I first read Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander in the 90’s when we were busy with kids. I distinctly remember dropping Boo (our youngest) off at her dance class and then finding a spot at a coffee shop near by. A mixture of snow and rain was falling outside and I don’t mean “falling” in a pretty snow globe way but dumping down. As a Mom I was always a nervous driver with my kids in the car and I was already worried about my drive home.

But for 45 minutes I didn’t think about another thing pertaining to my life-I was totally swept away by the story of Claire and Jamie. Fast forward 25 years and our eldest recommends that I catch an Outlander episode. She was quite certain that I would love the music score, the natural beauty of Scotland and the gorgeous cinematography and she was right-I was hooked at the opening credits.

Now it so happened that Sister #2 who is as avid reader as myself had just completed reading the final book of the Outlander series and loaned me a shopping bag full of 1400 page books. It took me an entire winter to move from book two to the final story that Diane Gabaldon had written (until that time that is).

So now I am addicted to the TV show and addicted to the novels! At the Christmas of that same winter said daughter gave me a cookbook for Christmas (it is her thing for me an I love it!). It of course was entitled Outlander Kitchen. I poured through the book like a work of fiction as Theresa Carle-Sanders had received permission form Diana to include excerpts from the first books. Each excerpt is connected to mention of a dish or a recipe, hence the delightful theme of the cookbook.

I must confess that I have actually not made any meal from the book. That is because I keep my recipe books close at hand in the kitchen and I had put Outlander Kitchen on an office shelf with other books that combine recipes and literature. Well as of today, Outlander Kitchen is migrating to the kitchen shelf. I look forward to sharing my successes with you in the future.

A postscript to all of this, I was at a Food Bloggers Canada conference and I heard on our final day together that Theresa was a fellow blogger and had attended the conference. I tried to no avail to find her because Outlander fans love to connect! Supposedly, I had missed her by thaaat much….. I reread her bio on the book fly leaf to find that she lives on Pender Island in BC- a place I have tried so hard to visit. I believe 2020 will be the year and in the mean time I look forward to reading her newly published Outlander Kitchen II: Journey to the New World and Back Again.

Theresa’s dedication in her first book reads thusly-

Kath’s quote:

To Howard, My Englishman.

You look and sound a lot like Frank,

but your heart, and love is pure Jamie.

Love never fails.

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