Happy Gourmand
Nutmeg, an unassuming spice—or is it?
Nutmeg is one of those spices that comes out of hiding at this time of year. Most of us recognize it as part of pumpkin spice, that ubiquitous blend of flavours...
What are you baking for the holidays?
Do you have visions of shortbread? Are you, like me, one of the few people who honestly likes fruitcake? Now that we are officially in the holiday...
Bring more people to the table this holiday season
Can you believe it? We are entering the holiday season. I don’t know where the time goes. It’s like socks in the dryer. I wonder, does it seem to go...
Remembering sacrifice of others shouldn't be limited to one day a year
With Remembrance Day this weekend it seemed appropriate to write something about keeping the home fires burning. It occurred to me this translates into...
Ready for winter in the kitchen
It looks like winter is upon us. There is some melancholy in closing gardens and decks, but cozy moments are coming. The days are shorter and darker and, with...
Good grief, it’s time for The Great Pumpkin
Does anyone else remember the classic tale from this time of year, when Charlie Brown and his friends all go trick-or-treating, except for young Linus? He...
She heard it through the grapevine — don't waste food
Living in the Okanagan, it’s almost impossible not to notice fall is harvest season. I don’t know about you but I come from a generation that...
Memories of a life on the road and the experiences it brought
Life is all about extremes, two sides of a coin. We constantly hear you can’t have light without dark, and people don’t appreciate the good without...
Aromas for every month of the year
Perhaps it has something to do with being Canadian, the notion of enjoying all the different seasons. There are things I like about each of them and I...
Adventure versus comfort when it comes to eating on the road
What is the balance between wanting to experience new things and having the comfort of familiar ones? Where do you sit on this scale? I am someone who hates...
We all have our own favourite cookie
My mom used to say, “There’s not much a cookie can’t cure.” I know that’s perhaps a tad optimistic, but I always loved the...
Fun times is small American mid-west city
We are staying near Cedar Rapids, Iowa with friends this week and so we’ve had a nice chance to get to know the place. It is a very interesting and...
Camping is fun and so is camping food
Now that another camping season is in the books for most, let’s look at some of the highlights so we can cement those memories to warm us through the...
People step up to help others, and not just during emergencies
We have been away from home since the beginning of August, so we missed being there for all the events of the last few weeks. Everyone everywhere has asked us...
Life as it should be while on vacation
This week I am in Maine, as we continue our journey across the continent and back. The motto here on everyone’s T-shirt is “Maine: Life as it should...
Experiencing French Canadian culture through food
The adventures on the Rabbit Hollow Express continue. (If you missed last week’s launch, I hope you will scroll down to see more and join me on Instagram...
Favourite road food and finding delicious diversions
I am currently on a road trip, crossing Canada with my hubbie and our dog. We are taking our vintage camper trailer to Quebec to visit hubbie’s friend and...
Trying to figure out what Barbie likes to eat
Hubbie and I went to see the Barbie movie this week at the theatre. As a side note, I will mention in case you haven’t heard, this is not really a version...
Historic highlights of processed cheeses
This week I want to talk about cheese, but not the famous European cheeses like Camembert or Gouda or Parmesan. I am going to share with you some historic...
Cherry clafoutis is a perfect reminder life is like a bowl of cherries
I want to reprint a column from many years ago, back in 2010. It’s a great example of how some things stay the same, but most things change. Our cherry...