A Culinary Journey Through Time
December 11th, 2024
Ann-Lee (at right) and Gordon Switzer met in a poetry class and fell in love over a dish of eggplant parmigiane, and cooking became a central part of their lives. Living on their West Coast homestead, Heronland, they grew their own vegetables and embraced a “semi-vegetarian” diet, drawing culinary inspiration from global cuisines long before fusion cooking became trendy. Seasonal eating was a core principle, with dishes like tomato quiche in summer and pumpkin-based meals in winter.
Their creative and diverse recipes often impressed friends and family, who encouraged them to write a cookbook. Over the years, they compiled their favorite recipes, evolving from typewritten notes to computer drafts, continually revising and expanding the collection, which is now published as Full of Life: Eating with the Cycle of the Seasons (Ti-Jean Press $35.00). The book shares vegetarian-forward recipes that are easy to follow, highlighted under basic meal categories such as breakfast, salad, soup, desserts and drinks.
Here is an excerpt from the book regarding a Swiss Scalloped Potatoes recipe.
Ann-Lee and Gordon Switzer
I grew up in a family where my father had a narrow set of foods he liked. Potatoes, it seemed, were his choice at least every other day. I remember very early on developing a dislike for potatoes in any form, even french fried! There was something bland and mushy about them that did not endear them to me. I pestered my mother: couldn’t she find some other way to prepare them?
I even found a cookbook containing 100 potato recipes, but she claimed Irwin would refuse any that were not boiled, mashed or baked. Looking over the 100 offerings, however, she did agree to try one of them, “Swiss Scalloped Potatoes”. Surprisingly the whole family, including my father, relished these dressed-up potatoes – and we had them often.
2½ cups sliced potatoes (2-3 potatoes)
4 Tbs. soft butter
3 Tbs. flour
1 cup milk
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dried thyme and ground white pepper
- Wash and peel potatoes; cut into 1/8″ thick slices.
- Parboil the slices: bring to a boil in water to cover, cooking about 8 minutes – just enough to remove starchiness. Rinse quickly in cold water and pat dry on a tea-towel.
- Make cheese sauce: Melt 3 Tbs. butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour until blended, then add slowly 1 cup milk. When the sauce is smooth, reduce heat and stir in 3/4 cup of the grated Gruyère cheese; season with the dry mustard. Cover with a lid and set aside.
- Generously butter a glass casserole 5¼” x 8¼” baking dish; set aside.
- In the baking dish, overlap the potato slices in a scallop pattern. Sprinkle each layer with the thyme and a little freshly ground pepper. Pour 1/3 of the cheese sauce over each layer and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the rest of the grated Gruyère cheese (1/4 cup) on top.
Bake the dish in a moderately hot over (350°F) until the potatoes are just tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
A watercolour painting of the stable view from the garden of Ann-Lee and Gordon Switzer’s homestead in Heronland.
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