The behind the scenes details of how an artist works fascinate me. What they have for breakfast, where they sit when they work, what the light is like. Do they wear slippers? These are all details that act as a portal into their world to...
"Every post should be a gift. Scrap it if there are too many I's or Me's." -Tamsin Carvin of @tamsinstable This quote is just one of the many gems I scribbled in my notebook at the Gathering I attended in Australia last month. Sophie Hansen of Local...
Dragon Bowls and Mint-Green Jeans The other day I went on a little road trip to the south shore of Nova Scotia, in search of second hand treasures at Guy's Frenchys with my friend Hillary (a true shark of a shopper). Frenchys - a second hand...
This lovely lady is a Belted Galloway. I met her in Gingkin, NSW, after we had butternut squash soup just up the hill with her owners, Amanda and Gerard. I keep staring at this image - the wet nose, slicked with molasses, the glistening afternoon light, her...
I bought a new cookbook while in NYC, and smiled as I read these opening words: "...
Last weekend I was in NYC for the Cherry Bombe Jubilee, a one-day conference celebrating women in food. Women from all over the world are pulled together on this day to share their stories, eat, mingle, learn and network. I’ve written about it before here and here. It’s...
What do you think about when you daydream? Sometimes questions flow in an interview that I would never ask a person, let alone someone I had just met minutes before. But interviews create a sense of urgency. You want to capture the essence of a person,...
I grew up with bits of the beach dotted all over our house. My parents lived on Haida Gwaii, off the coast of British Columbia before they had kids. Based on their finds, it looks like beachcombing was their favourite pastime. I picture my dad...
Miso. At first glance, it resembles smooth, pale peanut butter. Or butterscotch sauce, when it has hardened just enough to still be spreadable. Miso usually comes in a glass jar or a plastic, cube-shaped tub, and sits in the back of my fridge for ages between...
We’re celebrating Claire Ptak from Violet Bakery over here at The Food Podcast HQ. Claire (the star of episode 24) has been chosen by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to make their wedding cake. The couple have requested a lemon and elderflower cake, to reflect the...
I'm in Costa Rica with the Wilson Clan, all eighteen of us, and things are surfacing. If you’ve been reading along for a while, you'll know that we travel en masse and we’re a well greased (and often greasy) machine. My husband and three brother in laws...
The bathroom took my breath away. It was forest green, shiny brass and pine, the hottest combination of 1984. The toilet was forest green. So was the hot tub and the walk-in shower. The floor was carpeted, and guess what, it too was forest green....
Why We Bake The other night my son Charlie was hanging out with me in the kitchen while I baked. He had just come home from a ski race and was skiing around gates, if you can picture it, through the kitchen. I asked him, what's your favourite...
My sister Jessie used to wear a t-shirt with the words SOUP RUINED MY LIFE spread across the front. She had this shirt made; this was her custom message. Soup was really a metaphor for having to live at home during university. Our father was faculty,...
So I bought a Fitbit. This skit is hilarious. Take a moment to have a look and know that I know that you know that I’m pathetic, then come back to me. The new ‘watch' is part of my ‘use my phone less’ regime. Fitbits gently vibrate when...