Mar
30
Hello again,
What a wonderful Sunday – yoga in the morning, then an outing to the Fisgard lighthouse. Walked out on the beach – lots of mussels buried in the shoreline – felt badly I was crunching them as we walked. But me being me, I thought I’d like to go home and eat some.
Quick stop at FAS – our amazing local fish market – and loaded up. Just ate mussels as an appetizer, then it’s salmon for the main course once I finish this. I think I’ll roast it with a rub of orange peel, smoked paprika and ground toasted fennel and cumin seeds. Boiled new potatoes and steamed green beans. Sounds wonderfully healthy. Good thing too since I fell off the wagon, so to speak, when I cooked the moules!
Here’s what I did:
Sauteed 2 shallots in oil with lots of garlic (3 cloves!) and just a little chopped chorizo (am detoxing after all) and a good handful of chopped celeriac. Once that was all soft and golden I added a splash of white vermouth (now that’s definitely NOT on the detox!) and cooked that down.
Added 2 lbs mussels and steamed until they were opened.
Heavenly.
Here’s the empty bowl – pretend there’s still mussels in there!
Tomorrow, if the weather holds, Ingrid is taking Steve and I halibut fishing!!!!! I’ve never been on the ocean in a small boat before. Or fishing on the ocean for that matter. Am used to lakes and canoes! I’m so excited…..will let you know if we catch anything. Maybe I’ll even see a whale!!!!
Cheers
jennifer
Mar
27
Hello there,
Had many rambling thoughts as I walked home tonight. First off…..I live here. I really live here. That hit me today – think it was because I just spent the last week showing my parents my life. Somehow that made it official: here’s my house; here’s where I work; here are my friends; here’s my dream. It’s all real. I love it.
Secondly….I’m cleaning out. First night of the detox – I picked up “wild rose” herbal detox kit. That includes some herbal goodies to help cleanse the liver, some laxatives I think and of course a list of what not to eat: basically no dairy (omg: no cheese for 10 days……can I survive?), no white flour, no sugar and nothing really fatty. Guess that means lots of fish (tonight we’re having halibut! yum) veggies and fruits. But no tropical fruits because they’re too high in sugar – so apples and pears it is. Oh yes, and no booze. Or caffeine.
Strangely enough, I’m looking forward to it.
Have a great night.
Jenn
Mar
25
Phew – this day is over! Sad to say goodbye to Mom & Dad this morning – saying goodbye at the airport is always the most disheartening lonely feeling.
Back to work too. Which is a good thing – am broke and need to physically move around. We ate ALL THE TIME – and did a lot of driving.
Some highlights
Sydney has the best donuts I’ve ever eaten. I’m a big Boston Cream fan and this little bakery has the freshest best and biggest one. The town also boasts a beautiful ocean pier and probably the friendliest store clerks ever.
Riopelle cheese from Quebec. Salty, creamy and spreads like butter. Slather it thick on baguette for afternoon snacks.
View of the Malahat from the bar in Brentwood Bay.
Fish and chips at Rockcod Cafe in Cowichan.
Sea Otters in the inner harbour.
Dinner at Lure. View and food are fantastic. It’s a glass wall dining room that overlooks Victoria Harbour – watch the parliament buildings and all the hotels and boats light up at night – shimmers on the water. It’s heavenly.
I’m off to relax on the couch tonight. Called the video store and reserved the last DVD of Dexter. It’s been my new favourite tv show to rent.
Cheers
jennifer
Mar
20
Hello hello!
Meant to check in yesterday, but you know how time goes – doubly fast when you have house guests! And parents no less.
Picked them up at the airport – they were super tired and very late (about 3:00 am their time!)
Wiped out but happy none-the-less we had a few glasses of wine and of course some cheese (Cantonnier from Quebec and good ol’ Abondance from France) then they crashed.
Here we all are – except for Steve….he took the picture!
Yesterday I took them to Bubby Rose’s to meet Sheila (the manager) and have really good coffee and big fat cinnamon buns….and carrot cake, butter tarts and some take-home hot cross buns. And that was just breakfast!
Then a big walk on the beach – just off Dallas Road – right down to the water and half walking/half sinking in the beach stones – saw lots of birds and of course those big bull kelp – they look like Indiana Jones-style whips – but my mom at first thought it was some kind of ocean-snake-thing and got a little scared as I was waving it around….hee hee….
You can’t tell in this photo, but there are tons of daffodils sprouting everywhere in the grass – my parents can’t believe the weather out here! Walking on green instead of dirty snow has really got them talking!
Here’s the start of the walk:
This is me and my dad on the beach:
After that we gave them a huge car tour around Oak Bay and and had lunch at the marina (also fed the seals) then home to a raging fire and a pass-out on the couch!
Today I’m taking them to Sidney for a walk-around, then Brentwood Bay for a really good burger – the dining room overlooks the water and the weather is so beautiful and sunny today I hope we’ll see lots of kayaks! Then off to Ottavio this afternoon and who knows what else!
cheers
jenn
Mar
15
There’s this great free magazine in Victoria/Vancouver called “EAT”. It talks about the west coast food scene – hot new restaurants, older restaurants, holes-in-the walls not to be missed, interviews with chefs, what people are eating now and of course…..recipes. It reminds a little of “NOW” magazine in Toronto, except it’s 100% all about food. I love it. And I’ve managed to convince the editor that I should contribute some recipes too.
Since I love to eat locally/seasonally, that’s what my section is all about. It’s been a great way to scour the island for all kinds of produce and of course locate great farms where you can buy fresh at the gate. Last issue (out now) I wrote about sustainable fish – it is halibut season out here now!
The fun part…..is the food styling and also prop styling. We shoot at my house so I’m going mad rifling through cupboards and visiting second-hand shops to find plates, linens and funky dinnerware.
We’re shooting tomorrow……can’t let the cat out of the bag, but barbecue is involved – which is my favourite favourite way to cook meat. Well, maybe next to braising. But hey, braising is for those cold winter months….barbecue means summer is coming!
Anyways, I’m off to work but did have fun this morning playing around with table settings…..here’s what I have so far. No food yet….and I still need to find napkins, add flowers and who knows what!
Wish me luck…..gotta run
Best,
jennifer
