Ancestral Spring Greens: “Viva La Italia”!

March 7, 2023.Reading time 19 minutes.

I am passionate about ancestral foods and none are more ancient than the wild greens known today as weeds. So in honor of International Women’s Day, I’ve decided to share these spring recipes from Gather Victoria Patreon, Wild Green “Erbazzone” Pies, and Wild Green Pancotto Soup. What, you may ask, do wild weedy greens such […]

Black Madonna of Montserrat: Chocolate Rose Crown Cake

May 11, 2022.Reading time 13 minutes.

I thought I’d share this recipe from Gather Victoria Patreon for two reasons. May is the sacred month of the Blessed Virgin Mary and in Roman Catholic tradition, roses are the emblematic flower of the Blessed Virgin Mary – and roses will be blooming shortly! On May 31st a “crown cake” is typically baked “affirming […]

Lilac Madeleine Cookies: Remembrance of Fragrances Past

May 10, 2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

These legendary sponge-cake cookies were immortalized by French writer Marcel Proust. In his book Remembrance of Things Past Proust’s narrator tastes a Madeleine dipped in tea and is immediately swept back in time to his childhood. “No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me […]

The Goddess Feasts: The Magic of Gratitude, Pleasure and Plenty

April 17, 2022.Reading time 13 minutes.

This post is a sneak peek into Gather’s Patreon Cookbook which explores the “culinary goddess” found throughout history, folklore and myth. By this, I mean the “Lady of Life” who likely inspired cuisine itself. Whether she was called Isis, Inanna, Ishtar, Asherah, Astarte, Artemis or Cybele – to name but a few – the first […]

Bewitching Maibowle Cream Cake For Beltane

April 20, 2021.Reading time 12 minutes.

Soon May Day Eve will be upon us – so I’m sharing this recipe posted last year at Gather Patreon. This Maibowle Cream Cake – made and glazed with Maibowle Wine – is infused with sweet woodruff, a pretty unassuming little forest herb linked with May Day fertility magic for literal ages. Said to bestow, […]

The Incredibly Tasty Tulip: Chèvre Cheese Balls

April 11, 2021.Reading time 13 minutes.

I’m not sure about you but Vancouver Island is awash in tulips! From pale yellows, crimson reds, pumpkin oranges, deep purples, lustred pinks and snow-white, their luminous colours are stunning. The most unsung of tulips many spring charms, however, is her edibility. With flavours and textures as diverse as her colours, her blooms offer not […]

Glorious Spring Greens: The Divine Flavours of Viriditas

March 30, 2020.Reading time 21 minutes.

I eat my spring greens religiously and want to make you a convert too. For me, it boils down to viriditas which literally means “greenness” in Latin – not just any green but that incandescent lit from within greenness that is vitality, fecundity, lushness, verdure, and growth. Twelfth-century Abbess and herbalist Hildegard Von Bingen used the […]

To Long Life & Good Health: A Honey Herbal Wine to Toast the Coming of Spring

March 21, 2020.Reading time 9 minutes.

If you’re looking to lift a toast for the Spring Equinox, I’ve got the perfect libation! We’re going to infuse aromatic healing herbs into honeyed wine, and offer a toast to Anna Perenna the Roman Goddess of long life, renewal and good health. Her annual festival and feast were held in March when her powers […]

Wood Sorrel Mini-Cream Tarts: Wild Food Treats

June 4, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Here’s another recipe from “Gather Cookbook” for Gather Patrons! I’m releasing a few of last year’s recipes to the Gather website – so the rest of you can see what you’re missing! First up was a Chunky Rose Petal Pesto (recipe here) and now these creamy & tangy yogurt mini-tarts. Made by processing wood sorrel leaves […]

The Perfect Lilac Shortbread & The Art of Enfleurage

May 14, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

I am enamored of lilac. Her scent on warm spring evenings evokes the happiest of memories. For over a decade now I have attempted to capture her glorious scent in baking and every year I learn yet another lesson about her culinary intricacies. Through trial and error, I discovered what perfumers knew long ago, lilac’s […]

Drinking in Joy: Red Flowering Currant Elixir

April 5, 2019.Reading time 12 minutes.

Right now in my back garden, a Red Flowering Currant Bush (Ribes sanguineum) is in full radiant bloom. Her drooping clusters of “soul-piercing pink flowers” are sending out an entrancing floral, fruity and spicy perfume. Which is probably one reason ethnobotanist and author Abe Lloyd describes the blossoms as “capable of transforming winter sodden pessimists […]

Spring Cleaning! The Magical Powers Of The Besom

March 20, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

The Spring Equinox is almost here! This means I was up bright and early today with a mission, to craft one of the most hallowed objects of spring cleaning – the Besom. I’ve been so busy with my cookbook and creating rewards for Patrons, my home is a mess! According to the famous Swiss psychologist […]