Mary Janet MacDonald: Come In, The Kettle's On!

In this episode of A Chat with Heart, Christina chats with the wonderful Mary Janet McDonald - Cape Breton baking legend, storyteller, and all-around gem. They talk about the joy of cooking, the pull of community, and the family traditions that shape us. Mary shares memories of growing up in Cape Breton, the warmth of maritime hospitality, and how her cookbooks honour the grandmothers and recipes that keep our histories alive.

They also get into the fun stuff - her iconic red lipstick, our favourite comfort dishes, the power of a good apron, and all the little things that make time in the kitchen feel like home. It’s a cozy, creative conversation filled with gratitude, laughter, and love for the people (and food!) that bring us together.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to A Chat with Heart
• 1:24 Holiday Buzz and New Music
• 5:58 Welcoming Mary Janet McDonald
• 6:55 The Role of Music in Community
• 15:34 Cape Breton's Hospitality and Kindness
• 17:15 Celebrating Grandmothers and Community Recipes
• 21:43 he Legacy of Cookbooks and Storytelling
• 26:34 Connections Through Creativity
• 31:42 Lipstick Connections and Personal Stories
• 37:39 The Versatility of Aprons
• 46:24 Unconventional Food Loves
• 49:10 Expressions of Love and Gratitude

Transcript

Christina (00:00.206)

Hey, you're listening to A Chat with Heart. I'm your host, Christina Martin. I'm a singer-songwriter, curious human. I live on a dirt road in rural Nova Scotia with my partner in crime, Dale, and our Calico cat, Olivia. This podcast is basically just me chatting with people I admire. I like to ask questions that feed my curiosity, and my guests have all taught me something. They either crack me up or they punch me right in the feels.

If you've got questions, comments, or a burning desire to join the conversation, please call my heartbeat hotline, day or night. It's 1902-669-4769. You can also email me at christinamartinmusicatgmail.com. And if you want to throw a little love my way and help keep this thing going, visit my Patreon page. That's how artists like me get paid. Thanks for showing up. Warning, heartfelt content ahead.

If we just talk about it We could shut away, we could break a new day If we just talk about it We could cut away, we could make a better day

Christina (01:24.494)
Hello, my little heartbeat listeners. Christina Martin here and I'm feeling the holiday buzz already. Quick update before we dive in. We've got a Christmas house concert coming up December 6th with the wonderful folk trio, Preeper Ray McKay, also known as Bill, Jessica and Sandy, our dear friends in New Brunswick. So we've announced that.

Now, December 6th, tickets are on sale. You can find them on my website or Jessica Ray's website. And it's going to be a fun one. It's going to be a fun house concert at the Tufts House. Tufts, Tufts House. Say that. Try it. And okay, another update. I am filming a music video for my brand new holiday single. That's right, folks.

It's called Sex, Drugs and Christmas Time. It's out right now, wherever you stream music. And the video should be ready in December. The video is going to be ridiculous and fun. There's a lot of people involved. Some of you may or may not know this about me, but I do not, do not, did not. I did not like the holiday season. I still have moments with it where I'm like, why is this happening? Why do we bother?

But mostly I've learned to make new traditions and hold on to like the really great memories I have. I have a lot from the holiday season growing up with my family and I've written songs about it. I've now five holiday songs out there on YouTube and all the streaming sites that we've been slow releasing because it's certainly taken me a long time to write five Christmas songs.

But I'm really actually, know pride's a sin, but I am proud of these particular songs. think because of it, for me personally, it was a way for me to get over my not loving of this holiday season. It can be a tough time for a lot of people, but I'm stoked. I'm stoked to decorate with my mom and my husband and stoked to spend time with the family over Christmas.

Christina (03:47.118)
and have some good laughs. Okay, my guest today, what a gem. I've been so looking forward to this chat. Mary Janet McDonald is the beloved Cape Breton baker behind Toons and Wooden Spoons, which is a wholesome baking show that's gathered over 80,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok with millions of views. She's 73 years young and proving that joy connection

and creativity never have an expiry date. She's also a best-selling author with three cookbooks that celebrate food, family, and community. So the first one was called Recipes from a Cape Breton Kitchen in 2021. Love Without Measure came in 2022. And now her third and final cookbook, Come In the Kettle's On, which she co-wrote and created with her daughter, Margie McDonald, who also did all the photography. So...

You got to check out ToonsAndWoodenSpoons.com. That's Mary Janet's website for recipes, tutorials and info on where to buy her books. You can also find her on Facebook and YouTube and you'll be instantly welcomed into her kitchen. and for fans of Nancy Regan, who is a guest on this podcast, and she has a wonderful book out. She's the author of Showing Up.

And now she has a show called Showing Up with Nancy Regan. You might have seen Mary Janet there too. The show airs Wednesdays at 8.30pm on Eastlink and reruns up on Eastlink's YouTube channel. Go check it out. It's a beautiful show and I love and I'm so proud of what Nancy's doing, shining a light on so many incredible Atlantic Canadian human beings who are showing up in their lives and communities.

All right, grab a cup of tea, maybe a biscuit if you have one, and let's dive into this heartwarming and totally fun chat with the one and only Mary Janet McDonald.

Mary Janet (05:58.094)
Christina, how are you?

my goodness, I'm so good and I feel like I know so much about you but you know nothing about me and I hope that's okay for you.

I hope that aisle will be an interesting topic.

Oh, you absolutely are. Hey, look what I have with me on my desk. Book one. Oh, Book one is...

Yeah, you have book one in your book.

Christina (06:24.814)
Recipes from a Cape Breton kitchen, right? Okay. And I have book two, which is Love Without Measure. And guess what's coming today? And I thought it might arrive before I chatted with you, but your new book, your new book, come in, the kettle's on. And so I can't wait to get it. But listen, I have a question for you. We're already recording. Welcome to a Chat with Heart podcast.

sure.

Mary Janet (06:55.118)
so wonderful. actually, I was actually scrolling last night just checking it out and I saw Rankin McGuinness on there and I said oh they did Rankin if I may. 2000 to 2002 I was manager of a performing arts studio or a center in Mabu called Strathspey Place and one of my duties was it's inside the school and Mabu Dalbury Academy.

And actually, I wanted to get a group of students, an entertainment group. So I said, I'll get 10 and do a cultural group, right? With Fiddler, because there was lots of young people there that were of all of that, you know, little one was Fiddler, one was piano player, one was a Gaelic singer. And my son was also singing in it. And, and

They were just a wonderful group, but we needed a piper. And Rankin was not yet at Dalbury Academy because it was a 9 to 12. And he was at our elementary school. He was in grade 8, and I think he was in grade 8. And so we got permission for him to join the group. So we had a wonderful two years, and we went to Scotland and entertained. And so I was just so proud of what he is doing.

I loved your interview with him.

Well, he is a gem and I can tell you that first of all, now I want to have him back on to ask him strictly about his experience with you. That's so much fun. But it's so cool and makes sense that you're a part of his upbringing really and his evolution as a musician. And some of the most iconic performances that I've ever been blessed with being able to, you know, being invited to do were

Christina (08:52.406)
Rankin was involved or he was behind it. I met him at Big Shiny Tunes event in Halifax and then he invited me to do one of his warmers and it was such a, as a performer, was such a liberating, fun, kind of like the opportunity. You know, when someone invites you to just have fun and do your thing and it's no stress on you. It's like they're taking care of all that in there. And it was such a joy.

And the people he surrounds himself with are very much great energy. They have the kind of work ethic that it's like all hands on deck. It's not like no one's kind of like, well, I'm not going to do that. That's not my responsibility. then he invited me to perform as part of the Blueberry Jam Festival, which I'm sure you are familiar with.

Yes, very familiar with. Actually, my daughter was looking after some of the artists. Margie was her name. I don't know if she was there when you were there. The setting is so beautiful there and it's rustic and it's just home. It's great.

Well, it's literally home for you. have listened and watched, I watched your, your shows with Nancy Reagan. How did music become, become a part of the show online and then the book?

Right? Well, it just kind of, from the very first show, you know, that happened because my daughter was alone in her condo in Alberta, right? But I said, okay, what can I do? We love, we always have music on and our children are very musical and I, you know, my husband's...

Mary Janet (10:38.008)
country music fan and I'm the Scottish side so they got a good mix of all of that growing up because there was seven of them and so many times when they were small like that instead of us going out to party you know when they were younger we always brought people in and so they were surrounded by music in our home.

and you know didn't matter what the age was if they went to bed or they didn't go to bed and you could sit on the stairs and just enjoy and that's how that part of music evolved and as for me as a child music was very much a part of our culture and and I grew up in Mabu I live in Port Hood now just 10 kilometers away from my home but in Mabu that that that was a big part of my my upbringing

I was raised by my grand aunt because my mother had passed. And they were a home. They always had a tape recorder, a reel-to-reel tape recorder. And they would have sessions at the house. And everything kind of food and music just was just such a part of what we did in the homes. It wasn't a mall to go to. There wasn't big places to...

Thanks.

go to movies, couldn't do any of that. You made your own good time and you were surrounded by going to homes for little gatherings. We call them Kayle's many times, or a party and that was how that's been our life up to that point and Toons and Wins Boons. So what happened there was I just happened to get my nieces Natalie McMaster and

Mary Janet (12:27.784)
She had just done a CD called Sketches and it was out on the table. I still have a CD player.

Hey, I'm going send you some. I love it. You're an anomaly. I don't even have a CD player. That's amazing. my gosh.

but in my cartoon it's

Mary Janet (12:46.936)
But I'm telling you, it's worth it. have a Rubbermaid bin full of my music and Cecil's music is in another. But so anyway, that was that's the norm. So on that day, my son Mitchell, who at the time, did you know that Mitchell used to be and was in Canadian Idol back in 2008?

did not know that and I didn't have a television so I probably wasn't up to speed but that's pretty fantastic!

Yeah, and Mitchell was worried on that very first show. Mitchell was concerned. He lived a few doors down at the time. What are you gonna do when you put the stuff in the oven, right? No, no, no, I'll play it Natalie's CD or something and I'll talk because I like to talk. So that just kind of happened. So the tunes part of all of that, my granddaughter Anna, who was like...

yeah.

Mary Janet (13:41.102)
15 at the time was making the cinnamon rolls on that first day with our son her father at up in Halifax and I don't know if I had a wooden spoon out I don't remember that but she just said. Grandma should call do this show and call it tunes and wooden spoons and seriously when it when it came to pass after that for show that okay.

You can't be inundated on your personal Facebook page and continue. You have to continue at least another couple of shows. And so we just created a Facebook page and the kids, we got the website up and said, OK, this is something for us to do and pass the time. so music became part of the show because music, love, food, people gathering.

Yeah.

Mary Janet (14:35.95)
It's just around the kitchen table. It's what brings us together.

sure. was going to ask you about how growing up in Cape Breton shaped the way you see like hospitality and kindness, but in everything you're talking about, when you talk about your family and how you grew up, like it just become, it feels so evident to me why you are the kind of person that you are. I remember reading about why that might be, why are we so warm and reading something about like how times can get so hard in the winters and

with the changing of the seasons and also certain communities and having a lot of money and that we almost have no choice but to kind of be the kind of people that are able to connect and help our neighbors out and laugh sometimes about how ridiculous and hard things can be. do you think that's part of the evolution of why maritime are the way they are?

absolutely agree with everything you just said there. The place where you live, we're so proud of the Maritimes and the beauty that we have here and we want everybody else to love it. And yes, the winters, it's like you're so busy in the summertime and there's so many things to do and there's people visiting and people are coming home from away. And then you come into the winter and you can't almost

Hibernate and and what do you do you have people over just you know to pass the time and I? Think it's pride of place In many ways and you want people to come and visit I really believe that and you want them to feel at home and welcomed and this particular year I don't know if anybody else felt this or wanted this but

Mary Janet (16:30.74)
I especially wanted our visitors to feel welcome to Canada if they were from visiting outside. Because there's lots of turmoil going on in the world and whatever and this is a beautiful and safe place and we want people to feel at home and that they want to come back.

And I love that about you that you're one of those key people now celebrating and putting that out there. As I understand with the new book, which is going to be delivered to my door today, it is a compilation of recipes that are not only your recipes, they're other grandmothers and are there some grandfathers in there as well?

There are two grandfathers that kind of happened by accident. I never really thought about that. when I posted the invitation for nominations for grandmas, there was a comment by George Muse from Glees Bay. And what about grandpas? He said, not knowing if he was a cook, but it was odd to find a man commenting, which was wonderful. So I private messaged him and I said, okay.

Do you cook? Well, and he answered yes. And I said, well, I'd love to make you one of the special grandpas on the show and are on in the book. Well, he reluctantly agreed eventually, but he's a dynamic cook. So we picked a good fellow there. And so I picked another gentleman that I knew years ago when I had first started, he was a constant follower. Jim Evans is in the new book and he dressed up like me.

at Halloween, had my apron, had a wig, had the red lipstick and a wooden spoon and sent me a picture. So I said, OK, here's my number two. It was just that this final book in the trilogy was just such a. It just it gives you the warmth of the Maritimes and.

Christina (18:29.792)
Amazing.

Mary Janet (18:43.342)
how welcoming everyone was. They met us outside the door in 99 % of the houses. They met us outside the door, which is how the title came about. Come in. They came in and the kettle's on or the tea is on. They kept saying, and I was saying, this is so wonderful. We did eight grandmas in New Brunswick. And it was just really, really nice. And PEI and of course Nova Scotia.

What was nice about it was being able to do the trip with my daughter, Margie. And two, know, the two of us driving all over the Maritimes and just having that time together. And she does such wonderful photography, as you'll see when you get the book. She did it in the second book too, but she was really getting into the food photography thing for the third book. So that was lovely.

She's my co-author. So yeah, it's been a wonderful experience for sure.

These cookbooks, I think they're precious. I'm going to share them with my mother and I know she'll appreciate them. what I really love about them too is the storytelling. We have a lot of cookbooks, but you you don't always get to really dive into the person's life. It typically is just about the recipes and there's a little introduction, but you really dive in and it is beautiful. like with, you know, as a musician, I can say one of the cool things about, you know, writing.

and performing and recording music is that there is that idea that even after I'm gone, somebody could still be listening to my music. you have that with this. is that carrying on and that preservation of history, culture, also the positive energy, the vibrating, I guess, through this sharing of such a beautiful, loving thing.

Mary Janet (20:44.204)
Thank you, thank you. just, one thing I'm very, I'm very proud of. Number one, the first book was okay, that really for me was for my children and my grandchildren and their memory, my memory will live on with them. And that also with the second book, those 12 wonderful women.

I had such a good memory with all of them. And then the maritime book. It's a gift to those women's family long after they're gone. And some of those very special people are actually gone already. A couple from the Love Without Measure book. especially in the new book, One Lady That Was 100, she passed on. But I want to go back. I want to tell you a story.

In the second book, there was a lady in there, Jessie Tompkins. Jessie Tompkins, at the time when I interviewed her, I'm thinking she was like 96 or something like that. She lived in with the Marguerite's and way, way, on a back road. And she lived without power. She never had power. And she had a wood stove in her

in her basement and her son came every morning in the winter and started the fire. And then she went down every day and kept it stoked and loaded up and whatever. she said, don't power. But her son eventually got, what do call that? A generator, know, when they needed something like that. And she had a wood stove and

And I said, what happened? What if you fell going down the cellar? So that was her reaction. So that's okay. You know, I've lived a long life. And she loved, she loved, she wanted to old Sam's rum hot toddy. That was her, that was her love was this old Sam's rum hot toddy that she loved to have. And I don't drink, but she was, I couldn't, I didn't have any.

Mary Janet (23:11.598)
However, so she passed away in 2025 and in the middle of winter and it was a stormy day and she had actually, it's so funny, she had, not sunny, but she had fallen in her home and her daughter found her. so she went to the hospital and

she had a broken femur, I guess, but she got COVID. And that's what took her. Had she not had that accident, it never would have happened. So anyway, that's all right. We went then to her funeral on a very, very stormy day. And we went over to the hall afterwards, as they do in most places, and they have a big lunch. The power went out. The power went out.

And I'm saying, Jesse has come and just paid us a little visit for 30 seconds. And then we went back to having tea. It was just, just those magic moments and people that I'll so remember fondly that I never would have met had it not been for Tunes and Buns. And you mentioned something before about learning from your grandmothers and all of that, but there's a recipe.

Thanks for

Mary Janet (24:38.06)
that you'll find in the new cookbook. And one of the grandmas, her name was Sharon Roach, and she's no water for it. I left her recipe, of course, just the way she gave it to me. But if you look in the directions, you add, it was ginger cake with a caramel sauce, butter the size of an egg. You know, that old way of measuring, just, know, a hand.

or whatever.

She had it in there. The size of it is so much sense. I love that.

That makes sense to me. Yeah, I love that too. I don't like actually measuring. I'm just eyeball it folks and compare it to something tangible like a pen or a size of a cell phone. That might be a little tricky, as cell phones are different sizes. But yeah, but I love that. It is really, it is when you are a creative individual,

And you start following that creative path and listening and, know, for you, and I mean, I know you've been a, you are a dancer too, and your whole life is rich with creativity. But in the example of like with what you've done with the cookbooks and your cooking, and it seemed to come so organically, but then you followed that.

Christina (26:09.154)
You followed what you were hearing from other people and the encouragement and you went with your gut, I'm assuming. And look at the rich life experiences and the community you've built as a result of that. That's what I find so wonderful and fulfilling about the path with heart, is what I call it, when you're on it.

Yes. Stuff happens you wouldn't have even dreamed of and it's about connection. I didn't always realize that, but it's even in just doing this podcast, getting to spend time with somebody like you and hear your stories. It's such a beautiful reminder too of how important connections are and it enriches my life. And then my little heartbeat listeners who are listening, it's enriching their lives and who knows.

how it's going to inspire them. I love this. I love people like you and sharing, shining a spotlight on what you're doing because I feel like it can have such an impact on other people's lives and what they choose to do with their lives.

absolutely. Like all the opportunities that have come my way, that never would have happened. Like for example, like tomorrow morning, we have a Gaelic college in Mabu and it's called Ben Vabu. It's a Gaelic, it's through Cape Breton University, but you know, there are students there who are getting part of their degrees.

work in other degrees, but they're learning the culture and the language as well in many cases. But I'm going there tomorrow and I'm meeting with a bunch of the students and we're going to talk about community and food and how all of that intertwines with, you know, passing on the culture and the conversation that happens around the kitchen table. And

Christina (28:17.13)
It's just,

I've never had that chance. And then later on in November, I'm going to the North shore. I'm going to, where am I going? What's the name of the place?

My North Shore or your North Shore? Is it Cape Breton North Shore or Nova Scotia North Shore? Okay. I got excited. thought, my God, are you coming to my North Shore? If you come to my North Shore, know, I'd love to cook for you. I'm near Pugwash, Nova Scotia. I'm in a place called Port Howe. Not Port Hood, Port Howe.

Cape Breton North.

Mary Janet (28:44.866)
you located.

Christina (28:58.03)
So I'm between Pugwash and Amherst. that's my husband's house is Annemarie. Are you? When?

Gosh, isn't that beautiful? That is so beautiful. is beautiful, yes. I just watched her interview with Q just recently for her new album. I'm going to Amherst, by the way, but not until the week before Mother's Day with Diane. The week before Mother's Day in 2026. And know, Deanne, the hooking lady.

Dan Fitzpatrick? Yes, the hooker. Yes. Yes. I love her. And the hooker. OK, well, I have to keep in touch. I'm back from she's fantastic. If I'm back from my Germany tour, I would love to coordinate a meetup. If you could if you can come by and if anything, if it's coffee, I can cook for you. If you need a bed, if there's a snowstorm. I have some like what I call just sort of fun questions.

to ask you, but before I do, I actually had a caller send in a question for you and I'm going to play it for you and then you can answer it. How's that sound?

Okay, sounds good. Hi Mary Janet, it's Krista Keough, your publicist. I've got a question for you. And my question is, I love your red lipstick. When did you start wearing red lipstick? Do you have a signature color or brand that you always wear? And how does it make you feel when you put on your red lipstick? I love it. I love Krista.

Mary Janet (30:44.982)
always wear this color lipstick and I since probably after I married in 1971 and I didn't wear any lipstick I don't think I did on my wedding day whatever but then I was working in an office and you know people were starting to you know wear a little bit more makeup we were kind of pretty plain you know around and I started wearing red lipstick and everybody would always say

that looks so nice on you, whatever. And it just became a part of me. And honestly, I can't even go to our co-op store without getting my makeup on and putting my lipstick on. And just in case, you know, I don't want to be caught off guard. So my daughter and I, posed for a picture when we were on the road to New Brunswick. We went into Sephora.

And we went in and we were trying all the lipsticks and the fellow was picking out one for us. we so we each bought a lipstick in Sephora and we posed and I think we put it on our website. I think it might be even on the in the cookbook. I'm not sure if it is one of the outtakes or whatever. And we just and we met some women on the way. There was one one woman that's in this book, Mary Dickinson.

and in the new book. And we met in Fredericton and it was instant. She had she was all dressed in black. I wear black all the time. She had red lipstick. I had red lipstick. She was graying her hair and we just connected and we just had this whole lipstick thing going. And I do have I do have a stick. I went back to my old lipstick that I'm wearing today and I don't I can't even tell you what the brand is. I just know it's a pencil.

And it's I have one in my purse. have one in the bathroom. I have one in another purse. I don't go home without it. I even have one in my in my cubby in my car just in case. that is so sweet of Krista. She's I can't wait to meet her. Do you want me to can I step out and get it for you?

Christina (33:01.964)
Yeah, go get it because I'm like, now people are going to want to buy it and then yeah, go get it. get it. Yep.

It's Mayfite, Maybelline.

Okay, Maybelline.

And it's called Super Stay. And the time. Oh my goodness.

Good for you.

Mary Janet (33:23.128)
Be bold, be you.

Oh, what it's called. know that the last cookbook is coming to my house today, but that could be the name of another book that you do. Be Bold, Be You.

That's Be bold, be

So great. Maybe it's a whole other series of books for you. Be bold. Be you.

My grandmother wore Fire Engine Red. Fire Engine Red. And she always had it on. I don't remember. Like that was something like I, I can't seem to wear colored lipstick. For some reason it doesn't, it doesn't suit me. So I'm oftentimes nuding my lip, like toning it down. But my grandmother, like I would get up at, you know, whatever time when I was visiting her.

Christina (34:24.706)
She's always got her makeup on. Like I'd I'd go to bed, she'd still have her makeup on. Like I don't even know if she took it off. She must have, like, yeah. And, I remember being, enthralled by her kind of makeup perfume stand and wanting all those little things. You know, I didn't, I do have my own makeup kit and all that, but, and I have colors in it, but I, I take them out for like music videos and, and, know,

Sometimes I just put it on for fun. But that's so fun. You're so sweet. You are so sweet. Okay, you ready for another question?

Yeah, well, you're beautiful.

Mary Janet (35:05.123)
Sure.

Okay, you can only cook with five ingredients for a week. What makes the cut?

I'm a baker first more than I am, not more than I am. So I would go with flour, baking powder, sugar.

Mary Janet (35:31.054)
flour, baking powder, sugar, butter. Ooh!

We have very little nutritional value in this now, Mary Janet.

very little bit but I know I could make I could make biscuits with that I could make biscuits with that okay and that would be a staple and you'd better on the top so that could be bad but if I was making something savory soup. If I say if I had 5 ingredients for soup it would be. Broff carrots person it's onion and onion.

and it's onion and potato.

Some chicken in there? That would make a good soup. Okay. All right. Yep. I love making soup. I'd go chicken, potatoes, broth, salt, because sometimes the broth isn't salty enough. And maybe some carrots, just for color. I think I could survive. You talk about aprons and how they have...

Mary Janet (36:20.504)
Chicken broth. No protein in it as per.

Christina (36:46.008)
They have a plethora of uses. Can you tell my little heartbeat listeners, because not many people wear aprons anymore. And like I have some here. I have some denim ones and can you list some things that aprons are good for? Let's remind people why they're so handy.

All the uses, I we didn't think about germs back then, I don't think. But I mean, I wear an apron every time I'm cooking in the kitchen because I'm messy and so I need an apron. But my mother or the lady who raised me, for example, when they would get they would get flour by the 100 pound bag, right. And back in the day, like say in the 50s, when I was born,

The bag that came was in a 100 % cotton bag. The company, I'm told, heard that people were using the cotton to make things, right? Because everybody, it was just multifunctional. They would find ways to utilize everything. So the company, I don't know what company, flower company it was, they started

printing the fabrics and put their flour in printed bags. And so the women would make curtains. They would make everything imaginable. But one of the basic things that they made were aprons, right? And the aprons were usually the ones that went over your head, the big long apron and with big pockets. So those aprons were used when they would go out to the hen house and collect the eggs.

Yep.

Mary Janet (38:37.39)
They were, you'd go to the garden and you would put the veggies and scoop it up. I know, mama did this. And she would hold off the bottom of the apron and have all the fresh veggies out of the garden and the apron. They would, we had a long lane. I'm going from memory from when I was young. We had a long lane. So could tell there was visitor coming.

You take your apron off real quick and you would dust anything that might have been out of place. was just, it would do that. Or it would clean, wipe a child's mouth off or God only knows for more than that. Just, there was so many things that just from my own memory, that particular story about the aprons in my first cookbook, I just loved that because for,

Smart.

Christina (39:19.956)
Yeah.

Mary Janet (39:34.988)
for shy children. many children were more shy I think back in that day. But if visitors came in, the child could hide behind the curtain and feel okay. And just so many sweet little things about aprons. I love that.

I want to bring back the apron. I have just bought myself a sewing machine. So I think aprons would be something I might be able to handle making. So I think I want to get into that and I'm going to try to bring back the apron. Okay. It'll be one of, it'll be, since people don't buy CDs anymore except for you, it'll be the thing I sell at my merch table. Hey! Yeah, I think so.

Wouldn't that be fun? You could put a funny saying on there.

I could. Yeah, I could really let loose with the... When you come to my house, you'll see there's some funny sayings around the house. I have a little bit of a potty mouth and so I think that I could just carry on that brand with these aprons.

You could put, be bold and be you.

Christina (40:40.672)
No, that's yours. I love that. and there'll be just a face of you on it. I think that could be your next apron that you sell.

There you go. My daughter, Margie, who is the food photographer, I will tell you this. You'd probably like her products. She has a little side hustle that started accidentally. Do we have time to tell you that story?

Yes, we do.

So back, not in 2024, I think it was 2023, Margie was at our son Mitchell's visiting and Mitchell said, let's make a New Year's resolution. Something that'll take us through the whole thing. He said, I need to be back singing more and whatever. So they agreed to.

Every Friday night, Mitchell would take his guitar down. And he's living room, his guitars are hanging on the wall. I'm going to take down my guitar. I'm going to try a different craft beer every week. I'm going to sing one song. And Margie said, and I'll make you a T-shirt. She said, I'll make a T-shirt, whatever.

Christina (41:43.116)
And...

Mary Janet (42:05.876)
One of their most common words is friggin instead of the alternative when you're living in a house with three little ones, right? Yeah. So they called that first t-shirt was good friggin company, think is what it was. know, friggin company. And the next week, I don't know, it was like leaning on a country song.

that that margie made a t-shirt called mama friggin tried. know it's whatever. Between them they went every Friday night for that whole year, singing a song drinking craft beer. And margie started making t-shirts well she's not me t-shirt she's designing them sending them to a friend of ours in Halifax and so she now has a website.

Yeah

Mary Janet (43:05.752)
Good friggin company dot com. hoodies and it's hats and it's it's good. Everything. One of them that I love is be friggin kind. I love it. yeah. Just different little sayings and we're living for hood and and one of the other ones that she made was it's all good in the hood, you know.

We gotta check that out. Yeah.

Mary Janet (43:32.814)
Anyway, all of those things. don't know how I got off on that.

Cause we were talking about my potty mouth, think, making new merch. that's so funny. I'm going to go check out Margie's website. Cause I need some new swag for our house. But as you're leaving our house, I put up a little sign that says, well, it doesn't say friggin, but it just says, just, you know, happy.

I've never heard that before.

I do swear on this podcast. I'm not sure why I'm holding back, but I guess I'm taking after your good influence is yes. And I think probably some grandchildren might be listening to this. So I won't have to put an explicit warning on this one, which is rare. So I'm very happy about that. Hey, I have one more question before I have to let you go because

you go.

Mary Janet (44:12.27)
Maybe so.

Christina (44:25.224)
My husband Dale is actually about to use my computer to do a chat with our friend Heidi for Global TV about his aunt Anne-Maria and the album because Dale's featured on the album, two solos. That's my Dale!

She was taught and that's your... Yes, because I listened to the podcast with Q and why she and they mentioned Dale, her nephew and my god, this is all coming together now.

I can't wait for you to meet him. He's such a special soul and gluten free, however.

Sorry. Yeah.

Listen, if I could bake a gluten-free bread that would suit him, I have tried and I have failed miserably.

Mary Janet (45:16.558)
So have I. I have a son that eats gluten free and I just gave up. I can make sort of like a biscuit. That's the best I can do. I just haven't found a nice soft bread.

It's really tough. The one time I did a gluten-free bread, Mary Janet, it was hilarious. I put this thing in the oven. It exploded. I couldn't even take it out of the oven. It wouldn't stop growing. Oh my God. had to like, I don't know what I had to To pull it out, I should find the video and send you. And then when I took it out of the oven, it was this like two foot high monstrosity. Then it...

quickly started to shrink and shriveled up. And I remember trying to taste it and it was like chewing gum. And it was hilarious. But yeah, I'll have to send you the video. Oh my God. That is like free. We're just going to buy this if we even need to have bread. But one little fun question before I let you go and we tell everyone that we love them.

is what's the most un-Cape Breton thing that you secretly love to eat?

I just made some homemade salsa. And oh my God, it's so good. It's in my first book, by the way. It's my hairdresser's recipe. I love salsa, nachos, and cheese. And it's a Mexican thing. But I do love that. When I was growing up, you know when I first learned about pizza?

Christina (46:31.115)
ooooh yeah

But

Good.

Mary Janet (46:57.703)
I was 19. What?

Is this not a, it wasn't something that people made? No!

There was no such thing as pizza around here back. And so this I'm talking about 1970. Wow. There was no and and Mabu there wasn't pizza. But we bought this box pizza. It was a green box or you could get a yellow box. Kraft put it out, I believe. tried that and it was just sauce and and just the cheese in the package. didn't mean buy mozzarella. We didn't know anything about pizza. Yeah. I mean, we had we grew up with

Okay.

Mary Janet (47:33.326)
two channels so you weren't exposed to that stuff. Yeah, and that was my first time having pizza. We loved it, but we certainly changed since.

my God.

Christina (47:44.158)
my God. Things have changed a lot since then. Yeah. It's funny. You and my husband could talk about that. He told me not long ago, he hadn't had pizza and I don't know if it has anything to his father doesn't like Daniel does not like pizza. And his mom grew up in, in Cape, in North Sydney. And I don't know if pizza was a big thing in, their house growing up, but they just didn't have pizza.

until I don't know he was like a teenager or something. mean, pizza was my mom made homemade pizza. My grandmother made it. It was such a staple in our upbringing. guess. So interesting. But salsa, I'm gonna, as I'm aging, I'm clearing out the merch shelves and I want to just, I want to start canning and jarring things and salsa is going to be one of them. So I'm going to rely on your recipe.

Seriously, it was so easy. It was just delicious. You have to try it. It was my first time making it myself. My hairdresser always would give me a jar. So anyway, it was great.

Guess what? I think your book, your book literally is being put in my mailbox. I can see it from my office right now. You're so excited. Come in the Kettle's on and listen, this is perfect timing. mean, I could talk to you forever, but I want to meet you so.

Hello.

Christina (49:10.754)
I'm going to make it happen. at some point either you're coming over or I'm going to invite myself over to make salsa with you. But why don't we end this episode with the way that you like to end your online streams by, does there anybody in particular you'd to tell that you love them right now?

I have seven beautiful children and 12 beautiful grandchildren that I dearly love. And I am going to say that you matter to me and I love you and I want you to love one another.

And I know my little heartbeat listeners are going to hear it and feel it. And now I want to say to you, I've just met you here, even though I felt like I knew, I love you, Mary Janet. And I love what you bring to the world. And I also love my little heartbeat listeners. And I also love my husband, Dale Murray, who helps me in everything that I do. And he's my best friend. And thank you so much for being a guest on a chat with heart podcast.

I'm so proud of what you're doing.

Well listen, you have a great day. Do have any fun plans for the rest of your day?

Mary Janet (50:20.246)
Yesterday I made brown bread, porridge brown bread. And just before the show I finished cooking homemade beans. So we're having brown bread and beans and ham for supper today. So that's my plan for today. Other than that, I'm here at my house and enjoying every moment of the day.

Mary Janet (50:45.486)
you

I'm say goodbye to you

Christina (50:56.398)
gonna say goodbye to you

Christina (51:02.786)
Welcome to the Heartbeat Hotline, 1902-669-4769. I'm the host of a Chat with Heart podcast, Christina Martin, and I'm so excited you called. Leave me your question, suggestion for the podcast, or a comment about this episode. Please be aware your message may be used on the podcast and social media. Tell me your name, where you're calling from, and it's also fine if you want to remain anonymous. Thanks for listening.

Have a great fucking day. Hey, thanks for listening to a chat with heart produced by me, Christina Martin, co-produced and engineered by my partner in life and sound, Dale Murray. Dale's not just a wizard with knobs. He's also a killer singer songwriter, session musician, and music producer. Go snoop around his world at dalemurry.ca. The podcast theme song, Talk About It, and I Don't Want to Say Goodbye to You were written by me and recorded by Dale. Want to support what we do?

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