Chin Angela - The simple bites kitchen: nourishing whole food recipes for every day

Y oud think after all the time Ive spent working in the food industry, as well as writing the Simple Bites food blog and two cookbooks, people would believe me when I say that the kitchen is my favourite place in the home. Yet I still have to convince many that cooking isnt a chore for meits an act of love. For me, preparing food is one of the most familiar and natural gestures of caring for my family.

I remember once returning home from a short solo trip and being shyly informed by my son Mateo: Ive missed your hugs and your food. Daddys food is good, but I think you put more love into yours. What an intuitive observation from an eight-year-old! I like to think he could taste the love being passed through my cooking.

My kitchen is spacious and functional, open at both ends for smooth traffic flow, and it has plenty of counter space. Despite all this, it isnt quite my dream space. It was renovated before we bought the house, and the upgrade came with ugly countertops and altogether too many warm tones from floor to ceiling. However, the practical side of me wont fix what isnt broke, and so I choose to focus on the positive aspects of my kitchen.

Two large windows look out onto the lane in front of our house and the woods beyond; afternoon sun fills the space with light, and I bask in that much-needed sunshine when Im prepping dinner. Looking out those windows, I can spot my children hopping off the school bus and tearing home across the lawn. In my kitchen there is always room for my children to join me, and they do after school, with floury aprons and expectations of good things to come. It is their space as much as it is minethe true heart of the home.

While my kitchen may not be the most modern, by golly, its always toasty warm in winter and cool in summer. There are cupboards enough to hold my slow cooker and ice cream machine, and a tall pantry for my stash of home preserves. And for the first time in my life I have matching appliances and a refrigerator that doesnt freeze my produce. This kitchen has been my ground control for launching so many projects, from an award-winning blog to a bestselling cookbook, a vibrant Instagram feed and, once upon a time, a backyard wedding.

In this, my second cookbook, Id once again like to invite you to join me in my kitchen; think of it as a behind-the-scenes personal tour, with recipes and stories. Well peek in my refrigerator (). Its going to be such fun! So tie on an apron and come on in.

The recipes in this book reflect how my family eats every day. To keep us all healthy, I focus on serving nutritious foodunprocessed, unrefined, fresh, organic when possible, vegetarian most days, homemade when we can.

We eat a flexitarian diet, with everything in moderation, focusing on whole ingredients while reducing our meat intake. Along the way there are very few restrictions, yet we strive for balance. We embrace glorious imports such as coffee, chocolate and Meyer lemons, but balance them out with ingredients from the many nearby farms, as well as produce and eggs from our own homestead.

The wide variety of food produced in this vast country has enchanted me ever since I was little. As a wee one alongside my older brother, I slung a fishing line over the side of a canoe, hoping to nab some lake trout, and I foraged for wild strawberries and morels to bring back to my mothers kitchen. Ive watched wild salmon spawn on the west coast and Ive dug for clams on the east coast; each year my culinary education continues to expand. One recent summer I had the opportunity to travel to a family-owned lentil farm in Saskatchewan. Another journey took me to the Discovery Islands in British Columbia, where wild blackberries and fresh oysters are plentiful in July. These experiences influence how I approach family food and inspire me to seek out local foods and prepare them as simply as possible.