Nourish

And so to continue along the Maccha trail. . . 

We headed to a beautiful little spot called Nourish at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific.

 

The food is beautiful and tasty and I love their philosophy. From the Nourish website:

Manifesto
Nutritional ingredients increase Physical Performance.
A holistic diet facilitates Emotional Empowerment.
Conscious eating promotes Environmental Respect.
Nourish Yourself From The Inside Out.
Vision
To Help People Eat Healthier
Guiding Principles
Create connections through food.
Eat with people you love.
Listen.
Be Considerate.
Take time to do things well.
Questions yourself every day.
Recycle.
Embrace simple pleasures.
Accept Change.
Laugh.

 

I had this lovely benny with lots o' delicious kale. And yes, they serve Maccha!

This place is really going to rock in the summer because there's a patio and this is your view:

There's a tiny wonderful gift shop selling these awesome bird feeders made by a staff person at the garden.

There are also locally made skin creams made with natural ingredients.

So you can see that I just want to move in and live in this garden! I see that as of Feb 15, Nourish will be open for dinner. Awesome!

My friend loved her breakfast sausages so much we headed to the red Barn Market to buy some.

The sign says Valentine's Day: her/flowers/bacon; him/bacon/bacon.

Finding Your Happy Place

In order for me to remain a sane and functioning being, I must partake in a regular, rigorous course of restaurant therapy. I have developed the healthy habit of eating regularly at a restaurant that is warm, comforting, and serves the kind of food I love. In Saskatoon, it was a little Ukrainian restaurant named Lydia's. In Vancouver it is Trafalgar's.

 So imagine my dismay this fall when I walked up to the door of the restaurant to see the doors locked and dented with a sign saying that they had been damaged by a truck. WTF!!!!!

 I pined for three weeks while the staff worked to repair the wall. And I was there the first morning they opened, chowing down on (my) mushroom risotto. I was also given a coupon for free mimosas so I called a couple of friends who appreciate good food and we went for brunch.

I don't just share my happy place with everyone. I don't want anyone to rain on my parade, so I must know they will be respectful. And sharing good food and drinks with friends and family ups the happiness factor. Even when we talk about very sad and serious subjects, the right place keeps it all light enough to bear.

Did I mention there must be chocolate in my happy place?

 It's also double happiness that Trafalgar's has been voted Vancouver's greenest restaurant. These folks are very serious about compost.

Let's do this again!

Ladies who Lunch on Lentils

 We've been having such lovely weather, I wanted to celebrate a sunny afternoon by inviting my friend Catherine over for a comfort food lunch. I know she shares my love of brussel sprouts so I steamed some up, coated them in Little Creek Dressing and then roasted them. My favorite bits were the leaves that had fallen off and browned and caramelized thinking there might be something in attempting to make tiny brussel sprout chips. Hmmmmm.

 I had some spaeztle I made in the fridge so I fried it in olive oil and butter.

 I also had some leftover lentil stew, which is always better the second day. I used organic green lentils I bought in Saskatchewan at the Witzaney Farm. First, I soaked them overnight, then washed them, covered them in home made stock and simmered them. Finally, I added a smoked turkey leg and stewed the lentils on low heat until they were cooked. (Make sure you have extra stock on hand to add if your need to during the cooking process.)

 I picked the last carrots and beets from the garden and we drank mineral water with our comfort food lunch.

We finished with Assam tea and chai shortbread, then took a tour of the garden. I am getting the raised bed ready to plant garlic.

As I write this, the sun is streaming in the studio window, so I need to get out there and enjoy it and do some comfort food foraging. Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Greek Salad with Purslane

When I was strolling through my mom's garden I pointed down and said, "Oh, you've got purslane. You can eat that, did you know?" My mom looked at me funny and said "That's just Portulaca. We've recently started getting it in our gardens." I didn't realize the Latin name for this weed is indeed Portulaca oleracea, so I did a bit of research. Turns out it is from Mediterranean countries, is an excellent source of Omega 3's and the Greeks saute it and put it in salad. Suddenly I saw purslane in a whole new light.

When I volunteered at the market garden at UBC we were always picking purslane out as a weed, whereas the Mayan Gardeners were selling it at their stall. Sure enough, this year UBC Farm has been selling healthy bunches of purslane, so I put it raw in a Greek salad. Apparently the lemony taste comes out depending on how dry it has been and what time of day it is picked. I now throw it in at the end of making a veggie sauté, for those extra vitamins.

I was looking at a bunch of purslane, thinking the texture might lend itself to pickling. Sure enough, the bloggers are on it already as you can see with this great post from Seasons at My House. Furthermore, Shelora (Cooking with a Broad) has been experimenting with purslane this summer to great effect. Have I convinced you yet, mom?

As a footnote to this post, I had a couple of curious women ask me about the purslane that was on top of my shopping bag. I told them what it was and offered a taste. "It's a bit of a weed," I said. "Smells like a weed," one woman said. "Yeah well, you know how it is," the other offered, "Some people smoke their weeds and some people eat 'em."

The Old Crabapple Tree

When we were visiting mom and dad in Saskatchewan the crap apples were at the peak of ripeness--so sweet you could eat them raw. My sister's kids like to eat them in their lunch, so we packed a bunch in the car to give to family and friends.

This is dad's Saskatoon berry picking bucket with harness.

 Some of the apples had blight, so they weren't as plentiful as they first seemed, but you can keep the seconds for making infusions.

 Ullie and I startled a bird in a nearby tree and her nest was full of perfect little eggs.

Dragonflies gobbled up the mosquitoes nearby.

The neighbors have a good crop of calendula. I'll have to ask mom to save me some seeds.

To make an infusion, cut the apples in half, boil enough water to cover them, then leave for 24 hours. I'll have to do some research and find a recipe for crabapple shrub. Drinking vinegars are all the rage these days, but I like to keep it simple.

Of course, the apples also taste good sliced on top of pulled pork.

We drink our crab apple infusion chilled with a splosh of Victoria gin. One of my friends says she misses her mom's crab apple tree in Saskatchewan. She says they used to cut the apples in half and infuse in vodka. I'm gonna try that with gin. Stay tuned!

Where to Eat in Saskatoon: Weczeria

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon, or not at all.
--Harriet Van Horne

I was so lucky to be able to celebrate my recent birthday with my dear family at Weczeria in Saskatoon. It was a fantastic night and I regret that the lighting was low so my photos can't do justice to the event. My partner and I fell in love with Weczeria many years ago when it opened off Broadway and it has now moved into a larger space due to popular demand.

I made sure to make the reservations weeks in advance. The place was already just short of absolutely full at 6 pm when we arrived. You can see here on the blackboard how they keep track of how many bunnies are left to serve. One of those was mine!

The back room is my favorite part of the restaurant with its cool bottle chandelier. I want my living room to look like that!

We had a bottle of Sumac Ridge Gewurtz and I also had a lovely festive sangria in a jar.

The menu is a la moment, written up on a blackboard as it is as ephemeral as seasonal ingredients. My sister had the pickeral with mushrooms, farrow and almond cherry crumble. I snatched a few bites and loved the chewy, nuttiness of the farrow and thought it went well with the fish. The cherry crumble added a brightness to the dish with what I assume is those local sour cherries again.

We also had this lovely green salad over roasted carrots with hazelnuts and raisin purée. I love the idea of having a green salad grounded with a base of roasted root vegetables.

I had the bunny braised in beer with caramelized onion puree and gnocchi. Sorry, I was into that rabbit so fast I forgot to take a photo. It became an instant all time favorite for me. And for my birthday dessert I had the creamy butterscotch pudding in a jam jar with brownies on the side. Oh yeah. Cooked with abandon and eaten with abandon.

Kudos to chef Daniel Walker and his team for a fabulous meal and for their well-deserved success.

Saskatoon Sweets at Calories on Broadway

Going to Calories on Broadway in Saskatoon makes me feel like I've returned home. This is because the restaurant was like a second home to me as I lived across the street, habituated it regularly and two of my best friends worked there. Many a fabulous calorie has been consumed here in my university days with a side order of gossip and giggles.

I can't believe the Saskatoon Soaps are still running. It must be the longest running live improvised soap opera on earth.

There's a new hat shop across the street, so mom bought a new cap to celebrate Spring. There's also a really cool new eco-shop called The Better Good.

My sister scored the best choice of the lunch menu which was this grapefruit salad with cubes of sweet potato topped with a little bit of lobster.

I went for my old favorite, the California club on wild rice bread. It wasn't quite as good as I remembered it, but we noticed the kitchen seemed to be in training mode and they were not having a good day. It happens. The waiter also seemed to be paying attention to tables with nubile young women to the detriment of other tables with women past a certain age. Ahem!

The best part of lunch at Calories is choosing the desserts. The ritual of perusing the case which is full of old favorites and some new sweets.

You can also take home their jams, chocolates, pickled mushrooms, and bread.

Here's a new one, with caramel sauce from the old favorite Schmoo Torte.

Choices, choices!

This is what I went for. Sour cherries grown in Saskatchewan are a new source of inspiration for local chefs. We took home some sour cherry brownies which I can vouch for.


You know you want to say it ten times fast: Shmoo Torte Shmoo Torte.....

A classic cheesecake.

Another old fave: the turtle square.

Here's the dessert plated up. Angel food cake is very popular in Saskatchewan. They even have angel food cake buffets at square dancing events.

I ended with a green tea almond latte. I liked the concept, but it was entirely too sweet for my taste. I'm sure you could tell them to dial down the almond syrup. It looks very pretty though, doesn't it?