As the cooler weather brings holidays and family gatherings, having a cookbook geared towards these celebrations that doesn’t require a ton of time or special ingredients is exactly what Seasons of Plenty brings to your kitchen.
Doreen Bleich is a writer from Saskatchewan where she was born and raised. And having raised her own two boys on the Prairies, she has gathered recipes over the years and compiled them into this great resource. Doreen has written books in other genres as well as plays for the Nipawin Centennial Players. She also teaches workshops for the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild and is a member of the Tisdale Writer’s Group. Her other loves are playwriting, genealogy and baseball.
I asked Doreen what she was working on post-cookbook: “I am currently the president of our writers’ group so am involved in several group projects – a new book and a writing contest. I am also working on a couple new plays. (I am also a playwright with several plays already produced and am involved with our local theatre group.)” https://doreenbleich.com/plays
Many of the recipes in this cookbook have added personal notes on where they came from or who influenced Doreen to try something new. With the devilled eggs we tried in our Recipe section, Aunt Freida provides some context to these yummy morsels. My 15-year-old granddaughter loved decorating the devilled eggs with Halloween added touches…use different colours and decorations for various holidays and seasons.
When asked what Doreen’s favourite go-to recipe would be she pointed to her Soup by Accident (August holiday section of the cookbook) because it uses many fresh vegetables from her garden…no trips to the grocery store and it’s ready in under an hour!
Doreen also tries to keep the ingredients seasonal – garden vegetable soup in the summer and red soup or borscht for Valentine’s Day, for example. It’s these little added details and nuance that makes this book a keepsake.
Has the pandemic affected Doreen in all her many roles? “Yes, the pandemic has greatly affected my social life and my career as a writer. I had a new book published and without being able to get out to communities and do book launches and readings, it has been quite a challenge to market my books.”
I encourage you to purchase a copy of this delightful cookbook, by going to https://doreenbleich.com/books and to win a copy head to our Giveaways tab!
Images and content used with permission by author, Doreen M. Bleich. https://doreenbleich.com/
