La Grande Epicerie (oh how grande it was............)

After the Eiffel Tower visit, we were off to the next destination, La Grande Epicerie, located on the ground level of the Bon Marche.

I had heard tales of wonder and amazement.............and oh, the rumours were true! Truly, I was nearly rendered speechless as I walked into the store. I was expecting something smaller, I guess - the space was massive, the size of a good-sized grocery store. Wall to wall shelves of beautiful, high-end, eye candy..........in the form of food and food items. It was difficult to know where to start. We made our way towards the back of the store, the dairy section. The selection, the interesting products and packaging............amazing. Grabbed a container of banoffee pie, for starters. Saw egg cartons in easter colours, a section of baby vegetables, edible flowers, and stir fry veg kits that looked like works of art. And, Jones soda!!


The clientele of La Grande Epicerie are clearly foodies - this is no run-of-the-mill corner grocery store. Picture an olive display the size of entire deli section in one of our grocery stores - just olives! The ready-to-heat deli display was huge, with an amazing assortment of tantalizing dishes ready to take home and eat. Food from all over the world was represented - Asian potstickers, tandoori chicken, Turkish eggplant, honey-drenched Kataifi pastries.......it just never ended. We picked a container of eggplant caviar, a red pepper feta dip and a cous cous salad with yoghurt and chicken (so good!). We were given a sample of proscuitto that melted in your mouth......of course, we bought some.


There was a fabulous spice section, with many spices offered in bulk. One, of note, was mustard seeds for $25/kg. This is a crazy high price, for those not from the prairies where the seed is grown. For that price, the mustard wasn't even cleaned, as there were visible bits of debris.


The candy section was, not surprisingly, displayed elaborately. The cheese section contained so many treats for the eye, not just for the cheeses themselves, but for the packaging and decoration (I chose two goat cheeses). The produce displays looked like they came to life from a food photography shoot. A mushroom section to die for - with a massive section of beautiful chanterelles. We picked up some fresh figs and strawberries to go with the rest of our 'picnic' supper. I also snagged a container of marzipan cherries - complete with stems :)


For gifts, I picked up a couple jars of two-toned jam, raspberry on the bottom and peach on top. There were several items created just for picnics - a condiment set (which I bought) that had a tiny olive oil, balsamic, ketchup, mustard, salt & pepper. I also picked up a couple dozen tiny vinaigrettes, also for picnics. Too cute to pass up. Bought some crazy bowtie pasta, all from natural dyes (squid ink, tomato, turmeric, spinach), one that looked like licorice all sorts and one with pastel stripes. Knowing, full well, they were going to be a nightmare to transport back home. But, I could not resist.


I stopped by the patisserie section - the cakes (in small portion sizes) were works of art, everything looked absolutely perfect, many adorned with elaborate garnishes. I chose a mini Opera cake, a fruit/mousse cake that had a baby persimmon on top, and a chocolate cake for Dana. Macarons (lots, of course) and cupcakes were also there. Nearby the patisserie is the bakery - a myriad of artisan breads, baguettes, croissants.........





I picked up (had to, of course) yet another reusable shopping bag - it was only 15euros, I had to! In total we spent 142 euros..............my memories of La Grande Epicerie........priceless. This was my favourite experience of the trip (pre Le Cordon Bleu).

Mango Buffalo Chicken Wings as seen on SHAW

Mango Buffalo Chicken Wings with Mango Lime Dipping Sauce

The drummettes could be replaced with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or chicken breast strips; cooking time will be approximately half.

If the eastern spices don't appeal to you, leave them out - the wings will still be amazing!

1 large package chicken drummettes (~30)
1 cup flour
1/2 TSP garlic powder
1/2 TSP garam masala
1/4 TSP ground cardamom
1/4 TSP cumin
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP mango puree (comes in 32oz can, middle eastern section of grocery)
1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP hot sauce (I use Frank's)
1/4 cup melted butter

In a large Ziploc bag, combine the flour and dry spices. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, tossing to coat with flour. Shake off excess flour from each piece. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a small pot (or microwave) melt the butter, mango puree and hot sauce.

Dip each chicken piece in the sauce, turning to coat, tapping off excess sauce. Place on a parchment or foil-line baking sheet(s). Bake for ~40 minutes, turning halfway. If you would like a crisper coating, broil for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time. If possible, allow to cool on a cooling rack to keep the chicken crispy. Serve hot with the mango lime dipping sauce.

Mango Lime Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mango puree
1 cup sour cream (can subst. yoghurt)
zest of one lime
juice of half a lime
2 TSP honey
1/4 TSP ground cardamom
Mix the sauce ingredients together until combined.

Paris' Most Identifiable Landmark

This was supposed to be just part of a blog post, but it turned out to be a big 'aside' post. I really do love the thing, as cliche as many think of it. Of course, I'm referring to the Eiffel Tower.

Our Batobus tickets were going to expire that day, so we took one last trip on it to the Eiffel Tower. The sky was clear blue and quite warm (~24 deg C), so a little smoggy, as well. The entrance line was quite small, actually. Once inside, however, the line to take the elevator up was LONG. Eventually, we landed on the 2nd level (128 metres) and there seemed to be confusion as to where to go the wait for the 2nd level elevator. Then, sirens went off and red lights were flashing, accompanied by an announcement saying (one the English translation could be heard) "we are evacuating the tower, we apologize for the inconvenience" (inconvenience!!??)

Anyone reading this around the time we went would know that, over the month leading up to our trip there had been several evacuations of the tower due to terror threats. Several arrests were made the week we were there during the raid of a suspected terror cell (with evidence of planned attacks) so the threat really was, real. The 'chatter' that security dept's were hearing is that a bombing was not being planned, but a shooting massacre (comforting, no?). Hence, the high security at all the tourist spots. I didn't mention it previously, but everywhere you went there were soldiers with machine guns mulling about.

Anyway, back to the story at hand, we waited with all the other people (by this time, a line had formed) while the people from the upper level were evacuated, probably 15 min or so. Then, the red lights and siren shut off - apparently the threat had been cleared, so we were able to go up. The line was LONG at it was hot, standing in the direct sun. But, eventually, we made it up to the summit and took in all the amazing views of Paris at 276 metres.

After descending the tower, we took a stroll through the Champs de Mars, one of the larger greenspaces in Paris, adjacent to the Eiffel Tower. While sitting on a bench, we noticed something that looked like a bright green ball, but then realized they were all over the place. They were some sort of tree fruit, but neither of us had a clue what they were. They were about the size of a grapefruit and smelled faintly of an orange/frankincence sort of odour. Upon returning home, I found out that they were osage oranges (but not for eating) - you can reat more about them on wiki.

The Sights (well, two), at Night

Post-Fauchon, we had a quick dinner at the apartment, scavenging from our previous purchases (plus a cured sausage and a goat milk brie filled with chevre and figs from a cheese shop near Le Marche des Enfants Rouge). Dana bought a bottle of Riesling from the little confectionary across the stree for 4 euro - no wonder they drink so much wine here!!

After dinner we took a stroll up the Champs d'Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. It was a warm, clear evening and the Arc truly was a sight to behold. All the postcard pics that you see of it at night are exactly what it looks like - just like this photo we took, it's not a postcard :) We sat and watched the traffic manoeuvering around it, including two pedestrians, a couple (not young!) who suddenly darted out across the circle to go right up to it. Crazy tourists.

We kept walking south towards the Seine, not really with a destination in mind, but as we neared the river, the Eiffel tower, lit up in all its glory, appeared. Again, truly a sight to see. There is a blue beacon light and the tower, itself, is lit up. This was imressive enough, until the entire tower suddenly became a shimmering jewel. Unbeknownst to us, every hour the tower shimmers like this for ten minutes, some 20,000 bulbs creating the show. I found a video on youtube that gives you a good idea of what it was like.

That evening in Paris was the kind I think many people envision when they imagine what it would be like there - truly memorable.

Fauchon!!

At 24-26 Place de la Madeleine lies Fauchon, a culinary merchant of historical significance in Paris, known for upscale fine food items. How to describe it as you walk through the doors..........this is a food store with bling!, a sumptuous feast for the eyes, causing an immediate increase in heart rate (really). Everything, from the packaging to the store decor and displays was pure eye candy. I calmed myself down and began exploring.

I did a prelimary 'sweep' of the store to get the lay of the land, so to speak.

At the front of the store lies a sweeter portion of the epicerie section (exotic jams, honeys); further towads the back of the store is the tea and coffee section. It should be noted that Fauchon opened Paris' first Salon de The in 1898 (!). Tea is the obvious star in this section. We were taken in by the Fall seasonal tea (one new one for each season), an amazing spiced rooibis, with a strong scent of orange. We scooped up several tins for our tea lovers back home.

The other part of the back portion contained a myriad of spices, salts, peppercorns, a HUGE selection of foie gras, pasta, oils, cheese,..................it goes on & on. Returning to the front of the store, you find the patisserie section, with a large glass display of fine chocolates, plus numerous assortments of packaged chocolates.

We came away with this lovely assortment of chocolates (the middle row has Fauchon emblazened in gold), the many tins of tea and a sampler set of exotic honeys. Oh, and a black & white vinyl Fauchon shopping bag!

Downstairs houses the wine store, with a huge bar table with seating for wine tasting classes. How fun would that be?!

Upstairs houses their Salon de The - sadly, I have to report that I did not venture upstairs (this, of course, means that I must return immediately!).

Oldest Covered Market and the La Boutique Maille

There were specific food destinations that I had mapped out prior to our trip: namely the Maille store, Fauchon and La Grande Epicerie. These are their stories :)

The day started with an excursion to the oldest covered market in Paris - Marche des Enfants Rouges, dating back to 1612 (1612!!!!!). It was named for an orphange nearby the original market where the children wore red uniforms. Similar to our Saskatoon Farmer's Market, the weekdays are typically slower than the more bustling weekend markets, and fewer vendors - we were there on a Thursday. The entrance to the market (39 Rue de Bretagne, 3eme) was inconspicuous, we walked right by it the first time - just a narrow space between two buildings. You are greeted with fresh produce stands, all of excellent quality. There were several ethnic food vendors (mainly Middle Eastern), who were likely tenants, as they had commercial kitchen setups in their space. Ready-to-eat foods were available for purchase, in addition to packaged food and grocery items. It was early in the day and nowhere near lunch, so we decided to keep moving, but not without buying a perfectly-ripened mango.

Destination two, the Maille store (6 Place de Madeleine, 8eme), founded by Antoine Maille in 1747. The notably cute storefront was inviting, with interesting window displays. Upon entering the store, it was a feast for the eyes. The walls were completely lined with perfectly-arranged jars and bottles. Doing a preliminary scan, there were MANY more varieties than we will ever see on this continent.

I bought a wooden crate that contained 9 small jars (108g); I chose the crate because it would almost guarantee a safe journey home without having to pack each jar individually. The varieties in the crate were: bleu cheese, hazelnut and nutmeg, coconut with Columbian spices, Chablis with Morels, Pesto with Rocket, Red Berry, Cognac, Sundried Tomatoes with Espelette Pepper (a French pepper variety) and Parmesan Basil. Crazy!!! They look so adorable in their little crate that I cringe at the thought of opening them. I'll let the visual honeymoon fade and then I'll start sampling :)

On the front desk, there were three ceramic 'taps' (at first glance, you might think they were beer taps) that contained mustard that could be poured into customer's containers - mustard on tap, who would have thought?! While making my purchase, I attempted to explain that I make mustard for our Farmer's Market. Eventually, I got that across. He asked if I start using the seed, and I said yes. I was about to try to explain that the seeds that they use for their mustard come from Saskatchewan, but quickly realized that might take the rest of the afternoon. So, I just asked where Fauchon was.

The Adventures Begin

The next morning we started off the day with a traditional breakfast of croissants from the Boulangerie across the street with a lovely cherry jam that we had picked up at Monoprix the night before. Amazing - oh how I've dreamt of being back in Paris having these most amazing crispy clouds of buttery goodness!

After spending spending the morning at Notre Dame and wandering around St.Germain, we ventured on over to Ile St. Louis, the tiny little island just east of Ile de la Cite (where Notre Dame is located). I had heard that there were a lot of interesting shops there, and had I heard right! It was such a cute neighbourhood (I decided I would live there if I ever HAD to live in Paris - when/if I eventually take the one month intensive course at Le Cordon Bleu, I shall!) with tiny streets lined with really interesting stores.

La Cure Gourmand was this little gem of sunshine, filled with brightly coloured tins and hand-crafted candies, including chocolated-covered olives that looked liked black and green olives, but were actually almonds - so cute!

The patisserie, Calixte, shown here, had a beautiful display of pastries, cakes and, of course, macarons. They had seven flavours, so sadly, I had to buy seven macarons.

After that satisfying purchase, we found THE gelato shop in Ile St. Louis - Amorino . I ordered a dish of coconut (amazing), and my husband got this flowery creation, created from two flavours of gelato - mango and lemon. Could anyone have a more look of pure glee? They formed the petals from some little special scoop - really cool.

After doing a drop & dash of our treasures at the apartment, we headed out for dinner. I had chosen a little restaurant called Chez Leon (5 Rue Isly, 8eme), having researched decent restaurants in Paris for a good price. It was crazy inside - loud, bustling, very tiny, but we spotted an empty table & grabbed it. This would be the equivalent of a diner kind of place with simple food cooked well, visited by locals. I'm pretty sure we were the only tourists there, ergo, English was not spoken. We waited about 20 - 30 minutes to be spoken to at all - the place was being entirely run by one woman, presumably the owner. Eventually we ordered - I chose the rosbif with frites, my husband chosen veal, and after about another 20 or so minutes, we were told they were out :) Roast chicken it was - at this point, it appeared there was not a lot left in the kitchen to serve. When the food finally came it was presented very simply - no fancy garnishes here. The food itself was great - good quality ingredients (the potatoes really do taste different there........all in the soil, so they say) with excellent flavours.

My Adventures in Paris

Before the memories fade.....................where to start? I'll do a trip summary in a series of posts - there's just too much to talk about in one super lengthy one :)


To begin at the beginning, the entire flight to Paris, my intrepidation at speaking French was increasing exponentially. It was 25 years ago that I was last there. At that time I was hinging on being completely bilingual. Just from what I've helping my sons out with their homework, etc (they're in French Immersion), I knew I had lost a LOT, if not most, of my comprehension. Can you say "Babelfish"?!


Once we landed, we took a shuttle bus from CDG to the Opera area. From there, in the middle of the beyond-traffic-congested area, we were left to fend for ourselves and begin the journey. Somehow we had to get a taxi - did I mention it was rush hour, and this area in Paris is likely the most congested in the city? When I say congested, picture several angled streets, merging together into an open circle. There is no concept of lanes and barely any direction provided by traffic lights, or lack thereof. Envision hundreds of cars, all of which have converged into the circle, driving in every direction possible, all clustered together and literally,bumper to bumper. Like, literally. It was the most insane cluster**** I have witnessed - somehow, our taxi driver got us out of there and to our apartment, located in the 8th arrondissement about 2 blocks southeast of the Arc de Triomphe and a block and a half north of the Champs d'Elysees. Upon arriving there, we waited for the rep from the apartment rental company to let us in.


The apartment was situated on the 4eme level, which, if you know how things go in France, is actually the 5th floor. After hauling up our luggage up the 5 flights of stairs, up a teeny, narrow wooden spiral staircase (being coached by our rep who said "you only have to do this once") and pleading with my heart not to go into full arrest before our trip had even begun, we were in. There were no surprises, everything was just as it had been depicted in the website photos. High end kitchen (complete with a Nespresso machine) and crazy funky design with blood red walls. Once we settled in we immediately headed out to the nearest grocery store, Monoprix, to get some basic supplies.


After a lovely stroll down the Champs d'Elysees, we found the store. The package left for us by the apartment people contained all sorts of useful information about the area, including this store location. The store was busy - at this time is was about 9pm; like any big city I've seen, dinner is eaten later than around these parts. I beelined for the yoghurt aisle, knowing that I would find lots to choose from. The selection was awe-inspiring. Grocery stores there have relatively little selection of everything, compared to what we see here (for example, the sugar section consisted of about 8 tiny items), but the yoghurt, well, that's entirely another story. The French LOVE their yoghurt, and it shows. So many brands, so many flavours, and the section blended into the next section, puddings/desserts, and not like the Jello brand things you find here. I chose two yoghurts, coconut and black currant. My husband chose a pkg of 4 pots de creme, which came in actual glass jars rimmed with gold foil; you'd think they'd be $$, but the set was something like 1.4euros, so just under $2. This section blended intot eh cheese section, also an enormous selection - I had to buy thes fun little 'aperitif" cheese tray, comes complete with the serving tray and little party picks :) Spent about 1/2 hours just perusing the aisles, taking it all in. This is one of my favourite parts about visiting other countries........it's a job hazard :) Chose a lovely jar of cherry confiture to go with our breakfast croissants, which I was eagerly anticipating. There's also interesting 'takes' on things we see here, like these smoked ham chips - not so far off from smoky bacon, but they definitely taste like ham. We discovered, at the till, unfortunately, that produce is weighed out and labelled by the customer, not punched in with codes at the till. So, with the long line behind us, we abandoned the fresh figs (lovely, supple and plump..........) and apples we had bagged up for that day.


Sauntered back to the apartment, packed our purchases away, and started drafting a plan of action for the following day.

The Countdown has Begun!

The countdown to Paris has begun- it seems like forever since the trip was originally cancelled because of the Iceland volcanic eruption (yes, I still hate Iceland).

Our apartment is about 3 blocks east and 1 block north of the Champs d'Elysees. I didn't know, until recently, that you can actually go up inside the Arc de Triomphe - didn't do that in 1985, but will this time! I've mapped out several day trips, most of which are centered around food in some way :)

Penny McKinlay, a local writer, wrote an article about me and the story of Wild Serendipity. If you'd care to peruse, it's on her blog.

I've just placed my first order with The Better Bread Box, run by Carmen Dyck and Keith Jorgenson (who are also vendors at the Saskatoon Farmer's Market - business name "Fruition").

This week's selection features peach and blueberry baking (fruity muffins, granola, granola bars or fruit crisp), and hearty sandwich or artisan bread.

There are several pick-up locations in the, or the orders can be delivered for a nominal fee.

Check it out - fresh, local baking for $20 without messin' up your own kithen! :)

Call for frost tonight (-3 deg C) - Fall is definitely around the corner......

Happy Birthday to MEEEEE! and a New Product

This week marked my 43rd birthday, and I spent most of it making scones. I truly do apparently love what I do, because my personal tradition is to never work on my birthday. And I didn't even feel bad about it. I did, however, ensure that I frequented eating establishments that we do not normally go to with our boys. It was E.E. Burritos for lunch - Horchata (I love saying that word), which is kind of like cinnamon rice pudding in beverage form, if you've never had it, and a chicken enchilada - love their enchilada sauce! I had the song "Horchata" by Vampire Weekend running through my head the whole time - check it out on YouTube

For dinner it was Amigo's - chicken chimichanga (yep, it was a mexican-themed kind of day).

The highpoint was the cake, shown above, created by my lovely friend and kitchen-mate, Sherry Sawatzky of Sliced Decadence. For the base she made my favourite, maple pecan (with extra maple) and for the topper, my second favourite, chai. The mehndi design was inspired by a wedding cake she recently did - also, I was supposed to have received a permanent mehndi tattoo on my left hand/arm. Long story as to why that never happened. It goes without saying - the cake was fabulous.

This week I also introduced a new product to my Farmer's Market booth. Cathy Langdon, from In Our Handz, sold focaccia and cheesecakes at her booth at the Saskatoon Farmer's Market. She is launching her new business as a private practice dietician - the Food Mentor Knowing she would not have time to do both, she kindly asked me if I would be interested in taking on her focaccia product. I was happy to take it on, as it complemented my current product line, which also included European flatbread pizzas. It is sold by the pan (baked, ready to warm up) and slices, ready-to-eat, at the Market. It is made using a traditional Ciabatta dough - it is a fairly labour-intensive process, beginning the night before and much of the following day. The result is a dense and chewy texture - the flavous will be varied, and as always, ever-changing.

Fall - My Renewal Time of Year

September is (nearly) here, already. It seems like the the previous school year just ended, and now here we are gearing up for another year. Fall has always felt like a time of renewal for me. I always looked forward to the beginning of a new school year - a time to see old friends, and how much they'd changed over the summer, new classroom, new teacher, new clothes and brand new school supplies. It really felt like the beginning of a new year, more so than the calendar New Year.

I had to sneak in this pic of my oldest son when he was one, taken at Kitsilano Beach (where we lived at the time............sigh).

Now, Fall marks the beginning of the new set of cooking classes after taking a reprieve over the summer. If you haven't seen the new schedule , you will see a few changes. There is less of me in the schedule, and the addition of classes taught by two Red Seal Chefs, Chef Brent Lloyd and Chef Simon Reynolds. My personal life (ie. my children's lives) has become busier and it has become increasingly difficult to 'meet the demand'. Both Simon and Brent bring their own style, both personal and cooking, to the mix. On my homepage, you will see a Class Description page. You will find the overview of all the classes being offered this term - of course, if you have any questions, just ask! There are a few dates left for custom (private groups) cooking classes - if you are interested in booking something, I recommend you do so soon!

So I hope you all have had a wonderful summer, and I look forward to seeing you in an upcoming class or at the Market! :)

Saltspring, At Last!

Part Deux of my vacation post - our excursion to Saltspring Island, to take in the Farmer's Market.

Galiano Island (where we were staying) does have its own Farmer's Market, albeit smaller. The Saltspring Farmer's Market is, I believe, amongst the biggest/best known in British Columbia. To not go there, whilst in such close proximity, would be just pure silliness.

There is only one possible water taxi to take to the Market, and only one to get you back, so tardiness is not an option. We arrived about 20 minutes early, as advised by the owners. There was already a good handful of other people waiting around. I had no idea how many seats the 'taxi' would have - I knew it is used as the school taxi during the school year, so I was thinking 15, maybe 20? When it arrived, I was relieved to see that it sat ~50. It first stopped at Mayne Island, and then it was off to Saltspring. The trip there took a little over one hour. It seemed like a long time to spend getting to school, but then I realized that thousands of kids all over Saskatchewan spent that muc time (or more) on a bus each day. As we were approaching Ganges Harbour, we all couldn't help but gawk at a yacht that begged to be gawked at. I don't know enough about boats to talk specifics - but this is what you would envision when you think of the ultra-rich. It had a helicopter - a HELICOPTER!! crazy

Once we docked, we scrambled up to the Market - we were all hungry, so we stopped at the first place that looked good. It turned out to be a little wagon run by two elderly ladies - their fare consisted of all things fried - we got a potato on a stick (the potato was sliced into spirals using an attachment on an electric drill - ingenius! The slices were then put on a skewer) They had the equivalent of what we call elephant ears. And then there was the Dog on a Stick. I was thinking something along the lines of corndog, but that was naive. It was a wiener, wrapped in dough (like elephant ear dough), and then deep fried. Bad, bad...........but oh, so good!

Assured that our hearts were still pumping, we ventured on. We took a quick walkabout. Lots of artisans, not surprisingly - everything from children with craft-art, hand-crafted soaps, professional artists to all the fine (fine!) foods. Fresh produce was noticeably absent - we saw one vendor who had organic microgreens, but really, that was about it. The attendees were a little more reminiscent of the 60's (some of which lived through them, most of which would not have yet been a twinkle in their daddy's eye ;)

The Saltspring Island Cheese Company was a beehive of activity - so many varieties! We chose chevre topped with truffles.

I had to check out the Mustard vendor (of course), Joy and Alan Coupland - she had about a dozen or more varieties - I selected Herbed, and Lemon. Aside: We had a wonderful time trying to get through security with the two jars (they were taken from me - mustard does not equal mustard gas....................don't get me started) - just as I was beginning to create an 'incident', my husband unhappily volunteered to go back through security & check the two little terrorist threats. About 20 minutes later, he reappeared, and they did end up coming home with us.

I bought a lovely sunflower print, painted by Sherren MacLeod. Turns out she also runs a B&B on Saltspring (the running of which is where I'm heading, in about a decade, give or take a few years, and most likely on Galiano).

My boys were entranced with a guy performing with 'devil sticks'. I ended up buying them each a set to play with (there's good margins in tape-covered sticks). As I was walking through the park area to find my family, I heard music coming from the bandshell, it was 'oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, please shine down on me'. I thought, isn't that nice, someone is singing Raffi. As I made through the crowd, I could see the stage, & it WAS Raffi!! How cool is that?!

We had the opportunity to sample the food from a new vendor at the Market - a Japanese rice ball vendor. If you are unfamiliar with rice balls, they are a pizza-pocket style version of sushi (different fillings), packaged in the most clever way to keep the nori from getty soggy.

It truly was a great Market experience. We saw it all - the people, the products, the music and the wonderful foods made for wondeful memories. I'm so glad we took the time to get there - I was worried my boys would not feel the same, but they really had a blast.

With those happy memories in my head, while on our way back to the Harbour to take the water taxi back to Galiano, I took an unfortunate tumble down a couple of split-stone steps and sprained my ankle (which is still swollen to this day!) I'm just glad it happened at the end of the day, and at the end of our trip. Now I need to get it better before heading off to Paris in October!

My Summer, So Far

Summer got off to a great start - we left for the West Coast right after the Saturday June 26th Farmer's Market. Specifically, Galiano Island was our destination. If you're not familiar with the Southern Gulf Coast Islands, they are located in the Juan de Fuca Strait, between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island:

Galiano is the long, thin island, the second-largest of the southern gulf coast islands, Saltspring being the largest. It is also the second largest by population, which is sitting at around 1,200 right now.

This was a trip a couple of years in the making. My father rented a fully-equipped cabin right on the water for a week, and we all stayed together. The cabin was located on Whaler Bay, just a few minutes' walk from the Sturdies Bay Ferry Dock. "Downtown" Galiano is in between the two.

You instantly knew you had been transported to "Island Time" when, at 3pm (if you're lucky) everything except the little gas station/grocery has closed down for the day. On one day, we were looking for somewhere to eat lunch, and we were pointed to a painted camper trailer (The Flying Black Dog) across the street - we were advised that they had great food, if they were still open (this was about 1:45) . There were people there, so we thought we were in the clear. As we placed our order, I noticed a sign that said "sorry, closed at 2 today - going golfing". Our order was the last one put through. It was excellent food - I had a curried chickpea roti on rice, really fresh flavours.

The food stores were stocked a wee bit better than most cabin-type grocery stores - you could find pretty much anything you'd expect in a high end food store. You could literally cook any type of cuisine while staying there. The prices were surprisingly not sky high. In town there is the Sturdies Bay Bakery & Cafe - lovely little spot, great coffee and artisan breads.

The highlight of the week was unexpected - it was the Canada Day Jamboree. We missed the parade since we assumed the community hall where it was being held was nearby. Turns out Galiano Island is so long that they have two community halls. After about a 25 minute ride to the north end of the island, we joined in the celebration already underway.




The whole thing was so well-organized, even the food venue. There were salmon burgers (my choice), meat & veggie burgers, smokies/hot dogs. Coffee was served in real ceramic cups (did I mention there is no landfill on Galiano Island? We had to take all our our garbage from the cabin back with us on the ferry), as recycling is huge on the island (any island). There was a huge selection of from-scratch pies, ice cream.

After lunch, there were several carnival type games set up for the kids, including some of the old fashioned ones like 3 legged and potato sack race. One of the kids activities was purchasing a cake for $2 and decorating it. Live music was played throughout the festivities - at one point, Hallelujah could be heard. Where else, but a remote(ish) island, kind of stuck in the 60's, would you hear that at a Canada Day Celebration? :)

At the end of the day, people were allowed to take flowers from the big cart (shown above) that was part of the parade.

Apparently there are occasionally fireworks in the evening, but a fireban was currently in effect.

This was my favourite Canada Day to date. It was such a wholesome, not-cheezy, fun event. There was such a good spirit that could be felt. We've already booked the same cabin for 2011, & will continue to do so, all planned around Canada Day. So there will be many more Galiano Jamboree Canada Day celebrations in our future!

Next up - Saltspring Island Farmer's Market!!

Summer Cooking Classes!

There is an exciting lineup of classes being offered at the kitchen of Wild Serendipity Foods over the summer months!
Two chefs, Brent Lloyd and Simon Reynolds are running a series of classes over July and into August.

Click here for Simon's schedule
and
here for Brent Lloyd's schedule

Please direct any inquiries and/or registration for the classes to each chef directly - contact information is provided on the schedule sheet.

Have a great summer!

Exciting Things at the Farmer's Market!!

There are some exciting things happening at the Farmer's Market these days............

First, an update on our first Dinner at the Market - it was a resounding success! We received nothing but great reviews from the guests, some hoping that we would continue to hold them.......weekly!! (not a chance) It was a great experience all around, & we looking forward to holding more in the future.

That was a great segway for the next bit of news:
Chef Moe Mathieu, Head Chef Instructor at SIAST's culinary program, is going to be creating a "pop up restaurant" at the Farmer's Market, set to run 4 nights per week, starting towards the end of June. Moe will be setting up a restaurant within the Market, to be run out of Riverbend's kitchen. Come & check out this first-of-its-kind in Saskatoon. Enjoy a wonderful meal, then take a stroll along the River Landing promenade!

Then, starting on Thursday, July 1st, there will be a Thursday evening market, running from 5pm to 9pm. This market is set to run until mid-September. Stop by to eat/pick up your supper, shop from the vendors & tenants, enjoy some entertainment on the Square. Just one of the exciting things beginning to happen at River Landing!