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Nana-Approved Turkey Pot Pie
2017 Update: I posted this Turkey Pot Pie recipe in 2010, and two years later my lovely Nana died. This recipe still reminds me of her; her approval meant a lot to me. 2010 Original post: This is essentially a basic turkey pot pie recipe, but I like to think that I’ve particularly made it mine by emphasizing the thyme, salt, and pepper. This savoury pie could probably handle a little sage, too, but have a light hand – the thyme really makes it irresistible. And don’t be stingy with the salt and pepper. I find too that no matter how badly I think I’ve screwed up the homemade pastry,…
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Mango Chutney
About a week ago, I was grocery shopping and saw a flat of mangoes for $3. It was too good to turn down, but then I had a flat of overripe mangoes kicking around my kitchen. So I looked online at a bunch of recipes for canning mango chutney, combined a few, modified them to suit my own tastes, and came up with a chutney I’m pretty happy with. It’s a dead-simple recipe that would be a good one for first-timers, as it’s not too fussy and doesn’t take a lot of time. Just remember to wash everything in hot, soapy water, and let everything air-dry – that’s really the…
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Blackberry Tart
A few days ago, my sharp-eyed sister Cassie (award-winning Biologist and painter) spotted a patch of blackberry bushes growing wild in our neighbourhood.  They seem unnoticed, and untouched by even the birds and squirrels (seems strange of the squirrels to ignore such tempting ripe fruit and instead eat all of the seeds in our birdfeeders, but they do).  Gleaming like jewels, untouched by pesticides and bursting with sweet-tartness, they’re too tempting. Despite scratches from the brambles and bites from the mosquitoes, I went up with my basket and picked 2-3 quarts last night.  And tonight I experimented a little and made a tart that turned out (if I say so myself) beautifully. Ingredients…
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So you want to make a difference: 7 Strategies for community organizers
A community's greatest asset is its skilled workers; protect yourself, and the important work you do, by avoiding the pitfalls. I've given this a lot of thought, having been involved in the community sector a long time, and often fallen into the traps described above. As paid staff, volunteer, and Board member, I've both asked too much and been asked too much. There's not a mistake on this list I haven't made myself, sometimes over and again. So, as much to remind myself as to educate anyone else, here are seven strategies for making a positive difference in both your own life, and that of the community!
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Country Fried Chicken
This is another of my Mom’s late-70s-style recipes, hand-written on an index card and stored in her recipe-box. I don’t know where she got it, but she used to make Country Fried Chicken occasionally when we were kids. Mom recently made this for a going-away picnic, and it reminded me of how good home-made fried chicken is. It’s also pretty easy, and straightforward, so even the least experienced cook should be able to pull it off. Ingredients 4 1/2 – 5 lbs. raw chicken, cut in pieces 1 egg, beaten 2 cloves garlic, crushed 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1.5 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano…
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2010: Ch-ch-changes
The first decade of this century has been filled with challenges – some of my own creation, others external – and the last couple of years have been really focused on figuring out what I’m doing wrong and how to correct it. But that’s not to say that the decade that saw myself and my friends complete and debut a feature-length film, complete my B.A. at Trent, start and run the MoHo Music Revue, explore my arts admin side via the Peterborough Arts Umbrella, and also working up through the ranks at the Peterborough Folk Festival to become Artistic/Executive Director hasn’t seen any triumphs; I’ve worked hard, had loads of…
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Merry Ecksmas: A Ukulele Ecksmas
I’ve been learning ukulele for a few months now; when my good friend David gave a uke workshop at the festival this summer, and I was lucky enough to have the time to sit in. Since then, both he and Lesley have lent us a pair of ukuleles, and when I finally picked it up again later this Fall, I found that, as promised, the uke is completely addictive. After years of failed attempts at learning guitar and a slightly more successful go at the banjo (until my teacher, Lotus, moved away to become an old-timey superstar with his partner-in-crime, Sheesham), it was like a revelation to pick up the…
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Fairy Cakes
This recipe comes from the lovely Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess. I find her sweet recipes wonderful, and her savoury recipes a complete disappointment, so y’know. These whip up in a snap, especially if you have a food processor. I don’t normally advocate the use of anything but a good wooden spoon to mix baked goods, but it really is so super-fast to do these in a food processor it kind-of blows my mind. These don’t keep, so you have to eat them the day you make them. Nigella tops them with a royal icing; hers is kinda gloopy, but it does the trick. I’ll hunt around…
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Merry Ecksmas: Yuletide traditions from the House of Shaw
Ah Christmas; it’s easy to be snarky or soppy about it, and you don’t see much else. I like Christmas, generally speaking, though I’m not religious. There are plenty of things about it that trouble me, and I get the reasons behind what some people call ‘political correctness’ – which I consider to just be ‘correct’. You can’t assume that everyone is celebrating the same thing; it’d be like assuming that everyone loves bubblegum icecream, which is clearly an insane assumption. I don’t mind people saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to me; but then, I also don’t mind someone saying ‘Happy Hanukkah’ or ‘Happy Solstice.’ I like a lot of religions; if…
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Simple Stew with Black-Eyed Peas, Collard Greens and Potatoes
For a stew that is so plain and simple and straightforward, this is really delicious. I like brothy stews with loads of fresh vegetables and very little salt or other junk, and this is perfect. A great meal for early spring, when you really need an injection of healthy greens and vitamins but it’s still cold enough for comfort food. It’s also really good for lunch the next day. Ingredients 4 cups broth (or water, which what I usually use) 8 cups collard greens, chopped 1 can diced tomatoes 2 cups red potatoes, cut into 1/2″ slices 1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained Ground black pepper to taste Directions…
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Summer Herb Vinaigrette
I often make this from a handful of herbs out of our garden – usually thyme, basil, oregano and sage – though last year my huge, beautiful purple sage died, after three years of flourishing, so this year there’s no sage in my garden. Whatever herbs you use, this salad dressing is a million times tastier than anything you’re going to get in a grocery store. Ingredients 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons vinegar 2 tablespoons (or more) of fresh chopped herbs, such as tarragon, oregano, dill, cilantro, sage, basil 2 tablespoon chopped shallot 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey Directions Whisk together all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.…
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Tasty Two-Bean Salad
To me, this Tasty Two-Bean Salad recipe feels like Summer - like a Summer road trip to a family reunion, or a baby shower in someone's back yard, or a picnic in the park.
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German Potato Salad
I don’t know why we call this German Potato Salad, or what in particular makes it German, or where the recipe came from in the first place, but I remember my mother making it when I was a kid and taking it in a big green tupperware bowl to potlucks and family reunions. I’m copying this from my mom’s recipe box index cards. We still make it quite often; it’s simple, and relatively low-calorie compared to a lot of recipes you see. Very flavourful; it’s always popular whenever I take it anywhere. Ingredients 6 large potatoes 1/2 cup vinegar 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 6 green onions, chopped 2 tablespoons parsley,…
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Rachel’s Oatmeal (and Chocolate Chip) Cookies
These cookies are a favourite at our house; really simple to make, and crazy-delicious. Sammi makes them often. They’re supposed to be plain oatmeal cookies, but when you add chocolate chips, something magic happens. I can’t remember ever having made these without chocolate chips. Ingredients 1 cup Flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup rolled oats dark chocolate chips (as many as you like) Directions Preheat oven to 374F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, beat together butter, brown and…
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Caesar Salad Dressing
I started making this salad in high school, when I got the recipe from the restaurant I worked at. It’s delicious, super-garlicky, and piquant. It knocks the socks off those bland, creamy supermarket Caesar dressings, and is a lot less calorie-ish, if you’re worrying about that. The first time I made this, I mistook my handwriting and thought I was being goofy, and omitted the 1 egg it called for (‘legg’? What the heck did I mean by ‘legg’?), and I found it a million times better without the egg. You can add one if you like. Comment below to let me know how your Casar Salad turned out! Ingredients…
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Pumpkin Pie
One of the greatest pleasures of Autumn is pumpkin pie. I wasn’t converted until I was well into my twenties; the idea of vegetables in desserts didn’t sit well with me. Nowadays, as soon as the weather turns cooler I start to think of the creamy deliciousness of my own homemade pumpkin pie. I got this recipe from Terri, who took me under her wing when I was at theatre school and away from my family for the first time. Whether for Thanksgiving, Hallowe’en, or just to celebrate Fall and harvest-time, this easy pumpkin pie recipe is exactly the thing you’re looking for. As with all of my sweet recipes,…
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Music is a part of the festival, not the point of the festival.
So the Peterborough Folk Festival pulled off beautifully; The opening Gala with Ian Tamblyn was perfect, standing-room-only. The Saturday free festival was somewhat hampered by rain in the morning, and I think we had half our usual attendance (I also didn’t realize, I think, how many people come from out of town to PFF) due to the forecast sounding dire and miserable. But it turned out to be a beautiful day, with people saying ‘best PFF ever.’ And the workshops at Sadleir House were well-attended (better-attended than I anticipated by half) and really, really good. I am continuing, as I had planned, as Artistic Director, and stepping down as Executive…
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Optimism, Intelligence, and Imagination.
When I was a kid in the 80s in Ontario, the environmental movement took hold of the mainstream. By that, I mean people start talking about it over the dinner table, on the nightly news, teaching about it in public school classrooms. David Suzuki become a household name.  It became commodified; you could buy products that had slogans about saving the Earth silkscreened on them. There was a burst of enthusiasm; composters became commonplace, and a recycling program began in my little village. There were two very clear messages I took with me from that time; the first and most solid was the white men in suits who said,…
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Pie Pastry (Basic)
This recipe is from a copy of The Canadian Cookbook which my Uncle Johnny gave to my Mom for Christmas in 1975. ((In a strange coincidence, I won a copy of the exact same book at a pie-making competition where the pie I’d entered used this pastry recipe!)) I’ve copied it directly with a couple of side notes where I differ from the ladies who wrote the recipe. Trust me when I say you should not go check with Martha or any of the other gods of the food world; just trust me and the 1970s, and follow this recipe to the letter, and you will have a pretty good…
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Nana Cynthia’s Crepes
My Nana Cynthia gave this recipe to my sister Sammi when she was about 10; we wanted crepes, so Sammi called up Nana and copied down the recipe from her. We were all pretty amused to see that Sammi had spelled them ‘creaps.’ To my mind, paper-thin, hot crepes with lemon juice and icing sugar are both the only way to eat crepes, and they are the best treat in the world. But this crepe is a neutral base, and you can use it for sweet or savoury fillings. This recipe simultaneously reminds me of my Nana and my sisters as well as Paris, which I’ve visited in the Springtime…
