Bob Likes Thai Food, 3755 Main Street, with a new location at 1521 West Broadway, Vancouver   www.boblikesthaifood.com

My mom has now started writing for publication. After her announcement last year of some spring sky diving not too much surprises me, now. She’s a pretty inspiring lady.

She’s 75 and I always believed her to be one of the smartest in the land. She is a consistent writer of cards and notes, but I never really thought of her as a writer. Well, a couple weeks ago the horticulture club my mom belongs to was in desperate need of content for their newsletter so she stepped up and then sent me her first draft to be edited. Because, as she said, “This what you do for a living.”

Doesn’t matter how old you are, when you get the thumbs up from mom or dad, it really means something.

When I called her to tell her how much I loved it and read my edited version she said,” I was wondering if you’d think you got all your writing talent from me after you read it.” Gush.

It’s neat to think that maybe I’ve inspired her a little bit…

Roberta Chic for the Selkirk Horticulture Society Newsletter

One of the hardest parts of leaving my house on Maple Drive, was leaving my flower garden. My love of flowers started when I was a little girl. My parents always had a garden, with flowers and vegetables. I loved picking the flowers, much to my mother’s chagrin – I wasn’t always popular but they put up with me.

One of my most memorable experiences in my garden on Maple Drive was the year a family of wrens decided to move into the ornamental birdhouse at my back door. My grandson, Kyle, and I were mesmerized by the activity in their tiny, new home. When we discovered that they laid six eggs, we began watching like expectant parents. Kyle documented the event with his camera and we were so happy when six babies were born. One morning I was out but Kyle tracked me down at a friends house. “The birds are leaving home, Grandma,” he said. “Come home as fast as you can!” I arrived in time to witness them in their first flight! It was wonderful.

When I lived on Maple Drive I had lots of flowers—perennials, annuals, shrubs, berries and, of course, the occasional weed. After a day in the garden, I enjoyed sitting on the deck watching the birds and the butterflies and admiring my handiwork. It was a lot of work, but so satisfying. Although I no longer have my own garden, I enjoy and appreciate our garden at my new home in the Kiwanis apartments. I love discovering the new plants and flowers our gardener plants. I get my hands dirty by helping out at the Horticulture Society garden on Main Street (Watch for the beautiful array of tulips next spring!)

I have been a member of the Horticulture Society for ten years now – I have met interesting people, experienced wonderful garden tours, enjoyed informative presentations and participated in interesting gardening projects. I look forward to another ten years of fun in the garden with my friends at the Horticulture Society.

To our budding gardening enthusiasts—Keep on digging! It pays off in the end.

Little did I know that just a few blocks from my house just off of Main Street was a little oasis of organic, local food, art, flowers, a funky French sensibility and the very best coffee. Le Marché St. George is my new favourite place. Thanks so much to my pal Sarah Dohm, who makes some of the finest cheese around, for introducing me to this lovely little hideaway. I plan on introducing it to everyone and spending many large latte bowl filled mornings here writing and such. It’s hard to not take photos here. I can’t wait to meet the fattest, prettiest chicken in the backyard. She’s probably my favourite chicken in all of Vancouver.

It’s official – my birthday is one month away and that means that Birthday Month is here! This month will undoubtedly be filled with all kinds of celebrations and adventures in the kitchen and otherwise. And flowers. I need flowers and thanks Osprey Organics for my latest beautiful bouquet…

As I wrap up this year, I’m grateful for all the great experiences I’ve had. Life in Vancouver has been great – even better now that the sun is shining. I’ve re-connected with old friends and made new friends. I’ve been to Gibsons and Golden and am planning a trip to Whistler and another to Gabriola Island. I’ve skied and hiked within an hour from my house and bike most everyday on the most amazing bike trails I’ve ever seen. I’ve discovered that living in a city with beaches is pretty amazing.  As a co-ordinator for Vancouver Farmers Markets, specifically for the Kitsilano and Kerrisdale Markets, there’s nothing like a refreshing swim in the ocean after a day of work.

I’ve enjoyed my self-proclaimed, self-guided “masters program” in writing. I completed an internship with Western Living and have been writing for WE, BC Living online and as a guest blogger for ethicalDeal. I did a brief stint in the grant writing department at the Red Cross. I’ve been learning so much and am excited to see what opportunities pop-up next.

This morning I made pancakes to celebrate the beginning of Birthday Month. Pancakes are the best. I recently finished off a couple of months on The Wild Rose Cleanse and I have to say, I do feel much better without the wheat in my life so these pancakes were gluten-free. Yum yummity yum yum!

Birthday Month Gluten-free Blueberry Pancakes

In a medium bowl mix together:

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon xantham gum

In another smaller bowl mix together:

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup melted coconut oil, cooled

1/4 cup agave syrup

1/2 cup almond milk

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed and add the egg white. Barely mix together. To be clear – do not over mix.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat and lightly oil. Spoon batter onto pan once it’s hot and sprinkle blueberries onto pancake as it cooks. Flip once bubble form and cook another couple minutes. Put hot pancakes onto plate, slather with butter and maple syrup and ENJOY! It’s Birthday Month!

xo

Then one evening, while on a stroll with M, we saw the sign: “Winter Farmer’s Market Starts November 5 at The Nat Bailey Stadium.” Could it be? Could I wait that long? How would I get to sleep that night? That Saturday finally came and I could barely decide to what to wear. I felt as if I was going on a very important first date. I had to make a good impression. I was so worried about my high expectations. With my empty backpack on, adequately fueled by a morning of brunching and fueling with coffee, away we went.

M and I giggled our way from stall to stall and marvalled at all that we saw. I could barely believe my eyes. So many people, so many farmers, so much to see and smell and eat…”Look at the quince! Come smell it!” “Wow bread! And cheese! And olives! Lunch!” It reminded me so much of the feeling I got during the height of summer at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmer’s Market, back in Calgary, but this was winter. We bought so much it couldn’t be stuffed into my pack anymore. Thank goodness for German design and compression straps.

A week of recipes was quickly coming to mind and I couldn’t really keep it straight. I thought of how hard I had worked to do all my preserving, amidst cleaning up, packing, throwing garage sales and spending time with friends before I left Canmore. I could’ve done it all here very easily what with the cases of fruit and flats of tomatoes still coming straight from the farms just outside of the city – and some right within the city, like Sole Food Farms. We bought ourselves Vancouver Farmer’s Market memberships and even signed up to volunteer. I couldn’t wait to become a part of this atmosphere and meet everyone that welcomed us so graciously. I didn’t see any familiar faces that afternoon, but I felt like I was home.

NOTE: The photos in this post were taken on my iPhone with the Hipstamatic app. Try it, it’s fun! And my green hat was made by Christine Svensson of Sugar Soul. Check ‘em out – they’re super cute!

my date for brunch

Verge Permaculture held this Permaculture Design Course from June 5 – 19th this year. Twelve of us attended this 2 week course at the Mountain Waters Retreat Centre in Nelson, BC and came from as far away as Vancouver, Ontario, Washington State and of course, Canmore. Permaculture gives us the tools to make positive changes in our environment – lasting changes that can green a dessert, feed a family or affect climate change, for instance. Such hopeful & empowering stuff. Onward!

This was a long awaited vacation, but also we had been so excited to attend this course with Rob and Michelle Avis  since we met them last summer at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmer’s Market. As I sold cookies and picnic baskets, Mark got the low down on this permaculture thing and would come back so excited. Then, one day he brought an information sheet on the Permaculture Design Course Intensive.

That same piece of paper has been on our fridge ever since keeping us focussed. Finally, we were on our way and something big was about to start. Looking around the kitchen at all of my starts it was easy to see that they were really getting going. I had collected the seed from my arugula patch last year and replanted it in all kinds of containers rescued from the recycling centre. I love arugula and looked forward to eating the spicy and bitter green leaves, but to create a second generation of plants from the seeds I had grown the year before was so exciting. I was a seed saver!

Kathleen from Harmonic Herbs was an occasional vendor at the farmer’s market. When she came her plants and teas caused quite a stir. Kathleen is very passionate about her plants and they radiate her enthusiasm. I was instantly drawn to the holy basil tea and bought a bag and a plant. While shopping for seeds at Sunnyside Market this past spring I picked up the Holy Basil seeds and was insprired to grown my own medicinal herbs. They took a while but eventually the sprouts emerged and it looks like I’ll have plenty of tea if all continues so well.

I think it’s really interesting how the people we meet, often by chance, become friends and inspire us and affect our actions far into the future. Every person you meet is like a new start. It’s like a little seed you plant that grows into something amazing that further nourishes you down the road.

Prioritizing is an important skill to have as a cook – find the balance between the “wants” and the “needs”. Upon first glance in the fridge those special “treat” ingredients should be used because you want to – indulge and enjoy. Upon some digging, there are often some other “treasures” that need to be used before they expire completely – drying up green onions that just need to be peeled, a red pepper with a couple of soft spots that need to be trimmed and a quarter head of butter lettuce that just needs to be finished. It easy to see on this cloudy day that some Super Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese would come together for one of our last dinners at home.

Blush Lane carries nothing but Canadian artisinal cheeses and when I was shopping I was more than a little bit hungry. Danger. I came away with Applewood Smoked Cheddar, Oka, Poplar Grove Tiger Blue, Sylvan Star Aged Gouda, a double creme brie from Quebec and chevre. That night we had a cheeseboard for dinner. This night we’d melt a combination of these cheeses with butter, onions, garlic, red peppers, flour and Vital Greens organic milk to create something very super deluxe and very saucy.

Once the pasta was al dente and drained it went back in the pot to be combined with the Super Deluxe cheese sauce, smoked tofu, fresh arugula, tomatoes a pinch or two of chili flakes. A couple of spoonfuls were tasted to fine tune the seasoning, the beer was poured and dinner was served. Ah comfort.

The recipe for Super Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese will be posted shortly.