Category: Writer's Life

Thanks to You!

1/21/2021

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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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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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.

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Thelma has Arrived!

10/2/2020

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Oh that new book smell... After a year of gestation, my book Thelma: A Life in Pictures has arrived in book stores! I spent an hour this morning at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Saskatoon signing some 60 copies. By the time I left the store, it was already on the shelf, sitting next to my two previous books ~ Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens and Saskatoon: A History. Welcome to the world Thelma ♥

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New Book Launch!!!!!

9/24/2020

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My new book Thelma: A Life in Pictures is hot off the press and will be arriving in stores soon. So you're invited to a book launch!!! Virtual of course.

It feels a bit odd to launch a new book with no in-person encounters and no roster of events for a month of getting the word out. But life as it is requires that we do things differently and make the best of it. The great thing about a virtual book launch is that folks can join from anywhere in the world. That's big!

The book launch for Thelma is set for Thursday, October 15 @ 7 pm (Sask. time) hosted by McNally Robinson Booksellers on its online platforms Zoom and YouTube. You can get the watch details from their website by clicking the image below 👇

Please join us! I would love to see you there ♥

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"How do I get back to that?"

8/27/2020

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Somedays you wake up and find yourself smiling back at you...

Thank you Julia Peterson and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix for publishing this feature article on my local food passion as a writer, eater and advocate. Julia touched on my two previous books Prairie Feast: A Writer's Journey Home for Dinner & Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens, as well as my current writing project on the history of wheat. Tap the picture 👇 to read the article. And eat local!

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Flat Out Delicious

5/25/2020

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We've known for a long loooong time that Saskatchewan is flat out delicious ~ and now we have it in writing with this fabulous new Saskatchewan food guide by my friend (and fellow Craik-ite) Jenn Sharp. It's part road trip, part arm chair traveller, part celebration, part salivation, of all things good to eat and the folks who grow, raise, collect, cook and market it on this land.

I snapped this pic today of Jenn celebrating the launch of Flat Out Delicious with moi and another food writing (and cooking) pal Dee Hobsbawn-Smith. I brought a bottle of bubbly and Dee brought these pretty teacups so we could celebrate in style while social distancing al fresco in a city park. So proud of you Jenn ♥