My Favourite Books of 2022
I know, I know. After not posting for a year, I’m on a roll. Initially, I was going to include this post in my 2022 gift guide, but the gift guide got too long and I thought it was best to split them up into two. Given how much I love reading, I wanted to […]
GLUTEN FREE CRANBERRY TEA CAKE
Fa la la la la! It’s baking season and this cake was a hit. Of course we all love cookies, and I have plenty of those on the list. My people love a breakfast sweet, and this has stood in for a simple dinner dessert on occasion as well. I know you all love to […]
BROCCOLI MUSHROOM ORZO BAKE
She was sitting on the edge of the pool, waiting for her turn at swim lessons and was completely sausaged into her swimsuit. Her longer body stretching the length of the bathing suit so that the chest of it was too low and the straps looked stressed. Beautiful, tender, winter skin against that mustard yellow […]
AFTER SCHOOL BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP CHUNKERS
I always buy a bundle of bananas at the market, only 1 of 4 of us actually snacks on a banana, which leaves lots of moments of overripe bananas that are too ripe for snacking but perfect for baking. 4 of 4 like the baked goods with the bananas. You’re welcome for my elementary math […]
The Gluten Free Guide to Ottawa
I have now spent two years in the National Capital Region, with one year in Aylmer in Quebec, and one year in Ottawa. While this gluten free guide focuses primarily on Ottawa, I’ve included a few spots ‘across the river’ on the Quebec side, as there are some celiac-friendly treats there that aren’t to be […]
The Holiday Gift Guide
I did my first ever holiday gift guide for travelers a few years ago, which was fun to compile. Readers seemed to enjoy the various items, and I was happy to share some of the products that accompanied me on the road. Now that my life is a little different – something all of you […]
Losing Connie
Earlier in May 2024, the spinal CSF leak community lost a bright light when Connie Rim passed away. Her Facebook page, called My CSF Leak Story, was where she detailed her long fight trying to get sealed and healed. A few days after she passed, her husband posted words from Connie about her death, sharing […]
Maultaschen
The origins of Germany’s Maultaschen are deliciously devious. Legend has it that, in the late Middle Ages, a lay brother named Jakob invented the stuffed pasta dumplings at the Maulbronn Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1147 by Cistercian monks in southwest Germany. One direct translation of Maultaschen is “mouth pockets,” though “Maul” […]
Tiquira
Indigenous Brazilians have fermented alcoholic beverages from the cassava root for thousands of years. These beer-like beverages go by names like cauim, caxiri, and tarubá. Fermentation is an important step in cassava processing—the raw root has chemicals that can turn into cyanide in the human body. Native peoples found that a bit of human saliva […]
Nectar Soda
Though Cincinnati is best known for breweries, another effervescent beverage has a long history in the Queen City: the nectar soda. Home to the oldest pharmacy college in the U.S. west of the Alleghenies, the Eclectic Medical Institute (1845-1952), and Lloyd Brothers Pharmacists, Cincinnati was long on the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry. The city […]