Today, we are joined by author, Margot Fedoruk, for a fun discussion of her new memoir/cookbook, "Cooking Tips for Desperate Fishwives, An Island Memoir".
"Margot Fedoruk was born a prairie girl, whose only exposure to seafood was the stained flesh of smoked goldeye served cold with mashed potatoes on stifling Winnipeg nights. Then, at age twenty three, she broke free from her stormy Slavic-Jewish upbringing and set out for the wilds of British Columbia. There, Margot planted trees topless, marched her steel-toed boots across the burnt landscape, and met the love of her life - a burly, red-headed sea urchin diver.
A reborn west coaster, she embraced her new life and the ocean's bounty - fresh scallops plucked from the sea, wasabi-covered sashimi smouldering on her tongue, and the exotic orange roe of the exotic see urchin. This is the story of a family, whose livelihood depends on a spiny round creature that clings to the bottom of the sea, and the woman at the centre of it, clinging precariously to her identity as a modern-day fishwife. An unforgettable memoir infused with mouth-watering recipes, 'Cooking Tips for Desperate Fishwives' is equal parts love story, survival story, and meditation on family dysfunction".
No spoilers here about whether driving over her husband helped with naming her garlicky 'killer' lasagna. Did living on a remote, rural island help Margot develop her creative flair in the kitchen ? We hear how the art of making soap demands exact recipe calculations compared to her spicy dishes. Margot raised two daughters (pretty much on her own) while making a living selling specialty soaps at the local farmer's market for nearly two decades, which provides plenty of fodder for her spicy memoir/cookbook.
Some of the delicious recipes throughout her memoir include, sea urchin fettuccine, stinging nettle pesto, spicy fermented pineapple tepache, blintzes, and many other spicy dishes.
"I want to live my life with plenty of strong flavours; I don't want our meals ever to be bland; I want my family's insides to be washed clean with turmeric; I want spicy dinners to bring my family together every night, not only to give us health, but to enjoy mouth-watering meals." Margot Fedoruk
The Globe and Mail - Are our mystery bags of family spices a reflection of who we are?
To purchase her book , go Margot's website
Check out the book trailer here!
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