Badiane

Really? You think? Wow...I feel ripped off...we went and hey, it was okay, but it wasn't all that wonderful. He's an amazingly skilled host, but from a food standpoint, well, it really wasn't anything I would care to stand in line for a second time. Guess I will have to bite the bullet and give it another shot, maybe I missed something the first time.

Racheld, that was really great Right now we have all the smells of summer...basil, mint, lavendar...rosemary and sage soap...various jams and relishes and chutneys cooking...tomatoes and peaches ripening...corn husks drying. All with a hint of fishing gear and cleaning supplies

I second the Le Crocodile recommendation...

Wow!!!! Back in the day - my wild mis-spent youth - I was a stand up comedian at Yuk Yuk's. Not to cast aspersions, but you pretty much have to leap on the comedian's back and ride him like a cowboy to get tossed out of that place...what the heck were you doing?!

If desparation strikes, you can drive to Mount Pleasant, about 2.5 hours away...they have a Whole Foods

Actually that is Dino, not Oscar...you are perhaps thinking of Oscar de la Renta, the fashion designer...and believe me, she ain't wearing his clothes

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse are chain restaurants.

We always stop at the White Spot express thing at Chevron stations. Decent food, fresh, and without the annoyance of actually visiting a White Spot. The new expanded menu gives you greater options. Clean restrooms, too Beyond Hope, we will stop at any Husky restaurant, because while the food isn't fancy, it is very homestyle and reliable. Good clubhouse sandwichs, cinnamon buns and other standbys that can be relied on not to poison you. Clean restrooms and they don't mind if you are a bit travel worn. If we can't find something appealing, we always look for the nearest Safeway or Save-On...lots of them have those sandwich deli counters and they are actually pretty good. And the washrooms are clean. If you are passing through Grand Forks and those regions, a bowl of Dukhabor borscht is worth a detour. As for road food, the most commonly found snacks are Fresca, C2, sugar free slurpees and cashews, along with Salt and Vinegar chips and sunflower seeds for me, and Doritos and any kind of chocolate bar for him.

I had a James Bond scenario in my head... I will have the beef...shaken, not stirred.

Will someone please tell me what Shaken Garlic beef is? Is the Garlic shaken? Throttled at harvest? Traumatized in some way? Is it the beef that is shaken? I have been cow tipping, but never shaking...I don't think a nervous cow would be very tender. Seriously, what the heck is it?

Back when I lived in the West End...about a million years ago - my rent was only $425 a month, if that tells you anything I use to go to the Robson Market once in a while...there was a butcher shop there that was staffed by a man and what appeared to be his meat cutter daughters...5 buxom, bodacious blondes in bloody aprons. We used to refer to them as "the meat choppin' babes". Anyone know if they are still there?

And just look at the description! Cupcake tree Easy to assemble crystal clear cupcake tree tower is great for popular cupcake weddings. Also great for Krispy Kreme donut wedding cakes...... Both are very similar to what I envisioned!

The 5 day-er turned my stomach as well...in fact, I didn't like him at all and on our first date, got rid of him as fast as possible...but he kept calling me, and calling me...well, what can I say I still can't bring myself to use the Royal Worcester bake dish tho Convenience is okay...Morton's and rare porterhouse are good...he just may get the seal of approval!

Yup...chinese women, mennonite women, everyone who lived through hard times, I think...they are all stuffing the leftovers into the nearest plastic container. I nearly lost a hand last week when I went for the last dinner roll. My mom stabbed me with a fork, snatched it, wrapped it in a napkin and shoved it in her purse. Then she turned to my husband and said 'you gonna eat that?' and commandeered his pork chop 'for the dog'. Oh well...the food wasn't important, the wedding vows were, and they stuck, that's all I care about Back to the donuts...you could do a thing like a cupcake tree and use donuts instead...might work.

It's called the Little Farmhouse and is attached to the Happy Hens Hatchery. Next time you are out this way, keep coming to Chilliwack and visit the Happy Goats...they have a good selection of McLennan's as well as a host of other goaty goodness!

Actually, I would ask him this question: Do you eat there because you think it is good food? If he says yes, kick him to the curb. If he says no, it's crap, but it's next door and I have to eat, well, benefit of the doubt Maybe he is saving money eating at Subway so he can afford to wine and dine you in the manner to which you have become accustomed. But who am I to say...my husband was the king of the 5 day'er...and he loves a good meatball sub from Subway! But since I got ahold of him, he also has an appreciation for a lot of fine foods he never would have tried without me. Speaking of sandwiches If you ever go to Bellingham, rock down to Electric Avenue and visit DaVinci Subs...it's in the back of a Mini Mart, next to a donut shop. Best sandwich I've ever had...

I always think if it as fresh baked chemicals with a hint of decomposition...reminds me that the morgue at Shaughnessy was WAY too close to the cafteria. Creeps me out.

Yes...we did one with Tim Horton donuts...because my now husband kept joking that we were going to save money on the reception by getting the big box of donuts and handing them out... It's kind of like building with blocks....just lay out a circle of donuts the size you want the bottom to be, fill in the circle and keep stacking them like bricks until you have a deep enough tier. Then start the next tier slightly smaller and do the same thing... decorated the outside with strings of pearls and lace and crap...it was really cute. Unfortunately no pics because the crowd dismantled it and hoovered it up while we were having out pictures taken. My own wedding guests did not wait for the Bride and Groom to arrive before they tore into the buffet. When we got there, there was so little food left, and no pictures of all my hard work. But that's okay...I personally touched every single piece of candy in the wedding favors with my bare fingers.

You have no idea how painful it is to hear that after the fact. That last 40 minutes of the drive was the worst 40 minutes of my life, and that includes the time I got my hair caught in a laser printer whilst training some new employees.

Tofino is beautiful, and I echo those recommendations, especially Sobo...and Big Daddy's Fish Fry was good too...but you have to eat outside. About Tofino....hit the bathroom in Port Alberni...and then again at the motel/liquor store thing about 20 minutes from town, near the lake...that will be the last bathroom you see until you hit the Uclulet/Tofino junction and see the Visitors Booth. Of course there are plenty of bushes... And take some books, knitting, whatever...I'm sure there is plenty to do there in the summer, but we were there in March, and it was total Village of the Damned...no bookstore, nothing. It was great, we loved it...but when the books ran out, it was nothing but Scrabble and naps, and that got a bit old after a few days. And if there is anything that you particularly like to snack on, take it along...the grocery store is a bit on the low end of the scale.

Corn has arrived! Almost every street corner has an overflowing cart...we always go for Joiner corn...that family knows how to grow corn! It's the peaches and cream variety right now, and it's gone up in price to $6.50 a dozen (a $.50 jump) We had corn corn and more corn for dinner Saturday, rounded out with various finds from our travels around Yarrow and Agassiz. Wisbey's Market (the best of the farm markets, IMHO) is in full swing...swiss chard, beets, herbs, zucchini (5 pounds for 2 bucks) green beans, lettuce galore, and a lot of other things. I have pesto for months with the beautiful basil I got. The mom and pop sign by the road places are starting up, and of course there is fruit by the truckload to be had everywhere. Peaches and Apricots have started, but they aren't very good yet. We are done with local strawberries, but the raspberries are still good...and the blueberries are just coming out. Sunday was our maiden voyage out to Swift Aquaculture....kept meaning to go, just never got there. Happily, Bruce was home, and interrupted his lunch to show us around. It was a bit of a surprise, really....it's three giant blue tanks of fish in a barn. Very cool to see it, but I think I was expecting something rather more scientific and sterile looking - although the whole thing IS very scientific and sterile. He has Coho, ranging from babies to about 3 pounds. He fished one out of the tank for us, stunned it and left it to 'bleed out' while he showed us his crawfish tanks...also fascinating...he has a handful of the ready to eat size that will become his breeding stock, as well as tiny inch long babies...very cute. He isn't selling them yet, it's still in breeding stock development, but we are looking forward to it. The Coho direct from Bruce was $4 a pound...half the price it is at the butcher shop in town. Of course we had to clean it ourselves, which is an adventure when you live in an apartment. I cooked it en papillote...with lemons and basil and sea salt. It was pink, but quite light in color, and very soft fleshed. Next time I think I will filet it and do a crust on it, to give it a bit more textural interest. Has anyone been on the Agassiz Farm Tour yet?

I would happily fork them over...hot and slathered with jam If I though my poor pancreas could withstand it, I would eat a bowl of icing for breakfast in your name! And a batch of cookies...and some cake trimmings...and some leftover curried beef brisket...and a bag of cookies

I was a chef for many years...I don't think that $10 a pound for something made by hand, organic and from a local source is out of line...I guess it's simply a matter of what your priorities are. I expect that we all have some spending habits that would cause someone somewhere to raise an eyebrow. But as we don't really drink alcohol, and since I was a chef and my husband was a baker, we don't tend to eat out often and prefer to spend our dining dollars on quality ingredients rather than the mediocre fare available out here. It's summer in the Valley, and the eating is fabulous. Tonight we will be slathering said butter on fresh yeast raised biscuits, with the cherry brandy jam I made yesterday. And I suspect some will find it's way onto the beautiful 2 pound coho salmon that I bought at Swift Aquaculture about an hour ago...a bargain at $4 a pound and so fresh it was still flopping in the cooler. And some will get mixed with fleur-de-sel and spread on fresh corn...and some on the steamed new potatoes...and keep your fork, there might be pie! Mmmmm....pie crust made with butter....mmmmm....pie

You need to come out this way, to Agassiz...take the farm tour and visit Debra Amrein-Boyes, or, as I call her, 'the cheese lady' at Farmhouse Cheese. She is making the most fabulous fresh churned butter - the croissants I made with it are to die for. It doesn't last long, because there's no preservatives in it, and it's about $10 a pound, but I swear, you will never go back to the supermarket butter again! And mix some with fleur-de-sel for that slighlty crunchy saltiness, and pick up some Chilliwack corn on your way. Heaven. We Ling'd a dozen for dinner last night...it was divine. Oh...and get some of her brie, and anything else that takes your fancy. She's doing a great job out there. We are heading to see her right now!

Currywurst can be had here in Chilliwack at a couple of different places...or at least it was available as recently as a month ago when I was at the German sausage maker. I will be out and about on the weekend and will keep an eye out. Lee...we had a similar experience with Common Ground...and the woman behind the counter was incredibly rude when I asked if they had any sugar free beverages...she just gaped at me like I was something under a rock and told me 'we certainly would NOT carry anything with SACCHARIN!'....and we had some okay-ish roti rolls that were inexplicably served with sour cream and Louisiana hot sauce. Best meals we had there were at Sobo.