Author Archive: My Kitchen Wand

Pluots are part of a group of hybrid fruits known as interspecific plums. Apriums, Apriplums and plumcots are also in this group that are a combination of plums and apricots. Sometimes this happens through natural cross pollination and other times they are man made. Pluot’s parents are Italian prune plums and apricots. They have that […]

As summer comes to an end, I anticipate the arrival of large field grown tomatoes, ripe and juicy and full of flavour, warmed by long days under a heating sun, nourished by the earth rather than greenhouse hydroponics. There is just something different about the taste that makes me happy. Tomatoes, a fruit of the […]

Sour cherries are here for a very short time so I am fortunate that there are two orchards in the general area. Just like sour apples generally make better baking apples, sour cherries are usually thought of as cooking cherries. Cakes, puddings, cold soups and other deliciousness can come from sour cherries. When ripe sour […]

In this part of the world a typical weather pattern for right now is colder, wetter, weather, until school starts and then we are back into warmer days with a lovely cool breeze to take the edge off. Perfect outside weather from my point of view, just until our badly needed rainforest rain returns and […]

Crabapples are grown in orchards to help with pollination. They so do not make good eating apples but my do they make nice jelly. Crabapples are naturally full of pectin so no Certo required. Jean has a tree in her orchard and the crabapples are ripe with a glorious shade of red. Yesterday I was […]

Most of the recipes from My Kitchen Wand contain a few words about preparation, separating then from now, shifting a state of mind before beginning so that good energy flows. Honour the apron you put on to protect your clothes. It is no different than vestments or a robe in anchoring a different state of […]

If you only like crisp cookies, this is not the post for you. So sorry! Try these instead.  These soft cookies are for days when being “good” is just bringing all the gremlins to the fore. ” Cookies, I WANT cookies! ” is repeating and repeating and repeating in your mind. The recipe only makes […]

During blackberry time, the brambles in safe places are full with pickers gathering their summer treats. Do you have a favourite place to gather blackberries? Jean knew where these peak of perfection berries were hiding on her street and I whipped up a simple cake to spread the wealth. All sorts of fruits can be […]

It is not a galette as it uses puff pastry and not a pizza as it uses puff pastry and not a pie as it uses….you got it, puff pastry. It still however is an easy dinner on a busy night, as the onions can be cooked the night before. Walla Walla onions come from […]

Moving outside our comfort zones is not always simple. We have the ingredients in stock. We know the feel of the dough. It is easier to repeat what comes easily than try something that might not work, time and ingredients lost. Not all “solutions” are for everyone. Gluten-free, non dairy, low-fat, keto, paleo, religious restrictions, […]