Homemade
We regularly publish recipe features that highlight the communities, traditions and flavours of this wonderfully diverse province. Submit your recipe to have your dish considered for a future story — recipes can be beloved family favourites or everyday staples.
Submit a Recipe Eva Wasney 8 minute read 5:05 PM CDT
Homemade is a series that celebrates home cooking in Manitoba. Find more stories, ideas and share your recipes at wfp.to/homemade
In today's Homemade Cooking School lesson, chef Mandy Wingert walks us through the basics of stocks and sauces — essential culinary components designed to enhance the flavour, moisture and texture of a dish.
'It's like the foundation of your house. If you don't have a good stock, you're going to be playing catch-up trying to make things taste better,' says Wingert, a culinary and baking instructor at Red River College Polytechnic.
Originally from Saskatchewan, she grew up in a family of cooks and knew from an early age she wanted to pursue a career in food. We try reader-submitted Jell-O recipes Eva Wasney 8 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 8 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 9, 2025
Saturday is Eat Your Jell-O Day. In honour of this gelatinous holiday, we've done just that. Read Wednesday, Jul. 9, 2025
EVA WASNEY / FREE PRESS
Clockwise from top left: Broken glass torte, spring parfait salad, orange jellied salad, tomato aspic. Salads add colour, texture, freshness and acidity to any dinner table Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025
Unlike most of The Simpsons clan, I'm of the opinion that you can, in fact, win friends with salad. And not because of their purported 'health benefits.' Read Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Alison's Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Mango Chutney recipe in Winnipeg on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. For Eva Wasney cookbook.
Winnipeg Free Press 2022. Cutting edge tips: Learn kitchen knife skills in our new monthly cooking feature Eva Wasney 7 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 7 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2025
Welcome to the first class of Homemade: Cooking School, a new Free Press series featuring in-depth cooking tutorials from professional local chefs. Read Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2025
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Terry Gereta demonstrates knife skills at RRC Polytech on Monday. He says a sharp knife is a safe knife, as a dull knife may move while cutting. Turn on that barbecue and get grilling: Barbecue Lean Pork, Gale's Barbecue Trout and Auntie Shirley Potatoes Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 27, 2025
Make the most of grilling season with reader recipes for Barbecue Lean Pork from Anita Lee, Gale's Barbecue Trout from Gale Petreny and Auntie Shirley Potatoes from Patti Mersereau-LeBlanc. Read Tuesday, May. 27, 2025
Freepik
Adding lemon to barbecued trout is never a bad idea. Spring flings: Use seasonal produce in go-to faves asparagus soup, spinach salad, rhubarb pie Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 13, 2025
This week, Homemade features cream of asparagus soup from Rae Carpenter, spinach salad from Vi Scherbak and rhubarb crunch pie from Velma Scott. Read Tuesday, May. 13, 2025
RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files
Rae Carpenter makes cream of asparagus soup every year when the snow is finally gone. Expand those Easter baskets Eva Wasney 7 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 7 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025
Add some home-baked Easter treats to this weekend's cache of chocolate eggs and marshmallow chicks.
This week, we have some sweet, sentimental reader recipes for Dolly's Easiest and Yummiest Sugar Cookies from Dolly Kuzyk, Babka from Shirley Kalyniuk and Daffodil Cake from Karen Stepaniuk.
Want to share a recipe? Visit Homemade to fill out the submission form.
eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com Read Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025
EVA WASNEY PHOTO
Dolly Kuzyk's sugar cookie recipe can be decorated to suit the occasion. Stir things up with these creamy crowd-pleasers: Cowboy Caviar, Cucumber Chip Dip, Hot Hamburger/Bean Dip Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025
Due to the recent 'dip' in temperature, this week's Homemade is an homage to, you guessed it, dips. Read Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS files
Leslie Pitchford's Cowboy Caviar recipe is home on the range.
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Winnipeg Free Press
20 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Homemade
Welcome to Homemade, a Winnipeg Free Press project celebrating home cooking in Manitoba. We regularly publish recipe features that highlight the communities, traditions and flavours of this wonderfully diverse province. Submit your recipe to have your dish considered for a future story — recipes can be beloved family favourites or everyday staples. Submit a Recipe Eva Wasney 8 minute read 5:05 PM CDT Homemade is a series that celebrates home cooking in Manitoba. Find more stories, ideas and share your recipes at In today's Homemade Cooking School lesson, chef Mandy Wingert walks us through the basics of stocks and sauces — essential culinary components designed to enhance the flavour, moisture and texture of a dish. 'It's like the foundation of your house. If you don't have a good stock, you're going to be playing catch-up trying to make things taste better,' says Wingert, a culinary and baking instructor at Red River College Polytechnic. Originally from Saskatchewan, she grew up in a family of cooks and knew from an early age she wanted to pursue a career in food. We try reader-submitted Jell-O recipes Eva Wasney 8 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 8 minute read Wednesday, Jul. 9, 2025 Saturday is Eat Your Jell-O Day. In honour of this gelatinous holiday, we've done just that. Read Wednesday, Jul. 9, 2025 EVA WASNEY / FREE PRESS Clockwise from top left: Broken glass torte, spring parfait salad, orange jellied salad, tomato aspic. Salads add colour, texture, freshness and acidity to any dinner table Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025 Unlike most of The Simpsons clan, I'm of the opinion that you can, in fact, win friends with salad. And not because of their purported 'health benefits.' Read Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Alison's Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Mango Chutney recipe in Winnipeg on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. For Eva Wasney cookbook. Winnipeg Free Press 2022. Cutting edge tips: Learn kitchen knife skills in our new monthly cooking feature Eva Wasney 7 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 7 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2025 Welcome to the first class of Homemade: Cooking School, a new Free Press series featuring in-depth cooking tutorials from professional local chefs. Read Wednesday, Jun. 11, 2025 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Terry Gereta demonstrates knife skills at RRC Polytech on Monday. He says a sharp knife is a safe knife, as a dull knife may move while cutting. Turn on that barbecue and get grilling: Barbecue Lean Pork, Gale's Barbecue Trout and Auntie Shirley Potatoes Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 27, 2025 Make the most of grilling season with reader recipes for Barbecue Lean Pork from Anita Lee, Gale's Barbecue Trout from Gale Petreny and Auntie Shirley Potatoes from Patti Mersereau-LeBlanc. Read Tuesday, May. 27, 2025 Freepik Adding lemon to barbecued trout is never a bad idea. Spring flings: Use seasonal produce in go-to faves asparagus soup, spinach salad, rhubarb pie Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Tuesday, May. 13, 2025 This week, Homemade features cream of asparagus soup from Rae Carpenter, spinach salad from Vi Scherbak and rhubarb crunch pie from Velma Scott. Read Tuesday, May. 13, 2025 RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Rae Carpenter makes cream of asparagus soup every year when the snow is finally gone. Expand those Easter baskets Eva Wasney 7 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 7 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025 Add some home-baked Easter treats to this weekend's cache of chocolate eggs and marshmallow chicks. This week, we have some sweet, sentimental reader recipes for Dolly's Easiest and Yummiest Sugar Cookies from Dolly Kuzyk, Babka from Shirley Kalyniuk and Daffodil Cake from Karen Stepaniuk. Want to share a recipe? Visit Homemade to fill out the submission form. Read Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2025 EVA WASNEY PHOTO Dolly Kuzyk's sugar cookie recipe can be decorated to suit the occasion. Stir things up with these creamy crowd-pleasers: Cowboy Caviar, Cucumber Chip Dip, Hot Hamburger/Bean Dip Eva Wasney 4 minute read Preview Eva Wasney 4 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025 Due to the recent 'dip' in temperature, this week's Homemade is an homage to, you guessed it, dips. Read Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025 RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS files Leslie Pitchford's Cowboy Caviar recipe is home on the range.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Stocking up
In today's Homemade Cooking School lesson, chef Mandy Wingert walks us through the basics of stocks and sauces — essential culinary components designed to enhance the flavour, moisture and texture of a dish. 'It's like the foundation of your house. If you don't have a good stock, you're going to be playing catch-up trying to make things taste better,' says Wingert, a culinary and baking instructor at Red River College Polytechnic. Originally from Saskatchewan, she grew up in a family of cooks and knew from an early age she wanted to pursue a career in food. Wingert moved to Prince Edward Island to complete her Red Seal training in cooking and baking at the Culinary Institute of Canada at Holland College, where she competed in the Culinary Olympics. She worked at the Fat Duck, a three-Michelin Star restaurant in England, and elsewhere in the Maritimes before joining RRC Polytech's faculty in January 2024. It's been a varied and flavourful career — just like a good sauce. Stocks and broths MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Chef and Red River College Polytech instructor Mandy Wingert. While stock and broth are both made from a long-simmered combination of water, vegetables and, often, animal products, these foundational liquids are siblings not synonyms. Stock: Liquid made from bones and vegetables Broth: Liquid made from meat and vegetables Both liquids can be used interchangeably as the base for soups and sauces, but broth tends to be a more expensive ingredient owing to the meat component. Making broth or stock is a good way to reduce food waste in the kitchen. Keep bones and vegetable scraps in the freezer for later use. 'You're taking a leftover or something you wouldn't otherwise use and making a usable product out of it, but stock is also not a compost bin,' Wingert says. Avoid using vegetables that will make your stock cloudy, such as peppers, or bitter, such as leafy greens. Carrots, celery and onions (a mixture that, when diced, is also known as mirepoix) are standard additions, along with herbs and other aromatics. Tip: Roast the bones in the oven first for a darker stock with a richer flavour — a great base for gravy. Add everything to a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and let it simmer for three to four hours. Skim frequently to remove the impurities released by the bones during cooking, which will make for a nice clear stock. The final result should be thick and jiggly when cooled. 'A good stock will set up like Jell-O,' Wingert says. Stock and broth can be frozen in small containers or ice cube trays and added to dishes or sauces as needed. Sauces MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Different thickening agents used in sauces include (counter-clockwise from left) white roux, blond roux, brown roux and beurre manié. In classical French cooking, there are five 'Mother Sauces' on which all other sauces are based. Most start with a roux, a thickening agent made with equal parts flour and fat (butter, oil or animal fat) cooked until the desired colour is achieved. Béchamel: A thick cream sauce made from white roux and milk Velouté: A light creamy sauce made from blond roux and light stock Espagnole: A rich, dark brown sauce made from brown roux and dark stock Tomato: A tomato sauce made from roux and stock Hollandaise: A creamy sauce made from emulsified butter and egg yolks To make a white roux, heat the fat in a saucepan over medium-low heat and add flour, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth, pale and beginning to smell nutty. Continue cooking (and stirring) for a blond or brown roux, each of which has progressively more colour and flavour. Liquid is then slowly added to the roux to form a sauce. 'If I add it all at once, it's going to lump together, so I have to build it in steps so that it slowly heats up,' Wingert says. Cornstarch is a gluten-free option for thickening sauces, but it must be added correctly. First, make a slurry by stirring cold water into cornstarch. Then, add the slurry to a hot, simmering sauce towards the end of cooking. A beurre manié — a paste made of equal parts soft butter and flour — can make sauces thick and glossy. Stick the paste in the middle of a whisk and stir it into a nearly finished sauce or soup, Wingert says. Liquid ingredients can also be reduced by simmering until most of the water has evaporated to create a sauce with a more concentrated flavour. Sauces are generally made separately and added to a dish before serving, but can also be made from braising liquids or pan drippings, as is often the case with gravy. Just add a thickening agent, such as flour, stock and desired seasonings. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Egg yolks act as an emulsifier in mayonnaise. Mayonnaise 2 egg yolks 7.5 ml (1 1/2 tsp) white vinegar 7.5 ml (1 1/2 tsp) water 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) salt 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) dry mustard Pinch cayenne 425 ml (1 3/4 cups) neutral oil 5 ml (1 tsp) lemon juice Whisk the egg yolks and dry mustard for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix vinegar and water together and add 5 ml (1 tsp) to the egg yolks. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking as the mixture begins to emulsify and thicken. Continue to whisk while adding the remaining vinegar and water, cayenne, lemon juice and salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. — Mandy Wingert More on emulsification Many sauces rely on emulsification: the near-magical process of combining two ingredients that don't naturally mix, such as oil and water, to create a stable solution. Emulsifications need emulsifying ingredients to form a bond. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Add oil slowly while whisking to make an emulsion. Common emulsifiers include egg yolks, butter, mustard and honey — all of which contain particles with an equal attraction to fat and water, thus helping hold everything in suspension together. Most salad dressings and vinaigrettes are temporary emulsions that separate over time, but can be reconstituted by shaking or mixing. Thicker sauces, such as mayonnaise, are more permanent emulsions. 'Mayonnaise is basically like a cold hollandaise sauce,' Wingert says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Mayonnaise is an example of a permanent emulsion. To make mayonnaise, oil is slowly added to egg yolks and other ingredients while whisking vigorously (visit to watch a video of Wingert demonstrating the process). 'If I dumped all the oil in at the same time, it's just going to split. With all emulsifications, salad dressings, anything, you have to very slowly add your oil,' she says. If your mayo or hollandaise does split, add another egg yolk and continue whisking. Mayonnaise can be used on its own or as an emulsifier for other dressings and dips. It's also the base for aioli, which is made from mayo, garlic, lemon juice and whatever other ingredients strike your fancy. Tools and tips To make stock or broth, you'll need a large pot, a spoon for skimming and a strainer to separate the cooked liquid from the bones and veg. Use a shallow pan or pot, depending on the quantity of sauce you're making. Whisks or whips, as they're sometimes called, come in many shapes and sizes. Piano whisks with thin wires and a bulbous head are the most versatile; while French whisks have thicker wires and a narrower profile, making them useful for thicker sauces. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Dish Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. If hand-whisking, wrap a damp towel around the bottom of your bowl to keep it steady on the counter. A food processor can be used to create emulsions; drizzle oil slowly through the opening in the lid while the machine is running. Working slowly and steadily is the key to making top-notch stocks and sauces, as is building in flavour. 'Don't rush your sauce. If you want a good sauce, use a stock — and there's nothing wrong with using stock from the grocery store,' Wingert says. In next month's Homemade Cooking School, we discuss everything eggs. Eva Wasney Reporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Encampments and personal responsibilities
Opinion Some parts of Winnipeg have a noxious problem on their hands. Among behaviours by the residents of homeless encampments causing consternation among other Winnipeggers near the sites, the act of burning cable and wires in order to cash in on the metallic components is, literally, a toxic one. It's a problem firefighters have had to contend with, and one local authorities seem ill-equipped to address. Wire burning poses serious short-term and long-term health risks; the burning wires release carcinogens into the atmosphere and those exposed are at a higher risk of developing cancer. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS An encampment on the bank of the Red River along the North Winnipeg Parkway Winnipegger Howard Warren told the Free Press he has asked residents of an encampment near his home to cease burning wires, but says his requests have been rebuffed. Warren pointed out that, were he to do the same in his own yard, his neighbours would likely complain and he may face penalties under the law. He's right, and the double-standard reveals a major problem, one with which those sympathetic to the encampments will have to contend. In late June, this paper shed light on an element of encampment life which put to the test the common stereotype that residents of homeless encampments are there because they have no other choice. Some residents, the June 25 story revealed, prefer to live in encampments. 'These are the people I trust, instead of somebody I don't trust or don't know,' one encampment resident, identified as Joseph, told the Free Press. He was unimpressed by provincial plans to end homelessness by 2031. 'And why? We don't have to pay rent. Why would I pay $600 for someone to tell me how to live when I could pay nothing and live how I want to live?' It's a whimsical notion, and one easy to be sympathetic to. Modern life is fraught with high costs and irritating obligations. And some people are not well-equipped or inclined to take part in the 21st-century rat-race. So let's indulge that thought for just a moment, that encampments in the city could be treated as permanent settlements for those who are not calibrated to the 'ordinary,' way of living. And let's narrow the focus to those who do have the choice, and not those who live in encampments because mental health issues or addictions leave them little choice. What does this idealized arrangement demand of everybody involved? Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Without wanting to besmirch the character of the aforementioned Joseph, let's zoom in on one comment he made: why should he want to pay rent 'for someone to tell me how to live…?' That's the sticking point, here: for all the talk among some encampment residents and their advocates about how the encampments provide protective, tight-knit communities for their residents, there is a distinct antisocial streak within them, one which makes the encampments dangerous and antagonistic to the rest of the city around them. Even in a world without all of the expectations which come with modern living, there is still such a thing as the social contract — a set of expectations placed on the individual which, while varying between cultures, is a fact of life across human civilization. In the distant past, one might have been free to pitch one's tent wherever worked, but there remained a social requirement to behave in a way that was not burdensome or dangerous to everyone else. While encampments may be a preferred way of life for some, they cannot and should not be a way to opt out entirely from the social contract. Encampments are not going to be a sustainable reality for the people living in them if their establishment is followed by trash littering the area, unsafe and toxic fires burning through the night, and other disruptive or criminal activities. Some people may be willing to look at those choosing the encampment life and say 'live and let live,' — but it's not going to happen if encampment residents can't figure out how to be better neighbours.
