Fresh basil still in the garden.

Harvest, part 1: Garnishing summer greens

First We Eat: In the dog days of summer, salads with protein can help dial down the heat needed for food prep

We’ve been in deep summer heat for weeks now after a rainy spring, and every plant in my yard — including the quack grass and chickweed — is consumed with the green fuse of growth. The result is a cornucopia of everything. The scarlet runner beans and snow peas twining around their bamboo stakes tower […] Read more

skipper otto fish

B.C. fish for Prairie plates

First We Eat: A co-operative aims to sustain the sea for fishing families’ future

Wild fish was part of my childhood on Vancouver Island. We picked oysters and mussels, dug clams, scooped up spawning grunions, and cast hooks for salmon. But these days, as fish prices skyrocket and issues over whether to eat farmed or wild fish become ever more complex, my consumption of fish has plummeted, relying on […] Read more


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

Brunching, part 2: Quinoa

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

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

More seeds than I need from Seedy Saturday -- but good for sharing.

Seedy Saturdays

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

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.

Eating while retreating

Homemade dressings can help with mindful eating while elevating any salad

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

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


Dusting Liège waffles with icing sugar is optional.

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

Grated and diced apples can add texture to muffins.

Winter fruit, part 3: The versatility of apples

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

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



Cookie dough on sheet ready for first baking.

Metaphors in baking

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

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