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Nov 18

For Art and Apple Afficionados

Our friend, the well-known artist Jamie Evrard, is having an exhibition of her recent work at the Bau-Xi Gallery, starting this Saturday and running until December 1st. Please see the invitation below.

Jamie is also selling her famous just-picked-last-week apples from Naramata, on Saturday and Sunday, December 10th and 11th from her home in the Douglas Park area. There will be 20 lb. boxes of mixed organic Fujis and Galas for just $25.00/box. She says that the apples will stay fresh for months in a cold place, but in my past experience, they don’t last that long!  You can place your order via email to Jamie at: jevrard@shaw.ca

I’ll post some apple recipes when I’m cooking mine!

Nov 17

The Pleasures of a French Baguette: So Simple, So Perfect

My friend, Kathleen, is immersing herself for a month in French language and culture in the south of France. I have long admired her way of diving into experiences, pushing herself to learn new things and getting the most out of every minute.

Here is her story:

Diane, this does not qualify at all as a “recipe” but I wanted to send you something from my “aventure Français” here in Villefranche. Of course it’s customary to stop in to the boulangerie on the way home from class for a fresh baguette — but one person can’t eat the whole thing while it’s still fresh. So, my landlady has supplied a sort of grill pan that is exactly the same as the toaster we use over the campfire at the ranch. She gave me a small tin of beautiful local olive oil and a carton of fleur de sel from the Camargue. I toast a few slices of the not-so-fresh baguette over the gas flame, drizzle it with the olive oil and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. So simple, and so perfect. All that’s left is to pour myself an apéritif, and settle down on my little balcony to watch life unfold in the village at my feet, with small boats bobbing on the blue, blue Mediterranean below. Can this be real?

Nov 12

Wine-Braised Salmon with Bacon and Mushrooms

Here is another Molly Stevens‘ inspired recipe. I have made some adjustments and the recipe here serves 2 people. The braising technique works very well with salmon, keeping it moist and injecting robust flavour into the fish. A perfect November in Vancouver dish! Read more

Nov 11

3 Comments

Mackie’s Squash Dilemma

My friend, Mackie, is a natural cook, with the ability to put together whatever ingredients happen to be on hand, instinctively and without a recipe. Yesterday, knowing how I am welcoming reader ideas to this site, she was describing her squash dilemma to me in her off-hand and humorous way and I persuaded her to share it here. So, here is Mackie’s story and recipe, and a photograph of an array of squashes from the 2-acre permaculture garden of her son, Eli, and his partner, Christy, who live near Bellingham. More on Eli and Christy’s creative enterprise below. Read more

Nov 7

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Braised Chicken Breasts with Cider and Parsnips

I am cooking my way through Molly Stevens‘ terrific book All About Braising: A Treasury of One-Pot Meals, which is full of winter comfort food. This chicken dish lived up to the praise on the inside cover: “The miracle of this cooking technique is that it asks so little of the cook yet delivers fork tender food bathed in a delectable sauce”. Read more

Nov 6

Curried Chickpea Soup with Tomatoes, Ginger and Cilantro

This soup is from the Rebar Modern Food Cookbook, a book full of imaginative vegetarian recipes. Rebar restaurant, which first opened in 1988 and still going strong, was a frontrunner in the concept of healthy food and environmental conscience. The cozy and casual restaurant was a favourite haunt of mine when we lived in Victoria and I worked in Bastion Square where the small and always crowded establishment is located. This book is full of nourishing and tasty recipes and whenever I cook from it, I remember many meals shared at Rebar with friends. Read more

Nov 3

1 Comment

Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Apples, Onions & Herbs

A rainy Sunday with the aroma of slow-roasting pork, music, and a glass of wine…lovely. Read more

Nov 2

6 Comments

On the Road to Niamey

I have just been reading the excerpt in The Globe and Mail today (November 2, 2011) from Robert Fowler‘s book, A Season in Hell, his personal story about being kidnapped and held for 4 months by al Qaeda in Niger in 2008. When the information first came out about where the abduction took place, my husband and I remembered the area well and could picture the very road on which his nightmare began. We had a very different experience there. Read more

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