There are moments in life that, at first, seem ordinary or transient but as time passes, you realize it was the beginning of something special. Over 5 years ago, on the advice of someone who followed me on Instagram, I bought myself a copy of Neighbourhood – Hetty Lui McKinnon’s second cookbook. I already knew of Hetty’s food from her delicious-looking Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Tenderheart”
Abra Berens’ cookbook trilogy has reached its finale: Ruffage (2019 – review here), Grist (2021 – review here) and, now Pulp (2023). To say that these are just cookbooks is oversimplifying the matter. Berens is a deeply passionate person as evidenced by her books. She cares about food – how it is produced, prepared, and enjoyed. She’s curious about the food systems in the United States and the politics and social implications behind it. Berens is a Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Pulp”
Dinner is a meal worth lingering over. (1)
I really appreciate the importance placed on the opportunities home cooking offers us in Christine Flynn’s new book, A Generous Meal. As she says, whether food is meant to bring people together or to offer a restorative break from a busy life, she emphasizes the idea that the act of feeding Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: A Generous Meal”
I recently had a conversation about cookbooks with a friend – we both agreed that the best cookbooks are the ones with soul. With so many cookbooks being published, I find myself drawn to the books that demonstrate the passion for the recipes as well as the passion behind the recipes. Which is why I’m excited to share Mamacita, a recently published Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Mamacita”
Cooking for my family seems like a breeze now compared to when my daughter was a toddler, and I was trying to figure out what to make for meals. Although I’m a vegetarian now, I didn’t grow up as one and, I found that once my daughter was born, I wasn’t sure how to be one. Sure, I knew I wasn’t going to feed her animal-based dishes, but I realized that my husband and I had a vegetarian diet that consisted of tofu, cheese, and pasta (with some frozen pizzas thrown in for good measure) — light on the “vege”, heavy on the “tarian”. While I was trying to figure out Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: The Vegan Week”
After writing a couple of hundred posts about cookbooks, I’ve learned a lot about myself. Of all the personal insights, the most crucial one: joy. I want to read it, make it, bake it, feel it, and serve it to people so that we can all experience it. Sometimes joy is in the heart of the beholder — not every author or every cookbook lends itself to these joyful musings. But, as I’ve found with Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Home is Where The Eggs Are”
The success of Smitten Kitchen should be a surprise to no one. Since 2006, when Deb Perelman started her blog, her inviting tone and delicious recipes have engendered confidence and trust in her readers. From the beginning, Perelman began writing about her experiences as a home cook and, it’s from this place that she connects with people. She understands her audience – people who are Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Smitten Kitchen Keepers”
There’s something undeniably attention-grabbing about a “Best of” list. 2022 is ending and, people want to know about the noteworthy cookbooks. This year I’m going to try something a little different – not quite a gift guide, yet not a “Best of” list either. Where I want to go with this post is simple – help home cooks find a little joy in their kitchens. Joy is what moves me forward and, it’s never steered me wrong when I’m talking about cookbooks (it was one of the favourite parts of my conversation I had with Lindsay Cameron Wilson on her The Food Podcast this year (link here). However, my joy may not necessarily be someone else’s joy because we all have our own personal set of criteria concerning joyful kitchen experiences. So, through the next 8 sections, I’ll briefly discuss some of the books that stood out to me this year. For any books that I’ve already reviewed, I’ll add a link so that you can visit that review for more information. There will be books I haven’t reviewed yet but still deserve a mention. Continue reading “Joy and Cooking: The Cookbooks of 2022”
When a copy of Brian Levy’s Good & Sweet arrived in the mail, I felt leery about the subject matter. To be honest, I am tired of the narrative of sugar being unhealthy – has there ever been a time when someone ate sugar because it was healthy? I find that these narratives set up sugar as a false opposite – while refined sugar is “bad,” books go on to convince home cooks of the Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Good & Sweet”
Even though the air is getting much crisper as these November days shorten, when I walked my daughter to school this morning, I did as I usually do, I kept on walking. Maybe it was the cloudless blue sky or the bright sun that beckoned me forward on this cool morning. Growing up, I lived an in-between experience – a weekday city Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Outside”
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Taking the Hell out of Healthy
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Healthy Vegetarian Recipes.
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