Single parents were very common in the 17th and 18th centuries. The most common cause: death of a parent. Approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of all children in this era experienced the death of a parent during childhood. Since then, medical advances and improvements in sanitation and maternal care have significantly reduced mortality of people in reproductive age. […]
I’ve experimented with lentil soups over the years and this is the one I always go back to because of its heartiness and versatility – and it costs a few dollars to make. I like to make this soup every few weeks and freeze portions for a rainy day. When I have absolutely no will to […]
Like world peace, enlightenment and unicorns, romantic love has always eluded me. I had a very brief and disastrous relationship with my daughter’s father. He now (thankfully) lives over 7000 km away in another hemisphere of the planet. Since then, I’ve tried online dating, offline dating, younger men, older men, single dads, bachelors, and […]
Guaranteed to blow your mind, this is another one of my mom’s famous recipes that’s so simple to prepare, extremely healthy and packed with flavour. Whenever I bring leftovers of this dish at work for lunch, it smells so tasty (i.e. not like fish) that my colleagues never fail to ask for the recipe. A white […]
Feijoada – or black bean and pork stew – is Brazil’s national dish. In many regions of Brazil, adults, children and babies eat the simpler vegetarian version of this dish, feijão, with rice on a daily basis. Black beans (or turtle beans) were also the staple food of Afro-Brazilian slaves. With the addition of pork to the stew, the […]
My mom’s spaghetti has been a staple food for my entire life. Almost everyone on the Québecois side of my family make some version of it. Not quite Italian, not quite French, this recipe is an adaptation of spaghetti bolognese – but with more vegetables. A steaming plate of spaghetti with mom’s sauce and grated parmesan cheese is the epitome […]
Out of curiosity, I recently visited the École Rudolph Steiner de Montréal, a private French language school in Notre-Dame-de-Grace. The school spans grade 1 to 8 and practices Waldorf pedagogy, which is centered on imagination, spirituality and holistic learning. The first Waldorf School opened in 1919 in Germany and now there are over 1000 Waldorf schools in 60 countries worldwide. Waldorf […]
Choosing an elementary or primary school, the institution where my daughter will be spending most of her time at a very vulnerable and impressionable age, was not as easy as it seems. I had to move into a different school district in order for the school to be both walking distance from home and to the subway. This allows me to arrive […]
Coming home exhausted from a hard day’s work with hungry, needy, cranky, tired kids is stressful, especially if you’re a single parent. It can be more stressful than your actual workday, and very physically and mentally demanding. Here are a few tricks that I use for a smoother work week: 1. Accept the 10-15 minutes of […]
(to make on the weekend and freeze for the workweek!) These comforting stews are quick to prepare, packed with nutrients and freeze beautifully for up to 2 months. Just heat them up for quick workweek dinners! Here are some of my kid-friendly staples that I cook in a Dutch oven or any thick-bottomed pot on the […]
Keeping a few strips of bacon in the fridge or freezer can go a long way. A little bacon accentuates a wide range of foods and dramatically enhances flavour – with little effort. Just 3-4 strips of bacon can turn a boring weeknight dinner into the comfort food you crave. Most kids like bacon, so why not include […]
The spaced-out scientist 