It is not that I wanted Summer to end, just to ease up. When I decided to leave Main Street and start My Table, part of the reason was wanting a better balanced work/life commitment. I wanted to enjoy each moment of my work day and avoid a slump - anytime of year. I love what I do. Teaching, cooking, filming. However, even loving what you do and how often you do it can still lead to a bit of a sag - just a slouch (not literally mum, my posture is still good), not a slump.

I say all this as a preface to my apology for the delay in putting this newsletter out. My cooking classes and events were numerous. The garden was its own full time job, as was Instagram (filming, editing, etc.) Again, I love all of it but I needed a little extra downtime where I could afford it and I opted to take some breaks here and there to avoid the full slump and all its attributes. So instead of getting behind my computer as soon I was done in the kitchen, I went to a cafe and had coffee and a snack with our puppy. Instead of sitting down and editing for 2+ hours every other day after watering and pruning the garden, I sat in my beach chair and read books and magazines. I worked really hard but also didn’t work as hard as I previously would have demanded on myself. I appreciated these little breaks but knew I would have to apologise for writing less, posting less and saying no to some requests and invitations. I extend the apology whole heartedly, but I liked August a little more this year.

I have read your comments and messages and several of you have noted that you prefer the shorter Instagram videos with the recipes in the caption over the long format YouTube versions. I will certainly maintain the YouTube channel but will post to it less for the time being and focus on Instagram more. Please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments below.

I have however made time to upload the latest public cooking classes and events here at My Table for November and December.

There will be two additional Freddie Rae Wine Dinners as well as a focus on Umbria in November (after my trip there in October) and holiday cooking and baking in December. Plus, I am offering “The Big Night” dinner. If you haven’t seen The Big Night, do so and then join me for a special dinner on December 4th.

For all the details and the reserve click HERE

I am editing two new cooking videos for Instagram this week, including one to honour the legendary Dolly. She, like me, never passed up a potato in any form! She is a legend for so many reasons.

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As for what I am cooking for myself, it’s mostly from the garden and the farm stand. I would barely call it cooking in fact. Peaches everyday, sweet corn every week and roasted beets in between.

I have included two recipes featuring sweet summer corn below and if you are interested in a beautiful summer beet salad tap the video below.

RECIPES

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Last year’s primary gripe was red squi…

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I am often reminded of this when I welcome guests and students into the culinary barn here at My Table. This past week was a genuine reflection of just this.

I volunteered to cook the community supper at a local church, something I have done often and really enjoy. Yes, it’s a lot of work but over a hundred people gather from the community to sit at communal tables and visit. The volunteers from the church are nothing short of fabulous. Hard working, generous, kind and jovial. It is the best scenario in which to share your time. One of the recipes that I included in the menu that evening was a vinaigrette that seemed to be a crowd pleaser. I pulled it together off the cuff and it will now become a house regular. My Dill and Prosciutto Vinaigrette recipe is provided below. It’s wonderful as a dressing, but also a spoonful over a seared steak or piece of grilled fish - delicious!

My public cooking classes here at the barn typically welcome guests who don’t know each other. It’s a comforting and dopamine enhancing experience when strangers meet in my kitchen to work together and then sit around the table to share the food. Of course they end up sharing so much more. On the surface it may seem insignificant but by today’s standards, this is exceptional. In one of my Friday classes this week, we prepared a summer French menu. I have included the dessert recipe below for a simple yet classic Apricot and Cherry Clafoutis. Ideal to make in advance and serve cold with a simple pillow of soft fresh whipped cream or créme fraîche. Another simple French summer idea that requires no cooking - diced fresh apricots or peaches plunged in to ice cold Sauternes. Prepare an hour in advance and serve cold in a beautiful glass. My summery sweet tea is also provided below (IG video)

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For those that follow me along on Instagram, (@enidgrace_mytable) you may have spotted my mini love story to a recent find at my local used book store. A hard cover edition of The Country Life of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. I am smitten with this book and continue to peruse it daily. It has prompted me to recognise just how much I love being outs…

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“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.”

— May Sarton

A considerable part of my personality has officially shifted back to seasonally obsessive gardener. The weather is consistent enough that my seeds are now either directly sewn or p…

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I had wonderful aunts (the wives of my mum’s 8 brothers) and my mum’s best friends, but also an important teacher, Ms. Cloud. Then there are the many women in Europe who taught me not just culinary skills but much more.

My memories run deep with each of these women but I thought I would reminisce about some of the food. I’ve spoken previously about growing up in my mum’s kitchen but one “recipe” I don’t think I have shared before is her Banana Milk. This little concoction was her go-to for upset tummies, bad dreams, ear throbs, restless sleep and the “chillies”. To make it: a warmed bowl of milk with sliced banana added and sprinkle of sugar - that’s it. She would bring the bowl to my bed and talk me through my troubles. Ninety percent of the time it did the trick, rarely did I need more to fix the ailment. It was her secret sauce and I used it well into my teens. Was this just my mum, or do you remember this “remedy” too?

My mum’s friend Margo introduced me to the comforts of Jewish home cooking, appetising and deli. Together they volunteered for various community organisations and I was always in tow. If meetings were held at Margo’s she always had a pot of something going. Never one to turn down a bowl at the table, I tried everything Margo put in front of me. My favourite, her Polish Borscht. My love of beets was solidified. She knew it was my favourite and made it for me often. I would gobble it up while mooning over her cute son sat across me from the table.

My Nan made simple comfort food but her buns were favoured. Soft, dense and warm from the oven with soft salty butter after church on Sunday’s - I’m craving them now as I write this. Then there was Ms. Cloud, an elementary teacher who saw an early interest in science within me. She taught me my first recipe, Apple Crisp. Printed out from the Commodore 64 on 10x13 teal blue paper (my mom still had this paper in her hope chest, I found it when she passed). Ms Cloud and I made it together after school one day. I still remember mixing the crumble by hand and the smell from the oven. I was hooked.

While living abroad, I was flush with tremendous Italian and French women, sharing and teaching me their recipes. I loved living with these women, earning their trust and respect. Hearing their stories, absorbing their advice and studying each personality trait. The food of course was always at the centre of life. One great memory is Pasta Fagioli. After working in the garden and vineyard on an unseasonably cold April morning, I came in for lunch to a crackling table side fire, a freshly laid tablecloth and a steaming pot on the range. Laura brought out bowls of hot pasta soup, loaded with borlotti beans, carrots, celery and salty stock. It was creamy, textured and comforting - took all the chill out of my bones and readied me for warm siesta.

Then there was Mariana’s cabbage. While living in Piemonte, my love for cabbage grew. A common vegetable used year round in Northern Italy, she simply braised savoy cabbage in a little stock (not too much, just enough to keep the cabbage moist). The finisher, a healthy amount of fresh butter made by the neighbour melting down the scalloped ridges of each wedge of cabbage. This perfect dish, with bread and cheese on the side, was faultless.

My best friend Jill and I reminisce about some other childhood memories from our mother’s kitchen on our latest episode of Everything On The Table. Click below to listen and please like and subscribe, we appreciate your support! (Also available on Apple Podcasts).

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For Mother’s Day I have added 3 new cooking videos to my YouTube channel. I have posted one below for a delicious Baby Gem and Asparagus Salad but two others await you: Strawberry Rhubarb Scones and an Easy “Pea”sy Soup. View all three by clicking HERE. The written recipes are included below.

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Recipes

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It was a recipe for a ricotta cake with - a very simple cake, made for breakfast. I h…

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Jill and I love talking to each other. We are best friends and have know each other for 20+ years. She literally knows everything about me and we have the most fun together. Join in on our little conversations about food, cooking, life in and around the kitchen and a considerable amount of general nonsense.

Everything on the Table is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

We plan to produce two fresh podcasts per month! Each new episode will be sent via Substack, so no worries if you don’t subscribe to Spotify, etc.

Let me know in the comments if you have any culinary questions you would like answered on an upcoming Podcast OR any questions at all - we love answering questions!

Happy Listening and Thank you!

The summer classes will li…

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For my lovely paid subscribers I have sent along a few bonus recipes this Good Friday to perk up your holiday weekend table. Each one feels a bit ‘Springy” - fresh, flavourful and gorgeous. This are inspired from Mark Diacono and his book Abundance. I have made each one more than once, making a few minor changes to suit myself.

As an extra bonus for my paid subscribers: A Culinary Giveaway!

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Easter meant a pretty new dress, a skipping rope, a fresh Robert Munsch or Babysitters Club, the super box of coloured pencils, a Bonne Bell Strawberry “Biggy” Lip Smacker for around …

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As my much appreciated paid subscribers, you receive first notification of my upcoming group tour to Italy! This year I will be hosting you in the beautiful but often overlooked region of Umbria. Amazing food, beautiful historic villages, renowned pottery, olive oil and more.

My team has secured a historic and idyllic villa in the countryside, just outside Perugia. Together will explore, discover, relax and of course eat and drink as the Italians do.

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Winter greens don’t absorb dressings or vinaigrettes - they are a vessel in which these things dance upon. Winter greens are robust attention seekers. My favourites are some of the classical Italian bitters; radicchio, Treviso Rosso and Treviso Cicoria with their beautiful scarlet plum colouring and crisp sharp flavour. I also love escarole, wild leaves of chartreuse and white - the more delicate cousin to the attention seeking leaves of the radicchio family.

I did not grow up with these greens. We were an iceberg and romaine family. In fairness the selection of greens at a standard grocery market was limited in the 1980’s. My exposure to the abundant world of colourful, dense and flavourful greens happened in Italy, naturally. I was living in Emilia Romagna and I walked to the Tuesday market in late November. The stalls were full of seasonal greens and citrus and for a curious and embracing eater I was drawn to the varied selection, not just for the colours but the textures. Cabbages, chards, endives, radicchios, chicories, puntarelle (a favourite) all on display. The vendors offered tastes as well as recipe ideas. Oriana, the vender at one stall I frequented taught me two lessons:

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As I do anywhere I travel, I chat up the …

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The holiday season is officially in full swing. Decorating, party planning, gift ideas and what to serve when friends and family arrive. I have begun decorating, slowly however and in my very simple and country aesthetic. Fresh evergreens and wine bramble wreaths adorned in simple silk green ribbons as well as touches of copper velvet ribbon, acorns, whole star anise and dried orange slices. Subtly lit with fairy lights - simple yet effective in creating a warm and inviting space. The wood stove in the culinary barn is crackling and I am readying the kitchen pantry with extra spices, fruits and all the baking supplies I need to make my favourites for the season.

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The photos above, a glimpse of these last couple weeks. Autumn is here and if I were a season it would be Autumn (apologies, I am both cringing and rolling my own eyes at myself as I write that). I don’t observe Autumn as the ending of something (ie. Summer) or the waning and withering of things (gardens, al fresco dining) but, as a time of soft change.…

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