Author Archive: My Kitchen Wand

Nestled between the split cedar fence and hertitage apples is Jean’s border of calendula, little sunny yellow (and sometimes orange) faces that brighten the day. Calendula, with its antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties is a gentle herb that soothes cuts, burns, rashes and other abrasions. Recent studies also suggest an antifungal aspect that may be […]

A post about soup and stew herbal wreaths came up in my news feed the other day. It was about a lovely day spent several years ago at the Western Reserve Herb Society by The Windesphere Witch. Here is the post http://stirringthesenses.typepad.com/the_windesphere_witch/2013/07/kitchen-apothecary-herbal-soup-wreaths.html I began to mull, always a dangerous thing, and then in a bit […]

It didn’t seem nice to leave the last post about making applesauce without at least one “what can I do with it now” recipe and since school starts again in a few weeks, there might be more lunches to pack very soon. This recipe is for a batch of six. A better number for small […]

There are desserts and then there are DESSERTS! What qualifies as DESSERT! is different for everyone. Simple, elegant, delicious. This apricot almond sauce with whiskey over a good vanilla ice cream would be my idea of DESSERT! So before apricot season ends, I wanted to make a batch and preserve a couple of jars in […]

Applesauce is one of those staples that can be really useful as the year goes by, especially in alternative and sugar reduced baking. Most of us have heard of serving applesauce with pork roast (or roasted goose in Europe) even if you don’t personally eat pork. But do you know the reason for this? The […]

Does flaugnarde sound familiar? How about clafoutis? Both are French fruit and batter baked desserts. The determining factor is that the traditional fruit for a clafoutis is black cherries. Flaugnarde is the same batter type baked with a different fruit, in this case peaches. The batter used in this recipe is from yesterday’s post. Peaches […]

With Lammas happening on a long weekend here in Canada this year, there was the possibility of having a celebratory brunch instead of the “get the day going” options usually consumed on the run. I have been hanging out at the Chilliwack Night Market Saturday evenings with my table and brought home some ripe and […]

I was informed that blueberries are not just for pancakes anymore and who am I to disagree. This is a variation on a popular recipe that uses balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. The sweet and sour flavours are also readily available in the raspberry shrub recipe I shared last week and any other variation of […]

First Fruits is a term well connected to Lammas. I tended to take it literally years ago and wondered how it fit into a place where the strawberries and raspberries were finished months ago. Weren’t they fruit? Maybe my issue was with the word itself. Early apples and cherries and apricots with their seed on […]

I mentioned in a previous post that Abbotsford, B.C. is berry growing territory. During the season the roads take a little more patience and public art honours the work done in the fields and the benefit berries bring to the local economy. There are also the many people here who have a row or two […]