 Cooking with Rosie Daykin, doing some Shelf Life and Record Keeping, and celebrating National Poetry MonthNXNW April 6/7, 2024 | April is here, and so is the latest edition of the NXNW newsletter! Margaret Gallagher returns as your host this weekend, and we've got a lot of brilliant artistry at play for the show's lineup. We're launching our April Poetry series with Zehra Naqvi, doing some Record Keeping with guitarist Steve Dawson, and learning about a brand new cookbook from Rosie Daykin (which also includes a recipe we've listed below).
Looking for something from a previous show? Be sure to stop by our CBC Listen page. | | | Coming up on the show this weekend: | | | Saturday |  | The CBC Poetry Prize is accepting submissions until June 1. Former juror and award-winning poet Catherine Graham joins us with writing tips for those who want to enter. | | | | | Juno-Award winning musician and producer Steve Dawson is embarking on a tour throughout B.C. this month. And while he has some time, he joins us for some Record Keeping. | | | | | Dancer and educator Palak Dhiman shares her story with Kathak, a form of classical dance found in northern India, ahead of two appearances at the Coquitlam's Places des Arts (April 7 and 20.) | | | | | Sylix writer Brian Thomas Isaac will be in conversation with Margaret Gallagher on April 13 at the North Shore Writers Festival. But first, Isaac joins us for some Shelf Life. | | | | | Sunday | | | A total solar eclipse is coming this Monday, and science writer Andrew Fazekas is here to shed some light on what to expect, how to watch it safely, and more. | | | | | Playwright Keith Barker explores the family experience of grief, loss, as well as laughter in This Is How We Got Here, running at Vancouver's Firehall Arts Centre April 13-28. | | | | | In the first entry of our April Poetry series, Zehra Naqvi tells us about the family history, memories, and Qur'anic traditions that have informed her debut poetry collection, The Knot of My Tongue. | | | | | We'll join award-winning cookbook author Rosie Daykin to discuss her latest work, The Side Gardener, which features a collection of recipes that can come right from your very own garden. | | | | | | | | | Poetry - The Knot of My Tongue | | | April is National Poetry Month. Considering how much we love reading here at NXNW, it only makes sense to dedicate the next 30 days to a poetry series. For our first entry, we'll connect with Zehra Naqvi, a Karachi-born, Vancouver-raised writer who just released her debut poetry collection, The Knot of My Tongue.
We'll hear Naqvi's reflections on writing and the power of poetry and language. | | |  | Zehra Naqvi with a copy of The Knot of My Tongue | | | | | | | Storytelling with Kathak | | | Palak Dhiman is a Kathak artist and teacher. Kathak is a form of classical dance from northern India. She joins us this week to discuss Kathak, its importance in storytelling, and how it shaped her as a multicultural Canadian.
Dhiman will be hosting two events at Coquitlam's Places des Arts later this month. She'll present a solo Kathak performance on April 7 starting at 2:30 PT. On April 20, she'll host the Introduction to Kathak Workshop starting at 2 p.m. PT. | | |  | Palak Dhiman in the NXNW studio | | | | | | | Shelf Life with Brian Thomas Isaac | | | Brian Thomas Isaac is a Sylix author, best known for his 2021 debut novel All The Quiet Places, which he published at the age of 71. Isaac will be making an appearance in conversation with NXNW's Margaret Gallagher, as part of the North Shore Writers Festival, which takes place at the North Vancouver City Library on April 13 at 3:30 p.m. PT.
Ahead of the event, Isaac took time to reflect on his debut novel, his relationship with writing, and also to do some Shelf Life.
Here are Brian's picks for your reading consideration:
Favourite book from your childhood?
Turok, Son of Stone comics (Newman et al, 1956-1980).
Book you'd recommend to your younger self?
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
What book changed your life?
All The Quiet Places (because my quiet writing life exploded) and The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor.
Book you like to lend or gift?
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.
Do you have a guilty pleasure book?
When not I'm not reading, my guilty pleasure is to watch a very good movie. A recent fave is Past Lives. | | | | | | | Record Keeping with Steve Dawson | | | Steve Dawson is a Juno-Award winning guitarist and producer who hails from Vancouver and now lives in Nashville. He's heading back to B.C. next week for a tour and recording session, but first we caught up with Steve for some Record Keeping.
A song from your youth?
Don't Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Rock and Roll by Long John Baldry.
A song you keep coming back to?
Isn’t It a Pity by George Harrison.
A song you're listening to right now?
What Now by Brittany Howard.
Dawson will be playing at Salmon Arm's Song Sparrow Hall (April 11), Pentiction's Dream Cafe (April 12), The Rogue Folk Club in Vancouver (April 19), and Langley's Bez Arts Hub (April 20.) | | | | | | | Cooking garden drawn recipes with Rosie Daykin | | | Coming up on April 9, bestselling and award-winning cookbook author Rosie Daykin is releasing her latest work, The Side Gardener. Her new cookbook lets the produce shine, as it draws from Daykin's experiences designing a garden and using it to create simple, vegetable-forward recipes. NXNW's Margaret Gallagher joins Daykin in her home to talk about the book, and do some baking.
Daykin provided us a recipe for chocolate zucchini with cream cheese whip, which we've listed for you below. We hope you give it a try.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Whip
Makes one 8-inch / 20 cm cake, 8-12 servings.
Ingredients (Zucchini Cake)
-1 ¾ cups/185 g pastry flour
-¼ cup / 18 g cocoa powder
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-½ teaspoon baking powder
-½ teaspoon salt
-1 cup / 250 ml vegetable oil
-1 cup / 200 g sugar
-2 large eggs
-1 tablespoon vanilla
-1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
-½ cup / 125 ml hot water
-1 ½ / 185 g grated zucchini
Ingredients (Cream Cheese Whip)
-1 cup / 227 g cold cream cheese
(The real deal, not the spreadable kind. See note below)
-½ cup / 60 g icing sugar
-1 cup / 250 ml cold whipping cream (See note)
-1 teaspoon vanilla paste (See note)
This is an easy one-bowl cake that comes together in a flash. To make it even easier, I chose to bake it in a deep springform pan so there is no fussing or mussing with cake layers and icing. However, I encourage you to put an extra generous pile of icing on the top of the cake so no one feels shortchanged in that department.
To make the ZUCCHINI cake: Position the rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 350 F/180 C. Butter and flour a deep 8-inch/20-cm cake pan
or a springform pan. (If you would prefer to make a layer cake, you can also use two regular 8-inch/20-cm cake pans and divide the batter evenly
between them).
On a large piece of parchment paper, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to whisk until well combined.
In a small bowl, combine the espresso powder and hot water and stir to dissolve. Add the coffee to the batter and whisk to combine.
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the batter and whisk again to combine. Add the grated zucchini to the batter and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine.
Place the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
To make the cream cheese whip: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until very soft.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn the mixer to low and add the icing sugar. Continue to beat on low until well combined.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
With the mixer still running on low, slowly add the cream. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla paste and beat again to combine.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Transfer the cake to a serving plate or cake stand and generously spread the cream cheese whip across the top.
NOTE: An important element of this cream cheese whip recipe is the temperature of your ingredients: make sure your cream cheese and cream are nice and cold. If not, the fat will not be able to emulsify, meaning it won’t be able to hold air particles, preventing those lovely soft peaks from forming. If you don’t have vanilla paste, you can always substitute 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or the inside of one vanilla pod. | | |  | Enjoy! | | | | | | | In case you missed it... | | | Last week on NXNW, Kung Jaadee joined guest host Jeremy Ratt in studio to talk about love, writing, and her new role as North Vancouver City Library's first Indigenous storyteller in residence.
On April 9, Kung Jaadee is holding a seniors' gathering at the North Vancouver City Library from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. On April 10, she'll be hosting Indigenous Storytelling: How the Squamish people came to be from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Registration for both events is available on the North Vancouver City Library website.
For more on Kung Jaadee, you can stream this interview via CBC Listen. | | | | | Thanks for listening! | Have comments or suggestions you'd like to share? Email us!
Jeremy Ratt, editor | | | | | |
