FamilyLife - June 2021

FamilyLife

Sweet Summer 4 Delicious Cakes

5 Easy Ways To Give Your Garden A MidSummer Makeover

JUNE 2021

CONTENTS

JUNE 31

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23 DEPARTMENTS

LIFE

HOME

FEATURES

11 Soothing Separation Anxiety

23 5 Easy Ways To Give Your Garden A Mid-Summer Makeover

8 31 Editor's Letter After My Mother Died, I Learned How To Talk To A 48 Grieving Person Last Look

15 How to Teach Children a Good Work Ethic 19 Ways to Feel Better After a Bad Day

FOOD

40 Sweet Sheets

ON THE COVER Photography by Erik Putz.

Family Life ‐ June 2021

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FamilyLife EDITOR IN-CHIEF Karine Ewart EXECUTIVE EDITOR Suzanne Moutis CREATIVE DIRECTOR Karen Paddon EDITORIAL OPERATIONS & ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER Olga Goncalves Costa TEST KITCHEN FOOD DIRECTOR Soo Kim SENIOR FOOD ASSOCIATE Stina Diös CONTRIBUTING FOOD SPECIALISTS Donna Borooah, Cara Tegler ART DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR Lena Diaz ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Sarah Big Canoe CONTRIBUTING ART DIRECTOR Leanne Gilbert PRODUCTION SPECIALIST Genevieve Pizzale EDITORIAL SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR Megan Howard FEATURES EDITOR Mary Levitski COPY EDITORS Debbie Madsen Villamere, Stephanie Zolis EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Marianne Davidson, Sarah Dziedzic HOME & GARDEN HOME & STYLE DIRECTOR Ann Marie Favot DESIGN EDITOR Morgan Lindsay NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGERS, TORONTO David Lawrence, John McDowell, Nicole Rosen, Roberta Thomson NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER, MONTREAL Ingrid Barfod NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER, VANCOUVER Renee Wong BRAND OPERATIONS MANAGER Terry Smith

VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE SALES & DIRECTOR, CLIENT SOLUTIONS Brandon Kirk DIRECTOR, MEDIA SALES Mike Lambe ST. JOSEPH COMMUNICATIONS CHAIRMAN & CEO Tony Gagliano VICE CHAIRMAN John Gagliano PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Ken Hunt VICE PRESDIENT, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY Sean McCluskey EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Sarah Trimble DIRECTOR, LIFESTYLE CONTENT Sasha Emmons DIRECTOR, CONTENT OPERATIONS James Reid DIRECTOR, CIRCULATION Allan Yue MANAGER, CIRCULATION Lisa Rivers DIRECTOR, BRANDED CONTENT, AUDIENCE & EVENTS Nadine Silverthorne PROJECT MANAGER, BRANDED CONTENT Milena Boskovic EXECUTIVE EDITOR, BRANDED CONTENT Meaghan Yuen DESIGNER, BRANDED CONTENT Leo Tapel Family Life is published by St. Joseph Communications, 15 Benton Road, Toronto, M6M 3G2. Contents Copyright 2021 by St. Joseph Communications. may not be reprinted without written permission. Article proposals and manuscripts must be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and sufficient postage; otherwise they will not be returned or acknowledged. While the publishers will take all reasonable care, they will not be responsible for the loss of any manuscript, drawing or photograph. ISSN 0128-1839. Single copy price $5.99 + tax. Full subscription prices: Canada, 1 year (6 issues), $15 + tax. In the U.S., 1 year $45 + tax; Other countries $75 + tax, Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index. Printed in Canada. Family Life, it's affiliate and assignees may use, reproduce, publish, distribute, store and archive such as unsolicited submissions in whole or in part in any form or medium whatsoever, without compensate of any sort.

St. Joseph Communications can be reached at 15 Benton Road, Toronto, M6M 3G2

Family Life ‐ June 2021

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EDITOR'S LETTER

A few of my favourite things I’m just going to say it. I am a beauty junkie. It started when I was in grade 7. My mother refused to let me wear makeup (“not until you are in high school”) even though Sue Oliver and her crowd were all wearing blue and pink eyeshadow and their feathered hair was sprayed so stiff you could lift the sides like pieces of cardboard. For months I saved up my babysitting money and then sneakily headed to our local drugstore to get my contraband. I’d spend hours looking at all the pretty powders, nail polishes and lipsticks. I remember my first perfume (Love’s Baby Soft), my first lipstick (a rollerball lip gloss that tasted sticky-sweet) and my first indispensable blue eyeliner (rimming the inside of my lash line, of course). Every morning I happily put my little stash in my backpack and headed straight to the girls’ washroom at school to apply it. I’d remove it before heading home, until the inevitable day when I forgot. . . . All these years later I still feel guilty for deceiving my mom.

P.S. Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads out there.

Karine Ewart Editor In-Chief

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LIFE

Soothing Separation Anxiety

By MELISSA BELLACH

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LIFE Many babies come into this world as friendly, happy and social bundles of joy. “When my little guy was, like, 6 months and under, he would let anyone hold him. As long as he was held, he was happy,” says Amy Drake, Olathe mom. And if you are lucky enough to have a social butterfly type of infant, you may think this personality trait will last and last. However, many families learn this is not the case. Some babies can show signs of separation anxiety as early as 6 or 7 months of age, but for most babies, separation anxiety reaches its peak between 10 and 18 months. “It was around 9 months for my daughter. She was so friendly and happy—then, all of a sudden, she would cry when I left the room. I had no idea what to do,” says Tamika Olsen, mom.

When your baby exhibits signs of separation anxiety, the whole family can feel the stress. Hearing Baby cry and seeing your infant appear to be frightened is hard on you. You wonder why your once carefree baby is now upset at not being with you 24/7. This constant need to be with Mom or Dad can also take a toll. “I didn’t understand why he suddenly needed to be held all the time. It was like I suddenly couldn’t even make dinner without him crying for me,” Gina Granger, mom, says. “I hated that he was upset, but it was also stressful to never be able to put him down.”

For parents in the throes of separation anxiety, here are some tips from other metro parents to help you, and your little one, make it through this tricky phase:

Practice makes perfect

There are lots of ways to practice for longer separations. Play peek-a-boo, allow your child to remain in a safe space alone while you leave the room for a few moments. Staying away for a brief time and then returning is a good way to build trust with your baby that you will, in fact, return.

Knowing is half the battle

Things that are familiar to Baby are less frightening. If Baby cries at daycare drop off or with the sitter, or even with Grandma, that isn’t a surprise and shouldn’t be alarming. Baby will calm down quickly once Mom or Dad has left, and it will happen even faster if you have a familiar good-bye routine.

Once Baby recognizes that you say or do certain things, you leave and then you come back, he will trust the routine, and it will be comforting.

This too shall pass

While this phase can be frustrating and emotionally trying, it is only a phase. Remember to be kind to yourself and your child.

If you have serious concerns about your child’s anxiety about being away from you, many resources are available. You can speak with your child’s pediatrician, seek help through your school district’s Parents as Teachers program, consult with your babysitter or daycare workers or reach out to mental health professionals for tips.

The good news for parents struggling with this issue is that most children will pass the height of their separation anxiety by the time they are 2 years old!

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LIFE

How to Teach Children a Good Work Ethic

By GINA KLEIN

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LIFE I love doing chores!” said no one ever.

Okay. Maybe someone out there has said this, but most of us probably would rather be doing other things. Chores, however, are a part of life, and they are a big part of what helps teach children a good work ethic, one that will help them succeed not only in their future careers, but in their daily lives as well.

Thinking children just naturally grow up demonstrating perseverance, self-discipline or good frustration tolerance is unrealistic. These character traits are learned, and they’re learned from parents. Want to be sure your child will develop a good work ethic and the ability to tough it out when things get difficult? Here are some great tips on how to lead her into becoming a responsible, self-sufficient adult.

Start chores at a young age. It’s so much easier to introduce a good habit with a preschooler than to break a bad habit with a tween. When teaching young children to work, you’ll find they typically need a lot of practice before they get it. Show them how to do a chore a few times and then work alongside them and help them do the chore.

Model hard work in front of them. Remember: “More is caught than taught.” You can’t expect your child to work hard if he doesn’t see you working hard. So, be a good role model. Show pride in your accomplishments. Children are always watching and listening.

Make work fun and routine. Kids love to work when you make it fun! Play upbeat music that motivates everyone and make work part of your regular routine. For example, if your child knows she must make her bed before breakfast every morning, it becomes much less of a fight to get her to do it. So instead of being a casual happening, work becomes an expectation rather than a chore.

Give them praise. Don’t focus on pointing out the things your child does wrong or needs to improve on. Instead, focus on praising what she did well. Encouragement goes a long way. Your words of praise will build your child up.

She’ll be motivated and inspired to work hard and diligently.

Treat school like a job. That’s right. Schoolwork and homework are a big part of the foundation for a good work ethic. The teacher is the boss, and your child’s “job” is to keep up with schoolwork and do his best. School offers a huge opportunity to developing a work ethic. Maybe your son doesn’t enjoy his math homework, but he should do it without a fight, in a timely manner and with good effort.

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Don’t use bribes. When your child is lazing around rather than getting his chore done, hold back on your frustration and desire to bribe him. Telling him, “If you finish within 30 minutes, we’ll go to the park,” will only make him work for the end result, not learn the value of hard work. Instead of bribing with food or other rewards, talk to him about why he’s doing the work. “We need to pick up the toys so no one trips over them and gets hurt.”

Encourage volunteering. Get your child(ren) out there to help in the community–reading to or playing games with the elderly in a nursing home, serving food at a local soup kitchen or spending time with the cats and dogs in an animal shelter. Studies confirm this not only benefits others but develops a sense of pride in the volunteer.

Research shows that children who persist and excel recognize that success comes from hard work and practice. While some kids are naturally more hardworking than others, that doesn’t mean a strong work ethic can’t be taught. When you put value in teamwork, cooperation and finishing tasks at home, your kids eventually will grow to be hardworking teens and adults.

LIFE

Ways to Feel Better After a Bad Day We all have tough days. Bills add up, and the kids need shoes or clothes. Dinner has to be cooked. Your boss was a little harder on you today than usual. You are definitely not alone. So how do you manage your life, the responsibilities you have as a parent and not completely lose your mind after having a bad day? Take a deep breath—we have you covered.

Keep reading and you’ll be fine.

By JESSICA SAMUEL

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LIFE

Exercise

Exercising is another way to cope with a bad day. A half-hour at the gym not only stimulates great blood flow, but it also clears your thoughts—and it makes you even more proactive.

Yoga is a great form of exercise that motivates your body while it clears your thoughts. The best part of exercise is that it comes in more than one form. If the gym is really not your thing, consider breathing exercises. So many of them relieve stress, reduce anxiety and, over all, just plain old make you feel better.

Turn Up the Jams

One of the best ways to turn off a bad day is to turn up the music. Happy music makes everyone feel better and will certainly change your mood. Challenge yourself to create a playlist designed for tough days. Think of songs like “Happy”

by Pharrell Williams—start with tunes like that and go from there. It's hard enough having a hard day, so change your day by changing the music. Jump around a few times, and I promise you’ll feel better.

A Night Out

Take some time to appreciate you. We can be our own worst critics sometimes, magnifying our shortcomings and our difficult situations. Have you ever had a terrible day you just couldn’t let go of—all you could think about was everything you did wrong and how things gradually just got worse? First things first: Let it go. Second thing is to take a night off. Selflove is not selfish! We all deserve a night off, and if you have a close friend you can take out with you, you can really make it a night. You and I both know you deserve a break.

Cook with your kids

Your job as a parent is never over, so why not take out the frustrations of a bad day by working in the kitchen? When I was younger, some of the best memories I made were between me, my mom and our kitchen. We would craft full course meals and laugh when we made mistakes that no one noticed later at the dinner table. When you’re having a bad day, keep the recipes simple, fun and creative. One great idea for killing two birds with one stone is to punch the dough around for a scratch-made pizza. You get to knock around something and spend time with your kids. You also settle any questions about dinner—so maybe three birds with one stone.

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HOME

5 Easy Ways To Give Your Garden A Mid-Summer Makeover Here’s how to spruce up your garden beds and window boxes to keep them blooming into the fall.

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HOME

1 2

Trim back

By removing dead flower heads, you might be able to coax another bloom from perennials. Cut back straggly stems on your geraniums and pansies, and be sure to dead-head your day lilies. Pinch off any blooms appearing on your basil plants —you want the plants to keep producing those tasty leaves.

Hydrate well

By mid-summer, things can start to look a little parched—but don’t rush out every day with the hose for a quick sprinkle.

Watering your garden less frequently but for longer stretches encourages the roots to grow deeper in the soil, which can help the plants weather hot spells. If it’s been a while since the last rain storm, give everything a good long drink.

To avoid mildew forming on plants, water close to the ground taking care to avoid the leaves, and water in the morning rather than in the evening.

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Add some insulation

Spreading a thin layer of mulch over the dirt lowers the temperature of the soil and helps the ground retain water.

Plus, mulch slows the growth of weeds.

Bring in some new life

If some patches have not fared well in previous months, consider adding in wild grasses or a few fall-flowering plants, such as sedum and chrysanthemums. Extending the flowering season also helps pollinators, which need a continuous source of pollen and nectar. Be sure to water the spot well before you plant.

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Mind the gap

Using an edger tool, make your way around the perimeter of your garden beds to give them a sharp, fresh look.

JUNE

"All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world."

-L.M. Montgomery

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After My Mother Died, I Learned How To Talk To A Grieving Person As a culture, we don’t know how to deal with death. Hearing things like 'at least she’s not suffering anymore' or 'she’s in a better place' just made me feel more alone.

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I was pulling it off. I was playing the role of A Normal Person.

And I was furious at everyone for believing me. In a cozy Toronto bar, a friend was about to play an acoustic guitar set and sing some songs. Gentle and easy. All I had to do was listen.

But the mellow lights were too bright. The quiet audience chatter was too loud. The conversations around me were shallow and irritating, and scratched like a wool sweater. So, I turned to the person sitting beside me, a woman I didn’t know.

She smiled. And then I blurted out, “my mum just died.”

Maybe it was because my unexpected statement gave her no time to assemble a tidy and polished reaction, but her response was straight-up glorious.

“F**k!!” she gasped. “Oh God, what the f**k! God! No! F**k!”

It was honest, human, unguarded and real. I felt instant relief.

Properly seen. My invisible wound made visible.

She didn’t tell me “it’ll get easier” or “you’ll be okay.” She didn’t try to fix the angry black hole in my chest, or try to force me into a brighter place simply because my darkness made her uncomfortable.

There was no “at least she’s not suffering anymore” or “she’s in a better place.” She didn’t demand I somehow get a detached perspective on a searingly painful loss. She didn’t say “I can’t imagine what you’re going through”—words that create distance rather than closeness, that form a wall instead of a bridge. She didn’t confirm my fear that I was inhabiting a farflung, lonely planet where no one could reach me until I assimilated to regular life.

Instead, she looked at me and recognized exactly where I was: newly lost in the depths of disbelief and rage, a fragile, shaky thing with a shattered heart who was not yet ready to do anything but freak out about the awful, inexplicable randomness of being alive. And so, she climbed down a dark, quiet ladder and met me there.

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As a culture, we tend to stay put the top of the ladder, teetering, clutching it nervously, waving awkwardly at anyone down in the hole. We tend to keep such people as tiny dots in the distance. Truly stepping inside another person’s grief forces you to try on the idea of death, and that can be terrifying. It leaves you no choice but to imagine it was your own mother.

To imagine it was you.

It’s extremely uncomfortable to do what that stranger in the bar did. Confronted with any struggling person, our impulse, typically is to coax them out of the murk. We need to believe they’ll resurface quickly, and soon. We need to see them do it, or at least see them try.

But death is so final, so permanent, so non-negotiable, that it renders our usual tools irrelevant. We aren’t used to problems we can’t solve. We aren’t accustomed to sitting quietly on the bleak shores of a tragic event and simply allowing it to be the terrible thing it is. Truly doing that feels super-awkward.

But we have to say something, so we reach for sanitized, prepackaged sentiments without giving much thought as to how our automatic responses further alienate and isolate the grieving person.

Many of my interactions with people in those early days of mourning left me tired, frustrated and lonely. People would ask me how I was doing, and for a brief flicker of a moment, I felt hopeful I could answer honestly. But you can’t say “awful and devastated” and leave it at that. That’s when their faces would flinch, their panic became palpable and they struggled to find words. That’s when they’d begin minimizing my sadness, desperately trying to sweep up an oil spill with a tiny plastic broom. “It’s going to get better!” was a statement I always wanted to counter with an exasperated, “Okay, but it’s not yet.” I learned to pad my answer, to soften it, to help make other people more comfortable. “Awful and devastated, but I’m taking it one day at a time, doing some gentle exercise, seeing a counsellor, getting through it.” For the first year, none of that was true at all, but it seemed to be what people needed to hear.

My mum was a beautiful explosion of light. She was fierce and fiery, witty and hilarious company, wise and endlessly generous with that wisdom. She was one of the leading paediatric neuropsychologists in the world. She was a radical feminist before it was safe to be one. Of course, I loved her but I also genuinely liked her—more and more the older I got. She was one of my favourite people to spend a breezy, sprawling Sunday with, the kind where you talk for hours over iced tea on the porch and have no particular plans.

When she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in 2013, my sister and I dropped everything to look after her. She was in treatment for a year and a half. Her decline felt somehow both mercilessly slow and panic-inducingly fast.

The three of us had always been a supremely tight unit. That year, we kept doing what we’d always done best: talking to each other. Around her sunny dining room table, at her bedside, in waiting rooms and chemo bays. We looked her illness right in the face together and talked about dying and fear, about living well. About love, friendship, courage and regret. We talked openly, honestly, constantly, until she couldn’t talk anymore.

The day she died, there was nothing left unsaid.

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For months and months, I heard one particular sentence a dizzying number of times: “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

When I emerged, impossibly, on the other side of her death, the days felt long, silent, excruciating, disorienting. Everything took impossible effort. Socializing was surreally exhausting.

Making toast was an accomplishment that required a 32-hour nap. And yet, bereavement was a full-time job, so my sister and I were also planning a funeral, cleaning out closets, informing relatives all over the world, all while juggling our regular lives.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do” puts the onus on an emotionally and logistically overloaded person to identify her needs somewhere in a hopelessly tangled knot of feelings, generate a task for you, contact you, talk to you, and awkwardly assign you a job. It sets up the expectation that the grieving person will take the lead.

The thing is, it’s not hard to imagine what a grieving person might find useful. Food, rides, groceries, a house-cleaning service, babysitting, a massage. In the final days of my mum’s life, one friend slinked into the hospital, left a package of cozy new pyjamas and a toothbrush outside the room, said nothing, and left. The people who saved me in those first few months picked a thing, showed up to do it, and didn’t require anything of me beyond opening the door.

They were also willing to stare directly at death with me and not wince. A different friend drove me to the hospital the day we got the news that the end was imminent. I was filled with dread, nauseous, engulfed in terror to the point I had to sit in the backseat clutching my knees to my chest. “Look out the window,” he said, and I did. “All those stores, restaurants, designer dogs, fancy cars—we created all of those things specifically to distract ourselves from the exact feeling you’re feeling right now. You’re not the messed up one. The rest of us are.”

Anything we say to a grieving person is worth running through a filter: Is this an act of giving or an act of taking?

Are you pressuring them to hurry up and arrive at a more ideal emotional state before they’re ready? Or worse, fake it for your benefit?

Are you so palpably uncomfortable listening to grief that they have to downplay their pain and reassure you that they’re okay?

Are you adding tasks to a 47-kilometre-long To-Do list?

All these things sap energy. They are things taken, additional demands.

Before my mum died in 2014, I’m not sure I really considered the words I used to try to reach someone in distress. I hadn’t ever felt the full weight of what it means to grieve. It was an experience that happened to Other People Somewhere Over There, and so my responses were correspondingly detached.

Losing my mother has made my words a little more intentional, a little more thoughtful, and a little less polite.

When someone is mourning, we turn into strange, nervous, robot people. Death is one guaranteed experience that unites us all, yet, somehow, it’s the time we sound the least human.

Recently a coworker’s father died, and we circulated a card.

When I opened it to sign it, there were 25 neat and identical carefully printed sentences: “Sorry for your loss” and “My deepest condolences.” It was eerie to me: the death of someone we love is perhaps the scariest, deepest trauma there is. How are our responses so distant and tidy? How are we not screaming off a cliff, or at least using an exclamation point?

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Four years later, my own grief continues to swell and retreat and swell again. Sometimes the reasons are predictable and I see them ambling over a hill toward me—Mother’s Day, her birthday. Other times, some woman in a grocery store on an unremarkable Tuesday night has her shoes and I suddenly miss her beyond all the words in the world.

Grief also muddies and complicates the good and magical things that happen to me. The sparkly rush of a major accomplishment is quickly followed by the hard realization that the person who’s always been at the other end of my first giddy phone call is no longer there. I still have her number saved in my phone. It helps me keep those many years of phone calls close. The memory of them. The feeling of them.

In the moments where I’m struck anew by the gravity and the permanence of my mum’s absence, I’m most comforted by people who allow themselves to react as human beings, who are messy, real, open, and affected by what I’m saying. People whose words provide tiny resting places, not asking anything of me other than to stay exactly where I happen to be that day.

People whose words are really and truly their own words— such as a loud string of incredulous obscenities shouted in a crowded Tuesday night bar.

The songs were wild and beautiful after that.

FOOD

Sweet Notes Don't worry, these recipes are a cakewalk.

Photo, Erik Putz.

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Sweet Sheets

We took four classic cake styles—single layer, layered, sheet and bundt—and turned them on their heads (in the case of our rhubarb upside-down cake, quite literally).

Photo, Erik Putz.

Strawberrychocolate cake

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Pistachio cake with orange blossom icing

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Rhubarb upside-down cake

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Mini lemon bundt cakes

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FOOD

Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes

Rhubarb UpsideDown Cake

PREP TIME:15 MINS TOTAL TIME:2 HOURS 15 MINS

PREP TIME:20 MINS TOTAL TIME:1 HOUR 35 MINS

Cake 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour , (150 g) 3/4 cup granulated sugar , (144 g) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest 1/4 tsp salt 2 eggs , at room temperature 1/3 cup canola oil 3 tbsp buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp unsalted butter , at room temperature 1/4 cup granulated sugar , (48 g) 300 g fresh rhubarb 1/4 cup strawberry jam , divided

Glaze 1 cup icing sugar , (200 g) 2-3 tbsp lemon juice 1 or 2 drops pink or red liquid food colouring , (optional) 1/2 tsp lemon thyme , leaves (optional) 1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. Spray a 6-mould mini bundt pan with non-stick flour-based baking spray.

2. Cake: Stir flour with granulated sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Whisk eggs with oil, buttermilk and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in lemon juice. Divide batter evenly between bundt moulds.

4. Bake until tops are golden and a cake tester inserted in centre of cakes comes out clean, 30 to 32 min. Transfer to a rack and cool completely, about 1 hr.

5. Invert pan to release cooled cakes onto rack. Set the rack over a baking sheet.

6. Glaze: Stir icing sugar with 2 tbsp lemon juice, food colouring and lemon thyme leaves until smooth. Stir in remaining lemon juice, 1 tsp at a time, until it forms a thick but drizzly consistency (you may not need all of the lemon juice). Drizzle over bundt cakes.

Sprinkle with more lemon zest and lemon thyme leaves, if desired. Let stand until glaze is firm, about 30 min.

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Batter 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour , (150g) 1/2 cup ground almonds , (50g) 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened 3/4 cup granulated sugar , (144g) 2 eggs 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract 3/4 cup buttermilk 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the bottom of a 9-in. round baking pan with oil. Line bottom with parchment. Coat bottom and sides with 1 tbsp butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom. Cut rhubarb stalks to fit snugly inside the pan and arrange in rows, concave-side down.

Brush 2 tbsp jam onto rhubarb.

2. Whisk flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Beat 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 min.

Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Beat in almond extract.

4. Beat in flour mixture on low in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk, until just combined. Spread over rhubarb, smoothing top.

5. Bake until cake is browned and a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, 40 to 45 min, covering with foil if browning too quickly. Let stand 30 min.

Run a knife around edge of pan. Place a large platter over top and carefully invert. Discard parchment. Microwave remaining 2 tbsp jam until warm, then brush over the top. Serve warm.

FOOD

StrawberryChocolate Cake PREP TIME:25 MINS TOTAL TIME:1 HOUR 55 MINS 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour , (210 g) 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar , (288 g) 2/3 cup cocoa powder , (53 g) 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 eggs 2/3 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup canola oil 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup hot water Icing 3/4 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature 2 cups icing sugar , sifted (400 g) 1/4 cup strawberry jam 1/2 tsp vanilla Pink liquid food colouring , (optional) Garnish Sliced strawberries , (optional) Freeze-dried strawberries , crumbled (optional) Mint leaves , (optional)

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1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. Line a 9×13 in. baking pan with overhanging parchment on long sides.

2. Cake: Whisk flour with sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Whisk eggs with buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Whisk in hot water. Pour into prepared pan.

4. Bake until a cake tester inserted in centre of cake comes out clean, about 30 min. Let cake cool in pan for 30 min, then transfer to a rack and cool completely, about 30 min.

5. Icing: Beat butter in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, until fluffy, 30 sec. Gradually beat in icing sugar on low, scraping bottom and side of bowl as needed. Beat in jam and vanilla until combined. Beat in food colouring until you reach the desired colour.

6. Place cake on a platter. Spread icing over top only, leaving a thin border at edge.

7. Garnish: Decorate top of cake with sliced strawberries, freeze-dried strawberries and mint leaves.

Pistachio Cake With Orange Blossom Icing PREP TIME:40 MINS TOTAL TIME:2 HOURS 10 MINS 4 8 to 9 in. disposable foil pans 1 cup pistachios , (150 g) 3/4 cup cake-and-pastry flour , (90 g) 1/4 tsp salt 9 eggs , separated, at room temperature 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar , divided (288 g) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 3/4 tsp orange zest 20 drops green liquid food colouring Icing 2/3 cup granulated sugar , (128 g) 5 tbsp cake-and-pastry flour , (37 g) 1 cup 2% milk , warmed 1 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature 2 tbsp orange blossom water 1/4 tsp salt

1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. Line 4 disposable foil cake pans with parchment, then spray with non-stick flourbased baking spray.

2. Combine pistachios with ¾ cup flour and ¼ tsp salt in a food processor. Whirl until pistachios are finely ground. Sift into a medium bowl. If coarser pieces remain in sieve, whirl again in food processor and sift into same bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat egg whites, using an electric mixer on mediumhigh, in a large bowl until foamy, about 2 min. Continue beating, gradually adding ¾ cup granulated sugar until medium-stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 min more. Set aside.

4.Combine egg yolks with remaining ¾ cup sugar in a very large bowl. Beat, using same electric mixer on mediumhigh, until pale yellow and thick, 3 to 4 min. Beat in vanilla, orange zest and food colouring until combined.

Gently fold one-third of the egg white mixture into yolk mixture, using a rubber spatula, until no streaks remain.

Gently fold in remaining egg whites.

5.Sprinkle one-third of the pistachio mixture overtop. Gently fold until no streaks remain. Repeat process with remaining pistachio mixture. The batter should look fluffy, similar to meringue.

5.Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Smooth tops to make as even as possible.

Bake until the tops of cakes are golden, and a cake tester inserted into centre of cakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 min.Transfer pans to a rack and cool completely, about 1 hr.

6.Icing: Meanwhile, combine ⅔ cup granulated sugar and 5 tbsp flour in a medium saucepan set over medium.

While whisking constantly, gradually pour in milk. Whisk until smooth.

7.Continue whisking until mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency and starts pulling away from bottom of pan, 2 to 4 min. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent skin from forming.

8.Let cool to room temperature, about 1 hr.

Beat butter, using an electric mixer on high, in a large bowl until fluffy, 1 min.

Beat in cooled sugar mixture, 1 tbsp at a time, until each addition is well combined and stiff peaks form. Beat in orange blossom water and salt.

9.Assemble cake by placing 1 cooled layer on a large plate or cake stand. Lay short strips of parchment paper under edges of cake to protect the plate.

Spread cake with ¾ cup icing, right to edge. Top with another cake layer.

Repeat icing and layering with remaining cake layers. Then very thinly spread remaining icing on top and around sides of cake (scraping off excess icing to create a “naked” look).

Family Life ‐ June 2021

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LAST LOOK

Movies

LUCA

June 18, Disney+ In Portorosso, a seaside town on the Italian Riviera, a young boy named Luca (Jacob Tremblay) shares adventures with his new best friend Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer). But Luca and Alberto are hiding a secret: they are both sea monsters from a world below the water's surface.

Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures & Pixar

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June 2021 - Family Life