Have Your Cake and Virtue Too
April is a month of birthdays for my immediate family, most of whom are scattered in the semi-wilds of Ontario.
Have Your Cake and Virtue Too Read More »
April is a month of birthdays for my immediate family, most of whom are scattered in the semi-wilds of Ontario.
Have Your Cake and Virtue Too Read More »
In last month’s column I mentioned my roommate has discovered yogurt-making and the subsequent, luminous introduction…
The Many Uses Of Whey Read More »
When the winds of winter howl, it’s time to welcome the warming flavours of South Asia and the Middle East. This recipe came about…
A Warming Stew For Cold Winter Nights Read More »
I am chagrined. I missed our neighbour’s open house. Not only is this party the best place to catch up with friends that we only see here…
Eggnog, Rum Sauce And Cheesecake! Read More »
In my house we take liberties with pasta sauce. Left to his own devices, my roommate will throw in juniper berries, birch syrup, preserved…
Pasta Extravagances Read More »
We met Roger Kempanien in a youth hostel on the outskirts of Gällivare, an iron-mining town in northern Sweden. My husband and I…
Sautéed Ruffed Grouse Breasts In Madeira And Cranberry Sauce Read More »
Earlier this year, I asked a lawyer friend for a favour: I needed help navigating the legal system for another friend…
The Cookie Solution Read More »
Every fall, for the past several years, my sister has said to me, “Sister! Have you made a pumpkin pie from scratch…
The Pumpkin Eaters Read More »
The hunters are returning the leaves have gone and there’s snow in them hills—it’s the season for big pots of stock simmering on the stove…
Who among us has not received a large zucchini from a neighbouring gardener, at the end of the summer? I was gifted a two-pound…
How To Cook a Large Zucchini Read More »
The tip of my rod jerked and dipped toward the dimpled grey water, and I glanced up at our guide. He shook his head.
Shore Lunch With Mario Read More »
A couple of weeks ago we dropped in on a friend on our way to Pine Lake, near Haines Junction. Just as we were leaving, he said…
Meatloaf is Marvellous, Hot or Cold Read More »
S’mores are great, there’s no doubt about it. Melted marshmallows and creamy chocolate sandwiched between graham wafers…
Life After S’mores: New Camping Dessert Options Read More »
A couple of weeks ago, the oil tank guys were coming to take out our old tank and pour a cement pad for the new one.
One More Rhubarb Apple Crumble Recipe Read More »
About a month ago I visited the first place I ever picked dandelions: a small, pebbly beach on the Greek island of Alonissos…
Green It Up! It’s Dandelion Season! Read More »
I’m sitting in an apartment just off Syntagma Square in Athens. Motorcycles roar by and a woman drags a big garbage bag to the corner.
Horiatiki (a.k.a. The Greek Salad) Read More »
Low-bush cranberries and lemon are two flavours that shout out “Spring!” at this time of year. The swans are flying overhead…
I love cooked fresh pork belly, the exquisite combination of crispy skin, luscious fat and tender meat that chefs in the Yukon do so well.
The Venerable Pork Belly Read More »
In January I stopped eating fresh vegetables, and my roommate quit his granola habit. We just didn’t feel like it anymore.
Fibre, Fibre, Fibre! Read More »
Soup is just the best for the busy cook, especially in February when the light’s coming back and we’re rushing in from…
The MI5 agents came into the house by stealth, wrapped in worn, crinkled purple tissue paper. The package nestled under the tree…
Finger Food For Dark Nights Read More »
On November 26, my sister and I pulled into the Husky gas station at Hope, just off the Trans-Canada Highway.
Road Snacks For White Line Fever Read More »
My husband and I are on our last visit to my sister’s house in Parksville, on Vancouver Island. She is moving across the country…
I want to share with you a success I had this weekend. But first, hands up anyone who has ever overcooked a moose roast.
How To Cook A Moose Read More »
My old friend Julie called to me from the back of her car, where she’d just finished loading her groceries.
Together we admired the colour and texture of trout and salmon, contrasting them with each other, enjoying handling this beautiful resource.
Taku River Sockeye Salmon and Atlin Lake Trout: Preserving the Harvest Read More »
Here are a couple of recipes for the last of the blueberries, with thanks to the blueberry buddies: J, N, M and, especially, G.
A Lost Watch And The Last Of The Blueberries Read More »
West Coast Trail inspired Pan Fried Salmon & Baked Potatoe. Great recipes from Miche Genest, with an accompanying trail tail.
Pan-fried Fish on the West Coast Trail Read More »
There are few wild greens easier to enjoy than lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album) also known as white goosefoot and, sometimes, pigweed. A member of the populous Amaranthaceae family, which includes amaranth, quinoa, beets and spinach, among thousands of other plants, the leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked and have a flavour somewhere between spinach and kale.
Go Wild With Greens Read More »
Nothing is assured about wild food gathering. If you find butter & whipping cream try this dessert recipe.
Raspberry Fool With Wild Chamomile Shortbreads Read More »
Shift from birch sap for syrup, to sap for beer. “Oh yeah, beer concentrate is fun and easy, relative to syrup, and the vibe is all beer,”
Time to Celebrate: Birch Syrup Season is Done Read More »
You know it’s morel season when photos show up on social media. Try this Caramelized Onion and Morel Mushroom Quiche.
The mushrooms are coming, the mushrooms are coming! Read More »
Spruce tip season is short. There’s anxiety about getting out soon enough. Once picked and processed, you can experiment with abandon.
Gather: All The Spruce Tip Things Read More »
There is something magic about a real bran muffin, the old-fashioned kind that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers made.
Fibre Magic: Blueberry and Walnut Bran Muffins Read More »
Lemon yogurt cake. With the addition of tangy low-bush cranberries, this cake will provide a burst of bright flavours
Bright Flavours for Spring Read More »
I found comfort in honouring the people of Ukraine by making pyrizhky (or piroshky), a hand pie beloved in both countries.
Pyrizhky (or piroshky) is a Much Beloved Dish in Eastern Europe Read More »
Mid-winter Potato, Kale and Cheddar Pie. A hearty, cheesy, main course that only needs a side salad for a satisfying mid-winter meal.
When Gatherers Become Gardeners Read More »
trifle—luscious, layered concoction of cake or cookies, fruit, custard, jam and whipped cream invented by the British and adored by everyone
Gather: No Trifling Matter Read More »
Ever eat from a package and think, “Huh. I could make that.” I sampled pricey Parmesan &rosemary shortbreads, I tried spruce tips instead.
Parmesan and Spruce Tip Shortbreads Read More »
Old-fashioned jelly roll, made with cranberry jam, not jelly, and finished with whipped cream, Amaretto and toasted sliced almonds.
Inspired by a couple of recipes we found online, we mixed and matched and livened up with our own combo of spicy aromatics
The secret to good rhubarb Read More »
Jennifer’s (Free Pour Jenny) cocktail and an appetizer. The cocktail’s bright, sharp and tart. Something cheesy immediately suggested itself.
Birthday Pairings, Campground Treats Read More »
Don’t hate them! Not only are dandelions beautiful, the bees love them and we should too! They are delicious.
Rhubarb is a good producer to just keep harvesting, resulting in a pile-up of chopped rhubarb in bags in the freezer. A hubbub of rhubarb!
A Hubbub of Rhubarb Read More »
A forage around town in supermarkets and small shops for local and locally available foodstuffs to bring home and play with
Foraging in local markets for cheese pie makings Read More »
The berry season is still months away, but a close friend gave me a small jar of jam for Christmas. And so, I made cheesecake.
Wild Strawberry jam Read More »
Why not celebrate this time round with a feast that connects you to the landscape; that reminds you of where you live.
During this bizarre year of COVID constraints, home cooks have had to develop adaptive culinary behaviours to increase our success in the kitchen. Sometimes key ingredients for a recipe simply weren’t available, so we acquired new competencies. We became masters of substitution.
Adaptive strategies Read More »
In these recipes you may use any coffee roast you like—the effect will be different with each one–but be sure to use a fine grind. The coarser stuff can be unpleasantly gritty.
I’ve wanted to make savoury thumbprint cookies forever, so once the spruce needles were swept up, the decorations put back in their boxes and the cookie tins fully emptied, I decided to give them a try.
Post-holiday baking projects Read More »
Sometimes, in the midst of celebratory foods, we just feel like something simple. Like a melty, comforting, satisfying mac and cheese!
An old favourite with a smoky twist Read More »
There is a famous vegetarian restaurant in New York City called Dirt Candy. Someday I will get there, but, in the meantime, I love the
People who live and work on the water are good at tall tales. Fisher people don’t just tell whoppers about the whopper that got away,
Tall tales and fish cakes Read More »
My father had a favourite expression when he came home from work late because he’d stayed downtown for a drink with his friends. “I fell
Morels and rascals Read More »
In my Yukon world, ‘Juniper’ is a name that has been given to kittens and new babies; in the world of musician Donovan Leitch it
Juniper—Not Just for Gin Read More »
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many berry pickers as this year in the White Pass near Fraser, B.C., southern Yukon’s favourite place to
Blueberry Pilgrims Read More »
Blackcurrants do grow wild in the Yukon, sparsely. You may find Ribes hudsoniam in damp forests at the base of mountains, like for example on the King’s Throne hike in Kluane National Park.
Currant-ly Available Read More »
I find one of the best ways to calm the spirit and focus the mind is to go out foraging. When foraging for wild plants we enter the landscape on an intimate scale, we’re down on our knees, looking, exploring, paying attention, the microcosm engages us and the macro shrinks away.
For those as yet uninitiated, spruce tips are one of those truly magical wild northern foods. They’re packed with Vitamin C and have been used by Indigenous people to soothe sore throats and combat flu for centuries.
It’s Spruce Tip Season! Read More »
Serve spruce tip jelly on toast with butter; in thumb-print cookies; on a charcuterie platter; with smoked salmon and cream cheese; or to accompany any wild meat or fish, whether braised, grilled, roasted or fried.
I’ve always loved the stories where people slip out of the present and into a different time; kid’s stories like Tom’s Midnight Garden, or the
Dreamtime, Bourbon Time Read More »
Yukon concocters, experimenters, cocktail lovers and fans of northern botanicals, take cheer! A kindred spirit walks among us. She is Jennifer Tyldesley, and as you
Sweet news: Northern bitters make beautiful drinks Read More »
I bought a nectarine in Juneau a couple of weeks ago. It looked large and rosy and promising. The flesh was firm and yet it
Making Sangria While the Sun Shines Read More »
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about heading off on a trip down the Wind River. I was concerned that our group, with all
From the Ashes of A River Fail: Two Cocktails Read More »
It’s 6 a.m. on a rainy morning just before Canada Day. In six hours I need to be ready to drive to Mayo, with three
I developed an interest in food and restaurants early. In this I had a companion: my friend Sarah, who at sixteen was a year older
The spruce tip harvest was early this year; green buds started appearing at the ends of spruce branches around mid-May in Whitehorse and continued being
Most of us who came of age in the 70s have a Tiki experience somewhere in their cocktail history. Mine was in Jasper, Alberta in
Mai Tais at the Whistle Stop Pub Read More »
I just returned from a trip to Seattle, where I didn’t go to a single cocktail bar. Nor did I enjoy the happy hours for
The Dark and Stormy Read More »
I have a Cocktail Confidante to whom I turn when I need inspiration or advice. He is an amateur beverage scientist who approaches his subject
The Cocktail Family Tree Read More »
The Old Fashioned takes us right back to the beginning of the history of cocktails. In 1806 a reader wrote to the editor of The
Yukon Spirits launched two whiskies while I was skiing in Japan. I have not tried either yet (one of them is sold out, I hear)
At the beginning of January I set myself the task, for 2016, of clearing the cupboard of experimental aquavits, infused spirits and liqueurs. A task
Raspberry Ultimatum Read More »
In Scottish households it’s a New Year’s tradition to scour the house clean on December 31st to prepare for the coming year. My household has
A familiar sight at many a gathering during the holiday season is the punch bowl, ranging in formality from fine, etched crystal to battered salad
When my Mom and Dad were a young couple living on Avenue Road in Toronto their local watering hole was the rooftop bar at the
Old Friends and Family Recipes Read More »
In the world of beverages, everything old is new again. The cocktail revival of recent years has been matched by a revival of interest in
Switching Up the Drinks Menu Read More »
When your friend blows into town, you hang onto your hat and lay on the groceries, especially the Stolichnaya Vodka, or “Stoli”, as he calls
Extraneous Bananas Read More »
Like so many Yukoners during this crazy low-bush cranberry season, I’m clearing out the freezer to make room for berries. In the process I’ve unearthed
Here’s a tip: spruce makes for a great cocktail Read More »
It’s August 31 and the snow is halfway down Gray Mountain. In downtown Whitehorse the leaves are still on the trees and many of them
Crabapples and Calvados Read More »
Key to the success of the summer road trip is an assortment of the beverages appropriate to each occasion, and the necessary equipment to concoct
The Appropriate Road Trip Beverage Strategy Read More »
I’ve always known Uncle Berwyn’s Pure Yukon Birch Syrup was the best birch syrup in Canada. As it turns out, our homegrown syrup, produced off-grid
Gin is the quintessential summer spirit, especially for those of us who live above the 49th parallel. Rum, tequila, and bourbon more properly belong to
Bitter Lessons and Sweet Memories Read More »
In New York, speakeasy-style bars are all the rage. Dark, guarded by doormen or hidden behind a “front” establishment like a hot dog stand or
Speak Easy, Drink Well Read More »
A Whitehorse friend recently told me about a useful book called The Gin and Tonic Gardener, by Janice Wells, a gardener and newspaper columnist in
A Tale of Two Gardens Read More »
I first encountered Campari in 1980 at a hotel bar on Alonissos, a small island in the North Sporades group of islands in the Aegean
Cocktail Hour on the Tsirku Glacier Read More »
On a sunny Saturday a few weeks ago I joined 70 other curious souls at a bourbon tasting and barbecue cohosted by the Yukon Chamber
Bourbon and Words to Live By Read More »
There was fog hugging the ground at La Guardia Airport. Flights had been cancelled all day. My companions and I sat in Ottawa, checking the
Inspirational Cocktails in New York City Read More »
In an interview, Bob Weir, rhythm guitarist for the Grateful Dead, admitted somewhat sheepishly, that yes, it was a bit embarrassing learning how to play
This is a story about ice wine, and we will get to it in a roundabout way. Recently my husband Hector forwarded me an email
How Farmer Friends Lead to Pretentious Wines Read More »
Last holiday season I cajoled members of my family into forming teams and entering a contest, invented by me, entitled, “The First Annual Shake-off, Stiroff
Cherries for the Delayed Win Read More »
Up on the Alaska Highway, in the bright boîte called Tonimoes, attached to the SKKY Hotel, a quiet ritual takes place every Tuesday. Informally known
Honouring the Bounty of Scotland Read More »
Let us now sing the praises of The Boreal Herbal, Beverly Gray’s herbal encyclopedia, compendium, spiritual guide and cookery book based on the flowers, plants