Musings from the Field

First Joyful Day of Spring

3/20/2021

When Thelma was about my age (58) she suffered depression, not for the first time. She knew she had to do something to feel better about herself. She turned to nature, putting a roll of slide film in the family camera and heading into the country at the first light of dawn.

Birdsong brought her joy, and these photographic excursion in nature gave her a reason to get out of bed in the morning. She discovered she had an affinity for the camera, she had an eye. She didn't know it yet, but she was on the path to becoming a celebrated photographer of prairie people and landscapes, not in the glorious colour of spring, but the thoughtful subtle sensitivity of black and white.

Still, I like this one and its hopeful prayer-ful incantation, "All's right with the world."

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Thanks to You!

1/21/2021

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Thank you everyone who purchased a copy of "Thelma" since its release in September. I made a pledge to donate $1 for each book sold or gifted in 2020 to Read Saskatoon, the literacy change maker in my community. That came to $638!

Thelma was a huge fan of reading, especially reading out loud to her four children when they were growing up. In mid life, she volunteered to read to residents at a seniors care home on her street. Reading out loud seemed to open the floodgates on their own memories. Listening to their stories of days gone by, Thelma wanted to take their photographs. And beautiful photos they are ♥

Another thing Thelma truly believed is the power of creativity to foster hope and healing. She believed everyone has a creative spirit and that we are happiest when following our passions, whether art or music or even creativity in the kitchen.

Next month, a major retrospective of Thelma's work opens at Remai Modern art gallery in Saskatoon (Feb. 13 to Aug. 15). In Thelma's honour, for every book purchased during her exhibition, $1 will be donated to Remai Modern for art programs in the community. So everyone has a chance to express their inner art. Thelma would like that.

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Writing on Breakfast

1/5/2021

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It's a brand new year, but I'm not feeling too perky about it. Where did last year go? It feels like the pandemic lockdown has sucked all the good vibes and turned them into molasses.

Molasses? I hardly even feel like baking. Now that's a sorry state of affairs.

A few days ago, we took possession of a 50 lb sack of raw rolled oats. That's like the size of two big pillows put together. In other words, a lot of oats. They came from an organic mill at Yorkton SK. Did you know Saskatchewan produces more oats than anywhere in the world except Russia? Amazing.

So, oats were the first thing I baked in 2021. Not oatmeal cookies or oatmeal porridge, but a cheerful batch of museli chock full of nuts and dried fruit. 2021, you feel better already ☀️

Muesli
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup chopped nuts, your choice
3/4 cup seeds such as pumpkin, hemp and sunflower
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped dried fruit (optional)

1. Stir together the oats, nuts and seeds.

2. In another bowl, mix the honey and oil. If the honey is too stiff to mix, melt it in the microwave. Stir well.

3. Pour the honey-oil into the oats and toss it thoroughly to spread the honey-oil evenly.

4. Spread into a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake at 200F for two hours. Stir the mixture every half hour so it cooks evenly.

5. Remove from oven. If using dried fruit, add it now. Store in an airtight container.

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Sweet as Pie

12/18/2020

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I made my own Christmas cards this year. I guess I had some time on my hands, pandemic and all.

In 1883, there were just six houses in Saskatoon. One of them, home to the Trounce family, still stands. That year, they hosted a community Christmas dinner. The menu included beef pie, boiled and roasted potatoes, current biscuits, bread and butter, blanc mange (custard) and a jam tart.

(Sorely missing in fresh vegetables in the middle of a prairie winter.)

We know this because Mrs. Trounce wrote a letter home to her family in England describing the dinner. This letter is now in the collection of Sask Archives.

I looked up a recipe for jam tart in an old timey British cookbook. Only two ingredients, what could be simpler or prettier? Wishing sweet and sparkly holidays to you all 💝

Jam Tart
Pastry for one pie crust
2 cups of jam

Note #1: Do not use a low sugar or artificial sugar jam as I can't vouch it will set properly.

Note #2: If you have two pie crusts, you can cut decorative shapes with a cookie cutter to top the pie. This is optional.

1. Spread the jam evenly in the pie crust. Top with decorative shapes (optional).

2. Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes, until pastry is lightly brown.

3. Cool completely before cutting. Jam Tart is nice by itself or served with whipped cream.

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Thelma Pepper 1920~2020

12/3/2020

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My dear friend Thelma has left us. It happened quickly and caught me by surprise. Though she was 100, she seemed invincible. I thought she'd live a long long time, well, at least so we could meet again after pandemic lockdown. I am grateful to have spent so much time with her over these past two years and that she was here to see our book come to fruition in September. She taught me a lot about living with passion and growing old with grace. Adieu my friend 💝

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L'il Sprouts

11/17/2020

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Several years ago, when I was writing a food column in the Star-Phoenix, I was invited to take part in a Food Bank Challenge. Each of us was given a regular food hamper to live on for a week. To be honest, it wasn't great food. Old white bread, cheap "no name" garlic sausage, plain yogurt with a broken seal. Food I would never buy myself. I'm big on quality ingredients from local sources, and this hamper was not that. Except...

There was a container of Saskatchewan lentils.

Those lentils were my lifesaver. The first thing I did was start sprouts. It takes 5 days to get edible sprouts, so there was no time to waste. They were my vegetable. The green in my sandwich. The crunch in egg salad. The fresh in the bland. The grand in finale.

While waiting for my sprouts, I discovered another great use for lentils I had never tried before. Spaghetti Bolognese but instead of using ground meat, I used lentils smashed up with a potato masher. It was delicious.

I know a lot of folks had a hard time with the Food Bank Challenge, especially those with children at home. There were no easy convenience foods, nothing quick or pre-prepared. I survived the challenge because a) I like to cook from scratch and b) I like lentils.

Sprouting is easy. Here's how:

1. Put 2 - 4 tablespoons of lentils in a jar. 2 tbsp in a small jar, 4 tbsp in a big pickle jar.

2. Cover with water and soak for an hour or two. Pour off the water.

3. Every day, cover the sprouts with water, give them a shake and drain. By day 5, you'll have edible sprouts.

The lentils will be soft enough to eat and the sprouts will be fresh and crunchy. A bit of welcome green growing on the counter or the windowsill on a frosty winter's day. After 7 days I put them in the fridge. Try it!!

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What's in a Cover?

11/16/2020

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Sure, we could have used a picture of Thelma with her camera. But instead, we used a picture of young Thelma with a book. Reading is so important to Thelma—in fact, you could say reading changed her life and led her down the path of photography.

In honour of Thelma, my publisher and I will donate $1 for every book purchased in 2020 to Read Saskatoon, the literacy change-maker in our community.

Thelma always believed in the power of reading. She read to her children, even when they could read themselves. When they left home, Thelma found herself in a mid-life depression, searching for new meaning in her life. She volunteered to read to seniors at the care home on her street. Listening to her read seemed to open the floodgates on their own stories. Thelma saw the pride and joy in their faces, and she wanted to capture that in photographs. The rest, as they say, is history…

Three major exhibitions (and a fourth coming up), Saskatchewan Order of Merit, a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, and countless admirers of her positive message of creativity and following your passions to your destiny. As she said, at the age of 99, “It’s a good thing I found myself, or I would not be here today.”

Sheryl Harrow-Yurach, CEO of ReadSaskatoon: “We know one in three Saskatchewan adults struggle daily with reading and writing. Strong literacy skills are foundational to an individual’s economic, social, educational, and employment success. Even more significant, strong literacy skills are foundational to a family’s success. Children’s first teachers are their parents. Their home is the first classroom, and the community is their first school. And like Thelma and Amy Jo, and in the words of one our clients ‘Please get involved! You can’t afford not to. There is more to life than our own little space. Bringing community together through literacy makes our Saskatchewan families stronger because we never stop learning. Ever!’”

For those of you who have purchased a copy of Thelma, $1 is already in the kitty. Thank you!! For those of you thinking of a book for yourself or others, consider it a $1 gift toward the strength and success of the new readers—and their families—in our community.

Now, in pandemic lockdown, reading is Thelma’s lifeline to the outside world. The last time I was able to briefly visit, she was reading Guns, Germs and Steel. I took her the new biography of Sylvia Fedoruk, which truly delighted her. She’s probably read another three books since then :)

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A Sticky Situation

11/6/2020

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November 7 is National Kladdkaka Day in Sweden. AKA National Sticky Cake Day. AKA the bestest easiest gooey yummy cake day ever. "Klad" is short for "choklad" aka chocolate. "Kaka" means cake.

Lucky for me, National Kladdkaka Day lands on the first winter blizzard of the year (predicted for Saskatchewan this weekend) so I predict I'll light a candle, pour a cup of coffee and cozy up to a nice slice of kladdkaka.

Since discovering I have Swedish ancestry (through my grandma's grandma) I have been happily channelling my inner Swede one bite at a time. But you don't need to have Swedish genes or a winter blizzard or even a special day to get sticky with kladdkaka.

Kladdkakka – Swedish Sticky Cake
1/2 cup butter for melting
+ extra to butter the the pan
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
pinch salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Prepare your baking dish. Use a 9 inch/23 cm cake pan or tart pan. Cut a circle of parchment paper (or regular paper) to fit in the bottom of the pan. Butter the pan, set in the paper, then butter the paper. Also butter up the sides of the pan. If you don’t do this your sticky cake will stick. Heat oven to 350F.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan or the microwave oven. Let it cool.

3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.

4. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Whisk in the vanilla. Stir in the flour with as little mixing as required.

5. Pour on the melted butter and fold into the batter until mixed. Pour into the baking pan and level the top.

6. Bake 18-20 minutes. The cake is done when the edges and crust are cooked but the centre is still jiggly.

7. Cool cake before removing from the baking pan. Sprinkle with icing sugar (with or without a paper snowflake stencil) and/or serve with whipped cream, a sliced strawberry or a few raspberries. Ice cream is good, too.

This recipe is from The Little Book of Fika by Lynda Balslev. It's a wonderful little book for anyone wishing to get their fika on.

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The Best of Intentions

10/17/2020

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When Saskatoon's new Remai Modern art museum opened three years ago, I stood in that sunny eclectic Art & Design Store and said to myself, "I need to write a book they will put in this store."

I'm not an artist and I didn't have a subject in mind, but there it was, my intention went out into the universe of all possible things...

Two years ago, my publisher called me all excited. He'd heard a documentary with Thelma Pepper on CBC Radio and he wanted ME to write a book about Thelma.

A little over a year ago, Thelma and I started working on the book of her life and photography. Yesterday, I signed a stack of those books and set them out for sale in the Art & Design store at Remai Modern.

Funny how that works sometimes. Thank you Thelma and thank you universe 💞

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Virtual Book Launch, Literally

10/16/2020

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Despite all your preparation, thing go wrong, right?

On Tuesday, we did a technical test run for my virtual book launch of Thelma: A Life in Pictures. But yesterday, when I connected via zoom, my audio showed up but not my video. Baffled, I rebooted my computer, which worked ~ with 1 minute to spare 😳

So, thankfully, I showed up at my own book launch 😃 and thanks to all of you who came, too. Thanks to McNally Robinson bookstore in Saskatoon for organizing and managing the event. And super thanks to Joanne Paulson for co-hosting with me, 'cause zooming with a friend is way more fun than zooming alone.

Joanne's grandma was photographed by Thelma and is featured in the book, so her participation was personal and heartfelt ♥

I've got to be honest, it feels strange launching a book in covid times, with NO personal contact or a roster of book-promoting events. But it's also a time of intentional and sincere connections via social channels that hone our relationships and our gratitude. Thank you!!

If you missed the book launch, you can watch it via youtube by tapping the screenshot image below. I hope you enjoy connecting as much as I did.