This is the last part of the three-part series I wrote for rabble.ca in January 2019, just a few weeks after Jack died. In January 2020, I won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for the series, giving me the confidence to begin writing more seriously. The law firm, Iler Campbell, where I was then a partner had a monthly column, called Pro Bono, a platform for the lawyers of the firm to write about legal issues. This was the first time any of us had taken a chance and written something personal. Thanks to the rabble editors for publishing it and submitting it for a COPA. And many thanks to the COPA judges. I am forever in your debt.

I’d hosted friends on Dec 28. The next day, I had treats to use up. My lunch? Homemade cream of tomato soup garnished with thyme from my garden aside a grilled asiago and kielbasa sandwich with a dollop of sriracha mayo for dipping.

This is part two of the three-part series I wrote for rabble.ca in January 2019, just a few weeks after Jack died. In January 2020, I won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for the series, giving me the confidence to begin writing more seriously. The law firm, Iler Campbell, where I was then a partner had a monthly column, called Pro Bono, a platform for the lawyers of the firm to write about legal issues. This was the first time any of us had taken a chance and written something personal. Thanks to the rabble editors for publishing it and submitting it for a COPA. And many thanks to the COPA judges. I am forever in your debt.

This is first of a three-part series I wrote for rabble.ca in January 2019, just a few weeks after Jack died. In January 2020, I won a Canadian Online Publishing Award for the series, giving me the confidence to begin writing more seriously. The law firm, Iler Campbell, where I was then a partner had a monthly column, called Pro Bono, a platform for the lawyers of the firm to write about legal issues. This was the first time any of us had taken a chance and written something personal. Thanks to the rabble editors for publishing it and submitting it for a COPA. And many thanks to the COPA judges. I am forever in your debt.

It was fall and my fridge was groaning from the weight of the vegetables I’d been unable to resist at the farmers’ market.

2024 was a great year in my writing life. But I’ve got more to say!

Today’s column is inspired by the 1962 sketch comedy short film called Dinner for One or Der 90 Geburtstag. It’s must-watch New Year’s Eve TV in many countries, including Germany, where it was produced, but not in England, where it was first written for the stage.

I’m not the kind of person who has friends who own holiday properties overseas - just not the circles I run in. I am however the kind of person who is prepared to rely on others’ international holiday home connections! So when my friend Judy’s friend bought a flat in the village of Todi in Italy’s central province of Umbria, I knew one day I’d have to stay there.

In our early relationship, I tried to make a few Polish dishes but it became clear I was never going to achieve the cooking heights of Jack’s mother, a woman who irritated him in every way other than what she put on the table. Jack knew that if we were hosting Wigilia, it would be Polish-inspired and would satisfy the basic criteria— 12 meatless dishes, emphasizing fish and mushrooms.