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Buttermilk Smashed Potatoes with Caramelized OnionsBy Julie

Chicken & White Bean Stew with PestoBy Julie

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dinnerwithjulie

Cook, author, writer, eater, freelance journalist on CBC radio + the Globe + Mail, cookbook author (x 13!), food access advocate, ❤️ feeding people 🌈

I keep telling W he has his whole life ahead of hi

I keep telling W he has his whole life ahead of him... then I realized I do too.

When I was out alone yesterday, as I came out of t

When I was out alone yesterday, as I came out of the Tate and cut through a grassy area, a single, enormous bubble came out of nowhere and floated directly up to me, and then gently popped at my feet. There were no others, and I was the only one in the park- and I couldn’t see anywhere it could have come from.

A close friend has been suggesting I imagine the things weighing heavily on me as a bubble, and then pop it… and I’ve been trying to do just that. 🩷

I’ve always wanted to go to London at Christmas.

I’ve always wanted to go to London at Christmas. Though the weather doesn’t feel very Christmassy, it has made it easier for us to cover a ton of ground by foot and tube- the British library, the British Museum, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Green Park, Harrods, Camden Town, Oxford Circus, Regent St, Hamley’s toy store, the Cartoon Museum, Borough market, Tate Modern, trips to comic and manga stores (W’s thing) and Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer for snacks. It hasn’t been glitch-free (travel rarely is… sometimes it makes for good stories?) and today W went off on his own for awhile and came back to a dude just hanging out in our AirBnB flat (in my room among my things) apparently waiting for a contractor to upgrade the door.. something the owner was unaware of, so I booked it back from the Tate (which took nearly 2 hours due to underground mishaps)... but it has also been peppered with magical, serendipitous moments -all part of the adventure, and I’m grateful for all of it. (W is not as adventurous as me, and I’m trying not to scare him off of ever leaving western Canada again... not sure I’m succeeding, but we’re having fun and spending time together, and that’s all that matters.)

So I spontaneously decided to take W on an adventu

So I spontaneously decided to take W on an adventure.

It’s been an exceptionally awful month or two.. and a hard year or two (a time that has also brought immense happiness, joy, love and deeply meaningful experiences I’ve yearned for my whole life-they can coexist) for far greater reasons than hit and runs and expensive repairs and getting Norwalk virus when I only had a frozen porta potty on my front lawn in the snow. But these past two weeks have taken me down in a way I’ve never felt.

I am all for hard things-some of the best, most meaningful parts of (and people in) my life have been hard and risky and so worth any time and effort. But then there’s the kind of hard you don’t choose, with nothing on the other side except the sad accomplishment of having made it through, hopefully with a few nuggets of insight into your own values and inner workings you managed to pick up along the way.

I’ve been feeling sheepish about being honest about this version of myself here… in the thick of it, it felt disingenuous to gloss over and pretend I was ok. Everyone goes through times and seasons of deep vulnerability, sadness, hurt, regret, heartbreak, loss and despair in their lives for more reasons than any of us will ever comprehend.. it feels less lonely, I think, to know other people are navigating something similar. I try to be myself, and this is a version of me, though one I haven’t met before.

W and I both needed to get out of the house, and I needed to get out of my head... even the daily rituals I find so much comfort in -my bed, my chair, walks, music- had become comfortable homes for the painful and despondent thought patterns my brain has settled into these past weeks. I tend to perseverate on things, turning them over in my head to better understand and reconcile them. Sometimes they can’t be.

W is in between things, and I needed some time with him before he’s off into his own life. I’ve had to spend so much money this year on unexpected fixes, why not use some on something better than dentists, body shops and plumbers (as awesome as they might be) while I have the opportunity?

These winter prairie sunrises and sunsets keep tak

These winter prairie sunrises and sunsets keep taking my breath away… even from my bedroom office window.

Love doesn’t always win. It seems to less and le

Love doesn’t always win. It seems to less and less in a world that’s losing its grip on humanity. But in my heart, mind and soul, love will always be stronger than fear. The most powerful, most enduring force, and the most resilient building material that exists.

I went for a walk through the Inglewood bird sanct

I went for a walk through the Inglewood bird sanctuary with the wonderful @graydio1 yesterday, who stopped to look for the owl he sometimes chats with, and to point out a golden eagle, a pair of muskrats and a baby beaver. I forgot what a great place it is.. feels like you’re outside the city, beside Deerfoot trail.

From Pivot, by @briannawiest 💛

From Pivot, by @briannawiest 💛

I talked to CBC about grocery prices and the draft

I talked to CBC about grocery prices and the draft Grocer’s Code of Conduct today… the segment should air on stations across Canada in the coming days. In theory, a code designed to promote predictability, transparency, and fair dealing between retailers, distributors and suppliers (of which Loblaw is all three) should be a good thing… but as a member-based not for profit organization industry has to buy into (there’s no framework to make participation mandatory) I’m not sure how effective it will be, particularly with the country’s largest retailer and food distributor not on board, threatening it will cost Canadians another billion dollars on their grocery bills (without explaining why or offering input on how to make it better).

I think many Canadians don’t realize grocers don’t only make money from food sales, but from all the fees they charge vendors to be on store shelves — listing fees, display fees for better-positioned shelf space or end-cap displays, inclusion in flyers and other promotions, loyalty programs, penalties… as you know, I’m far from a financial expert, but we need more transparency, legislation and oversight around accounting practices. Are incoming fees separated through a different company so as to not have an impact on the retail profit margin they keep pointing to as evidence they aren’t making excessive profits? (This is a company that was part of a bread price-fixing scheme for over 14 years.. Loblaw/Weston became aware of the investigation and co-operated with investigators in exchange for receiving immunity from prosecution, while Canada Bread has to pay a $50 million fine for their involvement. Now Metro is accusing Loblaw of falsely implicating them in this scheme in order to claim it was “industry-wide”.)

Canadians should be able to afford to eat.

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Home
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Meet Julie
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