My favorite vegetarian dishes, the ones that I turn to for comfort during our long, cold winters, are mostly the same dishes we enjoyed as farmers in Saskatchewan during the Depression years. As poor country peasants we survived mostly on our garden vegetables. In those days, bologna and sardines were what I longed for – […]

If you’re wanting to trim or eliminate meat from your family’s diet, consider lentils as a perfect protein-rich substitute to stock up the pantry shelves with. Not only are they a super healthy choice for making delicious meatless meals but they are exceptionally versatile, easy on the budget, and do not need a whole lot […]

Miso, an ancient staple in the Japanese diet, has gained popularity in the West in recent years as a remarkable health-giving food. In times past, only the wealthy had access to the finest organic miso. Luckily for us today, this highly nutritious paste made from fermented rice, barley, chickpeas, or soybeans is readily available from […]

Middle Eastern Condiment Adds Zing to Winter Meals (Editor’s note: According to The Plant Encyclopedia[1], the name Sumac can apply to any one of 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America. This article […]

The red-hot embers kept us barely warm as we huddled around a Tunisian earthenware qanoun (tiny stove) at our friend's home in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia. On that cold January day in Africa’s northernmost republic, the aromas flowing from the kitchen aroused our hunger as we waited for the household cook to prepare […]

When I was a girl growing up in rural Muskoka, the world of tea was a relatively small one. In my grandmother’s pantry, there were two types of tea. One was declared ‘real’ tea, imported from China. The other type was known as ‘tisane’ or ‘herbal tea,’ which we gathered from the backyard gardens and […]