Sense of an Ending eludes closure
Movie Review: The Sense of an Ending
In the film version of the ambiguous Julian Barnes novel, Jim Broadbent shines as an older man whose quiet life is interrupted by a letter that makes him re-evaluate the past
Fatherhood fuses Disney, duty and doodie
Daddy Diary #9: Freaky Friday Father
Seeing through the eyes of his infant daughter, a first-time father learns parenting is a precious lesson in learning from an altered perspective
By Chris Lackner
I’ve decided fatherhood is a life-long version of Freaky Friday.
My baby girl and I haven’t swapped bodies (I’m holding out hope it happens before I have to do my taxes). But as a newbie dad, I often find myself trying to think like my baby (some would claim this isn’t a real stretch). My goal is to see the world anew through her wondrously wide, exploring eyes.
In the original 1976 film, and 2002 remake starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter and mother learned a lot from their fantastical body switch. A change in perspective was a catalyst for growth, wisdom – and comedy. The same goes for this daughter-daddy combo.
Just by putting myself in her tiny shoes, our little girl (now seven months old) has already taught me many valuable lessons. For ...
Get warm and cozy with Welsh cakes
Recipe: Welsh Cakes
A cross between a thin biscuit and a crumpet, these traditionally Welsh treats are sweet, studded with currants, and aromatic of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice -- making them the perfect cold weather companion to a pot of tea and a warm comforter
By Louise Crosby
What to do when your town has been walloped by a ferocious late-winter storm and it doesn’t make sense to leave the house? When all the cold and blowing snow threaten to bring your spirits down? You make Welsh cakes, of course. They fill the house with a lovely smell, you get to practise your photography, and finally you get to eat them, preferably with a pot of tea.
Most people I know have never heard of Welsh cakes, but I remember a time when they were sold in packages of six or so at the supermarket. You can’t find them anywhere these days, but they’re easy to make. Traditional to Wales, they’re a cross between a thin biscuit and a crumpet, sweet, studded with currants, and aromatic of ...
The Last Word chokes on phoney tone
Movie review: The Last Word
Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried chew through some overcooked dialogue and brittle character details to masticate the most out of a forced dynamic between a control freak facing the final chapter and a cynical obituary writer
Kong: Skull Island feels a little empty-headed
Movie Review: Kong - Skull Island
The oversized ape makes a spectacular return in this big-budget B-movie that tries to plumb the depths of the American psyche but ends up playing in a muddy puddle
Beat midwinter blues with tender roast chicken
Recipe: Parmesan Roast Chicken with Cauliflower & Thyme
Fill a roasting pan with chicken, cauliflower and some select savoury goodies and say goodbye to the bleak midwinter blues
By Louise Crosby
This is a tricky time of year. Some days are so balmy you don’t need a coat, the snow evaporates before your very eyes, and you feel giddy at the thought of spring. Other days it’s back to the deep freeze, the long johns, and those heavy, awful boots. Yup, last week I was re-potting house plants on my back deck while the cat basked, belly-up, in the sun. This week, with daytime highs averaging -10 degrees C, I’ve lost interest in doing much of anything, especially outdoors. Such is life at the end of a long winter in Canada.
But even as the mood swings from euphoric to resigned, I have managed to cook, since mucking around in the kitchen usually results in something good to eat, and we need to eat no matter what the season. And this Parmesan Roast Chicken with Cauliflower ...
Arthritis and Adamantium: Logan senses an ending
Movie Review: Logan movie review
James Mangold's latest instalment in the X-Men franchise takes a heroic look at mortality via Hugh Jackman's aging Wolverine and Patrick Stewart's supernaturally demented Professor Xavier
The Wide River of Gordon Pinsent’s Dreams
Movie Review: The River of My Dreams
Documentary about the Canadian actor captures much of his impish charm, but it leaves many questions unanswered about what really makes him tick
Paterson finds poetry in the everyday
Movie Review: Paterson
In Jim Jarmusch's new film, a bus driver named Paterson who lives in Paterson, N.J. — hometown of William Carlos Williams and Alan Ginsberg — sees life as gentle verse
Go with the grain on Valentine’s Day
Recipe: Whole Wheat Orange Shortbread Hearts
If you're looking for a healthy alternative to a box of heart-shaped bonbons for your true love, we've got just the right solution with whole wheat orange shortbread
By Louise Crosby
There’s a movement gaining steam to make baking more nutritious by using less white flour and refined sugar and more whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruit, good fats, and natural sweeteners. No doubt there have always been bakers who leaned in this direction, but Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours, published in 2010, may have been that groundbreaking book that brought healthy baking into the mainstream. Alice Medrich’s 2014 Flavor Flours built on that trend, and today there’s a profusion of specialty cookbooks focusing on everything from coconut flour to agave nectar.
In my little world, Genevieve Ko’s 2016 Better Baking: Wholesome Ingredients, Delicious Desserts, picks up where Boyce and Medrich left off. ...
