by Krista | Mar 22, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
Once in a while life hands out little surprises that are so beautiful, so unexpected, they leave you glowing for days. I was given one this weekend.
Many months ago Canadian Breanne Mosher commented on one of my blog posts. I popped over to her blog http://thevintagebox.blogspot.com/and soon we forged an online friendship through our blogs and Facebook that grew to include her splendid hubby, Jared.
I liked them instantly as we connected over delicious food, great music, good books, and all sorts of adventures in travel.
When Jared contacted me last week saying he and Breanne would be in Vancouver, Canada for business, I was delighted to be his partner in crime in surprising Breanne with an evening of exploring, eating and talking in downtown Vancouver.
I was excited all week until Sunday arrived and little niggling fears crept in: what if they don’t like me? What if I don’t like them? What if our online friendship doesn’t pan out in real life?
I needn’t have worried. 🙂 Jared and Breanne were not only just as fabulous as they were online, they were better.
After hugs and smiling so big our cheeks ached, we secured scarves round our necks and headed out to explore Vancouver, talking a mile a minute as we walked.
We talked about their adventures working in orchards in New Zealand and mine as a nanny in Portugal.
We rattled on about foreign food and the scary things we’d made ourselves eat, and laughed about the marvelously quirky people we’ve met on our travels.
We’d be in an animated discussion of favorite authors when one or the other would stop mid-sentence and point out a gorgeous old building that we then would have to ooh and aah over.
I loved it. 🙂
Our rambles ended at Chambar, a splendid restaurant on Beatty Street that is so warm and cozy you want to sink down onto a leather banquette and stay for hours. So we did. Lingering long over Trapiste Beer and French wine, plate after plate of exquisitely prepared and presented food, talking about anything and everything that came into our heads.
At last it was time to head home. We moseyed through the lamplit streets, hugged good-bye, and went to our beds with memories of a beautiful evening spent with true kindred spirits.
by Krista | Sep 13, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Good morning, dear ones! 🙂 I wrote my post for you today from my friends’ beautiful apartment in downtown Vancouver, Canada where I was happily trapped most of Sunday. There was a humdinger of a power outage in the night which woke us with resounding alarms and emergency vehicles rushing past. Although the alarms had ceased by morning, the power was still out and the electric gates on the parking garage weren’t working so no one could get their cars out. Thankfully my friend’s boyfriend could pick her up for their appointment, but I was blissfully stuck in a lovely apartment with nothing to do but eat cereal, watch the rain fall, and listen to the swish of cars driving past the cobbled streets of Gas Town below. I loved it!
After a delicious nap I entertained myself watching brightly colored umbrellas bob past and taking pictures out the window and around the apartment.
Modern life is so different when the power goes off. I washed my hair in freezing cold water and smiled thinking how similar it was to bathing in cold mountain streams whilst camping. Mighty invigorating!! I couldn’t get to the store for milk, so I added a bit of water to pure whipping cream and had the most decadent bowl of cereal I’ve had in ages. Yum. I packed my suitcase by candlelight and then basked in glorious silence: no music, no television, no humming of appliances. It was so peaceful.
Mid-afternoon the power finally came back and I was able to head home, listening to Sherlock Holmes while driving through heavy mist and drizzling rain. I had an equally peaceful evening tucked up in bed with a big mug of Vanilla Caramel tea and a stack of books. Bliss. 🙂
Now it’s time for a new week and I’m excited. I feel rested and rejuvenated and in the next day or two I’ll announce the winners of the Artisan Salt Giveaway!
Are you looking forward to anything this week? I’d love to hear about it. 🙂
by Krista | Jun 16, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
Sunday morning dawned brilliantly sunny in British Columbia at my Aunt and Uncle’s lakehouse. I awoke from a deep sleep and wandered groggily into the kitchen to hearty greetings from my kinfolk and the heavenly scent of my Aunt’s Cranberry Orange Scones. My Uncle poured me a steaming mug of coffee and we all visited while my Aunt dusted the scones with powdered sugar, whipped up honey butter and mixed fruit salad. Then with arms laden we trooped out to the sunshiny deck for breakfast. Delicious! 🙂
After such a lovely repast, Mums, my Aunt and I headed out into the warm summer air for a stroll through the hills. The sun hid behind the clouds but left its warmth behind. What a gorgeous day! The air smelled of wild Alberta roses and new leaves and tree sap, the wind sighed through the waving grasses and fields of wild flowers, and rustled the silvery leaves of the poplar trees.
Poplars and birches are my favorite trees in the whole wide world. They remind me of Canada and Russia and a childhood spent climbing them and imagining grand adventures running away from bad guys and rescuing those in distress. Isn’t this grove of poplars even more magical with those sunny Brown-eyed Susans blooming at their roots?
I love Canada. 🙂 Where is your homeland, dear ones? What bit of nature always makes you think of home?
This is my contribution to Wanderfood Wednesday hosted by the lovely Wanderlust and Lipstick. Pay them a visit to see all sorts of splendid travelicious foods.
Auntie Janet’s Cranberry Orange Scones
(From The Best of Bridge)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
rind of 1 orange
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup icing sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Beat buttermilk and egg in small bowl and set aside.
- In large bowl, measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut in butter until mixture resembles small peas.
- Mix in cranberries, sugar and orange rind.
- Add buttermilk mixture and stir until soft dough forms. Using your hands, form dough into a large ball and place on floured surface. Pat out to 1″ thickness. Cut in 4″ rounds.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake scones for 15 – 20 minutes.
- While still warm, brush with butter and sprinkle with icing sugar.
- Makes 8 large scones.
by Krista | Jun 11, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Hello, dear ones! Heavens, what a week! I’ve burned cake and spilled water and made my rent check out to the wrong people and nearly run out of gas and torn my skirt and if I do one more silly thing I’ll, well, hmm, probably just laugh, or cry, or, if I’m really feeling loopy, both.
I’ve also been dreaming. Dreaming of hot summer days, foreign climes, visits with new and old friends. This weekend I’m realizing two of those dreams with a quick jaunt up to Canada to visit rellies. Since Canada is my homeland I don’t know if it really counts as foreign, but I’m counting it!
Bright and early Saturday morning I’m picking Mums up and heading for the Canadian border where, after they let us in, we will stock up on our favoritest Canadian junk food: Orange Crush, Popcorn Twists and Hawkins Cheezies. If we’re feeling particularly wild, we may even eat Poutine for breakfast.
Then we’ll be off, chatting amiably, listening to books on cd, or singing along to favorite tunes as we drive along this crystal clear river…
…through this mountain pass…
…and this one…
…until we reach this gorgeous spot where we will unload our bags and hug oh-so-tightly my aunt, uncle and Grandpa.
For two whole days we will visit like mad, take long walks in the country, eat my aunt’s amazingly delicious food, and laugh until we’re weeping. I can’t wait.
In the spirit of all things Canadian, I’m bringing a container of Whole Grain Maple Shortbread Cookies. I would be bringing TWO containers, but they’re so darn delicious that I’ve been eating those buttery, maple-y morsels morning, noon and night and, well, there’s only one container left.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend, dear friends! I will see you Monday. 🙂
Krista’s Whole Grain Maple Shortbread
Ingredients:
2 cups whole grain pastry flour
3/4 butter, softened
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp maple extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add maple syrup to melted butter and stir.
- Combine all ingredients and press into a square 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut into squares and bake for 20 minutes.
by Krista | May 3, 2010 | Spring
The wind is whipping madly about the eaves but the sun is shining and a black squirrel just scampered across the yard and dashed up a cedar tree. 🙂 It’s going to be a good day. 🙂
How was your weekend, dear ones?
I had a grand weekend, comfy, cozy and adventurous with dear friends. Saturday morning Deb, Darren, Selwyn and I drove up to Canada to attend the Leonardo DaVinci: The Mechanics of Man exhibit in Vancouver.
The exhibit was fantastic, each carefully preserved piece of manuscript suspended in glass so we could see every detail of DaVinci’s incredible drawings and lovely Old World script. What a brilliantly talented man.
Also on display was an exhibit called Visceral Bodies which elicited shudders and groans of revulsion. Blechy. We were delighted to get back out into the sunshine and indulge in “Crazy Canadian Watching” – which was much more inspiring. 😉
Normally my fellow countrymen are quite dignified and polite, but somehow the sunshiny weather brought out a more diverse crowd. Take the extremely well-endowed, scantily clad hoola-hooper who invited passers-by to join her in hoola-hooping very badly to their hearts content. 🙂 Or the Cannabis crowd who gathered on the front steps of the museum, flags waving, joints smoking, in preparation for their “No Prison for Pot” parade. People are so interesting, aren’t they?
We had a scrumptious brunch in an Old World-ish cafe: smoked salmon frittata with Hollandaise sauce and lovely salty, crispy potatoes. Mmm.
Then we were off to Stanley Park, driving along the coast and delighting in the fresh sea air, white-clad cricketers in a green field, and the beauties of towering trees and sandy beaches.
It was a good day. 🙂
Smoked Salmon Frittata
(From Ina Garten)
Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 extra-large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, such as Montrachet, crumbled
1/2 pound smoked salmon, chopped
3 scallions, chopped, white and light green parts
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Saute the onion and butter in a 10-inch oven-proof omelet pan over medium-low heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the heavy cream, goat cheese, smoked salmon, scallions, dill, salt, and pepper and combine.
- Pour the mixture over the onions and place the omelet pan in the center of the oven. Bake the frittata for about 50 minutes, until it puffs and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve hot directly from the pan.
