Drawn to Quebec: a new illustrated newspaper column

I am absolutely thrilled to share some great news with you.*

Today marks the third week of an illustrated column - Drawn to Quebec - I have begun penning for North America's oldest newspaper.

The Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph is Quebec City's only English-language newspaper, and I've been a contributing journalist and photojournalist there for a couple of years. 

"Drawn to Life" workshop: Register now to learn how to record your life visually

I am delighted to announce I'll be leading a workshop in my hometown on May 3rd (with my sister). 

We'll focus on basic sketching techniques and some exercises for exploring the world around you. If you are in the area (or can plan to be), please get in touch and sign up!

Click here to see all the details and reserve your spot today!

The sweeter side of winter: Make history part of your Valentine's traditions with homemade maple taffy

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here's a 

sweet (and for some of us, local) way to 

incorporate historic traditions into your own.

Chances are you have eaten maple syrup at some point in your life. 

If you have lived through even part of a winter in Quebec, you have likely sampled maple taffy, too. Both amber-hued sweets are classic culinary elements of winter and early spring in eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. 

Maple taffy has been a North American seasonal treat for over a century. 
It is also called “sugar-on-snow” and “tire d’érable” in Quebec, and “Jack wax” and “wax on the snow” south of the Canadian border. 

Authors such as Laura Ingalls Wilder immortalized the candy, writing of woodsy traditions practised by settlers in the late 1800s. 

What could we do in Paris in the winter?

Most likely, we'd go to a museum or three.  

6 easy ways to make the best of too many apples...

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, we shouldn't need an appointment for years.  

This autumn, we maintained an annual tradition - harvesting well over 100 (yes, one hundred) pounds of apples from a local orchard, hauling them home, and then standing over them in the kitchen wondering why on earth we needed so many.

My first plant(s)

What was your first plant or plant memory?

I don't actually remember my first plant, or my second.  I am sure though, as a small girl, that I claimed some plants in our garden, sprouted potatoes and avocado pits in school, and so on.  Recently, this writing prompt from urban gardening guru Gayla Trail, provoked some thoughtful reminiscing. 

What I do remember about the "early" plants is divided  into two categories - indoor plants and outdoor plants.  I didn't know much about either for the first two decades of my life.

Sketchbook: in the raw

Lately, I've been trying to capture the character of various raw ingredients found in the kitchen. 

Snapshot: Like riding a bike

During the winter, with snow piled high and falling often, our bikes rest downstairs, on a several-month break.  There are people who persist through the bad weather, biking alongside traffic with studded tires and ski goggles. But, we just aren't into it - higher potential for a bad accident than in the summer time, too many changes of clothes, and we would both need to upgrade to different bikes.

Jerod, Bethann, and Bertille, a friend from France
on a bike tour of an island upriver from Quebec City.
Photo courtesy of Mathieu Basille.

We bike most of the year, though - to work, around town, out exploring the countryside near Quebec City, and of course, Jerod bikes all summer chasing bison.  Snow was still falling here last week, but the roads have begun to clear.

I took my first bike ride today, and felt like a giddy kid again.  I am eagerly looking forward to another warm biking season.  To tide all us snow-stymied bikers over, here's a snapshot of one of my favorite bike moments from last season: the Grand Prix.

Sketchbook: flipping through the pages

It's been almost a year since I came back to sketching and field journaling with the kind of dedication I had during university days.  It is cathartic, exercise for my mind and muscles, and helps build a record of what's going on around me.  I don't intend to let the practice lapse again.

Here are some sketches from the past few months - ever since the weather turned cold and most location sketchers in the northern climes moved indoors.

Biodome Montreal

In November, I passed several giddy hours scribbling, capturing the many critters living in Montreal's Biodome.  Jerod was oh-so-patient.  

Hotcakes, griddle cakes & flapjacks, oh my!

Around this time last year, my dear husband decided to try something new.  He didn't pick up a new instrument, and he didn't sign up for the gym or start a new career.  He decided to do away with pancakes.  This was epic news, coming from someone for whom pancakes are a breakfast and brunch staple.  

The pancakes were replaced by crêpes, which offered a new level of fun and creativity.  You'd have a hard time talking me into drizzling balsamic vinegar on a pancake.  Yet, somehow it seems perfectly reasonable coupled with micro greens, cheddar cheese, and bacon, all rolled up in a warm crêpe.  A year later, we oscillate between the two, but judging by this Wikipedia entry, we could take an international pancake-based culinary tour and not run out of ideas for quite some time.

Sending more than love letters

I grew up writing letters.  It was more than protocol, it was a family tradition connecting us to relatives and friends across the continent.  I vividly remember grappling with "of" (uve, uhv, uuuhf?) once while gleefully hammering out a typewriter letter to my grandmother. 

That was definitely back in the day.

What is Scottish and burns in the night?

Before I met my husband, I met a Scotsman.  And his French-American wife.  And their Argentinian friend.  They stayed in my remote ranch house, 50 miles from anything, in the midst of  late winter.  There was snow, though not much.  There was wind - too much. There was laughter, along with good food, and new friendships in the making.

The "cottage", fireplace and all.  Picturesque, yes.  Freezing in the winter?  Yes!

Months passed.  I met my now-husband, and learned he also knew said Scotsman, sa femme (his wife), and Argentine friend.  Eventually, my beau moved into the room vacated by the Argentinian gal, joining Scotsman and femme in a former dairy barn repurposed as a Bavarian cottage.

Ingredients for a feast
Credit: Magnus McCaffery, 2012

In that cottage-barn, during the darkness and chill of the following winter, an ornery rooster and a rangy old sheep became a feast.  Scotsman and femme introduced a great gathering to the mysterious rituals of haggis, neeps and tatties, and cock-a-leekie soup.

Urban...what!? A donkey and goat in the heart of Vieux-Quebec!

Meet Aldo.  He's an urban donkey, at least half of every year.  He winters in the Bishop's garden at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.  Along with his companion goat, Alli, Aldo has made quite a splash in this historic district.  

Just a few feet from the Château Frontenac, these two gregarious critters have made friends out of nearly every neighbor, along with the regular cathedral visitors.  They have also inspired a fledgling 'green' ministry at the cathedral, and I've been swept along on the tide.

'Merrily on High'

Ding Dong!  Merrily on High, 

in heav’n the bells are ringing . . . 

(from a classic Christmas carol from the 1500s)

"Many of the most beloved holiday traditions involve bells — ringing to accompany carolers, playing seasonal melodies, and pealing out to summon celebrants to church services. Quebec City is part of a unique heritage, change-ringing, which dates back to the 1600s in England.  Today, more than 6,000 bell towers around the world ring in this style." View rest of article published in the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph (12.12.2012).

Have you ever worn a kimono?

While some of us may have dabbled in paper folding, and even followed an origami pattern or two, paper cranes, animé, and electronics might be all some of us really know about Japanese culture.  

And war.

Tricks for tasty pumpkin treats

This post is part of "When Artists Cook," a series in which I am a guest writer.

View my other posts in the series:  When Artists Cook.

What's your favorite way of 

eating pumpkins and other squashes?

‘Tis the season to remember that throwing away good food is truly spooky! Here’s a couple tricks for some tasty treats:

We voted...and yes, it matters!

This post is dedicated to all the folks
who haven't decided if voting is worth it.

It is fairly easy to become discouraged by partisan positions, name-calling and mud-slinging, and the seeming lack of consideration for the public good that is present during election seasons.

'Performance Art': Sketching opera in the dark

Click on images to view a larger version.
All sketches done during the opera; color added later.

Thursday was another press pass night at the opera - dress rehearsal for La Traviata this time. The lighting and sets were really interesting, the live orchestra (music by Verdi) was exquisite, and the story line was suitably tragic. 

As we are in Quebec, the Italian score is still in Italian, but subtitles posted above the stage are in French.  Now, imagine making sense of it all in English!  Happily, I was not on assignment, but rather in the company of the writer who was.  As a result, I was able to indulge in the details in my own way, and there was no pressure to get a perfect photo in a darkened theater.

The autumn garden - winding down and planning ahead

What do you do to extend your gardening season, 

or get a running start on next year?

Adapted from article published in the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph (10.10.2012)

The autumn garden might seem deceptively devoid of activity, but many simple projects can help gardeners enjoy extended harvests now and less work next growing season.

When frost chills the air and leaves begin to glow, gardeners usually resign themselves to clean-up and harvest preservation. However, autumn is an ideal time to put creativity to work, both to extend this growing season and for a head start on the next.

Most years, I dream, scheme, transplant, and mulch like crazy - trying to deny winter's finality as much as possible. Thanks to years of gardening experience, and reading everything I could get my hands on, I've gleaned some tips which are effective in holding the 'last harvest' at bay. In the following QCT article, I've outline a few of my favorites - simple, accessible, and viable for most growing zones.

When Artists Cook: Harvest Abundance (and what to do about it)

This post is part of "When Artists Cook," a series in which I am a guest writer.

My previous posts in the series: "Coming of age in kitchens"

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Harvest season always fills me with ________________________ .  

How would you fill in that blank?

. . .

I’ve been mulling this over for the past month or so, as the garden peaks, the farmers markets flood with produce, and I write and rewrite the list of things to preserve for the winter. [ . . .]  I tend to get a little ahead of myself when it comes to harvesting and preserving.  By that I mean, there’s no limit for me.  It’s never enough.  As long as there is a nook or cranny in the house that is reasonably stable in temperature, and not exposed to much light, I am interested in filling it with food that will keep through, or at least into, the winter.
[ . . . ]

Having a hands-on relationship with our food is one of my absolute favorite things about the mayhem that is harvest season. The kitchen is aswarm with fruit flies, which one cheeky friend describes as “indicators of abundance,” and the occasional stow-away earwig always shows up in the least expected corner. But, even when I’m busy picking snails out of the beet greens, or scrubbing tomato splatters off of...well, everywhere, this is still about as real as it gets.

. . . Keep reading - - >