If you’re on Pender Island this weekend, be sure to stop by the Farmers’ Market on Saturday:
I wandered over to Pender Island’s own Morning Bay Vineyard on Saturday to join in the celebrations — co-founders Barbara Reid and Keith Watt put on a party to celebrate the winery’s 5th Anniversary.
We were treated to some new wines and enjoyed some great food and music. Congratulations to Keith, Barbara and staff — and thanks for putting on the party!
Don’t have a lot on my plate today — as if you didn’t notice.
Photo by Chiot’s Run
Look what my friend Jill found in her car after she dropped me off at the ferry terminal!
The mystery is solved, and I feel somewhat abashed at thinking so ill of the women who happened to be in the Swartz Bay ferry terminal with me on Sunday. How could I have believed that anyone would take a bag of wild mushrooms from the waiting room washroom? I’m sorry.
And the morel of the story? Why, they’re back in my hot little hands, of course. 
Wild Morels. The stuff my magic mushroom dreams are made of.
No hallucinogenic visions– just earthy, savoury, umami-laden delights — that is, if I can find mine. Read the rest of this entry »
I spent the day at Fort Rodd Hill in Victoria yesterday, attending Defending Our Backyard: the 3rd Annual Island Chefs’ Collaborative Local Food Festival and Farm Fund Raiser.
Big mouthful, eh?
Not as big as the one I had all afternoon – enjoying a feast of local, seasonal and sustainable food. And drink. Did I mention the drink? There was a lot of drink. Read the rest of this entry »
I`m a sucker for a good sales pitch.
And my tomatoes are already a foot higher because of it.
Me!
Many thanks to Dan, my friend two islands over, and host of Galiano’s food blog: IslandEat. He has bestowed the coveted Sunshine Award upon little ol’ Island Vittles — and for that, I say “Thanks Dan!” Read the rest of this entry »
Sunday Lunch has been hijacked today, for the sake of shameless alliteration. Truth be told, I’m partial to assonance — who doesn’t prefer a little assonance? — but you can’t have everything.
“Alliteration is pleasant and precious, but some fancy assonance can make you dance in your pants,” that’s what my mama used to say.
Acutally, she never said that. And I (still) call her Mom. But I really do like assonance, if that counts for anything.
Seasonal, sustainable, local, foraged, a fridge cleaner — and a freakin’ amazing dinner, if I do say so myself.
If you`re hungry on Pender, stop by Medicine Beach Market, where you`ll find a stocked deli — full of fresh sandwiches, salads, dips, soups, snacks and take-home dinners.
I really like my job at MBM: I take fresh produce, meats and dairy — most of them local and seasonal, many of them organic – and turn them into whatever I`m inspired to do that week. A chef`s dream come true! Read the rest of this entry »
Trap caught BC Spot Prawns have gained a lot of fame here at home in the past few years — they’re some of the biggest, juiciest sweetest shrimps in the world, AND they’re sustainable, local and (relatively) affordable.
I fear, however, that things may be about to change. Read the rest of this entry »
So much more colourful than last years batch! I finally settled on a permanent pattern as well — knitting is enjoyably mindless when you have a simple pattern to guide you.
The yarn is Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, and I used a set of (2) 5mm needles (US size 8). I don’t do gauges, but I can tell you that I make my dishclothes about 8″x8″ (20cm x 20cm) – do the math if you want, or just work by trial and error.
(And yes, I know that my conversions in parentheses are inconsistent. Sometimes I work in metric, sometimes I work in imperial. It’s a Canadian thing.) Read the rest of this entry »
We had a little BC Breweries taste test last night.
I found these side by side in the cooler at the Medicine Beach Liquor Store — and while vague memories of reading the Nut Brown Maid in English Lit 12 occupied my thoughts, my hands took the opportunity to grab a bottle of each.
I don’t remember a battle in the Nut Brown Maid, but these 2 Nut Brown Ales went head to head, and the results weren’t even close. Read the rest of this entry »
My constant companion…he chased bugs while I transplanted some broccoli and cauliflower seedlings — thoughtful spring gifts from our neighbour.
The seedlings went into pots on the deck. After several years of keeping a sizable kitchen garden, I’ve decided to throw in the towel. I can’t fight the towering cedars that surround our backyard anymore – roots that invade and consume. Raised beds are the only solution (and they certainly aren’t going to happen this year). Read the rest of this entry »
I am slightly stunned (but very happy) to announce my new monthly column in Pender’s Avid Magazine — I’m published!
My first Wild Food article appears in the May issue — in Island mailboxes today & also viewable online — please check it out and read the full story on the incredible, edible dandelion.
We’ve all got them in our yards — we may as well put them to good use. Read the rest of this entry »
Indulge me for a moment as I show you some of my favourite pictures from my week in San Francisco…
OK, so I`ve never actually visited this bride before…but the question you have to ask yourself is this:
Having seen her once, would you willingly go back?
Very few people will refuse a piece of cheesecake. I have found this to be a universal truth — except when it’s not — like last week, when I hosted my first ever CHEESECAKE GIVEAWAY.
The long and short of it is that no one showed up. And it was almost time for me to go home for the day — and I couldn’t take it with me. No, no, no. Howard and I had quite enough of this indulgent full-fat homemade mascarpone cheese filling, rum, ladyfinger crumb crust and coffee (espresso) extract glaze.
Next time, I won’t require the winner to tell me that “Island Vittles Rocks!” I guess I found the limit of what Penderites will do for a free piece of cheesecake.
Smoked tuna w/preserved lemon & ancho mayonnaise, tomato & pickled garlic scapes AND
Seared lamb lettuce wraps with romesc0 sauce & mint picada
The first person who walks into Medicine Beach Market (after 9:30am) today, and tells me that “Island Vittles Rocks” gets a BIG piece of this INSANE Tiramisu Cheesecake with Rum Creme Anglaise.
Seriously — no April Fools.
I’m thinking a Penderite will win this. Mainlanders could try taking the ferry, but something tells me you’ll lose out — and in my world, there is no 2nd place.
Opening today!
Corinne MacAulay has always wanted her own little place. Her dream is now reality with Made on Pender, located at the Medicine Beach complex. The store will feature her work, and that of other Pender artists, including: Read the rest of this entry »
leaning Inukshuk
the Olympics are complete
we believe…rest well
In my brain, it sounded like an inspired, natural way to colour candy green. (The beets worked, after all.)
In practice, it results in Disgusto-Pops.
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
One of the chef tips we learned at culinary school was how to use pureed spinach as a green colour enhancer. You put some spinach in the blender with a little water, blend away, and eventually, you have a vibrant colourant that makes broccoli soup a little greener.
I got a green colourant out of the nettles, but it was more olive than vibrant. And once the heat of the molten candy got it, it was so drabbed down that I had to use A LOT to turn the lollipops green — so much that the lollipops tasted strongly of nettles, and nothing of the peppermint extract I also used.
A lollipop that tastes of nettles is not A Good Thing. You’re going to have to trust me on this.
Two out of four of the ingredients in this salad were foraged at Mile Zero — on the deck just outside our front door. But we don`t grow a lot of citrus in the Pacific Northwest, and while I have grown fennel (on our deck even!), I haven`t done it in March.
Which leaves the sorrel (sorry) and the maple blossoms.
Number 6? Is it really you? Where have you been? I have been waiting…if I promise not to hurt you, will you come closer? You’re so far away… Read the rest of this entry »
Here are some extra photos of our walk around the Stanley Park Seawall and English Bay during the Vancouver Olympics. The Winter Olympics, that is. (Just in case there is any doubt about what month these photos were taken in.) Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t know who carved this piece of art and left it for all of us to enjoy at Medicine Beach, but I’d just like to say thank you.
I’ve been offline for the past few days…life has taken me into Sidney/Victoria more times than I would have liked this week, which is pretty much an all day affair each time. (Can you hear all of the violins playing the sob story of my island life?) Read the rest of this entry »
Howard and I journeyed into Vancouver to check out the Olympics. It’s a $2 billion Bonspiel — you better believe we’re going to enjoy the party. And you KNOW it’s a party when Captain Canada comes out to explain that it will be over an hour to get on the Aquabus from this point in the line.
Riding home from a walk on the beach at Brook’s Point, South Pender Island.
Our little island is very close to the US/Canada border. So close that, on a clear day, you can get a pretty good picture of Mount Baker in Washington.
The sun was out in all its splendour last week, so we drove down to the South Island for a leisurely walk around Brook’s Point, near the southern-most tip of the Penders.
Hopefully I haven’t completely bored you with Nettle Month yet. I slid this one in without mentioning nettles in the title — I knew it would cause a few groans and eye rolls out there (“Enough already!”)– kill me for playing the avoidance card.
For those of you still with me, I used the leftover Nettle Pesto I made the other night — and it was THE BEST USE OF NETTLES I’ve ever eaten. No kidding. If you’re skeptical about the culinary value of nettles, I urge you to start on the path to nettle love with this tart. Read the rest of this entry »
When you live in a big city, you get used to crowds. But on our little island, I often go for a long walk and don’t see a soul. When I do go into the city to do some shopping, I find the crowds a little tough to adjust to.
There’s people everywhere!
I get excited about nettles. I have a little patch, on the other side of our back fence, that I have been cultivating for the past few years. It’s far enough from my garden so that I don’t have to worry about weed containment, and far enough off the dog walker’s path to avoid contamination, if you know what I mean. Read the rest of this entry »
The Dooze and I walk through the disc park a couple of times a week. As the weather warms up and the days get longer, Howard will join us for a quick 9 holes in the late afternoon.
The Golf Island Disc Park is an amazing 27 hole course located in one of the forests of Magic Lake Estates — about a 10 minute walk from our place.
When you see it from the Dooze’s point of view, you can understand why he was a bit upset. We had walked down Schooner Way, past Firehall #1 and Magic Lake Park, past Privateers Road, Pirates Road, Cutlass Court and Capstan Lane on our way to the Boat Nook ocean access — only to have our plan foiled… Read the rest of this entry »
Strawberry-Beet Pops.
These are pretty in a slightly tousled, just got out of bed, kind of way — just the way everything should look on Valentines. They’re not perfect, and I’m beginning to accept that carrying through the beet lollipop idea to its ultimate end may have been going just a tad bit overboard.
But the natural beet colouring worked, the agave acted like corn syrup to prevent the boiling syrup from crystallizing, and the strawberry flavour, although not entirely natural, made them taste like Jolly Ranchers. Yum. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re not huge fans of the Olympics ’round here — especially the ones coming to Vancouver (you have to admit it’s a lot of money for a 2 week party), but now that they’re almost here, we hope they go off without a hitch — the money’s been spent, after all. We had an opportunity to visit Whistler for a couple of nights, so we figured: Why not?
We posed for the obligatory logo pictures: Read the rest of this entry »
Our first stop is the resting place of Luke’s X-Wing. I am, of course, talking about the swamp-planet of Dagobah, where Luke fled in search of the Jedi Master-of-Masters, Yoda.
Next up we have:
Here’s downtown Vancouver as it looked from my hotel room at 8:15 this morning. Not bad for the 2nd floor, eh? (It could have been worse — I could be in the room right next to the lobby.) That said, something tells me this is a seasonal view… Read the rest of this entry »
I was born and raised in Vancouver. And, although I may be partial, I truly believe it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world — certainly of the candidates I have seen. In my humble opinion, only Cape Town rivals Vancouver’s in terms of sheer natural beauty.
Without telling any of my friends or family, I made a secret trip into Vancouver today (for a weekend Laminated Dough course), without telling anyone — except Howard — who only knows because I needed a ride to the ferry.
It’s a secret because I wanted some time on my own. That’s not so bad, is it? Especially just after the holidays? I know someone is going to be peeved with me because of it…but it’s not personal…I just wanted to enjoy a bit of “old” Vancouver on my own, before the Olympics… Read the rest of this entry »
Notice how it doesn’t say Eat NO meat? That kind of resolution would be completely undoable in this house. Trust me. Even our veggie burgers have bacon on them — 1 (very moderate) piece each. I’ll go one step better worse: We fry the veggie patties in the bacon fat. YUM.
A couple of lines into my post about eating less meat and I’m gleefully talking about frying veggie burgers in bacon. Not much of a Gulf Islander, many would say. However, in my defense, you should know that it’s not just any bacon… Read the rest of this entry »
Since I made my first post on this blog almost a month-and-a-half ago, I have collected some beautiful pictures. This coming from someone who, before then, didn’t really pick up a camera unless on a particularly exoctic vacation or momentous event.
But now that I’m looking, I see shots everywhere — everywhere in our kitchen, in our yard, and on our little 60 km² (23 mi²) island…here’s a shot I took on my way to work the other morning:
As you can see from the next ones, getting a focused picture of the Dooze is proving tricky… Read the rest of this entry »
man food
Before we begin, I must confess that this is really more a method than a recipe. You’ll find I do that sometimes…
These are really, really tasty — meaty, low-fat, (pretty high in salt), protein-rich snacks that dedicated carnivores grudgingly admit are “pretty good.” I started making them at the market after a co-worker told me about the tofu snacks she made at a previous job. I made a soya sauce-based marinade that was similar to many I have made throughout my life to flavour meats, jerky and stir-fries. I made a few changes to the recipe:
Wanna see where I work? Here’s the front…
Funky & Earthy — just what you’d expect from a Gulf Island’s corner store. Here’s the view from the back door:
Yup, seriously. But wait, it gets better… Read the rest of this entry »
Do you like my new bowl? It’s pre-owned. I scavenged it on our last trip to the island’s recycling depot. I even met the generous fellow who had just dropped it into the old clawfoot tub full of scrap metal. He pointed out the pin-sized hole about halfway up its side when he saw my interest.
I’ve been looking for a big SS bowl for rising double-batches of Pender Island Sourdough, and this thing measures 16″ across. Was a little hole going to stop me from claiming this bowl as my own?
Never. After all, with a little duct tape, you’re golden.
Or should that be stainless?
PS: If you like a good scrounge/thrift shop, just wait until I show you the Nu-To-Yu…
Yup, he’s the dooze alright — drying off by the fire after a wet walk up to Buck Lake in the rain.
Medicine Beach Market Organic Ciabatta, Comox Camembert, BC Ambrosia Apple and my friend Jane’s Fig Conserve with Walnuts and Brandy.
And then a trip to Medicine Beach with the Dooze to walk off 28% Milk Fat, amongst other holiday indulgences…
lighting the sun
We are lucky enough to live about 200 yards down the road from the site of a fantastic, magical community celebration — the Pender Island Magic Lake Lantern Festival. Giant Puppets, Stilt Walkers, Fire Dancers, Shadow Puppets, Community Lantern Parade and a Kayak Ballet, all put to music. It truly is a pagan spectacle!
Whether you admit it or not, everyone makes some sort of New Year’s resolution — it may be a quiet, unspoken promise to be more kind to yourself, or, in an effort to make yourself more accountable, you may choose to declare your intention to the world to finally stop smoking — once and for all.
Most resolutions fail fall by the wayside as the “new start” feeling of the new year fades by mid-January.
I thought it would be fun to focus on a few food oriented resolutions for the WHOLE month of January, exploring new recipes and information to keep motivated on the path to permanent change. (Ideally — reading it back to myself, I realize that it sounds a little altruistic — but throw me a bone here, I’m looking for a theme to kick off the new year…)
In keeping with my “moderation rules” approach to life, I’ve skipped over the more challenging resolves, like “Eat Healthier/Lose Weight” and “Spend Less on Take Out,” for a nice, easy start: Eat Breakfast Everyday.
Bacon and eggs are good as a weekend thing, but not exactly heart-healthy everyday. Store bought cereal? Yummy, but expensive. I am also increasingly resistant to any grocery store product that contains more than 5 ingredients. It’s a flexible guideline, but the more I learn about mass-produced food, the more weary I become. Besides, I make everything else…
Try my best-ever granola recipe. I’d love to know what you think, and what resolutions you are making for the next year, decade, and beyond.
‘Twas 5 days before Christmas, when in my little house, I started 4 loaves of natural sourdough — just 1 for my spouse. I could go on, but what’s the point? You can see by the photo that this story does not end well. Look at it — it’s sad, solid and spotty. Not good. In case you don’t know, it is a 4 day process to make a levain sourdough. (once you already have a starter — which I do — made it myself — with an onion from my garden). I have made my “Pender Island Sourdough” successfully in the past, from the same starter, and I’m not really sure what happened this time, but as you can see, my 4 days of work were for naught.
So a few people didn’t get their entire gift, and we didn’t have PI Sourdough on Christmas morn. Our neighbours didn’t get their loaf for looking after the Dooze while we went to Vancouver for Christmas with my family.
Since we moved to Pender, we’ve only spent one Christmas here. That’s only 1 out of 6. I think we’re due for a Christmas at home very, very soon. I mean, look at the scene on Christmas Eve as the ferry docks to take us to Vancouver…
santa's ship
So we left the dooze, and our island, and spent a lovely 2 nights with my family and some friends. This copper-dipped macaroni necklace was a gift from my friend Alanna — made by Natalie at Makeshift. I love it!
my favourite gift that day
We had our traditional morning with my brother’s family. Potato pancakes, bacon, OJ and prezzies by the tree. Then a great dinner (my Mom makes the best stuffing) — no, I mean it. The Best. It rocks your mothers’.
Our ferry ride home on Boxing Day was equally as clear and gorgeous as the trip out. We got home, collected the Dooze, lit a fire and settled in for a couple of days of nesting. Well earned after another busy Christmas! Best wishes from our house to yours.
arriving home
Today would have been my Dad’s 74th birthday. It’s been almost 3 years, and I still miss him everyday.
So I decided to go easy on myself — after work, the Dooze and I went for a walk on Medicine Beach.
He looked for crabs, while I took some photos and had some quiet time.
Don’t we live in a beautiful place? It’s hard to believe it’s the first day of winter.
has anyone seen the parsley?
Dad loved music — we played Janis Joplin, CCR, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, Harry Belafonte, etc. at his funeral (mostly acoustic versions…you’ll have to trust me — it worked). I haven’t been able to listen to that playlist since the day, but the herbs on the deck often have me humming one of his favourites. And inside my head, I always hear his distinctive staccato whistle accompanying me.
Four Christmas parties in 4 days…now that’s what I call festivizing (yes, I just made it up — it sounds a bit like “Festivus,” though I assure you this is purely accidental. I may have been channeling Frank Costanza unknowingly for a brief moment there.)
meat eaters didn't complain
Anyway, it’s mid-December and we’re into the season full throttle. And like most parties on Pender, 3 out 4 of last weekend’s parties were potlucks, with a large vegetarian contingent in attendance. To make things easy on myself I decided to make the same thing for all 3 parties — veggie sliders on potato rolls with caramelized onions, homemade tomato ketchup and roasted jalapeno mayo.
Some of you may already be thinking that rather than easy, these sliders sound a bit involved. Yes…hmmm…well, let’s just say that a quadruple recipe of my veggie burgers take some time to prep. It’s an all day project that kept me chopping, slicing, boiling, sweating, sauteing and food processing. After that, one of my smaller sized ring moulds and I spent a little too much time together. Five dozen mini-patties later, I was ready to start on the condiments.
these will never get old
Carmelized onions — easy. 6 medium onions, julienned, then sauteed with a pinch of salt over med-low heat in my largest cast iron pan. 45 minutes later, they were deep, deep brown.
Homemade ketchup – tomato concentrate, a bit of salt, and sugar to taste.
Roasted jalapeno mayo – Roast 2 jalapenos in the toaster oven/oven until charred. Sweat the pepper in a paper bag until cool enough to handle. Remove the skin and stem. Wash seeds off of the flesh under a gentle tap — dry the peppers, then process with approx 1.5 cups mayonaisse and the juice of 1/2 lime. (The plan was to make the mayo from scratch, but I got real and cut myself some slack.)
I used thinly sliced cucumber and cilanto leaves as a base and for a fresh crisp contrast to the rest of the burger.
I made traditional mini-burgers for the first night, but Howard and I decided on our walk home under the stars that there had been too much bread. After that, I switched to open face, which also makes a more visually dramatic presentation — the red and green made it very Christmas-appropriate.
I will be posting the veggie burger recipe in the new year — I’ve used this one for years, but after eating them for 3 out of the past 4 nights, I’ve decided the recipe needs a bit of a tweak, and I’d like to try a gluten free version. For that, you’ll have to stay tuned.
even with a thick coat, he's comin' back in
Oh and that second potluck? (Our December bookclub meeting.) The snow started to fall just as I got everything assembled with about 90 minutes to go. The snow fell quickly, and on our little island, snow removal can take awhile — so the hostess made the call, and we’re postponed until the 28th. And this time I’m keeping things easy – mashed potatoes…
My recent veggie burger marathon resulted in the “processing” of a large variety of vegetables, grains and legumes last weekend. I managed to get some photos before the light faded from the kitchen skylight. I really have to look into a flash…
Because of our sheltered location, Pender has a pretty moderate climate. A typical winter will see (maybe) a couple of days below freezing and a couple of inches of snow for a day or two, but the rest of the time we hover a degree or two above freezing, with not as much rain as Vancouver or Victoria.
A big windstorm this past week blew in some early cold temps for us, but it also blew the clouds away. So for 2 glorious days this week, we had clear sunny skies. I was so stunned on the first day, that I didn’t even think to take some photos to post, but my head had cleared by the second day, and I was able to capture sunrise and sunset on the same day.
remind you of on golden pond?
This is (a frozen) Magic Lake. Koda and I walk through the little park here pretty much every morning on our way to the forest trails.
island heaven
All 3 of us took a hike up the Oak Bluff trail to catch the sunset. We were up there for a while, but once the sun was gone we hurried back through the woods and to the warmth of my car seat heater. (I didn’t think I was a seat-heater-kinda girl, but it was an included option in the car, and if it’s there, you may as well use it, is what I say.)
Anyway, here’s Howard and Koda checking out the action off the bluff. We’ve had Koda for almost 3 months now, and we noticed that he loves a view from a height. He can just sit and enjoy a vista for long periods.
on the bluff
on the edge
And for your viewing pleasure, Howard also captured one of me in action:
bluffing my way through
The hat is actually holding a pile of wet hair out of my face — I don’t typically go for the bullet head look (just so you know).
Everyone knows the rule right? You never buy anything for yourself in December. It’s hard and fast — it simply isn’t done. Apparently, someone forgot to tell Howard.
I sat down beside him the other night, only to find him madly clicking around Amazon, throwing a PS3 and accessories into his cart with careless abandon. I tried to stall him. Really I did. “Maybe they’ll go on sale on Boxing Day?” as well as, “Oooh, I don’t know sweetie — the Visa has taken a bit of a hit this month — the charge may not go through.”
He looked at me with glazed, unblinking eyes — it was too late — he was in the zone. The blinders were on and his pointer was hovering over “PLACE YOUR ORDER.” I had to do something, and fast.
“STOP! Wait a second,” I implored while stomping downstairs to retrieve the box. When I returned, I stood in front of him, face grim, holding out the huge (unwrapped) box unceremoniously. “Here. Merry Christmas.” (pout)
“What? Oh — NO WAY — You’re the best babe! Games, Blu-Ray movies, let’s set it up right now!”
“Not so fast — you got yours. Fair’s fair. I want mine.”
–
And with that, our Christmas gift exchange was over. We still have the get parties and family meals to look forward to, but the whole no-shopping-for-yourself thing is moot now, right? RIGHT?
That’s what I thought.
slow boat to giftware
With that in mind, I met my mom on the ferry last Monday, and we went over to neighbouring Salt Spring Island. Salt Spring is the biggest island in the Gulf Islands, with a population of just over 10,000 full-time residents. A veritable metropolis, compared to little Pender, population 2,200. They even have a Town Centre.
We went over to see WinterCraft. Mom was looking for a wall quilt, and I was really just along for the ride. But then I saw this:
it's a bag, baby!
Made by a local artist who also has an Etsy store. Made from a deconstructed men’s jacket, it has an inside pocket, an outside pocket, and a removable flower pin. When I slung the bag over my shoulder and gazed into the mirror, it looked like it had always been there. And now it is.
And that kids, is the story of how Theresa got her new bag.
If you are looking to do some shopping for gifts (or for yourself), then please check out my Gift Guides. Happy shopping!
Holiday parties are coming. I bet there’s more than a few out there who are going to a Christmas Party this weekend, whether or not you’re ready to jump into the festive season. So, if you’re looking for a dish to take along to help the hostess, take along some Lavash Crackers and Smoky Roasted Tomato Dip, or check out some of the food sites below for more ideas:
David Lebovitz – received much of his training while working for 12 years in the pastry department at the famed Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, CA. His site offers a wide range of dessert recipes, as well as an extensive list of savoury offerings.
Smitten Kitchen – is there anyone out there who hasn’t heard of this site? Deb takes striking photos and picks out (mostly) great recipes to share with the rest of us.
Real Food — a great alternative food site, and a good source for seasonal recipes.
Channel 4 Food – here you’ll find the recipes of Gordon, Nigella, Jamie, Heston, et al — Brit chef heaven!
Cook’s Illustrated – my favourite food magazine both in print and on-line. Most of the recipes require you to pay for an online membership, but it’s money well spent. I visit here on a daily basis. They test every recipe to death in search of the perfect version, and also offer equipment reviews and video tips.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jspad/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Holiday parties are coming. I bet there’s more than a few out there who are going to a Christmas Party this weekend, whether or not you’re ready to jump into the festive season. So, if you’re looking for a dish to take along to help the hostess, take along some Lavash Crackers and Smoky Roasted Tomato Dip, or check out some of the food sites below for more ideas:
David Lebovitz – received much of his training while working for 12 years in the pastry department at the famed Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, CA. His site offers a wide range of dessert recipes, as well as an extensive list of savoury offerings.
Smitten Kitchen – is there anyone out there who hasn’t heard of this site? Deb takes striking photos and picks out (mostly) great recipes to share with the rest of us.
Real Food — a great alternative food site, and a good source for seasonal recipes.
Channel 4 Food – here you’ll find the recipes of Gordon, Nigella, Jamie, Heston, et al — Brit chef heaven!
Cook’s Illustrated – my favourite food magazine both in print and on-line. Most of the recipes require you to pay for an online membership, To get the most of the site, you must buy a yearly membership, but it’s money well spent. I visit here on a daily basis. They test every recipe to death in search of the perfect version, and also offer equipment reviews and video tips.
There's Only One Way to Go
I have been surrounded by food my whole life. I cooked and baked alongside my mom and my grandmas from the time I could stand on a stool and reach the counter. I cooked breakfast (eggs – scrambled, poached or coddled – bacon, toast and OJ) with my dad every Sunday for the greater part of my youth.
My family ate out a lot. My dad had an appreciation for GOOD food that was unusual in the 70’s. My mom, two brothers and I were happy to tag along to his newest find – sometimes fine dining – sometimes not. My dad’s enthusiasm for food sparked a passion in me. To this day, I spend most of my free time in the kitchen by choice.
So, given that passion, one may wonder how (or why) I ended up at business school, and eventually working as an operations manager at FedEx? I don’t know how it happened, but let me tell you, was I U-N-H-A-P-P-Y!
I’ll skip over the tediousness that was my life back then to bring you up to date. I quit my job, and my husband Howard and I moved to Pender Island, a small island on the west coast of British Columbia, population approx 2000 — an amazing place to call home.
Finally, last year, I went to culinary school, where, (Howard insists that I tell you), I won THE medal. That is, I finished at the top of the class. How’s that for a confidence booster?
So now it’s time for me and my medal to talk about food.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
