Penderites gathered at Magic Lake on New Year’s Eve for my favourite island tradition of the year: Lantern Fest – a one-of-a-kind show mixing light, music, singing, dancing and theatre. Here’s a look at the 2011 show:
It’s that time of year again, kids!
Self-reflection, while recovering from the most emotionally draining holiday of them all, can turn bad on you pretty quickly — especially after a tough economic year like this one.
That’s why I like to keep it simple – don’t go too deep. Last year, it was bread. I resolved to never again spend $6.25/loaf on mediocre, inconsistent store-bought bread. I didn’t do too badly — I bought a few buns from the grocery store bakery to get by here and there (and maybe a loaf or two), but for the most part, I stuck to my resolution — and I learned a lot about dough.
But, after signing myself up for a year of kneading (even if I made most of it in my Kitchen Aid), I decided to go even simpler this year. And so, I present you with the 2011 Island Vittles’ Year in Pictures, (that for one reason or another, didn’t make it into a post of their own).
Not a resolution to be found…. ;)
I got back from walking the dog this morning to find a 25lb frozen tuna on our welcome mat….and the funny thing is, I wasn’t really all that surprised.
Almost since the first day I started this blog 23 months ago, food started finding its way to me. I don’t grow a lot; aside from herbs and some salad greens, it turns out that my thumb is rather black. And to be fair, the shade in our back garden has grown more than anything else in the 8 years we’ve lived here. You see, we’re surrounded by trees, mostly cedars and firs — tall, majestic spires that stand to inspire, but also conspire — blocking out the sun’s rays and spreading their far-flung, hungry roots to consume my carefully composted soil.
But (I think) because I spend a good part of my day writing and talking about food, people know how much I appreciate it fresh from the ground or still warm from the oven. And so, living as we do in a small rural community bursting with extraordinary growers, we occasionally come home to a tasty treasure here or there: peppers on the porch, jars of sauerkraut and sweet & sour pickles on the stoop, or a dozen of the biggest heads of elephant garlic you’ve ever seen in a box on the kitchen table. (Sometimes I forget to lock the front door.)
Island Vittles (aka me) got an email a few weeks back inviting us to the Taste of Tulalip Tweet-Up, at the Tulalip Resort Casino in Washington State.
Never being one to turn down free food and wine, never mind a chance to preview one of the region’s premier taste events, I made sure Howard cleared his schedule, we stashed the Dooze with our accommodating neighbours, and we headed down to the U.S of A this past Wednesday.
You know you’re living the good life when the first thing out of your husband’s mouth as he’s walking through the door home from work is “Do you want some fresh crab?”
Dinner was already made and I was just pondering taking a break with the last of that bottle of white in the fridge, but it’s hard to say no to a bag full of rock crab pulled from the water not an hour before, cleanly killed and beautifully cleaned by our friend, and Howard’s colleague, Sam.
So instead of pouring the wine into a glass, I brought it to the boil in my stock pot, along with a couple of bay leaves, some peppercorns and a few fennel seeds. Five minutes later, my delightfully unexpected crab bounty was steamed, shocked, strained and set aside in the fridge for the next night’s dinner.
And then I pulled out the corkscrew. Nothing like a glass of vino to make an already great life near perfect. … Continue Reading
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