As a little girl growing up in East Coast Halifax, I used to glorify the United States. Why couldn’t Canada have outlet malls and Dr. Pepper? It never seemed fair, and Americans openly expressed the notion that we lived in igloos. Many didn’t realize that we shared the longest unprotected border in the world. I couldn’t find many Canadians who ‘made it’ on Broadway or in Hollywood. Was there a future for the little girl who wanted to be a musical theatre actor more than anything? I was as embarrassed as I was insecure.
Literacy is as much a parenting priority as ensuring our prodigy are well fed. Some lessons, like teaching them not to bully or washing behind their ears are simpler parenting goals than others. While instilling compassion can be done on a tight budget, not every child has access to the plethora books that are required in order to develop a passion for reading.
I really don’t like cold food. Hence, I’m a soup girl, but sometimes I force myself to eat salads. Lately I’ve discovered excellent dressings and stunning salad presentation, so it’s more of a game. Challenge accepted! Having been fortunate enough to travel to the Caribbean, the flavours of this salad help bring a taste of the islands back home with me.
Sometimes I have thought that if I could have any superpower, I would want the power to eat everything I want to and have it all be a) good for me and b) not able to make me fat. This, out of all the available superpowers. Why would I want to fly? Or walk through walls? No, I want my superpower to be eating.
It is really kind of sad, if you think about it. And also possibly a tiny bit unhealthy. But, there you have it. I HAVE AN UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD.
Yeah, no. We’re not even going to try and throw a football ourselves, let alone teach someone else how to do it. But the entertaining part and talking about how to throw a football party is a snap. Superbowl and Canada’s Grey Cup conjure images of hot dogs, nachos and chips, but that kind of tailgating is a little boring. Let’s deconstruct the normal and start with a hearty, versatile ingredient that warms even the coldest of bellies during football season. I give you: pasta. We created two fun recipes inspired by football traditions, but with a bit of a Canadian twist!
When I was a child my Grandmother and Great Aunt would roast a chicken or turkey at least weekly. Any dinner was incomplete without freshly made tea biscuits. The trick with these is instead of using a cookie cutter for shape, they always used the edge of a juice glass to cut the dough. A cookie cutter is fine too, but to this day I still do exactly as they did while smiling the whole time.
With all of the corporate options available, it isn’t really necessary for anyone to “shop local” anymore. You can get all sorts of exotic flavours and colours at the large chain supermarkets. Before I share a fun recipe for ‘Farm Fresh Linguine and Tomato Sauce’, I want to first get you excited about the many benefits of shopping locally at the farmers market!
Fall is a time of new beginnings. Out of nowhere, the nip enters the air and the laziness of summer morphs into productivity. Well, I’m trying anyway! We organize closets, embrace an earlier bedtime and fill the freezer with family meals. My favourite meals are always ones that can be produced out of the pantry. The problem with this, though, is that essential ‘stock’ items like oats, flour and rice never seem to drop in price, so squeezing room out of the family budget from the food category doesn’t seem to work. Until now. Here’s how you can save money on the staples with help from our friends at Safeway.
Today I have driven nearly 68 kilometres, taking children to and from playdates, practices, and tryouts. School starts soon and they’re all antsy. My youngest is going into middle school and she’s anxious about everything—the new building, having a locker, going to different rooms for each class. On top of worrying about school, she’s also my one and only picky eater, and this week our primary chef (aka. Daddy) is away for work. So the last thing I want to do tonight is cook. I’m set on the last days of our summer together being warm and fuzzy, not a battle about what she tries to feed the dog when I’m not looking.
Enter Boston Pizza. She will be happy. I will be happy. And the best part is that we’re helping other kids.
As part of a video recording, I was asked how I encouraged the boys (henceforth known as the little weasels) to come to the dinner table. Without missing a beat, the 10 year-old piped up that ‘Mommy just puts it on a plate and brings it down to us in front of the TV.” ^Mortified. But also… kind of true. We try to have at least three meals a week around the table but sometimes that path of least resistance reigns. Everyone always praises family dinners, but as I grew up an only child with parents who would quickly divorce, the ‘family dinner’ was often laboured, strained and uncomfortable. Maybe my childhood angst is now being brought to my own table. From that moment, I decided to develop 36 questions to ask your family at dinner.