And it will probably be the best thing you eat all summer. — It must have been Fate. Years ago I worked for a national television network and my boss loved to hold working lunches. Usually, the meeting was as dry as the sandwiches he brought in from a local deli. Gag. …

The quirkiness of cutting and pasting helps glue your thoughts together. — When I feel bored, blue, or befuddled by life, as much as I’m a writer and reader, I don’t always turn to my pens and books for solace. I reach for something simple yet unconventional instead. I gather magazines, scissors, glue, an old scrapbook, and strew the works over my…

It involves 9 things you may never have experienced. — There’s a New Yorker cartoon that’s been on my fridge for 22 years. I sent it to my husband when we first met. The cartoon is a curly-haired woman in a skirt and heels and a scruffy, masculine guy wearing a tool belt and they gaze lovingly at each other…

Grocery prices are rising, but don’t panic. You have more control over your wallet than you think. — There they were in the grocery store: a perfectly shaped pile of cauliflower heads priced at $8 a pop. I took one look at them, rolled my eyes, and laughed out loud. There was a snowball’s chance in hell that I’d ever pay that for a cauliflower. …

Try this 550-degree grapefruit once and you’ll be hooked. — You may have one on your counter right now. Or perhaps a slightly shriveled one rolling around in the fruit and vegetable crisper. However, your good intentions to eat healthier still haven’t made you excited to eat grapefruit. Memories of your parents making you eat a sour grapefruit with not-enough-sugar…

Difficult times have changed us all. And now — it’s time to portage. — Twice a year my friend Tina and I head to my little northern Canadian cottage for a week to walk in the woods, forage, cook gourmet food, collage, watch movies and talk our faces off. We also kayak daily on the lake which is relatively close to the cottage. We’re…

Delicious duck breast cooked in an easy and unusual way. — I’m in the woods on my self-declared 6-day writing retreat, but that doesn’t mean this writer is eating boiled hotdogs and over-cooked fried eggs. Retreats are meant for delicious food but nothing too fancy that stops me from kayaking in the middle of the day. And also I don’t cook…

It’s delicious. It’s decadent. It’s dead-easy to make. — There’s a line I’ve never forgotten from a cheesy 80s movie I have forgotten. “It’s hot. It’s Africa hot. Even Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of heat.” Here in Canada, yes — Canada — we were recently caught in a hellish heat dome that turned even the nicest people into…

And why you should eat it alone. — I love my husband, oh yes, I do. But when he’s away on business, or fishing or hunting, sometimes I can barely wait for him to walk out the door. Why? Because I get to eat alone, that’s why. I enjoy eating with people, and breaking bread with those you…