Author Archive: My Kitchen Wand

Since we (I) am on a bit on a theme this week, I thought it would be a great time to add in a recipe using Einkorn flour. Intolerance to wheat is on most peoples radar these days and changing the variety of wheat being used can make a big difference in how your body […]

Customs and traditions usually come from something that occurred hundreds or years ago, oft times thousands. Origin stories can get lost or buried under other stories and when someone asks why we blow out candles on a birthday cake or count the days to Christmas or exchange rings at weddings, we have to think and […]

I am starting this post with an apology to Marti Rasmussen. I have no idea where my head was yesterday and I mistakening attributed elderberry angel status to someone else. It was Marti who sent me the jar of elderberry juice that I have been transforming these last two days. Thank you Marti Rasmussen! A […]

Years ago my grandfather and I had returned from a trip to gather fresh fall elderberries in the Keremeos area. That evening a stroke that ultimately took him home changed those plans. Going on the trip was the last thing on his bucket list and it brought home the idea that a bucket list is […]

Fire has played such an important role in the progressive development of our homes that I always find it interesting when new building codes in many places do not allow for actual fireplaces anymore. Over time, people moved from congregating around an open fire pit to gathering around a kitchen hearth for food and heat. […]

Have you ever been driving down the road or looking out the window during the summer to see great amounts of white fluff floating through the air? Sort of a cross between fluffy snowflakes and dandelion seeds, wafting everywhere? That is cottonwood. It is a member of the poplar family and the resin filled buds […]

“And don’t think the garden looses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet but the roots down there are riotous” is a Rumi quote I often think about this time of the year. Usually from the perspective that while one half of the planet seems to rest, the other is just beginning first harvests at the […]

The solar calendar is a fairly modern construct, more associated with neopaganism than one single ancient tradition. Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa and Samhain were called “Fire Festivals” before being blended into the solstices and equinoxes to create the Wheel of the Year. Taking a moment though, it is easy to understand how each celebration is an […]

Persimmons are full of Vitamin A, just over half of the daily reccomended amount actually and just under one quarter of the suggested daily amount of Vitamin C. They are also a good source of fiber and manganese. Don’t let not having persimmons stop you from making this loaf though. You can substitute apple or […]

Yesterday, I shared a recipe that left me with 2 egg whites without plans. I also had a persimmon on the counter in need of being used, so……I got out the port of course. Persimmons are from the Diospyros family of plants, another “food of the gods”. They are best left until the first frost […]