West End farmers market The farmers market has finally started in the West End of Vancouver and we had our first walk through of the season a few weekends ago. It was a perfect day with the sun shining. A nice spread of veggies (organic and conventional), honey, preserves, farm fresh meat, even some tasty artisanal potato chips were […]
Sustainable Living: A Year of Practiculture
Food manipulated for your convenience Having worked in many kitchens, I’ve heard tons of infuriating stories of cheap food being transformed with an overwhelming degree of manipulation and over-packaging. To a point that when you finally do get the product unwrapped it often has the nutritional value of a newspaper. Masked with a label written by a magician, […]
The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning: a review
The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning The landscape of our cookbook collection has changed a little lately and we like it. The idea of living off the grid and being self-sufficient has never been so appealing and, in light of the looming US election, we are definitely not alone in yearning to escape society […]
Kombucha and the scoby
Making my own kombucha With my water kefir reliably producing two quarts every forty-eight hours now, I turned my attention to making my own kombucha. Kombucha is very similar to water kefir in that it is a fermented sweetened liquid but in this case, it also includes tea as its main source of food. The […]
The Complete Guide to Sushi and Sashimi
Making sushi and sashimi Talk to most people about making sushi and sashimi and you will hear tales of Samurai like chefs who train day in and day out whils honing their precision with repetition. Laser sharp knives slicing exact copies of pristine fish and fusing it to perfectly cooked rice with what seems like sleight […]
Making fresh pasta at home
Making fresh pasta at home Too often in America we eat without thinking, we buy over packaged, prepared foods and don’t always think about what we ingest. Some people eat strictly for fuel, not for enjoyment. In Italy, if you’re not eating, you’re talking about your next meal and it’s quite normal to spend a […]
The Complete Wild Game Cookbook
In Quebec I have been fortunate to work in two kitchens in Quebec during my career and know first hand their respect for and love affair with wild game. In fact one of the restaurants had an all game menu in the fall and it is where I cut my teeth as a Saucier and […]
TROFIE WITH PESTO, GREEN BEANS AND POTATOES
This dish comes from Liguria, home of pesto. Having potatoes and pasta in the same dish might sound strange but once you taste it you will see that they go well together in this recipe. We’ve also made this with the addition of crispy pancetta, it goes against tradition but is delicious nonetheless.