Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the magnificent Dr. Phillip B. Funk Dunkel.
Phillips Brewery, our very own Victoria brewery has released a full-on invasion of funky libations from their showcase series and the one that grabbed my attention (while surfing my local liquor store cooler) is their Bavarian Dark Lager.
My co-worker and fellow creative lunatic Carol recently asked me what I considered to be the best, most easily accessible books on Wescoast foraging. She’d been poking around the backyard, getting excited about harvesting some local spring plants to eat and wanted a guide that could: a) Give her a fundamental understanding of foraging – ie. when and where to pick what. b) Clearly identify what plants are edible and what to avoid. c) Inspire her to roam farther afield for new experiences. Read More
If you accept a dinner invitation, you have a moral obligation to be amusing.
– Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor
Caldo Verde is the ubiquitous Portuguese soup made from potatoes, thinly sliced kale and maybe a bit of paprika-spiked Linguiça sausage thrown in for a little Shazam! I’d heard the name mentioned in cookbooks and on other food blogs plenty of times, but I’d never researched or attempted to cook this “green broth” everyone seemed so hot on. Then winter hit, and I got sick, and all I had left in the garden was a single miserable little kale plant to comfort me. Read More
On a Monday night just before the Christmas holidays, an entire roomful of food service professionals (if any member of our clan can be called that) sat down to a very special dinner at Wasabiya Japanese Sushi Cafe in Campbell River.
Our illustrious guests were the kitchen and front-end staff of Quay West Restaurant and Catering, who had just hosted our Christmas party the night before. Chef Marc McGraw’s only request for the night’s food: “Make it something really unique, something Japanese… Stuff they may never have the opportunity to eat again.” Read More