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Saturday, July 7, 2018

Flavouring





Ounces of taste in tiny drops
fill up the cup
and flavour the stew

Just as gratitude
adds sunshine to a cloudy day
and nourishes heart and soul.



“The smallest act of kindness is worth 
more than the grandest intention.”
~ Oscar Wilde


Friday, July 6, 2018

What's Normal?


Normally’ only refers to 
a given circumstance
but begs comparison 
to the perceptions of others.

Nourishment for each culture
comes down from the ages
where there were no recipes
only hunger and thirst.


“It is not necessary to advertise food to hungry people, 
fuel to cold people, or houses to the homeless.”
~ John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - 2006)

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Soul Food

While reading Ruth Reichl’s book My Kitchen Year, she showed me word pictures of how food feeds not just the body, but the soul. I have often gone to the kitchen with the pretext of wanting some specific thing to eat but found myself more entranced with the creation of a dish - usually from left overs or just whatever is in the cupboard or fridge. The follow up eating of the food is merely a tasty completion of this process. Did the taste match the imagining in my head? Was the texture right, was it too soft or not soft enough? Of course, someone has to do the dishes and even that, sometimes, is satisfying to me. This writing exercise should prove interesting over the next eleven days as I have no clue what I may ‘cook up’ in the way of word crafting! 

Normally
Ounces
Unique
Rations
Ice Cream
Scrambled eggs
Hash brown potatoes
Morsels
Exquisite
Necessary
Temptation

“We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment
 for the soul, just as a meal does for the body.”
~ Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage


Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Book Review - My Kitchen Year - 136 Recipes that Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl

Let me begin by saying that I have never, ever read a cookbook from cover to cover. Most cookbooks have only a handful of recipes that I use, some more than others. Most cookbooks, at least the ones that I own, have short entries about the chapter, or a delicious promise that tempts taste with texture and colour. This cookbook is about the author and her journey following the demise of Gourmet in the fall of 2009. She had been the Editor in Chief of this once popular magazine for ten years and was suddenly confronted by a blank calendar. Each recipe comes from a thought, a worry, a memory or just the experience of the day. They are recipes she has known, recipes she has recreated from a favourite restaurant or tweaked to shape her preferences. Experimenting with No Knead Bread in my own kitchen was from one such recipe from the original by James Lahey. My Kitchen Year is also replete with photos. Photos of plates of finished recipes, but also photos of the seasons and places. My Kitchen Year is sectioned with the seasons beginning with Fall, each recipe matching the season with dishes that nourish not only the body but the soul. 

Ruth Reichl has writes about preparing and cooking food with gentle passion. Yes, some of the dishes have ingredients that I will probably never have access to, but then she lived in a world of extraordinary fare. What she discovered after being away from such a world is that extraordinary fare was found in her own home, and from her own hand. If you enjoy preparing to cook, cooking or baking and then enjoying the results of this act of creativity, you will enjoy this book. Ruth Reichl brings the cook into the kitchen.

“To me recipes are conversations, not lectures; they are a beginning, 
not an end. I hope you’ll add a little bit more of this, 
a little less of that, perhaps introduce new spices or different herbs. 
What I really want is for my recipes to become your own.”
~ Ruth Reichl, My Kitchen Year

Title:  My Kitchen Year - 136 Recipes that Saved My Life
Author:  Ruth Reichl
Published in Canada by: Appetite by Random House
Copyright: 2015
Format:  Hard Cover
ISBN: 978-0-14-752995-4
eBook ISBN: 978-0-14-752996-1
Type: Cookbook

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

The Second Loaf

A couple of weeks ago, I made my first loaf of No-Knead Bread. Successful and quite delicious. As it was disappearing at an alarming rate - still haven’t found the culprit - I made a second loaf.  I made some changes that I really didn’t think would make much different. But the texture and the taste of the bread were off. (By the way, this loaf also has disappeared. I did make a back up loaf - and again this loaf has disappeared right out of my kitchen. Whoever has disappeared them also used up my butter and my honey!) 

The changes were:
The yeast - I didn’t bring the yeast to room temperature before mixing with the flour.
The bowl - I used a much larger bowl
Rising - I had the second rise go on much longer and had it in the refrigerator for most of the second rise.

Ultimately, the second loaf was good bread, but just okay. So I made a third improved loaf  - I ate the last bit today and won’t make anymore until next week. Just have to try again!

“All sorrows are less with bread.”
~ Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Monday, July 2, 2018

Salt Spring Island She Shed Tour 2018 - #13


Front of Postcard with Anna Gustafson's Enshrouded Technology
Our final stop on this fascinating She Shed Tour was Art Haus, where technology is shrouded in white cotton. Quite literally. Artist Anna Gustafson is *an honours graduate from the Vancouver School of Art - now Emily Carr - and has
Front of Postcard with Anna Gustafson's Enshrouded  Technology
shown in public galleries since 1974
. Her work is inspired by the environment, consumerism and, it would appear, our throwaway society. 
She patiently enshrouds cell phones, remote controls, leaf blowers and the many small pieces of technology ubiquitous in today's world to honour the work and design that created them. 


Our tour of learning and discovery had come to an end. We returned to our host’s home for delicious homemade plum pie and lovely ice cream. Our ferry return to Victoria was cool and cloudy, but we came away with lovely memories of a day well spent on June 24, 2018.

“The poetry of the earth is never dead.”
~ John Keats

See more of Anna Gustafson's artistry, ideas and beliefs at:

Fundraising event for: Saltspring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse

*from Anna Gustafson’s CV on her website

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Salt Spring Island She Shed Tour 2018 - #10

The afternoon was getting on and we decided to miss a couple of She Sheds. So on to #10 on our program to visit Judy Weeden’s Pottery Studio where we discovered a most classic and sophisticated work. Dyes in shades of blues, greens, deep orange, black and lavender with designs fanciful and geometric gracing her lovely pottery. I hesitated only briefly before purchasing this lovely mug. I can wrap my hand around it just right, and it holds just the right amount of early morning coffee. After a bit of research at judyweeden.com I learned that Judy Weeden is a "studio potter with 42 years experience" which is evident in the quality of her work. 

“I thought clay must feel happy in the good potter’s hand.”
~ Janet Fitch, White Oleander

See a gallery of Judy Weeden’s wonderful work at judyweeden.com.

Fundraising event for: Saltspring Women Opposed to Violence and Abuse