Bake with abandon!
No recipe today. Instead a Sunday Story in honour of Father’s Day, showcasing my dad’s quirky sense of humour as we take unpredictable rides in a car with a mind of its own. Rogue Vehicle Our old LaSabre had no power brakes or power steering. …
No recipe today. Instead, a Sunday Story about a clever mom and a gullible child. I was very young and very fussy. No. Not so much fussy as discerning. I ate a wide range of food with great pleasure. However, when I disliked something, I …
No recipe today. Instead, a story about berry picking in my youth. Ignore the calendar and temperature. Summer arrives with strawberries. At least it used to. Long before giant, white-on-the-inside California berries made themselves at home in Canadian grocery stores, strawberries were an annual, limited-time …
No recipe today. Instead, a Mother’s Day tribute. This is my mom in a pose that shows off her hands and gives a glimpse of the diamond ring I was obsessed with. It NEEDS LEMON My mother puts her hands on the kitchen table, one …
No recipe today. This story is the introduction to my first cookbook, The Messy Baker. It explains why chocolate chip cookies are my favourite comfort food. I stand on a chair pulled up to the counter. My nose hovers near my mother’s elbow as I …
No recipe today. Instead, a story about chicken stock and teenage attitude. Save the bones. Always save the bones. For as long as I can remember, the remains of a chicken dinner found new life in Mom’s stockpot. She took an entirely utilitarian approach to …
No recipe today. No food theme either. Instead, a story from an era when travel was more open but also more challenging. This takes place in Spring 1988, when I was young and foolish and had a 6-month rail pass but little sense. “What do …
No recipe today. Instead, here’s a short story. Mom cools the hard-boiled eggs in cold water while my sisters cover the kitchen table with newspaper. Dad locates the colouring packets and wire dippers Mom diligently saves each year. He straightens the bent ones and places …
No recipe today. Instead, a short story. My mother’s recipe box is a colour-coded, multi-tabbed wonder. Before the Internet coughed up recipes on demand, family, friends and virtual strangers often asked if she shared her recipes. While some people’s were closely guarded secrets handed down …