Headed for a Heatwave

June 23, 2015June 23, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

It’s going to get hot here, in the next few days. At the same time, there’s a bounty of summer produce to experiment with. Here are a few early summer heatwave suggestions:

It’s still strawberry season, so make the most of them while you can.

Dorie Greenspan’s Double-Strawberry and Rose Shortcakes

Mozzarella, Tomato and Strawberry Salad

Ginger-Honey and Strawberry Chèvre Ice Cream

And now, cherries have started appearing in the market.

Roasted Cherries

Whole-Cherry Clafoutis

Gâteau Basque

If hot-weather cooking doesn’t appeal, there’s lots to do around town.

The Vancouver International Jazz Festival runs until July 1st this year. There are concerts at venues all over town, but don’t overlook the free shows this weekend at David Lam Park. It’s a beautiful place to relax, picnic, and listen to some stellar music.

If you’d prefer to start your weekend indoors, Rain City Chronicles‘ latest show is at the Museum of Vancouver this Friday. It’s called GUTs and promises “stories of relying on your instincts, acts of bravery, and the organs inside you.”

There are two days left to catch the Festival d’ete francophone de Vancouver.

If you have kids, or if you still have the constitution of one, head over to Playland and test your stomach’s mettle with fair food and amusement park rides.

I prefer my thrills pedal-powered, so Velopalooza is right up my alley. I’m only sorry I missed today’s Tour de Book Exchanges.

Or you could hang out in your backyard (or patio, for you microunit dwellers) and work on developing Summer 2015’s signature drink.

I’ll be here hoping for a nice summer rain.

Summer Slow Down

June 16, 2015June 19, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

Today, I’m sharing a few photos from the last few heat-wave-y weeks. Farms, festivals, and fun have been on my off-hours agenda. What’s been keeping you busy so far this summer?

Win one of two copies of Jill Colonna’s beautiful Teatime in Paris!

In the Early Summer

June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

One of the nicest things about Vancouver Mini Maker Faire is that it runs the gamut from handcrafts to high tech, with all makers being accorded respect. There’s lots to see and do there this weekend.

Once you’ve made the most of Maker Faire, you can reward yourself with a cold brew at Vancouver Craft Beer Week’s Festival on Sunday.

Or you can just get in the mood for Italian Day on the Drive at The Rio. They’ve got a mini Italian film fest lined up in the week leading up to the big day.

Bard on the Beach is back, meaning that it’s well and truly summer. Their offerings this year include a steampunk-inflected version of The Comedy of Errors and a Jazz Age Love’s Labour’s Lost.

If it’s not sold out already, Vancouver’s Femme City Choir promises to put on a terrific show.

Or you can celebrate the oeuvre John Hughes with Hot Wet Art City.

If none of this seems exciting to you so far, maybe a Terminal City Rollergirls Double Header is more your speed.

There’s lots more going on, of course, but that gives you a starting point. There’s also a chance that I might kick back with a cool drink and admire the early summer flowers. They’re so fleeting, after all.

One Last Kick at the Plan

May 5, 2015May 6, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ Leave a comment

Tonight, the Citizens’ Assembly on the Grandview-Woodland Community Plan had its last community roundtable. The subject of discussion was the draft sub-area recommendations, on specific parts of the community like Cedar Cove, Nanaimo, and Broadway and Commercial.

I arrived shortly before seven and the line up of participants was nearly out the door, while inside, most of the tables were almost full. I managed to get a seat at one of the Britannia-Woodland discussion tables, then during the second round, sat at a Commercial Drive discussion table. People were still arriving as the discussion started and as with all of the meetings I’ve attended so far, there were enough participants to fill at least a half dozen more tables. As it was, people found space where they could, or sat two-deep for some of the more contentious discussions.

As always, I was impressed by the knowledge and commitment of the Assembly members and the community members who came to the meeting. There were fruitful discussions and agreement on many issues, though there will never be consensus on others.

Here are a few of the highlights from the summaries at the end of the night:

More creative use of industrial lands is needed.
Nanaimo Street needs to be developed, but in a way that respects current residential uses.
Affordable housing is the crucial issue for the Britannia-Woodland sub-area.
Cedar Cove needs to be better integrated into the neighbourhood, with transit and Commercial Drive-like spaces for small business.
Commercial Drive needs to be kept affordable for independent, small-scale businesses. Ideas like allowing businesses to make use of laneways might be part of the solution.
Public space needs to be truly public, rather that the private-public space seen in places like Yaletown, that’s not truly accessible to citizens.
Co-operative housing and other affordable housing need to be protected and promoted, so that we can retain a mixed income community.

No consensus was reached on the development at Venables and Commercial and there was also a concern that though there has been broad consensus at all public meetings on a height restriction of four storeys, the proposals that are presented to the public keep integrating greater height limits.

There was broad support, with some objections, to the plan for bike lanes along Commercial/Salsbury, along with wider sidewalks from 1st to Broadway. The active transportation plan for Commercial seems like it’s going to become a reality.

There’s a divide of opinion on how to protect and expand affordable housing in the neighbourhood. Some believe that density created through condo development and tower construction will achieve that, though the results elsewhere in the City show the opposite effect. Others (including me) believe that density achieved through infill, smaller development, and more distributed density will help protect existing affordable housing stock, while allowing more to be built. Creative approaches to preserving existing buildings, while allowing redevelopment are seen as crucial by many of us.

Those are just a few of the points made tonight. And there’s still a little time to comment on the draft before the Assembly’s last meeting on May 9th. You can email them at assembly@grandview-woodland.ca and you can download a copy of the draft here.

I don’t hold out much hope that the City will respect the recommendations of the Assembly or the neighbourhood at large. But I still don’t think this process has been a waste of time. The Assembly has done an admirable job of recording the views of the neighbourhood and sifting through all the information that’s been given to them.

Most importantly, the overwhelming interest in the process shows just how active our neighbourhood will be in challenging the City if it should present us with something that doesn’t reflect the concerns and ideas that this community has voiced.

A Promising Month

April 7, 2015April 7, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ 3 Comments

Just a short post tonight, with an update on what you can look forward to in April on the blog, including the Roasted Squash and Shallots with Merguez Chickpeas from River Cottage Veg that you see at the top of the post.

Every Thursday this month, I’ll have a cookbook review for you. And next Tuesday, I’ll let you know how your local supermarket can help you make better decisions about your health and the way you eat.

Along the way, there will be more of the dwindling store of French Fridays recipes, a Cottage Cooking Club update, anticipation of summer farmers’ markets, and an exploration of the Vancouver Biennale.

Who knows what else this month may hold in store?

Vegan Easter Dinner with a Ricardo Cuisine Recipe

March 31, 2015March 12, 2016 ~ Teresa ~ 5 Comments

I was provided a subscription to Ricardo Magazine for review, but received no other consideration for this post.

The best part of any holiday is sharing food with family and friends. Sometimes, that means making sure that family favourites are on the table (like my mother’s five cup salad). Sometimes, it means experimenting with new dishes that may just become favourites for the next generation. In my house, it always means making sure that everyone has enough food to enjoy, no matter what their dietary restrictions or aversions.

That can get a little tricky these days, with so many folks suffering from allergies, while others follow diets restricted for health reasons or ethical considerations. It’s not impossible, though, and today’s table offers people much better fare than that dished out when I was growing up.

Back then, a vegetarian was lucky if they got a baked potato with some vegetables on the side, unless they brought their own meal. Now, greater awareness ensures that there are staple dishes to satisfy vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free folks, with no one thinking twice about it. Some of them are even favourites for everyone at the table.

When I was asked to review Ricardo Cuisine‘s Easter recipe collection, my thoughts naturally turned to finding ones that would work for my gluten-free and vegan partner. He has celiac disease and has recently begun eating a completely vegan diet, as well. So, finding holiday dishes that satisfy his requirements and are enjoyable for everyone is always a priority.

Right away, I landed on Ricardo’s Roasted Fennel and Fingerling Potatoes recipe. It’s the kind of dish that’s likely to become a yearly tradition, because it’s more interesting than the usual starch and vegetable sides. This roasted vegetable combination relies on the onions and fennel for flavour as well as fibre. So, it makes a good complement to other dishes at Easter dinner, then the leftovers become a great base for more meals. I like to make this sort of recipe in larger quantities than I need, for just that reason.

This dish will satisfy the vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free, but it’s also a nice choice for diabetics, because it combines the starch of potatoes with the fibre of onions and fennel, while avoiding the heaviness of many butter and milk rich potato dishes. And the unrestricted omnivores at the table will be happy it’s so delicious.

Combined with other dishes, like Ricardo’s Asparagus with Lemon Gremolata or a vegan version of his Maple-Braised Endives, you’re well on your way to happy guests. Just add a protein – like a really good slice of lentil loaf – and you’ve got a complete meal for those who aren’t partaking in the Easter ham or roast.

You can find more of Ricardo’s Easter recipes here. You’ll find some to suit any of your Easter guests, from the appetizer course through dessert.

I’ve been a big fan of Ricardo since my Francophone mother introduced me to his French language television program years ago. Though I can follow along with the French instructions reasonably well, I’m happy that he’s expanding his English language presence, too.

Ricardo Cuisine was kind enough to let me reproduce their recipe here. Once you’ve tried it, I predict it’s going to become a staple at your holiday table and perhaps year-round, too.

Roasted Fennel and Fingerling Potatoes

Preparation time: 25 min
Cooking time: 1 h
Output: 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

675 g (1 ½ lb) fingerling or baby potatoes

2 bulbs fennel, each cut into 8 wedges

60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

3 small onions, cut into 1.5 cm (½-inch) thick slices

Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F).
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the potatoes until cooked but still slightly firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a non-stick skillet, brown the fennel in half of the oil (30 ml / 2 tbsp). Set the fennel aside in a baking dish. In the same skillet, brown the onions for about 2 minutes. Add to the fennel with the potatoes and the remaining oil. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the fennel and potatoes are cooked tender. Serve with the Pork Roast with Maple Sauce.

Eat Local: Kin Kao

March 24, 2015March 24, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ 13 Comments

Every neighbourhood has spaces that are just crying out for the right restaurant. Places that have had a history of good tries or also rans. When you live close to one of these rooms, it becomes a local topic of discussion, as everyone shares their ideas for what they hope the next venture will bring.

Which meant that when the paper went up over the windows of a failed sandwich shop near Venables and Commercial, there was a lot of speculation. And when signs followed, announcing a Thai restaurant would occupy the space, locals started to get excited. As the restaurant started to take shape, the care taken with the physical design suggested equally considered food and the neighbourhood started to get impatient.

In February, Kin Kao opened and justified that impatience. They experimented with their menu for the first few weeks. We were a bit apprehensive to go during this period, as my partner has celiac disease and is also vegan, which can be hard to work around. But, they were able to modify some dishes for him beautifully and now there are permanent selections on their menu that are great for vegans and gluten-free folks.

We’ve been back more times than I care to admit, for lunch, dinner, and takeout and we’ve tried a number of dishes across their menus. Omnivore that I am, the red curry with duck is my favourite, but I’ve been happy with every dish I’ve tried. For Kevin, the green curry with tofu has become his go to dish, with the vegetarian Phat Thai running a close second. They’ve also got a very well chosen drinks list, with the beers from local brewers 33 Acres and Strange Fellows making particularly good accompaniments to their meals.

I have to warn you, though, Kin Kao is not a Drive North secret – people from all around the city are lining up nightly to enjoy the space. It’s worth the wait, but if you live close by, don’t overlook their take out menu. Their food is just as enjoyable at home. And lunch is a particular pleasure, starting out with soup and moving on to satisfying one plate meals. It’s also not quite as hectic, so it makes a good start to a day on the Drive.

Kin Kao is just the right addition to the north side of the Drive. I think it will boost the business for the lesser known gems around Kin Kao, while acting as an anchor to attract more interesting businesses. It’s also another feather in the cap of our neighbourhood, which is attracting excellent iterations of specific cuisines, like the perfect Neopolitan fare at Via Tevere.

On a more selfish note, we’ve wanted a restaurant of this calibre on this side of the Drive for some time now. And it does Thai food better than most places in the city. They’re going to keep seeing a lot of us.

Co-ops and the Community Plan

March 10, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ Leave a comment

The Grandview-Woodland Citizens’ Assembly is nearing completion of its process. By early summer it will have presented its recommendations. Then, it will be up to the City to decide how those recommendations will figure into the final community plan.

Tonight, I attended a community consultation by the Assembly that was specifically geared to co-op housing members, a part of the community that can get ignored in the discussions that centre on the needs of owners and renters in our neighbourhood. There are only two members of the Assembly that live in co-op housing, which apparently represents the proportion of co-op residents in Grandview-Woodland. There are twenty-eight Assembly members that own their residences and another eighteen that rent. I don’t know if there is any representation from social housing included amongst the eighteen renters on the Assembly.

We considered six recommendation areas that concern co-op housing: how the expiration of co-op land leases are handled; the loss of Federal support at the end of co-ops’ operating agreements; advocacy for alternative ownership models in the City; supports for co-ops’ viability over the long term; and the potential for co-op housing to be built into new development.

There was also an initial discussion of a definition of co-operative housing. Though there was a wealth of ideas about what co-op housing means for co-op members and the community, we all agreed that it’s a model distinct from social housing, renting, and owning. The City, as it stands, classes co-ops as a form of social housing, which does a disservice to both models, as they serve different needs and provide different benefits. There is absolutely a need for dedicated low-income housing, but there’s an equal need for mixed-income models that provide security of tenure whether a resident’s income increases or decreases. Mixed-income, affordable housing is especially important in a city that’s becoming increasingly unafforable for middle-income and low-income people alike.

I’m looking forward to seeing the end result of the Assembly’s process. All the members I’ve met have been passionate advocates for our neighbourhood, caring deeply about the diversity that Grandview-Woodland encompasses, and working hard to make sure they represent the need to protect this diversity over the course of the next three decades.

At the same time, I was reminded again tonight that the scope of the Assembly’s mandate is narrow, which makes it important that the community makes itself heard outside that process as well as within it. I hope that CHF BC makes its own submissions to the City with regard to neighbourhood plans across Vancouver, and that the Grandview-Woodland Area Council and the Our Community, Our Plan! group continue to lobby the City on behalf of our neighbourhood.

My Corner of the Internet is Getting a Little Dusty

March 3, 2015March 9, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ 8 Comments

I have to admit I’m at a low ebb, creatively. You may have noticed it’s been quiet around here, which makes me worry that this blog is starting to resemble the little wooden Christmas tree I saw today, forgotten on a corner.

I’ve got drafts of posts in various stages of completion, a list of recipes I need to catch up on, and another list of posts to write and places to visit. What I’ve been doing instead is reading, reading, reading.

Here are a few of the rabbit holes I’ve fallen down:

How London’s private development has damaged its public space and where it should look for inspiration, instead.

A reminder that drilling down into a genre or author pool can be an important part of reading widely and well. And another that seeing a theme everywhere can be a slippery thing.

Some validation, finally, for my techiness around Starbucks’ take on chai. Then, a disquisition on the chemistry of tea and a proper cuppa.

I’m hoping that there’s a little inspiration lurking amongst all these links I’ve been chasing down, but I also suspect that I need to shake myself out of my usual routines and wander beyond my regular haunts.

And I could use a little inspiration from you, too. What do you do when you need to be shaken out of a creative funk?

The Spring Hermit’s Bookshelf

February 17, 2015February 18, 2015 ~ Teresa ~ Leave a comment

So many of my friends across the continent are dealing with a harsh winter, while I’m contemplating planting the first seeds in the garden. I almost wouldn’t mind being snowed in, though – it’s been a long time since I’ve had a snow day and there’s nothing like cooking, baking, reading, and dreaming from a cozy vantage point on an icy world.

Except for doing all that, while also being able to go on long, sunny walks in the fresh spring air. I should just enjoy it before the rains start again, shouldn’t I?

And really, who needs an excuse to hunker down with a good book?

I just finished Vikram Chandra’s Geek Sublime and it was every bit as good as I expected it to be. I love writers who can take seemingly disconnected subject matter and weave the threads together into a greater whole. Chandra’s book explores code, but also colonialism, Indian and Western literatures, writing, and more.

I also have a bookshelf standoff happening between Alice Medrich’s Flavor Flours and Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Baking Bible. Actually, the only conflict they’re creating is whether or not I can justify adding two more beautiful books to the groaning shelves of our cookbook bookcase.

Here are some other excellent recent reads:

Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner – deceptively small, for such a rich and comprehensive survey of a subject, rather like a magical object in a fairy tale.

How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City by Joan DeJean – for those who dream of architecture and cultural formation, along with the romance of Paris.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – a post-apocalyptic vision that sees more than just dissolution.

The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion by Meghan Daum – a bracing book of essays.

Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age by Cory Doctorow – copyright from a socially just perspective.

And coming up:

Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923 by RF Foster

Moving Targets: Writing With Intent, 1982-2004 by Margaret Atwood

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

After that, I think I should get back outside. So, tell me, what are you reading?