I’ve been hibernating. Or recharging. Perhaps even re-creating.
Whatever you call it, I think the process is coming to an end. The earlier mornings and longer days of late February have my head in a Spring state of mind. It’s time to try something new with Island Vittles. Continue reading
So, what’s your plan when it all goes down? I mean, you have a plan for when the countdown reaches 11:11:11, 12/21/12, right?
Are you a plan-ahead survivor who’s been stashing canned goods in the hole you through the basement floor? Or, are you more the wait-it-out type? Maybe you’ll make a last-minute run for the hills…
I’m neither. I’m more likely to get comfy with some good food and drink and wait for the inevitable. But even that requires a plan.
My family lost one of our oldest friends earlier this year.
Peggy was my mom’s first roommate, and my parents’ best friend for over 60 years. To my brothers and me, she was Aunty Peggy; and as an honourary member of the family, she was a fixture around our Christmas, birthday and anniversary table from before the time I was born.
A force of nature who came close to marriage twice, but had second thoughts just in time, both times (neither would have worked, Mom says), Peggy was a high school vice-principal who kept “her” kids in line with a sharp tongue and decisive action. She made her bones as a teacher in her 20s, traveling first to the UK, then to Australia, where she taught in some of London and Sydney’s toughest schools. I never saw her in a situation she couldn’t manage handily. And she did it all with flair…her 70′s closet made a fashion impression on me that still has my eye lingering on anything I find in that bold, rusty-orange she loved so much.
Her panache extended into the kitchen. Aunty Peggy hosted at least one dinner party a month for most of her life, all of them multi-course affairs made from scratch.
And her Christmas candy was the stuff of legends. Continue reading
This salad of awesomeness is my new favourite salad in the whole-wide world. And I’m not just saying that cause my BFF gave me the idea, alright?
Meal starter, main course, midnight snack — this salad can do it all — it’s delicious, adaptable and, like I said, awesome. Did I mention I love it? Continue reading
Look Mom, I’m in my first cookbook!
It doesn’t have my name on the cover, but I am very proud to have been included in Seasonings, Flavours of the Southern Gulf Islands by Pender Island residents and friends, Andrea & David Spalding.
Highlighting some of the food growers, gatherers, producers and cooks across Pender, Mayne, Galiano, Saturna and Saltspring, the recipes in Seasonings reflect the variety and abundance of island food throughout the seasons, and include four celebration menus contributed by the region’s top chefs. Continue reading
