Book Club Tuesday: Poilâne

“Poilâne has always had a profound respect for tradition, and it is filled with remarkable talent and knowledge — and it is, above all, a deeply humane place.” (14) — Alice Waters

Cookbooks make our world smaller. How can I know the distance between my quiet home kitchen in Halifax and, the world-famous Poilâne bakery in Paris, France? As I open the cover of the cookbook of the same name, I can tell you that the distance is almost imperceptible. Looking at the gorgeous photography of bakery and its wares and, reading through the story of this (almost) hundred-year-old bakery written by the founder’s granddaughter, Apollonia Poilâne, I can almost smell the freshly baked sourdough. One day I’ll travel to Paris so I can enjoy one of their beautiful loaves baked fresh from their wood-fired oven. But, until then, I will content myself with enjoying the recipes from the Poilâne cookbook.

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Book Club Tuesday: Pastry Love

When I was a kid, I came to realize that there were two types of baking. All year long I would look forward to the plane ride east to visit my maternal grandmother and her family. Auntie Grace’s pies were one reason for my high-level of anticipation. She would always bake our favourites: raspberry for me and lemon meringue for my sister. Thinking back on it, I doubt if she ever used a recipe. Like many of my elderly relatives, baking was a tradition passed along from parent to child. My mom baked us cookies and made cereal squares but never pie and nothing too elaborate (except for the whipped cream and chocolate drizzle delight she made for my sister’s birthday).

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Book Club Tuesday: 365 – A Year Of Everyday Cooking & Baking

Let’s take the pressure off — the kitchen isn’t a place where we have to perform (7)

There is entirely too much truth in what Meike Peters says in the open lines of her latest cookbook 365: A Year of Everyday Cooking & Baking. Day in, day out it feels as though, as home cooks, we’re always “on” — 365 days a year. There’s that popular Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: 365 – A Year Of Everyday Cooking & Baking”