Woman in Real Life

Photos: Brilynn Ferguson

I've always loved the idea of getting together with friends and family for brunch - a leisurely, long meal packed with breakfasty goodies, eaten after sleeping in until 10. My mom tells me that her grandmother (in Nova Scotia) used to have people over for brunch every week after church. "They were poor people, but the baked bean pot was filled, tea biscuits made, teapot on (no coffee)," says Mom. "Probably eggs (from their own hens) and homemade condiments (beets, pickles, chow-chow). Oh yes! Always homemade bread." The coal stove kept everything warm as extended family and neighbours casually dropped in. Sounds like a beautiful way of building companionship and community, huh?

I'm definitely not that industrious. I am not efficient enough at cooking for crowds to get a weekly gathering going. But a nice brunch for the family and a few friends now and then would be lovely. I recently received a copy of  The Edgy Veg: 138 Carnivore-Approved Vegan Recipes. I was invited to share a couple of recipes with you and I settled on two fantastic brunch recipes - a vegan eggs benedict and a mimosa with a difference. Read on for the recipes, and enter to win a copy of the book.

In case any of you still think vegan food is boring, I wanted to give you a peek at a recent book club brunch that I hosted. Our book club group is very small. Like just three of us to be exact. But we like it that way. Because our book club meetings are all about the food and we are all on the same page when it comes to the menu.

We have been meeting for many years - me, my sister-in-law Connie and our friend Sarah. Only we hadn't met at all for the last few years, mainly because we weren't all three able to read for various reasons. Missing our book clubs, I proposed that we have a book club meeting without the book. The best part is the conversation anyway. (And the food. Always the food.)