FauxPas

when I was shopping for a new stove a couple of years ago, they told me I should stick with the coil-top type stoves for canning and when I asked why, they said that the glass or flat-top ones can't maintain a high enough heat or something - the heat fluctuates more, apparently.

The Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria, BC is celebrating its 100th birthday and has worked with Winchester Cellars in the development of a handcrafted gin, simply called 'Victoria Gin.' (The label has a picture of a young Queen Victoria.) It's offered at the hotel's lounges, of course, and here is my favourite, The Bengal Lounge. Nice place to sip a cocktail, no? I haven't tried it yet, but I am looking to buy a bottle this week and have a martini night with a few friends. The recipe details are on the Winchester Cellars website (look under Spirits) and contain a mix of 10 organic and wild-gathered botanicals including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root, orange and lemon peel, cubeb berries, star anise, cinnamon bark and rose petals, as well as a secret ingredient. I'll have to report back after tasting. It's not inexpensive, though at $49Cdn per bottle.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! As you can see from my join date, I have been around for awhile, but have mostly been reading rather than 'writing.' I'd like to participate more and also try to be a more adventurous cook! I do love reading what people are cooking up in their kitchens or tasting in restaurants and I especially love when they are able to post photos!!!

Thank you, Katie! It really is a nice drink - simple (once you extract the juice/pulp from the berries ) and easy to vary for people who like sweeter/tarter, etc. I was thinking of infusing vodka with some peppercorns and making a cocktail based on that with fresh strawberry juice/pureé, but I haven't gotten around to doing that one yet. Has anyone had anything like that? Was it tasty?

Simple meal for a warm summer evening - after hitting the farm markets in the morning, I had mixed greens, scallions, mixed tomatoes, local nugget potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, free-range eggs and fresh raspberries. A frittata with the eggs, potatoes, corn, scallions, and some mozza cheese, garlic, etc. A mixed green and tomato salad topped with a bit of goat cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette made with fresh raspberry juice, white wine vinegar, honey, freshly ground pepper. Some of the raspberry juice/pulp went into the making of some very tasty Fresh Raspberry Martinis (picture and details here).

Fresh Raspberry Martini Since raspberries are in season and I love raspberries, I use them in as many ways as possible. For the above martini, I remove the seeds from the raspberries by squeezing the berry juice/pulp through a sieve with the back of a spoon. (That's the way I do it, is there an easier way?) Put ice in a shaker and add about 2 oz vodka, 2 oz of the raspberry liquid, 0.5 oz of Grand Marnier or similar liqueur and possibly a bit of sparkling water (depending on the size of your martini glasses) and shake. Pour into glass and garnish with orange slice and/or a fresh raspberry. I like this drink to be fairly tart, so don't use too much Grand Marnier in mine, but you can vary the proportions to make it sweeter, if you prefer. I also like to add a bit of sparkling water, as the raspberry pureé can be fairly thick. Last night, I used enough raspberries to make raspberry martinis as well as a raspberry vinaigrette. Mmmmm. Love berry season!

My current fave is mixed greens (preferably including some baby spinach), lots of diced sweet red pepper, sliced black olives and crumbled feta cheese - with a Kraft Red Pepper & Parmesan cheese dressing. I love that salad! For a lighter salad, I really like cucumber (preferably peeled, seeded and diced) with sliced or diced radishes and cubed feta cheese with a basic vinaigrette dressing (white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper) and maybe some chives or something thrown in. It looks pretty on top of lettuce leaves. When whole pomegranates are available, I like to make a salad and dressing both containing the seeds. The basic recipe came from my grocery store, I think there are lots of similar recipes around, but I was late discovering this one! For the dressing, I crush half the seeds to obtain juice, which is mixed with oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. For the salad, I plate some spinach (or mixed greens with spinach) and top with sliced or diced fresh pear or apple, walnut halves, crumbled blue cheese and the remaining pomegranate seeds and drizzle with dressing. You can use mango or papaya in place of the pear/apple, cashews or almonds in place of the walnuts, and a mild goat cheese in place of the blue cheese, and add something like cayenne or cumin to the dressing.

I really enjoyed the Santa Fe School of Cooking in Santa Fe, NM. It may not be exactly what you are looking for, but it has many good ideas (culinary tours, etc) and has become quite popular. http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/index.html

I like a warm potato salad made with green beans, tomatoes, onion, feta cheese and balsamic vinegar. Kinda like the following, but obviously easy to vary. I'm not sure how I came up with it, but it's become a favourite. Boil red or white potatoes (quartered or halved baby potatoes or fresh nugget potatoes are faves) until cooked-but-firm. In another pot, steam fresh green beans until cooked, but still crunchy. Drain both, add green beans to potato pot and return to a low temp burner and quickly add some chopped red or white onion, halved cherry tomatoes or diced plum tomatoes. Pour a touch of olive oil and a small amount of good quality balsamic vinegar into pot and stir just to blend. Arrange on plates/bowls and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and a bit of fresh-ground black pepper. I like it chunky so I don't chop things too small.

Bryan, can you tell me a bit more about that martini? Is there something frozen in the straws, by any chance? I am very much enjoying this blog. And I went back and read the earlier one, which was also fabulous reading. Thank you for all the photos!

Yes, this is a very standard approach to rescuing an oversalted dish. Others may know more than I, but you can peel the potato and throw it in whole or cut it in segments and throw it in, peeled or not. Leave it in for 10 mins or so and taste, and keep tasting. Basically, the rule I follow is to remove it before it becomes soft. You can also add milk or sugar, but of course, that depends on the type of sauce/dish you are preparing. Yes, I think the extra starch might make a difference, that is why you remove it before it gets too soft, I think.......????

Another drink I call an Orange-Orange Martini. Fresh squeezed or good quality not-from-concentrate orange juice added to vodka + Grand Marnier. I like an orange juice with a bit more sour than sweet to balance the sweetness of the GM. Roughly, 1.5 ounces of vodka, 1/2 to 3/4 ounce of Grand Marnier and 2 ounces of orange juice. Shake over ice and strain into a chocolate-rimmed martini glass, if that appeals. (Melt chocolate in microwave and rim glass. You can do that in advance, of course. ) Use Terry's Chocolate orange for rimming or garnish with a segment of a Terry's chocolate orange if you like.

MMMMMMMmmmmm!!! I love Bisquick cobbler - I add some pecan pieces to the Bisquick mix and spoon it over sliced peaches mixed with a bit of lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon. I use different fruits and vary the type of nuts (almonds with blueberries, for example).

There's always Blueberry Tea - equal parts Grand Marnier and amaretto plus hot orange pekoe tea. Or just pour hot tea over an ounce or so of Grand Marnier on its own. This is nice with some simple cookies/biscuits after dinner. I also add it to a red wine spritzer for a vaguely sangria-ish flavor. (Pour red wine over ice in a large wine glass, add sparkling water and half an ounce or to taste of GM).