Mushrooms of British Columbia: Royal BC Museum Handbook by Andy MacKinnon and Kem Luther Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum Press, 2021 $34.95 / 9780772679550 Reviewed by Jocie Brooks * With over ten mushroom books already on my shelf, I hesitated as to whether I needed yet another guide book for fungi, but as soon as…
Read more 1430 A mushroom forager’s bible
Saving Seeds: A Home Gardener’s Guide to Preserving Plant Biodiversity by Dan Jason Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2020 $14.95 / 9781550179002 Reviewed by Luanne Armstrong * This small book packs a lot of punch, much like a seed itself. I am a life long gardener, but, for various reasons, I have never been a seed…
Read more 1414 A seed saver’s companion
The Farmer’s Daughter Bakes: cakes, pies, crisps, and more for every fruit on the farm by Kelsey Siemens Salem, MA: Page Street Publishing, 2020. See here to purchase $34.50 / 9781645671046 Reviewed by Luanne Armstrong * I have always been a farmer and a farmer’s daughter so this is the perfect cookbook for me. Already…
Read more 1399 Cake with a farmer’s daughter
Distilleries of Vancouver Island: A Guided Tour of West Coast Craft and Artisan Spirits by Marianne Scott Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2021 $25.00 / 9781771513326 Reviewed by Joe Wiebe * Published earlier this year, Marianne Scott’s Distilleries of Vancouver Island is essential reading for anyone who might enjoy a wee dram of Island whiskey, a sip…
Read more 1313 Island spirits and cocktails
Island Eats: Signature Chefs’ Recipes from Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea by Dawn Postnikoff and Joanne Sasvari Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2021 $38.99 / 9781773271675 Reviewed by Margot Fedoruk * For those of you who share Federico Fellini’s sentiment that “life is a combination of magic and pasta” then this may be the book…
Read more 1286 They had me at gnocchi
Bisous & Brioche: classic French recipes and family favorites from a life in France by Laura Bradbury and Rebecca Wellman Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2020 $45.00 / 9781771513166 Reviewed by Peter Clarke and Maria Tippett * Here is a book that looks good, feels good and delivers the goods. It represents a fruitful collaboration between the…
Read more 1219 Burgundy to British Columbia
Food Floor: My Woodward’s Days by Margaret Cadwaladr Langley: Madrona Books & Publishing, 2020 $15.95 / 9871999546519 Reviewed by Mary Gale Smith * Margaret Cadwaladr has created a little book of stories that will be of interest to anyone who worked at Woodward’s or in a grocery store, or who buys groceries. It is a…
Read more 1136 Dollar forty-nine day, Woodward’s
One Good Thing: A Living Memoir by M.A.C. Farrant Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2021 $19.95 / 9781772012842 Reviewed by Mary Leah de Zwart * M.A.C. [Marion Alice Coburn] Farrant is an accomplished author, playwright, and humourist, living on the Saanich Peninsula near Sidney, BC. She has seventeen publications to her name, ranging from a novel and short…
Read more 1127 The Farrant-Chesnut exchange
Hearing More Voices: English-Canadian Women in Print and on the Air, 1914-1960 by Peggy Lynn Kelly and Carole Gerson Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2020 $24.95 / 9781896133713 Reviewed by Phyllis Reeve * As a library school student in the mid 1970s I was told that Anne of Green Gables could not be considered a Canadian classic;…
Read more 1085 A balanced cultural herstory
The Plant-based Foodie Vancouver by Brad Hill and Chris Dagenais; foreword by Erin Ireland and Anna Pippus Vancouver: Brad Hill Imaging Ltd., 2018. Available here, here, and here $28.95 / 9780994919540 Reviewed by Jessica Poon * There are two kinds of recipes: aspirational and accessible; they are not mutually exclusive, although they can be. The…
Read more 1043 In the mood for purple
Lure: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the West Coast by Ned Bell with Valerie Howes Vancouver: Figure 1, 2017 $29.99 / 9781773270876 Reviewed by Gillian Crowther * What is the bait for cooks? Ingredients? Recipes? What makes us cast our eyes over a cookbook? The cover? The title? The author? The search for inspiration? The desire…
Read more 1005 Ready, steady, halibut
Show Me the Honey: Adventures of an Accidental Apiarist by Dave Doroghy, foreword by Rick Hansen Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2020 $25.00 / 9781771513227 Reviewed by Natalie Lang * Bees. Those black and yellow winged creatures buzzing about and smelling the roses; perhaps there is more to them than meets the eye. Do they hold the…
Read more #971 Aphorisms from an apiarist
Valleys of Wine: A Taste of British Columbia’s Wine History by Luke Whittall Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2019 $29.95 / 9781770503168 Reviewed by Bill Engleson * I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food. — W.C Fields What wine goes with Captain Crunch? — George Carlin I like the wine and not…
Read more #951 New wine in new bottles
The Larder of the Wise: The Story of Vancouver’s James Inglis Reid Limited by M. Anne Wyness, with a foreword by Michael Kluckner Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2019 $32.99 / 9781773271187 Reviewed by Mary Leah de Zwart * In The Larder of the Wise: The Story of James Inglis Reid Limited, M. Anne Wyness promises…
Read more #949 Haggis and Scotch pies
Gather at Home: Over 100 Simple Recipes, DIYs, and Inspiration for a Year of Occasions by Monika Hibbs Toronto: Penguin Random House, 2020 $35.00 / 9780735236288 Reviewed by Jessica Poon * Gather at Home by Monika Hibbs is undeniably picturesque in the most conventional way possible. Hibbs is a lifestyle influencer, a daring career choice…
Read more #944 Food, flowers, and aspiration