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.

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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.

Irish soda bread

Homemade Irish soda bread in 25 minutes or less – from start to finish including prep and cooking time!

Susan Musgrave’s Welsh Griddle Cakes

I’ve been remiss – an erratic blogger. I haven’t managed to spend an entire week at home for months. Between work, a surprisingly extensive book tour, and visiting my elderly mother in hospital six hours drive away across the province – I’ve been on the road constantly.

classic apple crisp

Driving home across rural Ontario last week, I drove past a picturesque farm nestled into the rolling hills. As I sailed on by, I noticed a sweet little shed at the side of the driveway with a crooked, hand-painted sign saying, “Apples for Sale.” Inside the shed were a few baskets of apples and a cash box. 

perfect pumpkin scones

The love of place is as real, as strong, and as important as any love. I felt it on the wild remote coast of Tasmania. I’ve felt it over and over on visits to Yorkshire – my ancestral home and the place I spent my formative years. I’ve felt in the south of France – the north of France – the middle of France. The sunshine coast of Australia. Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver. I’ve felt it in the rugged, wilderness of Northern Canada. In Killarney Provincial Park as I watched a blue moon rise over the lakes and listened to the loons call to each other. I’ve felt it the Rocky Mountains, in Mexico. And absolutely in Newfoundland. Definitely there. That was love at first sight.

the fine and practical art of procrastination and a carrot cake

 

When I have a really pressing task – especially if it’s also a HUGE, pressing task – I’m unbelievably industrious. Except that I’m not necessarily working on what I’m supposed to be working on. 

warm fig fruit salad in port wine

This is such a crazy simple, quick, tasty, sophisticated, elegant dessert. I’d be incredibly happy if I was served this in a posh restaurant. And yet, I feel that most restaurants here are not quite there yet. Is it wrong that I often prefer my own cooking to eating out? If you love the kitchen and you love cooking and you take it seriously – eating out can be such a letdown. Expensive. Boring. Tasteless. Predictable.