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”
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 is something so touching about Bonnie Stern’s work. Is it her earnest desire to help home cooks find their way in the kitchen or impart personal stories we can all relate to? With well over a dozen cookbooks to her name, Stern has become a trusted companion in many Canadian kitchens. Even during the pandemic, I would take Friday Night Dinners off the shelf to browse the recipes, remember all the good family meals I had enjoyed with hopeful feelings of more to come. And it’s from the Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Don’t Worry, Just Cook”
With most meals I make for my family, there isn’t much choice. Food is plated, then served, and, while my husband and daughter enjoy those meals, they absolutely love the meals that harken to the classic book series, Choose Your Own Adventure. This is what meals served on boards feel like — a culinary adventure where Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Boards & Spreads”
As Australian food writer Alice Zaslavsky states in the introduction of her new cookbook, In Praise of Veg, “This hefty tome is my tribute to the wonderful world of veg”(8) Her enthusiasm for cooking with vegetables is readily apparent — Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: In Praise of Veg”
What really amazed me when we would visit Ontario to see our grandmother is that, during the summer, there was such an abundance of fruits and vegetables available. The amazing part was that all these green and white cardboard baskets, bursting with the freshest produce around, all came from Ontario. Growing up in Alberta, in a farming family, the growing zone and climate was drastically different. There were no lush stone fruits and even Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Peak Season”
Back in December 2021, I needed a refresh. While I enjoyed being in the kitchen and cooking for my family, there were times I felt burnt out and lacking inspiration. So, when I tuned in to watch a virtual event hosted by the Book Larder, it was the conversation between Hetty McKinnon and Emma Laperruque that had me intrigued. One of the first things Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Food52 Big Little Recipes”
What does it take to get people home cooking again? Well, if we look at 2020, it was the situation that brought people back into their kitchens to bake and make, fostering their starters along the way. For some of us home cooking is Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Ottolenghi Test Kitchen — Shelf Love”
Most good love stories have a certain amount of magic in them; mine just also happens to contain vegetables. (11)
The most interesting cookbooks are the ones that also offer a connection in addition to the recipes. While there has been much written maligning narrative recipe writing, I strongly believe it is the personal stories that make the recipes worth trying. And in a world of myriad recipes, as a home cook, I want to know why ingredients are important and what makes a recipe special. I need something to hang my Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Vegetables — A Love Story”
Recipes & Stories
Taking the Hell out of Healthy
Just another WordPress.com site
Healthy Vegetarian Recipes.
Shipshape Eatworthy 