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Archive: 2012

Holiday Gifts for Foodies

Holiday Gifts for Foodies–A Quick Guide There are just a few days left before Santa arrives. If you find yourself feeling stress this time of year, you’re not alone. Sometimes the the search for the perfect gift can make you feel harried! Or perhaps you’re looking for a host gift to offer the brave soul…

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December 17, 2012

How To Make Apple Cider

I confess. I’ve hopped on the bandwagon. I’d like to say I was doing this stuff before it was cool but that’s just not true… The Urban Homesteading thing has hooked me. Fermentation, urban bee keeping, wine making, foraging, and all types of DIY foodie projects…It’s fun stuff, it attracts the right kind of people,…

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November 27, 2012

Dinner with the Wild Things Story Contest

After much reading and deliberating, and more reading and some pondering, we have picked a winner for our Dinner with the Wild Things story contest.  It was a tough decision–there were a lot of fantastic, funny, quirky stories. But our winner, getting Dinner (for two) with the Wild Things on December 1st is: Louise Salitra, for this bittersweet tear-jerker: “Smoke and Fire; who knew that these two would save my family… Year 2000, July I’m driving down the same street i have driven done so many times before. On my way home after work – 17 years old, the road is blocked off and the street is filled with fire trucks, ambulance and spectators in pajamas. I see my home being swallowed by a blazing beast of flame and smoke. My eyes desperately look for my family members, sister-found, father (in a…

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November 27, 2012

Oysters in Months that End in “Er”

The weather is officially cool here in BC and as they say, it’s best to eat oysters in months that end in “er.” (That’s an old myth, and now that we have refrigeration, it’s not so much of an issue.) So, at the end of October, oysters are on all our minds here at Swallow Tail. These sweet little bivalves are sustainably harvested here on BC’s coast and come in so many varieties, there’s bound to be something for everyone. Some of the oysters you’ll commonly see in restaurants (and at Swallow Tail) are Kusshi, Royal Miyagi, Kumamoto, and Summer Breeze. Any of these varieties, which vary in size and flavour, are absolutely delicious straight up on their own, but they can be dressed up with something as simple as a splash of lemon, a mignonette of shallots and red…

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October 25, 2012

Night of the Stars: BC Oysters & Champagne

Got together with my wine nerd friends last week and gorged on a huge platter of BC Oysters.  Kusshi, Miyagi and Summer Breeze, oh my… We popped some bubbly and drooled all over my living room floor. Fresh grated horseradish, ginger cucumber mignonette and a fabulous cheese platter joined us for the fun. Venturi-Schulze,  Brut(BC)…

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October 4, 2012

Yellow Tomato & Pernod Relish Recipe

  I was craving flavours that tie the brightness of summer with deep cozy flavours of autumn. Fresh, bursting yellow tomatoes, Pernod, and fennel made up the summer portion, while a long slow cooking time developed some brown flavours to deliver a dose of autumn comfort. Add this stuff to sandwiches, stir it into pasta,…

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October 1, 2012

Urban Beekeeping In Vancouver

Just like wine, honey tastes different depending where it comes from. Now, urban beekeeping has allowed us to taste Vancouver neighbourhoods. Honey’s a bit of mysterious food right? I know it comes from flowers but what the heck happens between the flower and the good part at the end when we get to eat it? To find out, I connected with Melissa Cartwright of Meliferra Bees, an urban beekeeping expert here in Vancouver. Ironically enough, the ancient greek root of the name Melissa means “honey-bee”. Melissa makes premium honey from hives in Chinatown, Mount Pleasant, and Kerrisdale. Chances are, you’ve seen her bees buzzing around this summer. Maybe they’ve even collected nectar from your front yard. When we met, she was wearing one of those awesome beekeeper get ups that look like space suits. Melissa didn’t waste any time letting…

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September 24, 2012

The Hunt: Mushroom Foraging Vancouver

I would love to find gold on the street, wouldn’t you:)? Ka-ching!  That’s what it feels like when I find a big, fat chanterelle mushroom poking it’s head through the underbrush.  I’m mushroom obsessed.  With the prime months of Sept to Nov coming up for foraging you may see me tromping around BC forests, dirty…

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September 18, 2012

Blueberry & Lemon Verbena Jam Recipe

Blueberry & Lemon Verbena Jam   This weekend, I scored some lemon verbena from Chef Chashma of Pate Pastiche. I had some blueberries at home too and a recipe for a really nice looking jam recipe by Dorina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School. Been really having fun with the nostalgic feeling of preserves and jam making this year, so this was the next one on my list. Lemon Verbena is a beautiful smelling herb and this is the first time I’ve worked with it. I followed the directions in Dorina’s recipe and added rough chopped herb to the jam. It doesn’t work though…there’s chewy bits of verbena mixed through the jam and it’s not really nice. So I’ve altered the recipe and recommended you put the lemon verbena in a sachet. Or you could just scrap the fussy business and…

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September 14, 2012

How to make Cherry Compote – Recipe

I went to the Okanagan last week and came back with oodles of Peaches & Cherries. Peaches go seamlessly into jam, pies & all sorts of things. But if you have more cherries than you can eat fresh and you need to preserve them, what to do? Cherry compote! It’s super easy, tastes great and really versatile. Add it to a cheese plate or use it like jam. You can fill chocolates with it to make chocolate covered cherries. Use it as a sauce for bbq pork or duck. Spoon over ice cream, scones, chocolate cakes. Or if you’re feeling fancy, just eat it straight out of the jar with the fridge door hanging open. There’s 2 parts to this recipe because I like having more sauce. You don’t need to do Part 2 but I recommend it. I’ve used…

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August 16, 2012