Bake with abandon!
Not everyone reads the comments section, so I thought I’d start a separate post to share the conversation I’ve been having with Barbara about chicken stock. Barbara has moved to a small apartment and is re-learning to make stock without $7 stewing hens and a …
These are for my sister. She doesn’t know it yet, but they’ll arrive at her door later today in a box with some pathetic attempt at a heart drawn on the lid. She’s in the middle of the Kitchen Reno from Hell and needs some …
It is not winter here inside my kitchen. The four inches of crystallized water piled up on the back porch is just an illusion created by the white curtains and the angle of the light. That sound isn’t howling wind. It’s a neighbour’s dog, Or …
This month’s Canadian Food Experience Project focuses on resolutions. I could have used my culinary bucket list as my contribution, but I don’t do proper resolutions and felt this was a bit of a cheat. Then I rethought things. I’ve been wearing blinkers. The word “resolution” …
It has snowed so much lately my shovel and I are on a first name basis. It sees my boots coming and says, “Hello, Charmian.” I nod, pull my hat down over my ears and grab the chirpy shovel in a choke hold. Together, Shovel …
This improv recipe is a testament to my impulse shopping, poor sense of timing and the power of the common cold. Impulse shopping: A few months ago, I found fresh Cornish hens at the butcher shop. As I stood at the meat counter waiting to …
In my early teens, I had a brief but passionate flirtation with tinned Bean with Bacon soup. My mom, like a sensible parent, didn’t try to talk me out of my crush. She figured I’d eventually come to my senses, and let me ride things …
Some cookbooks have a way of breathing life into everyday ingredients. Some produce delicious dishes you will turn to again and again. Others peek into foreign worlds — celebrity kitchens, orchard tours, or chef-approved culinary techniques. Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese by Stephanie …
Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Naomi Duguid about her award-winning book Burma: Rivers of Flavor (Random House ©2012). In April, the book won the IACP award for Culinary Travel, and just last week was awarded Gold by Taste Canada —The Food Writing Awards …