Tunes and Wooden Spoons: Love Without Measure

In 2020, Mary Janet MacDonald took the Internet by storm with her Facebook group, Tunes and Wooden Spoons. In 2021, her first book Tunes and Wooden Spoons: Recipes from a Cape Breton Kitchen, became a national bestseller. Margie MacDonald is a photographer, math teacher, and an adventure seeker. Her photography captures the essence of places, the spirit of people, and, in this book, the beauty found in her Mom’s kitchen and beyond.

Mary Janet is back, but this time she takes you inside other grandmothers’ kitchens. These are grandmothers who are not only the backbone of their families but often of their communities, contributing in untold and unsung ways.

Come meet a Dutch immigrant grandmother who landed in Cape Breton with her family after the war to start a new life, or a Mi’kmaq grandmother who faced down discrimination and knew the way to change hearts was through education and determination, or an Acadian grandmother who saw her father go to work at the gypsum plant while her mother tended to the farm.

Tunes and Wooden Spoons: Love Without Measure is a tribute to these strong Cape Breton women. More than that, it is a tribute to strong women everywhere. And you know if Mary Janet is in the kitchen, there will always be music and laughter.

Five questions with our authors

1. The first book was very popular so why did you decide to do a follow up book this year?

Besides wanting to share some other recipes from family and friends, I believed it would be a great opportunity to pay tribute to some very special ladies who were the backbone of their families.

2. What makes this book different from the first one?

The first book focused mostly on recipes that I absolutely love to make for my family and friends plus gave me an opportunity to share my family story and my culture with everyone. This book, Love Without Measure, shares many recipes from family, cousins, and friends, and of course, gave a chance for me to shed light on some wonderful women — some I already knew or are related to, but some I’ve come to know throughout this journey of “Tunes and Wooden Spoons.”

3. It is often said that one of the best ways to understand the culture of any place is through its food. What can the recipes in Love Without Measure teach us about Cape Breton?

Cape Breton hospitality is something many visitors can relate to. We love to say, “Come on in, have a seat at the table, and let me put the teapot on!” We want people to feel at home and enjoy their stay. The recipes in this book are just that — comfort food — and we want everyone to bake any of the recipes and share with their families and friends, and listen to their favourite musical artist.

4. How did you choose the 12 women featured in Love Without Measure?

I wanted to try and focus on ladies from most of the communities along the western side of Cape Breton Island, including representatives of the Gaelic, Dutch, Mi’kmaq, and French Acadian cultures. I also wanted them to be those mostly in their eighties and nineties with lots of life experiences.

5. Do you have a favourite recipe in this book?

Each and every recipe in the book is connected to me in some way, but I’m so happy to include one recipe from my late mother who passed away in 1955 at the age of 37. I found her recipe for Lemon Crumble Squares and I love that even though she’s been gone for so many years, that she will live on in this recipe book.

Mary Janet MacDonald and Margie MacDonald

NOURISH YOUR LOVED ONES

When I got married in 2002 to Donnell Leahy, my aunt Mary Janet put together a cookbook for me filled with her favourite recipes and those of my family and extended family. I have used that cookbook almost every day since. It surely is a great example of love without measure!

Natalie MacMaster Juno Award-winning Cape Breton-born fiddler

TREASURE TROVE

I used to believe the most important thing in life was to be loved. Now I understand the real secret is to be LOVE! Mary Janet MacDonald and the fabulous women in this book have that figured out…and they can cook! What looks like a cookbook, is actually a treasure trove that holds the ingredients to a rich and happy life.

Nancy Regan TV personality and author

A MUST-HAVE BOOK

Wonderful food, beautifully written stories and stunning photography make this a must for all lovers of Cape Breton culture. “Love without Measure” is not only a motto, but also underlines just how much food has united families through the years.

Coinneach MacLeod better known as The Hebridean Baker

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