Book Club Tuesday: The New Way to Cake

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Recently, I was chatting over the phone to a friend about cakes. Not a baker or even one to indulge in baked treats, she had purchased an Instagram-worthy layer cake from a local bakery to celebrate a milestone. The cake, with its bright frosting piped to perfection, topped with beautiful macarons, left something to be desired in the flavour department. The cake was entirely for the ‘gram. She described the first few bites — the cake was flavourless save for the excruciating sweetness of the frosting. Thinking about what she said, cake should be worth the trouble to eat. It should be beautiful in all things — Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: The New Way to Cake”

Book Club Tuesday: Mango and Peppercorns

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Not all food-related journeys happen in cookbooks. One of my favourite cookbook-adjacent genres is the food memoir. An inverse of the cookbook, a food memoir follows a life throughout the chapters and, each of these chapters is accompanied by related recipe(s). In the recently published food memoir, Mango and Peppercorns, Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Mango and Peppercorns”

Book Club Tuesday: Eat, Habibi, Eat!

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Cookbooks are about journeys, and I don’t just mean the vicarious trips we’ve been taking over the pandemic by cooking recipes from far-off places. Here, I’m referring to the personal journeys that some authors offer in their books. Such as the journey Shahir Massoud takes in his cookbook, Eat, Habibi, Eat! . Massoud’s journey goes from being a Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Eat, Habibi, Eat!”

Book Club Tuesday: How to Eat With One Hand

Processed with VSCO with f2 presetI was very curious about How to Eat With One Hand by Christine Flynn and Emma Knight. While I reviewed and enjoyed Knight’s earlier The Greenhouse Cookbook, I wondered if, at this point in my journey as a parent, since I am neither new nor expectant, if this book was for me. It wasn’t until I saw Knight in conversation @thelabourdept on Instagram live that I was convinced I needed to take a look at this cookbook. Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: How to Eat With One Hand”

Book Club Tuesday: Old World Italian

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I have an incredibly soft spot for Mimi Thorisson because when I began to write in earnest about food over 7 years ago, I started out on Tumblr by trying recipes and writing short notes on the results. In one note, I wrote about baking canelés using Thorisson’s recipe and a carefully sourced canelé pan. I was so proud of myself! I baked outside my comfort zone and made something delicious. Thorisson’s blog, Manger, was a favourite because Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Old World Italian”

Book Club Tuesday: King Arthur Baking Company — The All-Purpose Baker’s Companion

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Apricot Cream Cheese Scones, p.73

How does a cookbook become a trusted and reliable partner in your culinary endeavors? When I first started to focus on improving my cooking almost a decade ago, I looked to cookbooks to be my teacher. While my mom is a great cook who makes delicious food, I found that I hadn’t paid that much attention to her when she cooked (hence the never-ending calls home to ask her myriad questions about Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: King Arthur Baking Company — The All-Purpose Baker’s Companion”

Book Club Tuesday: A Rising Tide

Processed with VSCO with f2 presetAfter moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia — a beautiful maritime city in the heart of Atlantic Canada — almost a decade ago, I have come to love this place like no other. There is a certain magic living by the sea and, before coming here, I assumed a homogeneousness in the culture and cuisine. One of the things I’ve learned is that there is much more to the menu here than just seafood (although if you ask my family from “out west,” lobster is always Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: A Rising Tide”

Book Club Tuesday: Sheet Pan Everything

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It is very funny to be back here, again. This time last year, the world was drifting through the first wave of the COVID pandemic. While people flocked to their kitchens to develop their skills and repertoire of recipes, I think, and I’ll speak for many when I say this: in our kitchens we found comfort and solace in both the familiar dishes that were well-loved in the “before times” as well as the prospect of learning new recipes that might carry us through. As the lockdowns relaxed, people carried on and, while it still seemed the same, everything had changed. Fast forward through a year and Nova Scotia has entered its third wave, and I’m trying to find more recipes to feed my family. Ones that we can enjoy together, ones that might carry us through.

Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Sheet Pan Everything”