Book Club Tuesday: Plant Magic

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“Pattern over plate” (3)

Recently I was sent a copy of Desiree Nielsen’s Plant Magic and, immediately I was interested in her approach because she is a plant-based (vegan) recipe developer and registered dietitian (click on the link to see what this credential means in Canada, where Nielsen is based). She uses her professional knowledge of nutrition to inspire home cooks – for Nielsen, it’s about a lifetime of good nutritional patterns rather than feeling bad or Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Plant Magic”

Book Club Tuesday: Kitten and the Bear Cookbook

Much of what drives me forward as a cook is the desire to preserve those warm feelings of family and home that I experienced as a child, eating meals so lovingly made by my family. Food connects us to each other and to all the home cooks that came before – and, what I’ve found reading through Sophie Kaftal and Bobby Zielinski’s Kitten and the Bear Cookbook is that they’re not only preserving the sweet and most delicious offerings from gardens and orchards, they’re maintaining and building a “…fairy tale life full of beauty, tradition, and the art of daily ritual.”(2) For those who have Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Kitten and the Bear Cookbook”

Book Club Tuesday: Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts

The parents of my daughter’s classmates know that one of my favourite things to ask when we’re standing around at after school pick up is: What’s for dinner? I’ve always been deeply curious to know what the go-to meals are, which are the favourites, or what are the dishes families fall back on when moments are busy (it feels like we’ve hit that age where the time after school is populated by myriad activities).  As Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer know, a good recipe gives us not only a delicious meal to share but it can also Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts”

Book Club Tuesday: Love & Lemons: Simple Feel Good Food

I always have my ear to the ground when it comes to what home cooks – particularly the ones who are cooking for a family – want from their cookbooks. Since my daughter started school many years ago, I love talking to other parents about what they’re making for lunches or cooking for dinner. There’s always such variety – some people meal plan and grocery shop accordingly, some people (like me) make meals based on the ingredients they have in the moment, and Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Love & Lemons: Simple Feel Good Food”

Book Club Tuesday: Cake & Loaf Gatherings

You know what cookbook I didn’t know I needed in my life until now? A baking book that focuses on seasonal gatherings. Much is made of seasonal cooking and, it’s mostly to do with availability of ingredients (i.e., the fresh ones). But, as I baked from the newest cookbook from Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham (co-owners of Cake & Loaf Bakery),  Cake & Loaf Gatherings, I’ve come to appreciate their approach to what seasonal baking Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Cake & Loaf Gatherings”

Joy and Cooking: The Cookbooks of 2022

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”

Book Club Tuesday: Cake & Loaf

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“…when we sat down in that coffee shop and laid out our bakery dreams to each other, they were really about creating a space we wanted to go to every day. To build something that would address as many of the systemic issues we had seen in our own bakery jobs as possible. A place to foster creativity and feminist ideals. A business that would give more than it would take from the community and that centred sustainability in all its decisions. The results have not always been what we intended, and we are still learning how the systems in which we operate affect our biases and how we can continue to be better. It has been a financial challenge. Trying to operate in an effectively non-profit way in a capitalist system is fraught with compromises and disappointments. Luckily, we are resourceful folks and have had the honour of working with many amazing people over the years, so we feel like we have won the life lottery.” (4)

Over a decade ago, Nickey Miller and Josie Rudderham opened the brick-and-mortar version of Cake & Loaf in Hamilton, Ontario and now, they have a newly published cookbook (of the same name) to share with home bakers. I’m new to the Cake & Loaf world but as I read through the introduction, I learned that Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Cake & Loaf”

Book Club Tuesday: Maman – The Cookbook

Processed with VSCO with f2 presetWhat I’ve come to realize about myself since the pandemic with its myriad lockdowns — I truly am an introvert. While I love the idea of being out with my friends and family for beautiful, leisurely weekend brunches, in the back of my mind that little voice quickly reminds me: “Uh oh! People!” Which is why I love cookbooks from Continue reading “Book Club Tuesday: Maman – The Cookbook”