Posts filed under ‘Travel’
Mmm…fake bacon (and how I came to be a vegetarian)
Is fake bacon sufficiently inspiring as a blog topic? I don’t know, except to say look at this beautiful veggie BLT. Actually it’s a FBLAATC sandwich – fake bacon, lettuce, arugula (still growing in my garden even in January), avocado, tomato and cheese sandwich. Not quite as catchy as BLT, but every bit as good if not better.
Cornucopia Food and Wine Festival
If you ever have a chance to marry someone who works in the wine industry, I would recommend it. I happened upon this quality by accident and after the fact, but I think if I had to do it over it would be requisite. There are no obligatory rubber chicken dinners in that business; it is all champagne and truffles, amuse bouche and demi-glace, sparkling water or still. I am always delighted to be the tag along spouse, especially when it means going to events like Araxi’s 30th anniversary bash at the Cornucopia food and wine festival. (more…)
Antipasto weekend
This past weekend was my first introduction to home canning. My mother-in-law and her neighbour were planning a day of antipasto making and I was invited to Vancouver Island to join the fun. Things went beautifully for about 20 minutes until my poor mother-in-law sliced off the edge of her pinky finger slicing cucumbers on the mandolin. Off she went to the walk-in clinic, arriving back about two hours later with four stitches and a tetanus shot. Needless to say she was moved off chopping duty to a more supervisory role. Ouch.
Over the course of the day we diced four heads of cauliflower, several pounds each of green beans, bell pepper and cucumber, about a dozen jars of olives and countless pearl onions into little tiny bits. We stirred and simmered great vats of antipasto and then funneled it into pretty jars. Twist on the tops, drop them into a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes, pluck them out and then marvel. At the end of the day the three of us ended up with just over a dozen jars each of this tasty treat. It’s a joy to look at the jars packed neat and snug with preserves, and to imagine how you might use them through the late fall and winter months: a gift to pass along to friends and family, a quick and easy snack to start out an evening of entertaining, a simple item in the cupboard to reminds you of a lovely weekend of laughter and conversation.
I’m already looking forward to the next canning weekend. It is time consuming, but the company of friends and family makes it a really nice way to spend a day.
Sour Cherries on Maynard Lane
I’ve just arrived home from a relaxing 10-day holiday on Prince Edward Island and it was so refreshing to be in such a simple place. My parents have a cottage near an area of PEI called Tyne Valley, a tiny place filled with small town charm. In their yard are several sour cherry trees that were ripe with berries when we arrived. You’ll see a lovely tractor in the photo above: it was there along with several others to help repair their bank, which was damaged in the winter storms. Not the most tranquil thing to have at the cottage, but it was helpful for cherry picking in the treetops.
I spent about an hour picking these cherries and my mom and I put in at least another hour pitting them (drinks in hand, of course). I made a sour cherry sauce that we enjoyed on my mom’s famous no-bake cheesecake and on ice cream. More cherries were picked when my uncles visited and they were transformed into an amazing sour cherry crisp. I think it is safe to say that sour cherry eating, in all its delicious forms, will become a new cottage tradition.
Sour cherry sauce
8 cups of pitted sour cherries (I’m sure cherries of any variety would also be good)
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Put cherries in a saucepan along with sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes until cherries come to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and simmer for another 15-20 minutes until cherries are tender and the juice is beginning to thicken. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 2 tablespoons of water and stir into cherry mixture. Let simmer for 5 minutes until sauce thickens to desired consistency. If you find it to thin still, add mix another teaspoon of cornstarch with water and add to the sauce; if it is too thick, add a touch more water. Squeeze in the lemon juice at the end and store sauce in a jar until you’re ready to slather it on cheesecake, ice cream, biscuits, etc.
Araxi
I’ve wanted to try Araxi restaurant in Whistler since we moved to Vancouver and we visited it recently during a long-weekend getaway for our friends’ wedding and my birthday. I’d heard lots of great things about Araxi, and I was also familiar with it due to the many hours I’ve wasted watching Hell’s Kitchen on TV (a chef job at Araxi was the big prize a couple of seasons ago). The restaurant is located in the heart of Whistler Village and focuses on innovative regional cuisine. It was full the night we ate there with a mix of Canadian and international guests, and also a surprising number of kids – the little American boy at the table next to ours somehow convinced his parents to let him order the market-price crab legs, which must have cost a pretty penny!
I was really impressed with Araxi. Thanks to my husband’s job in the wine industry we have the privilege of trying a lot of good restaurants in many different places, and I thought Araxi delivered on the hype. The service was great; the atmosphere was relaxed and upscale in a way that felt very Whistler; and the food showcased Pacific Northwest regionality with local ingredients brought together in an innovative way that reflects the confluence of Canadian, Asian and European culture and cuisine that is unique to this area of the world. It was also refreshing to eat at a fine-dining restaurant where the menu is not dominated by meat. Lots of fresh, Oceanwise-certified fish, good vegetarian options and I loved the raw bar with its focus on sushi and sashimi-inspired dishes.
Araxi chefs at work assembling food from the Raw Bar menu.
Fresh bread hot from the oven served with a Tuscan bean spread, olive oil and sea salt
We had champagne with dinner – a special birthday treat.
Seared tuna with micro-greens and ponzu pearls
Roasted Pemberton beets with blue cheese, spiced pecans, pink lady apple and rosemary vinaigrette, frisee and baby sorrel
Wild mushroom risotto with grilled prawns
No dessert was required after all that!
