Cherry Square (with a delicious secret)

Hullo, all! Here’s a pretty little recipe for cherry tart squares, and as the title says, there is a wee secret to the sweet, creamy crust. Gluten free, true – that’s no secret though, as all my posts are. May, the secret is, the crust is made from mashed potatoes! An enticing blend of coconut flour, coconut milk and potatoes, with some tapioca starch to bind it and nice honey (or plain white confectioners’ sugar if you prefer) makes for a delicious taste complement to the tart and sweet cherry mixture. First thing- boil the living heck out of some … Continue reading Cherry Square (with a delicious secret)

How to Help Your Neighborhood Business in Troubles Times

An excellent article from the Globe and Mail. We have to remember that, while we are all tucked away like hares in our holes, the world changes outside- if we don’t take action to be supportive of our businesses, restaurants and shops while we are sheltering in place, they may disappear forever by the time we emerge. Continue reading How to Help Your Neighborhood Business in Troubles Times

Last of Summer, Preserved

I’ve been away in the north or business, and the freezing weather se to have followed me back. My bad. Now that I’m home, it is time to finish off the last of summer, my dandelion wine! This was a smaller batch, and it has turned an utterly gorgeous Baltic amber color, and tastes delicious! Note my #lifehack of using a bag clip to hold the pressure in my siphon until I’m back with a new bottle! Works excellently! Continue reading Last of Summer, Preserved

Mmmm, Montreal Smoked Meat

There’s a brilliant little restaurant along Highway 97 in British Columbia, in a little town called 70 mile- so named, as it was 70 miles up the Gold Rush trail. The fact you’re travelling along frontier history is an added benefit to taking this route through rugged, majestic and isolated country… And this restaurant, The Sugar Shack, is a must-stop place along the journey up the spine of British Columbia. You can read my Google maps review here, but I’ll leave you with one yummy picture of their homemade, home-smoked sandwich! Continue reading Mmmm, Montreal Smoked Meat

This is the Army, Mister Jones- No Reading Method, but Gramophones!

This is the Army, Mister Jones- No More Reading, but Gramophones! By Clyde MacGregor Again, we find language conscripted into service for the military, much as my previous essay (which can be found at firthofclyde.home.blog) outlined. Then it was World War I, and T.E. Lawrence had used language to change the tide of war. In discussing the Reading and the Audio-Lingual Approach, we find that language is once again on the front lines. It is interesting to note that the generals who advocated the later Audio-Lingual Approach were themselves taught by the Reading Method. They were American, by and large, … Continue reading This is the Army, Mister Jones- No Reading Method, but Gramophones!

The ‘i + 1’s Have It- Comprehension Theory and Teaching

By Clyde MacGregor Language has been on a strange journey in the past century. As a result of a few pesky steam engines, suddenly everyone was travelling everywhere, and language had to hop to attention! It was conscripted to fight on both sides of two World Wars. It was used to open the minds of an entire generation to cultural variety and spiritual growth. It was used to sell, sell, sell, manipulated to drive up product sales. It was written on protest signs. It was broadcast on the airwaves. It was used purely as a logic-oriented transmission; it was a … Continue reading The ‘i + 1’s Have It- Comprehension Theory and Teaching

The Wonder of DIY Environmental Monitoring Devices

I thoroughly recommend anyone who is good with a solder iron (and aware that they should wear a fume mask or use a hood with it!) to check out KitHub. Not only can you pick up one of Safecasts’ Geiger Counter kits, you can get kits to inspire the little ones (or the whimsical adults in your life) to create and invent basic tools. (I thought the mask whose light illuminates from the charge on the wearer’s face was particularly inspiring for kids). These projects are an amazing way to introduce technology-based science to children, and to tech-phobic adults. The … Continue reading The Wonder of DIY Environmental Monitoring Devices

Hippies, Beatniks and Squares, Oh My

By Clyde MacGregor Didn’t everyone just have an Opinion in the Post-War Era? Cognitive behaviorists were convinced any subject could be inserted into the minds of their subjects, like magnetic tape on a reel of a computer, or a punch card into an input slot. Meanwhile, enterprising members of the counterculture were asserting that it was freedom and inclusivity, immersion and exploration that would teach people, not through rules or repetition or force. These teachers advocated learning as a pleasant by-product of a conducive classroom experience, full of creativity and right-brained activities. Noam Chomsky, a Canadian, put all those push … Continue reading Hippies, Beatniks and Squares, Oh My