BOOKS: January/February 2016

FOOD
True North: Canadian Cooking from Coast to Coast
by Derek Dammann & Chris Johns, with foreword by Jamie Oliver

Derek Dammann, the culinary genius behind popular Montreal restaurants DNA and Maison Publique, and Canadian food writer Chris Johns have paired up to release True North: Canadian Cooking from Coast to Coast. A culinary coming-of-age story for both chef and country, True North draws on Dammann's regionally-inspired and seasonally driven nose-to-tail cooking style, using Canadian ingredients from across the country and blending them with Italian, British and Quebecois traditions. Through more than 100 recipes divided into chapters by regions like Farm, Vineyard, Pacific, Atlantic and more, we are drawn a broad picture of the people and places that help give our country its distinct flavour. In the chapter titled Pacific we are given recipes like Smoked Oysters, Potted Crab and Chinook on the Beach Haida Gwaii Style, while the Field chapter has us cooking dishes like Slow Roast Shoulder of Pig, Boudin Blanc with Sauerkraut and Ham Hock and Lamb Brain Profiteroles with Tartar Sauce.
$40; hapercollins.ca

Homegrown: Celebrating the Canadian Foods We Grow, Raise and Produce
by Mairlyn Smith, with recipes from the Ontario Home Economics Association

From the Pacific coastline to the shores of PEI, professional home economist Mairlyn Smith showcases Canada's diverse agriculture, demonstrating that Canada can be the key to any meal in Homegrown: Celebrating the Canadian Foods We Grow, Raise and Produce. With more than 175 recipes collected by Smith and members and students of the Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA), Homegrown celebrates Canadian ingenuity and the delicious foods we grow, produce and manufacture. Compiled alongside the recipes are nutritional information, a carb counter and humourous stories and sidebars from Smith and OHEA members. Homegrown gets to the heart of Canadian cuisine detailing what makes Canadian products unique and a mark of excellence.
$39.95; whitecap.ca

HOME & GARDEN
At Home in the Garden
by Carolyne Roehm

Lifestyle maven Caroylne Roehm takes us on the first-ever tour of her exquisite gardens in the lavish oversized volume At Home in the Garden. Viewing each of the gardens at her historic Connecticut home, Weatherstone, as outdoor living spaces, Roehm reveals her process for selecting the plants, flowers and layouts of her gardens and how she uses these spaces to entertain guests with gorgeous table settings and breathtaking arrangements. “It's as simple as this,” says Roehm. “A garden is like love”¦ a place you venture into with hope, energy, excitement, enchantment, and the greatest of expectations.”
$110; penguinrandomhouse.ca

150 Best Cottage and Cabin Ideas
by Francesc Zamora

Part of the highly successful 150 Best design series, 150 Best Cottage and Cabin Ideas showcases the latest in small house design from some of today's most distinguished international architects and designers. Through an extensive collection of cottages and cabins from around the world incorporating practical, innovative styling and solutions for a variety of design needs, this stunning compendium provides inspirational ideas for designing, building and decorating whether you're building a new home or renovating and redecorating an existing one. Available January 26.
$36.99; harpercollins.ca

TRAVEL
All the Buildings in London: That I've Drawn So Far
by James Gulliver Hancock

In the follow-up to his hugely popular All The Buildings in New York, artist and illustrator James Gulliver Hancock takes us through a charmingly illustrated tour of London, England with All the Buildings in London: That I've Drawn So Far. A love letter to the city, All the Buildings in London provides a snapshot of London's diverse architectural styles and streetscapes through Hancock's whimsically charming and unique drawings. Along with the stylish and eccentric everyday buildings are iconic buildings like St. Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace, modern landmarks such as the Shard and the London Eye, cultural institutions including the British Museum and Tate Modern and other notable attractions like Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the bridges and docks along the River Thames. Available February 16.
$19.95; rizzoliusa.com

FICTION
The Crooked Heart of Mercy
by Billie Livingston

A story of faith, family, love, forgiveness and the ability to survive unimaginable loss, The Crooked Heart of Mercy follows an indelible trio of characters opening on the first page with the limo driver, Ben. After losing his son, Ben finds himself in a psych ward with a hole in his head he can't explain. His wife, Maggie, the story's second narrator, finds herself locked up in her own grief, unable to reach out to her husband. And finally, we hear from Maggie's brother, Francis, an unlikely priest with a drinking problem and an occasional interest in celibacy, whose latest fall from the wagon has gone viral after being caught on film. Brave, funny and heartbreaking, The Crooked Heart of Mercy showcases the magic that can happen when people come together to heal each other's wounds.
$29.95; penguinrandomhouse.ca

The Widow
by Fiona Barton

There's a lot Jean Turner hasn't said over the years about the crime her husband was suspected of committing. Busy being the perfect wife and standing by her man, all while living with the accusing glares and anonymous harassment related to his supposed crime, the one lesson she learned was that she can make people believe anything. Now that her husband is dead, Jean has the chance to defend herself, to explain what she knew and when. For the reporter conducting the interview, it's the scoop of a lifetime. For the lead detective on the case, it's a chance to get the truth that has eluded him all these years. Brilliantly ominous, The Widow is a psychologically acute portrait of a marriage in crisis told through the voices of the wife of the lead suspect, the detective leading the hunt and the journalist reporting on the case. Available February 16.
$24; penguinrandomhouse.ca