Classic Mennonite Elderberry Pie

A couple of summers ago, I discovered that a plant I’d been studiously avoiding for years on my daily dog walks, was not the poisonous wild parsnip or giant hogweed I’d suspected it to be, but rather, a wild elderberry bush. And it turned out that there were hundreds of them.

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Vintage Rhubarb Custard Meringue Pie

I have a gorgeous crop of rhubarb – that most undemanding and yet giving of plants – in my garden this year.  A bumper crop. The leaves are massive and brilliantly green and the stalks are ruby-red – much redder than they have been in the past. I’m not sure if it was the long cold winter, or the slow, cool spring, but the rhubarb is thriving and I’m busy making use of the bounty.

Rhubarb Curd

 

This rhubarb curd is a bit like an old-fashioned rhubarb custard pie in a jar. It’s brilliant by the spoonful but is perhaps more civilized when served with pound cake, or with a batch of scones, or as a topping for cheesecake. It is also perfect served with a bowl of fresh berries and whipped cream or stirred into natural yogurt. Use it like you would lemon curd.

a batch of stunningly good Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars are quintessentially Canadian. They are to British Columbia what Butter Tarts are to Ontario, Flapper Pie is to the Prairies, Tarte au Sucre is to Quebec, and Figgy Duff is to Newfoundland: beloved and iconic. Essential pieces of our culinary history.

coconut cupcakes

Cooking, but even more particularly, baking, is such a useful and potent form of therapy for me.

happen-to-be-vegan Valentine’s Day cookies

It’s Valentine’s Day this week and in my kitchen I’m making these four-ingredient, (happen-to-be-vegan) Valentine’s Day cookies. These are a breeze to whip up and are beautifully soft and delicious, almost disproportionately so when you consider how simple the ingredients are. Plus they’re good for the planet.

Tarta de Santiago

I did it! I walked 800 kilometres (500 miles) across Spain. It was brilliant. A long, slow, meditative walk across the country, over mountain ranges and across plains, through farms, villages, cities….

chocolate tahini cake

I’m about to board an airplane heading to Paris and then travel by train to St. Jean Pied de Port. From there, I’ll set off on foot to walk 800km across Spain on the Camino de Santiago: a journey I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time.

Stilton, walnut, raisin bread

Blue cheese is one of those things. Some do. And some just don’t.

a pressed-crust pear and almond tart

It’s been so hot this summer. And so dry. The driest summer in Eastern Ontario since 1888. It reminds me of my years in Australia – especially the drought years when the heat seeped up from the floorboards and down from the attic, filling every crack, every corner of the house, while outside the yard baked under the intense Australian sun.