It is in my blood, and it seems fitting today to pay tribute to my mother who is directly responsible for my love affair with food.
My parents grew up in Saskatchewan but due to my father’s work, they lived in France & Germany before I was born and then we were lucky enough to live around the world when I was growing up. Mum fully embraced the cultures she lived in and made sure we were also exposed to them. My favourite childhood memories include plunging with my mother into markets in Manila, San Jose, Montreal and then Vancouver…I still remember the smells and colours of Central American markets and my love/hate relationship with the “stinky cheese shop” in the Atwater Market.
My mother is an amazing cook and brought us up with a love of buying food, preparing food and, most importantly, sharing food with family & friends. She was the one who introduced me to “The Art of Cooking” by M.F.K. Fisher when I was a teenager, who gave me a housewarming gift of a paella pan with her tried & true paella recipe when I first moved out, who carried a cast-iron tortilla press through many moves and who still is my ‘go to’ person when I have a kitchen question or crisis.
Our tastes do vary. I am not a big fan of pickled pig’s feet or sweetbreads but I can appreciate them seeing how my mother attacks them with enjoyment. And I thank her every day for bringing me up to appreciate good food and good cooking. We are a family that can (and does) spend two months planning the exact menu for Christmas morning breakfast…
What’s your favourite food memory with your mother?
tea & tamarind 
Wow, you look just like your mom! My mother introduced me to all kinds of food. For that matter, so did my dad. They were both foodies and willing to try most things.
My Mom was the most amazing baker! Every meal we enjoyed one of her spectacular recipes that her mother had always passed down to her. So when she served that dreaded pea soup, she always accompanied it with the most mouthwatering cheese biscuits (my personal favorite). Fortunately my nieces seemed to have picked up on the baking gene and are continuing to carry on the tradition. k
To this day, I can not return to England without someone regaling me of a food item from my mother’s repertoire; usually of the baked goods variety, that they miss wholeheartedly. People, it has been 31 years. Trust me, she stopped baking like a fiend many years ago but when she does it is sinful. Her cheesecakes are LEGENDARY!
I remember you telling me a few years about the big hunt in Toronto for one specific type of baking pan for one of her masterpieces…why does Victoria sponge spring to mind?
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