wayne eating them now… from a tin plate with an old battered spoon and a chunk of sourdough bread. So, it’s fitting that when I asked rancher Art Unsworth for a recipe from the […] Read more