Mme Cora's letter

Twenty days have already passed since I isolated myself in my Laurentian home, where I have lived for the last 30 years. I am surrounded by thousands of books, including at least 100 books on food and cooking. Besides the volumes of books, you will also find green plants here and there, a few sofas strategically placed in front of large windows and, the king of the manor, a huge 4-oven gas-powered stove (as nearly as old as me!) that is my long-time partner in my cooking adventures. I am constantly experimenting with new recipe ideas at home, the best of which find their way onto breakfast menus. Inquisitive and creative by nature, it’s no surprise that my passion in life is to offer Canadians the most amazing breakfasts in the world! Though I can now rely on an entire team of specialists to create new dishes, I still get a thrill out of spending time in the kitchen exploring ideas.  I bet you’d love to treat your household to some delicious homemade crêpes garnished with your favourite fruit. Well, here’s a quick recipe you can use. - Place some flour in a large bowl (about 2-3 cups depending on the number of mouths to feed). - Add about 2 cups of milk and whisk together until smooth. - Add 2 or 3 eggs and stir. - Add a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt and a heaping spoonful of TLC. - Pour the batter into a large jug, cover and set in the fridge while you set the table. Give it a try and be sure to adjust quantities to suit the number of people you are cooking for. Don’t forget to serve with maple syrup – it’s the season after all. At our house, we make our own syrup flavoured with vanilla. A little heads-up if you feel like trying this too. Homemade syrup is similar to the papaya jam I wrote about yesterday. It takes “smart” fingertips, plus a plump vanilla pod. Now I’m hungry! Cora

Oh boy! Most of us are entering our third week of self-isolation, limiting our contact with the outside world. I am staying safe and closely following the terrible spread of the coronavirus. Never could I have imagined the drama we are currently living through, and yet, it is unfolding right before our eyes… in our empty streets, in our schools that have fallen silent, in our shuttered businesses and even in our own homes that have been transformed into safe bunkers to keep an elusive enemy at bay. What can we do to stay positive? To keep busy and to hold on to the belief that “it’s going to be okay”? Colouring rainbows, creating new cookies for the kids, perfecting a more flavourful pork chop sauce, reading about making jam or brushing up on our bread-making skills. Well, perhaps I might share with you what a busy white-haired lady like myself does when she no longer has anything important to do?     This afternoon, for example, after returning from my walk in nature, where life is springing back, I gently cooked a new papaya jam. Papayas that I had carefully washed with a kitchen brush, peeled and deseeded, before finely dicing them. The papayas’ sweet flesh spent the night in the fridge covered in three-quarters of its weight in sugar. I was excited to try a new recipe and especially curious to see how it would turn out. Getting comfortable on a stool I had placed in front of the stove, I watched the mixture as it simmered. Despite being on low, I had to skim big milky bubbles from the surface a few times. Gently stirring with a wooden spoon, I waited until the small, hot bits of papaya became clear, bulging at the centre and thickening in perfect harmony with the syrup that was neither too runny or sticky. I trust my fingers more than my eyes to tell me when it’s time to turn off the heat. Simply by touching a few drops of syrup flicked onto a saucer, I can tell that the jam is going to be delicious. Stay safe, Cora