Swimming With Otters

Evening swims off our little beach on South Pender are among my greatest joys.

Summer and early Fall evenings are sweet for solitary swims. The water’s placid, and the air is still. Swallows dip and dive, and a few seagulls call in the distance. The sky, with its soft colours, reflects off the water’s surface. The golden hour.… Continue reading

Abundance: Pender’s Season of Apples

It’s hard to overstate my reverence for The Apple!

A perfect globe, a happy fruit that sits perfectly in hand. Its gentle heft, its smooth skin, even with imperfections, is beauty in itself. It’s a joy to behold, coloured brightly with reds, greens, yellows and a multitude of hues in between. Bring it to your nose and breathe in its fragrance.… Continue reading

Positively Fourth Avenue

Vancouver’s Fourth Avenue used to be a rag-tag collection of funky used clothing shops, esoteric bookstores, leather sandal makers and vegetarian restaurants. Higgledy-piggledy. There was a smattering of old residential homes in poor condition, built in a bygone era. In the late 1960s, when I first saw the neighbourhood, it was a hippy haven. I was barely 11 years old and wide-eyed.… Continue reading

Harumph! Author Says Leave Baking to the Professionals?

Many modern bread books are formulaic: they take a unique angle — such as current trends in the bread world, an author’s professional experience or a historical perspective — then present a tantalizing selection of bread recipes aimed at the home baker.

Safe, entertaining, and informative.

Maybe it’s time for a shake-up in the bread world.… Continue reading

Making Art and Bread With A Message

Eighty-nine-year-old Peter Schumann (centre) oversees the Bread and Puppet Theatre … and the making of bread to feed his audiences. (New York Times)

I often think I came to the baking profession too late in life. It’s been more a retirement project than a life-long calling. I have a thirst for baking knowledge and never satisfied with making just good loaves.… Continue reading