Author Archive: My Kitchen Wand

I was in the middle of cookie stamp testing this weekend and it brought back memories of making Valentine cookies with my mother. We used to make simple hearts with different shades of pink icing and maybe a few extra highlights on some. We never made a lot as Valentines was usually just a day […]

Most egg dyeing is thought of as something to do with a hard boiled egg. This in an alternative thought. Crack your eggs first, dye second and turn those coloured shells into little candles for Easter Sunday breakfast, your altar, the Ostara potluck table or just enjoy all through spring. There is even a Valentine’s […]

The basic recipe comes via my grandfather’s go to book on bread making. Edith Adams Bread Book! “Edith Adams was a Vancouver Sun (Newspaper) institution for three quarters of a century (in Vancouver, Canada), an institution because she never really existed in the flesh. Edith was our apocryphal homemaker. The invention of an editor in […]

Fusion cooking has brought many delicious treasures from around the world into common use in non traditional ways. One example are preserved lemons. They hail from North African cuisine and are probably most well know for their use in Moroccan tagines. Preserved in salt and lemon juice and usually made from Meyer lemons they can […]

If you live in an omnivore family, this is a quick and simple way to spread the flavour of bacon to a wider group. Something that would have been very useful towards the end of winter in ancient times, when supplies might be running low. Sheep and cows would be getting ready to have their […]

Nesting and hibernating can be part of cold winter days. A time to catch up on the reading/movie list or binge watch what there has been no time for over the last few months…..and it is awards season. This snack, with all the toppings you might find on a baked potato includes dairy, always an […]

This post was intended to coincide with Hat Day and Hobby Month As you can see it worked better as a tea cozy. But more on that at another time. For today a quick snack for those that like things sweet and spicy. Actually quite appropriate if you are into watching awards shows or if […]

Probably the most well know tradition of Imbolc is spring cleaning. It can sound a little funny to be thinking about spring in January but this is how it happens. In North America season changes are connected to the equinoxes and solstices, spring starts on the vernal equinox, somewhere around March 20/21. Imbolc has a […]

In honour of Cheese Lover’s Day (January 20th) but good for any day (don’t you think?), a tasty savoury variation on thumbprint cookies! Four things came together that got me thinking. We are headed towards Imbolc and cheese is one of the foods of the season. Definitely not this cheese as it is an aged […]

This is a dual purpose post. My first intention is an October cookie suggestion that can be made with or without cookie stamps. This is my Scottish grandmother’s brown sugar shortbread with added pumpkin pie spice. Four simple ingredients that can be ready in 5 minutes if the butter is already at room temperature. My […]