French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle chronicles the culinary adventures of an English writer living in Provence. While eating across the country with his friends, Mayle finds out how the French stress the importance of local and seasonal foods. One such example is how the chicken farmers of Bresse mark each bird […]
Books
The Year In Books: August with Made in Quebec by Julian Armstrong
Made In Quebec: A Culinary Journey by Julian Armstrong is about the rich food, recipes, and agriculture of la belle province. Unlike some regions of Canada, Quebec has a strong culinary history, with quintessential Quebecois dishes like poutine, tourtiere, and tarte au sucre. Tomiko and I went on a little food tour of Quebec, and used Armstrong’s […]
The Year in Books: July with Salt by Mark Kurlansky
In July, I’m going to finish reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. Salt is a cheap flavouring that I’m always telling people to eat less of at work; I never really realized how important it was in the history of the world until I read this book. Only when I start to consider how […]
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The Year in Books: June with the Life-Changing Magic Art of Tidying Up
I openly admit that I hate tidying up and am a borderline hoarder. Mix those qualities into a tiny downtown apartment and the result is a disastrously messy home. It drives Donatello, a naturally neat person, nuts. I heard about The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing and the title immediately caught my attention. Since it […]
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The Year in Books: May with At Home by Bill Bryson
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson Bill Bryson’s At Home: A Short History of Private Life was a fascinating read about the history of the author’s own rural house, a former rectory built in 1851. Using each room (and even hallways and staircases), Bryson explores the history of such seemingly […]