Clyde Common was one of our Portland favourites. We enjoyed it so much that we went there for dinner twice during our 4 night stay. We stayed at Hotel Modera which is only 15 minutes way by foot or by riding the Portland Streetcar. Conveniently, the streetcar is only two blocks away from Hotel Modera and stops right on the corner of SW Stark & 10th where Clyde Common is. Tip: public transit in downtown Portland is free. We didn’t save any time by taking transit but it kept us out of the rain and conserved some energy – both must dos when travelling with a little one who likes to be carried half the way.

Clyde Common neatly describes itself as “a European style tavern serving delicious food and drinks in a casual and energizing space.” The space is wide open with long communal tables, an open kitchen and a long bar area. There’s also a second floor overlooking the whole restaurant. We sat upstairs both times.

The first time we went, it was towards the end of Happy Hour (which is served 3-6 PM). We tend to dine early nowadays and getting to order from a Happy Hour menu was a nice bonus. Most restaurants in Portland have Happy Hour which is not something that is common, at all, in Vancouver. We got to save $3 per drink on our first round and got Luna started with some fries for only $3. The burger, at only $6, looked deliciously tempting but we decided to wait for the more creative dinner menu. I ordered Cream of Mushroom Soup and Fried Rabbit with Sausage Gravy, Potatoes, Beans, Dijon cream. Nerissa ordered the Buckwheat Cavatelli with Pickled Fennel, Oxtail, Chèvre. The Mushroom Soup was one of the best mushroom soups I’ve had because of its fresh and hearty mushroom flavor. Shreds of kale added for a surprising contrast in texture and bitterness. The Fried Rabbit is Clyde Common’s interpretation of classic Southern Fried Chicken. The rabbit tastes…just like fried chicken but not as oily, no real surprises there. The sausage gravy was amazing and tasted great with the potatoes & beans with dijon cream. The combination of the gravy and potatoes and dijon cream was one of the best bites on the trip. It was a take on mashed potatoes and country gravy; comfy food but with a creative twist. The Buckwheat Cavatelli with pickled fennel reminded me of a German spaetzle with sauerkraut. I’m not sure if that’s the inspiration but it would fit in with Clyde Common’s “Domestic & Foreign Cooking” concept. The plump, doughy pasta had the same texture as spaetzle dumplings and the sourness/texture of the pickled fennel was reminiscent of sauerkraut. The Chèvre goat cheese gave the dish some earthiness and the saucy oxtail added extra savoriness. There’s a lot going on. It’s a good dish, but if you don’t like sour notes or if you don’t like too many disparate flavors going into your dish, you should try something else. Or, if your name starts with “Ner” and ends with “issa”. We ended up trading mains. I still want my potatoes back. There’s no kids menu but the Cheese Board with local honey, summer jam and walnut bread was perfect for Luna.

What brought us back the second time on our short visit was the ambience of the room and the atmosphere of the space. It’s dark, intimate and lively. With Luna in tow, we always end up back at the hotel before the night really heats up. So, we wanted a sure thing one our last night – good food, fun vibes. Being in a room as fun and lively as Clyde Common allows us to live vicariously through others with more laissez faire schedules. By the time we were done our meals and on our way, we had soaked up enough merriment for the day while breathing in the energy of those who would stay behind and celebrate well into the night.

On our second day in Portland, we took the taxi to Broder for breakfast. Broder is a cute little neighbourhood restaurant located on SE Clinton Street that serves Swedish food. We’ve read about this place getting really packed in the morning, but luckily, with it being a Tuesday and rainy, we got a table right away. We were immediately served coffee and a glass of milk for Luna. It took me a little while to decide what to order as I wanted to try everything on the menu. But I went for the Baked Egg Scramble of the Day with a salad on the side and walnut toast. Peter ordered the Lefse of the Day (Norwegian Potato Crepe). There was a small selection of pastries at the bar and once Luna saw round chocolate loafs, that was that.

The presentation was folky with delicate precision. Baked Egg Scramble was nestled in a mini square pan delivered atop a wooden board. It tasted great but, if you’re only going once, I’d recommend something more adventurous – scrambled eggs tend to taste like scrambled eggs. I ended up liking Peter’s dish more as the potato pancakes were so tasty and something we’ve never tried before. That simple potato pancake was one of the best bites on this trip. I’m inspired to find a Lefse recipe to try at home. One of the things I enjoy about dining out is discovering new foods that can become part of our regular home menu and widen the at-home family table experience.

The space is really cute and quite small so I can see it getting really packed on the weekends. By the time we left, there were already a few people waiting. If we lived in the neighbourhood, I could definitely see us coming in for brunch every once in a while; it’s that kind of place.

On our first night in Portland, we had dinner at Little Bird Bistro. It’s located just a few blocks away from our hotel which made for a convenient place to eat after a 5.5 hour drive from Vancouver, Canada. Little Bird Bistro is a charming little french bistro with the coziest space. We were seated upstairs and right away, they had a highchair set up for Luna and a glass filled with crayons for her. I was immediately impressed by their effort to make Luna comfortable right away.

To start, Peter ordered a cocktail and I had a glass of wine. As we sipped our drinks, Luna was happily busy colouring on their craft paper table covering. It was also nice sitting upstairs as it felt even cozier and made for a nice view of the whole restaurant. We ordered Luna a Macaroni Gratin (french for Mac & Cheese), Peter went for the fish of the day which was Seared Ahi Tuna and I had the Cauliflower Crépe with Carmelized onions, Poached Egg and Mornay sauce. Our server, Kristen, said the Macaroni Gratin usually comes out sizzling hot but for Luna they would bake it to a kid-friendly temperature. When Luna’s Macaroni Gratin arrived, it was oozey, melty good and at just the right temperature for her to eat right away. Obviously, they’ve served kids before. Totally impressed again!

For dessert, Luna sweetly asked for chocolates. So we got her the Chocolate pot-de Creme with buttermilk donuts. It’s basically a bowl of dark chocolate creme and two miniature donuts on the side. She completely ignored the donuts and went straight for the bowl of chocolate with her big spoon. Peter and I happily ate the donuts. When the bill came, it was accompanied by three complimentary miniature macarons which I have to say are best macarons we’ve had outside of France!

I would highly recommend this restaurant. Everything we had was so delicious and the service amazing.

What to do on a rainy Saturday? Go out for coffee & hit our favourite Lebanese restaurant! There’s a delightful french café in the middle of a residential neighbourhood called Le Marché St. George. Not very many people know about it, it’s like a hidden gem in the city that only opened a little over a year ago. When you walk in, you feel like you’ve just flown to the South of France. It’s beautiful, cozy, rustic and serves excellent coffee, teas & pastries. They also carry a selection of gourmet food products as well as a basket full of handmade wool blankets made in a mountain village in Mexico. I wanted them all. Such a perfect place to be on a cold & rainy day.

Then our stomach started growling and off we went to our favourite Lebanese restaurant – Nuba! I was craving for the Najib Special which is exactly what I had. Peter had a bowl of their red lentil soup and garden falafel (so good btw, it taste similar to that amazing falafel place in Paris called L’As du Fallafel). Luna had a glass of orange & carrot juice and happily continued eating her little doughnuts from Le Marché St. George. We usually never leave Nuba without having their turkish coffee but we were over caffeinated by that time. We left full & happy. Until next time.

Happy Monday everyone!

I just started using Instagram and loving it! I like following peoples photographers as it shows snapshots from around the world. But sometimes, I think people are from places they are not because of the subject on their photos. When I was looking at my photostream on Saturday, it could have been from several places from around the world but it was all shots I took in Vancouver.

My Saturday felt like a culinary trip around the world. We started off at Joe Fortes for old school New York style brunch with Oysters Rockefeller and classic Bennys. Then it was off to Thierry for french style patisserie for sweets. Dinner was Japanese Izakaya at Guu Garden. We were stuffed by end of day but definitely a Saturday filled with yummy goodness mixed in with good company.

Introducing a new section on the blog called – The New Domestic Originals. Here, we will have a collection of all things made & tested by us. Whether they are recipes, crafts, design… it’ll be a collection of all things we create to share with all of you.

For today’s first TND Original, I’m sharing our favourite weekend breakfast. We don’t have a name for it quite yet, we’ve just always called it the Best weekend breakfast. And, it really is, trust me! I’ve been making this for quite sometime now and it is always special every single time. I love our weekend breakfasts so I always make it a point to spend sometime making something special. With a little one in the house, everything still has to be done very fast so this makes for an excellent breakfast that doesn’t sacrifice taste at all.

Ingredients:
Good quality bread (sourdough, french bread, or simply your homemade bread)
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado
Eggs
Italian Salami (my favourite is soppressata)
Basil or tarragon (I prefer basil)
Eggs
Good quality hot paprika
Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt (not table salt)
Pepper

Making:
1. Toast your bread. I like mine super crispy. Then spread a good layer of avocado on the bread. Sprinkle the avocado with sea salt and layer with either basil or tarragon. Thinly slice your cherry tomatoes and lay them neatly on top of everything.

2. Heat up a small pan in the highest heat. Place your Italian salami on the pan and cook on each side until crispy like bacon. Grab another pan and fill half way with water. Pour a few drops of vinegar onto the water (this helps hold the eggs together while being pouched). Then crank up the heat until almost boiling. Once it’s almost boiling, put the heat down to medium then crack open your eggs and drop them in the hot water for pouching. I like my egg yolks runny so I only pouch for a few minutes and remove the eggs right away.

3. Once the eggs are done, scoop them up and place them on top of your layer of cherry tomatoes. Be careful as the eggs tend to be slippery. I like to put 2 eggs on one toast but this is up to you. Then sprinkle the top with paprika, fresh ground pepper, a tiny bit more sea salt & finish it up with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. If you’re feeling creative, decorate the top with either tarragon or basil.

Voila, you’ve got a fantastic weekend breakfast!

We discovered this cute little sashimi/bar cafe called Gyo-O. It’s the seafood version of Gyoza King. The place is small but luckily, we were there before 6 pm so there were still a lot of empty seats but it did quickly fill up by the time we starting eating. The food was amazing & the flavours so delicate. We also couldn’t help but try out a couple of their desserts so we went for their black bean pudding and assorted macarons. A highly recommended place.

A few months back, I had a pleasure working with story producer/stylist/farmer Heather Cameron of Missing Goat Farms. I met Heather during the Anthology Magazine photoshoot last year as she was the stylist for the day. Heather makes these delicious organic jams and I was thrilled when she asked me to design her jam labels. It was so fun working with Heather as she is so passionate in what she does and she is just such a lovely & sweet lady. You can find her jams at Walrus, Edible Canada, Butter Baked Goods, Urban Fare to just name a few. You can also get it from her cute little shop which she calls ‘The Shabby Shack‘ when it’s open in the summer (she makes homemade blueberry pies too!). Give these jams a try, I promise, you will love them!

Last night, we were out and about in Granville Island and decided to have dinner at Edible At The Market. They used to have a cute little shop in the market but now have expanded to a full service bistro with all things from BC. It was a fantastic night to be out in a patio. Great food & family friendly.

To start we had the Slik Spiced Albacore Tuna with Yuzu marinated cucumber & watermelon. We also tried the Artisan Bread Basket with Lobster oil, Pinot Noir balsamic. For our main dish, Peter went for the Sloping Hills Pork Belly & Loin with Celeriac & apple salad, chilled cucumber almond gazpacho and I had the Pemberton Meadows Steak Frites with Poplar Grove Tiger Blue butter, duck fat BC potatoes. I was pretty stuffed after enjoying my steak but when the waiter came by to give us a run down of the dessert menu, we knew we couldn’t leave without having their creme brulée with lavender. I think that was Luna’s favourite!

All in all, a restaurant definitely recommended. We will for sure be back and try the rest of the menu.

Blueberries from the farm, tarts from a local bakery and rosemary from the garden. It’s blueberry season and we’ve been stocking up on these the past weeks. We buy our blueberries straight from the farmers around where we live and they are so cheap & so delicious! My mom usually buys a lot and she vacuum packs them and are kept in the freezer. That way, she has blueberries all year round & they stay fresh. Not a bad idea.

Yesterday was Peter’s birthday. We didn’t have anything planned as we’ve been renovating our kitchen the past 3 weeks and we’ve had trades coming in and out of the house. But luckily yesterday, our tile setter finished earlier then expected and we were able to go out for the evening. We decided to do a little food crawl and started off at Judas Goat. We ordered Beef Tongue, Duck Confit & Foie Gras Terrine, Pulpo with Egg Yolk & Smoked Paprika and Roasted Polenta with Olive-Scallion Dressing. I would highly recommend them all!

Second stop was at La Taqueria for a few tacos. I love this place – so low key & the tacos so good! We ordered one De Chachette, one Al Pastor, one Pesacado and one Lengua taco. Yum. Another place highly recommended!

Last stop was at Cheesecake Etc. to end the night with a couple slices of strawberry cheesecake. I didn’t take any photos as the place was so dark – almost too dark to eat actually. But it was a great way to end the night. Happy Birthday Peter!

Awhile back, I did a photo album on facebook of my collection of food photos from travels. Since food is such a huge part of our travel experience, wherever we go, we always make sure we only eat the local food of the region. I have tasted so many good food from our travels and some of my favourites are: trofie al Pesto from the Ligurian region of Italy, grilled seafood from the Philippines, pizza from Rapallo & Rome, fresh seafood in Nice, France and Basque style tapas in Barcelona. I have too many food photos collected throughout the years but this album is an edited version. Click here to browse through the photos. Enjoy and happy eating!

We found this cute little Korean snack bar, in Burquitlam, over the weekend and they had the simplest menu. The choices are steamed dumplings, large dumplings, kimchi dumplings, fish cakes in broth soup, ddeokbokki (sliced rice cakes) & some korean style sushi. So that made ordering for us pretty easy. Not bad for a simple lunch.

Mmmmm…. Richmond Summer Market! Yum in every corner. Modeled after traditional evening markets in Asia, the Richmond Summer Market will make you feel like you’re actually in Asia without the airplane ride. It opens at 6:30pm but by 7pm, it’s packed with people eyeing what they want to eat next.

One part of the market is all food and the other side are filled with stalls selling sunglasses, electronics and other trinkets all made in Asia. But for us, we bypass that part of the market and go straight for the food. The food is truly amazing, cheap & authentic. You start off buying a few pieces of little steamed dumplings for $2. As you’re eating it, you walk to the next stall and order some more dim sum like siu mai & har gow and next, some bubble waffle. It’s never ending. It’s like a street food crawl!

By the end of the night, you can’t even count how many of those little dumplings, bbq’s & okonomiyaki you have eaten. All you know is that your stomach is stuffed with so much goodness.

So if you plan to go, make sure you bring a lot of small change & and an empty stomach.

Breakfast this morning – Steel cut oats with mangoes, coconut milk & granola with cranberries. In fact, this has been my breakfast every morning this week. I’m so loving it – can you tell? I’ve never been an oats fan as the only oats I knew about are those instant ones filled with sugar that you see in your local grocery store. I always found them too sweet & too mushy for my liking. Until I recently discovered the goodness of steel cut oats!

I’m currently working on a project that has to do with steel cut oats so I’ve been learning so much about it’s nutritional benefits. Yes, it does take 20 min to make but I make a small pot full which usually lasts for 3 days.

This mango and coconut recipe is the first one I experimented with but would like to try cooking it with apples too and other fruits. Does anyone have an amazing steel cut oats recipe they would like to share?

Before I bought my bread machine, I really had to think about as I didn’t want to get another small appliance in the kitchen that will be forgotten in a corner collecting dust. So, after thinking about it for a long time, I finally took the plunge and bought ourselves a breadmaker. And, I don’t regret it at all – it’s one of the most used small appliance in our kitchen. I can’t imagine not having it!

Since we’ve had it, I haven’t bought a loaf of bread from the grocery store. All the bread we eat at home are all homemade. I make a loaf or 2 every week and freeze them. So this is what I do to keep them fresh (I think I read this from Martha Stewart): Once it’s done baking in the oven, I let it sit for an hour. Then, I slice them by hand into individual pieces. Once all sliced, I wrap the whole loaf (sliced) in saran wrap and store them in the freezer to keep them fresh. Whenever I need a slice of bread, I just take a couple pieces of the frozen slices and pop them in the toaster oven. Easy!

The first image just came straight out of the oven. It’s whole wheat with flax seeds. Second image are slices of frozen rosemary bread made last week.

Last night, we had our friends Francis, Tracy, Tami, Jim and their little girls over for a homemade pasta dinner party. Making homemade pasta with my Kitchen Aid attachment couldn’t be easier so I thought it would be fun to make different types of pasta and have friends over for dinner. It was such a fun night and we literally stayed at the dinner table all night eating & chatting the night away. So here’s last nights menu:

Bucatini with pesto sauce & potatoes
Spaghetti meatballs with tomatoes & basil (Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s recipe)
Large macaroni with butter & sage (Mario Batali’s recipe)
Rigatoni with fresh dill & goat cheese (Martha Stewart’s recipe)
Caprese salad
Homemade rosemary bread
Chicken Italian meatballs
Buttery garlic mushrooms

And, you can’t end a large feast without dessert! While the little girls – Luna, Lucy, Orla & Lily enjoyed a scoop of ice cream in their pink cones, the bigger people had a nice slice of warm pie (brought back by Tami & Jim from their camping trip) with ice cream and a dollop of whipping cream. Then to warm up the stomachs, we ended with a nice glass of D’Oro 2007 Fortified Walnut wine. Yummy goodness!

A few weekends ago, we hopped in the car and headed over to Langley farms. Langley is just 45 min away from Vancouver which Peter and I refer to as the Provence of Vancouver. The roads are long and narrow with rolling hills as far as the eyes can see. Once in awhile, a farm tractor will turn into your road & you’re stuck behind it barely moving as the tractor finds it’s way to another road where he is headed. Then you continue your journey until people riding their horses share the road with you so you slow down once again to admire the horses and say hello to the people riding them. Then off you go again.

The scenery is so beautiful and so green. Aside from wineries surrounding you, there are also quite a few horse stables where you see horses out and about enjoying the sun and beautiful large barns scattered in the area. It’s stunning & breathtaking.

Our first stop was Vista D’Oro farms. We love their preserves so we picked up a small bottle of the turkish fig with walnut wine preserve and a bottle of their fantastic port wine. Our second stop was Domaine de Chaberton which apparently is Langley’s largest and oldest winery. We tasted some of their wines and took a peek at the lunch menu of their restaurant called Bacchus Bistro. Need to try this restaurant one day! Then on our last stop we had a picnic style lunch at Township 7 – a small little winery with picnic tables surrounding their property where you can order from a picnic style menu and eat it outside. So, that’s exactly what we did. A few little things to nibble on and a glass of their rosé wine is all that we needed as we sat in the middle of their vineyard. It was a great way to end our Langley farms adventure. I think this is a summertime weekend favourite. We’ll be back and will try picnic menus at the different vineyards.

On our way to the Jazz Festival, we decided to stop by the newly opened Nelson The Seagull for some coffee & pastries. I felt right at home in the space – this is exactly how I dream my kitchen looks like. They have an open kitchen in the back so you can watch them make their fantastic sandwiches & pastries. They were getting ready to close so lucky us, we got a few free pastries to try out. The sweet one was an apple type pastry and the other was a savoury pastry -prosciuto & quail egg. Double yum!

Aside from our large father’s day gathering with the family to honour all the fathers in the family, Peter, Luna & I did our own little celebration the evening before father’s day. Peter loves burgers & since it was his weekend, he got his burger! One of the best burgers in town is Stack House Burger Bar. Peter had the Portabellini burger and I had the veggie burger. The veggie burger is different from what I had before as this one had edamame in the patty. So good! We also couldn’t end a father’s day dinner without dessert so we ordered their deep fried ice cream wrapped in brioche dough. I have to say, that was Luna’s favourite.

If you’re around the Granville & Davie area and craving for a burger, give Stack House Burger Bar a try – I promise, you will love it!

As I was growing up, my mom noticed my love for baking. So when I left home, she had given me her beloved Kitchen Aid mixer which she has had for years, I think even before I was born. And until today, it still works perfectly as ever. It’s my most favourite thing in the kitchen. This mixer has been part of all my mom’s delicious baked goods and, now, my own.

Yesterday turned out to be a gloomy rainy day, the kind of day where you just want to stay home and wear your most comfortable outfit & wool socks! So we all stayed home and spent most of our day in the kitchen having the best time baking together as a family. Luna sat on her highchair watching us, feeling like she was part of our baking day. I’ve had this Kitchen aid pasta attachment since my birthday in February but haven’t touched it since then. So we decided to open up the box and use it for the first time. Well, let me tell you – it’s the 2nd best thing in my kitchen. I LOVE this pasta attachment and for our first use, we decided to make bucatini pasta. Bucatini is a thick tubular pasta with a hole running through the center. Pasta making couldn’t be easier and faster with this attachment. I love it!

Basically, you first create your pasta dough using the Kitchen Aid mixer. Then let the dough sit for 15 min wrapped in a damp towel. Once it’s ready, all you have to do is create little balls and feed them through the hopper and use the built-in wire cutter to customize the length of the noodles. The attachment comes with 6 discs in total so you can make small macaroni, large macaroni, fusili, rigatoni, bucatini & spaghetti. I plan to make them all!

Homemade raisin cinnamon bread. Yum! It’s been awhile since I’ve made these. I always like trying out different bread recipes and although this is pretty good and much easier to make, I still prefer my older raisin bread recipe. But if you want something easy and quick, I think this is pretty good as you don’t have to roll out the dough. You simply just add all the ingredients, put it in your bread machine to do it’s work.

You can find the recipe here. I made some minor changes to the recipe. I first added the water, yeast and sugar and let it sit for 10 min. Once the yeast has expanded, I added all the ingredients including the raisins. I also doubled the cinnamon and added a little bit more raisins. Put it in your bread machine to knead & rise. Once it’s done rising, take it out of the bread machine, shape it, then put in the oven at 350 degrees.

Once it’s done baking, let it sit for about 20 min then cut yourself a little slice and spread some yummy butter! Mmm… there’s nothing like freshly baked bread straight from your own oven!

On Another Note:
Thanks to The Late Afternoon for the nice post on our upcoming shop!

The other week while Peter was in Birmingham, my friends Tracy & Francis had me over for dinner and they made this wonderful goat cheese salad that was just divine! They took a cooking class at Dirty Apron and this was one of the salads they made. Although, mine is an inspired version… I watched Tracy make it while we were chatting in the kitchen and I was surprised how easy it was to make for something so delicious.

So here’s how to make it. Chop up some dried fruits (I used apricots) but you can probably use any dried fruits you want, then mix well with a pack of goat cheese. Once it’s all nicely mixed, make little balls (like little meatballs) then dip them individually in an egg batter then cover each ball with panko crust. Once you have all your little goat cheese balls, cook them in a pan with olive oil until golden. Then arrange a handful of mixed greens or spinach on a plate, some pine nuts & a few pieces of the goat cheese balls and drizzle with Balsamic Reduction & a bit of olive oil. Voila, you’ve got a fantastic salad!

I got my Balsamic Reduction from Edible BC in Granville Island (but you can get them anywhere) and it is so delicious. I got a 6 year old Nonna Pia’s Classic Balsamic Reduction which are aged in Modena Italy then produced in Whistler, BC. Divine!

Luna loves eating those asian sweet buns so I thought I would make them for her at home. I found a recipe for chinese sweet buns online and these are great as you can stuff them with anything you want like bbq pork, coconut flakes, hotdog, cinnamon and raisins… but in my case, I stuffed them with cheese. With just 1 recipe, I got almost 2 dozen rolls! They are really good but I would prefer the dough lighter and not as heavy but I’m not sure if it’s me or the recipe. But regardless, it’s pretty good and I know Luna will love them! You can find the recipe here.

The round bread is not a chinese sweet bun, it’s just a round brioche that I made. My friend Tami just had a baby so I thought of making them a pot of congee and a round brioche (even though the two don’t match).

Once again, we are so full and so satisfied. We went for brunch with Len, Olga, Louella and Biren at Me & Julio on the Drive today and had a great time catching up while it poured outside. If you haven’t noticed yet, I love going out for brunch with friends or having friends over for brunch. It’s really the best way to get together on weekends in these cold, wet wintery days.

I’ve got a serious bread obsession. More homemade brioche straight from the oven. Wanting to experiment with other types of bread. I’m thinking of taking on the challenge of making croissants. Mmm…can I do it? I’m sure my croissants will never taste like the ones I had in Paris but I’m willing to give it a try anyway.

Whenever I’m out of ideas for a simple but good breakfast, Jennifer Causey’s Simply Breakfast: More Please book always saves the day. This morning’s breakfast is a slice of homemade white bread with raspberry jam, sunny side up egg and a couple of tomatoes with olive oil drizzled on top. So simple but so good.

We were out for brunch with Todd & Jessica yesterday and they ordered the most amazing looking french toast with brioche. I was drooling watching them eat their french toast, although, my order was delicious too. Since yesterdays brunch, I couldn’t get the french toast out of my mind. So last night, I experimented with a brioche recipe and let it rise overnight. As soon as I woke up this morning, I baked the brioche and made french toast. French toast with freshly baked brioche and slices of strawberries with maple syrup is oh so good. Mission accomplished!

Note: For the Brioche recipe, I used my breadmaker for kneading only. Then I let it rise on it’s own and baked it at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 min. I would recommend this recipe. The brioche is so buttery, light and chewy. Yum! Can’t wait to have another bite!

We’ve always wanted to make homemade pizza. I found a great recipe for pizza dough using a bread machine and the toppings were inspired by a Martha Stewart book that I absolutely love. Once again, it’s amazingly easy and I can’t believe I waited this long to try it. The first time I made it, I used spare ingredients that I had in the fridge which made for a great last minute dinner.

We also tried something fun and used an cookie cutter to cut out elephant shapes for Luna and her friends Lucy & Orla. I thought it would be cute to make them something animal-shaped to eat. So if you haven’t tried making your own pizza, do it as it is so much fun and so easy. Don’t worry about making a perfect shape. Any imperfections will just make it look more rustic and handmade. You can also store the dough for a few months in the freezer and thaw it out the night before you plan to eat it. I found my pizza dough recipe here. The only thing I changed was I used sea salt instead of regular salt and made it 1 1/4 tsp as I found the dough tastier when better seasoned.

These are the topping and cheese combinations we tried: (1) oyster mushroom, shitake mushroom, roasted garlic & fontina cheese with oregano, tarragon and basil; (2) potato, bacon, rosemary and parmigiano-reggiano; (3) olives, cherry tomatoes, basil and feta.

Happy pizza making!

Breakfast today: homemade raisin bread & papaya. Peter is back at work after having two weeks off for the Christmas holiday and Luna and I are back to our regular routine. Luna and I ate our breakfast this morning listening to Camera Obscura, Gilles Peterson, Feist, Jeremy Jay, Tender Forever… to start our day. I always find it so amusing watching her eat her breakfast as she dances to the tunes. Definitely a good way to start a new day.

My first time making homemade butter rolls and I am so pleased with the results. I made these to pair with sundried tomato and parsley butter. For the butter rolls, I used my bread machine to knead and rise the dough. When it was done rising, I shaped them into balls and put them in a mini cupcake pan. Before putting in the oven, I brushed them with an egg wash and sprinkled flour on them to give it a rustic look. I couldn’t be happier with the results. You can find the recipe here.

As for the butter, mix garlic, sundried tomatoes (in a jar marinated in olive oil) and chopped parsley with a pack of salted butter and give it a good mix. Then I took a sheet of wax paper to roll the butter in it and twisted each of the ends like a candy wrapper. You can store this in a freezer for months or keep it in your refrigerator for a few hours before eating. Enjoy!

Homemade peanut brittle wrapped in cloth and tucked in a cardboard box. These are great little presents to give as you can make a lot in just one recipe and receiving anything homemade straight from the kitchen is always a hit. I like to collect containers at home for giving home baked goods to friends. These boxes were bought from a Japanese dollar store called Daiso. To give the box a little Christmas feel to it, I just cut up triangle shapes from a leftover sticker pattern I had done for another project and placed them on each side of the box. These are easy DIY Christmas project to give and share. You can find the recipe here. The only change I made was I added butter and 1/4 tsp of vanilla in the sugar & butter mixture. I think the butter makes a huge difference in making these so yummy!

My very first attempt to making Belgian Apple Torte and it was a success! We had a christmas party at home over the weekend with my work buddies and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. It was surprisingly easy to make and looks really good too. You can find the recipe here. The only change I made was I doubled the cream cheese to give it a more cheesecake quality which I really like. Give it a try as it makes a perfect festive desert!

On the weekend, our friend, Mark Shieh, toured us around the new River Market at Westminster Quay. A couple of years ago, Mark took on the enormous task of revitalizing the Quay. The market was at one time a major attraction in Greater Vancouver but for various reasons fell off the map. I’ve been living in Greater Vancouver for 14 years and had never been to the Westminster Quay. I never had a reason to and no one ever talked about it. Mark and his team are changing all that.

The new market revolves around a “FOOD 360″ concept. FOOD 360 is about creating a space for buying food, eating food, growing food, learning about food and discovering new food. During the early brainstorming stages of the project, Mark talked about a blue-sky scenario where residents could harvest basil that they’ve grown from the community gardens, pair them with market ingredients of their choice and bring them to a vendor who would cook up a custom pasta dish, fresh and ready to go. Another idea was to have a chef-in-residence on site to inspire visitors with new meal planning ideas.

There’s a lot of tasty ideas cooking at River Market. With Granville Island, Lonsdale Quay, the plethora of weekend Farmer’s Markets and speciality grocers, Vancouver doesn’t really need another market. Mark realized this early on and has curated an innovative set of experiences for River Market. A community garden was planted in the summer creating a hands-on connection between gardener and market consumer. A commercial kitchen called “Make” will be available for rental allowing home-producers to pack food-safe products that can legally go to market. And a cooking school on-site will add to the hub of FOOD 360 activity.

Mark once explained to me that there’s a catch-22 in development where savvy tourists only want to go where the locals are but locals don’t want to go anywhere tourists are. I think the plans for River Market wisely takes this into account. The focus on community engagement and locally-relevant programming gives locals reason to embrace the market as part of their neighbourhood life. Once things are in full-swing, there will be plenty of unique experiences to bring in the out-of-town foodies and enough art & architecture innovation to make it a design-minded destination.

River Market is being rolled out in phases or what Mark calls “courses”. The appetizer is the opening of Donald’s Market, the anchor grocer tenant. If you’re in the New Westminster area, drop by to take a look around. If you’re travelling from elsewhere, you’ll want to wait for a special event. Projects will roll out over the next few months. Valentine’s 2011 is the target date to get a critical mass of tenants and programming into the market with Summer 2011 serving up the full-course meal.

River Market’s moto is “Hungry & Curious”. The first floor is for “food for the body” (hunger) while the upper floor is for “food for the mind” (curiosity). The first thing you’ll notice upstairs is The Vancouver Circus School that takes up 6000 sq. ft. of open space. Without seeing it, I didn’t really understand the connection between a food market and circus school. In person, though, it’s brilliant and the synergy jumps out at you. The school creates a signature visual attraction both with the circus performances and with the playful landscaped architecture designed by Marianne Amodio. Mark also explained that lessons at the circus school typically run less than one and a half hours which means parents are better served by exploring the market downstairs rather than go home and come back. Again, adding to the hub of market activity.

Coming soon to the “food for the mind” floor is a boutique toy store where kids can take art classes. There’s also plenty of space upstairs earmarked for specialty programming which is currently in the early stages of planning.

Public art like the interactive installation pictured above adorn the market. These water drop lights are connected to a weather station. When the weather changes, the lights change. There are also buttons on the railing in front of the lights that allows vistors to play the lights like an instrument. It’s playful, thoughtful and creative much like what the market is shaping up to be.

Tiny is an innovative retail concept that packages local BC specialty foods into tiny sample-sized portions. Tiny products come at a tiny price, thus reducing the barrier of entry for the everyday shopper. The thinking behind Tiny is that while a shopper might be hesitant to buy artisan jam for $12, they’ll jump at the chance to try it for $5. Once they’ve tried it, they’ll never go back to the big-box factory-made version. Or at the very least, they’ll gain an appreciation for local artisan producers and that that experience will set the table for new dining adventures. I had the pleasure of working on the brand concept with Cory Ripley (Exhibit A Design Group). So, come back here for a big update on Tiny in the near future. The wood panelling you see is constructed using discarded shipping pallets; one of the many space innovations by Marianne Amodio.

Also sprinkled throughout River Market are playful environmental graphics by Hangar 18. I love the little narrative details. For example, each washroom entrance and exit houses a metaphorical set of graphics. In the example above, it’s raining when you enter the washroom but when you leave all is sunny again. Clever, playful and surprising. This kind of detail and craft gives a space personality and meaning but it takes gutsy visionaries to see the value.

River Market is a great space with very exciting things planned. I would love to sign off with the phrase “I’m hungry for more” but Anthony Bourdain pretty much owns that one. So, let me just say, Bravo to River Market!

Burger Heaven is semi-legendary amongst Vancouver burger bloggers but it’s all the way in New Westminster. Since we were going to New West to visit River Market we decided to make a pit-stop and give it a try. First thing you’ll notice is the decor is stuck in a 1980s time-warp. It’s hokey but authentic and charming. I had the Burger with Bacon & Cheddar. It was a good burger but not quite drive-for-half-an-hour good. My only real critique is that the BBQ sauce was strong and over-powered the first few bites. The bacon over-powered the beef flavor, as well, but that’s my own fault for ordering it. Next time, I’ll go for a basic with cheese. That will be the real test.

Nerissa ordered the Kangaroo Burger from their menu of specialty game meats. Yes, you read right, Kangaroo. Now before you judge, let me tell you that on CBC Radio I once heard an Aussie researcher go on and on about how cows pollute the earth with methane gas while Kangaroos produce almost none. His conclusion was that it’s much more sustainable and environmentally friendly if we all ate ‘roo instead of beef. But how did it taste? Well, it tasted exactly like a beef burger. It also cost a budget breaking $15.99; quite a bit for a burger but a bargain compared to a safari adventure. Overall, it’s a fun place to go to for a retro food adventure. I’m willing to try any place that’s a local legend at least once and I’d say this one is worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Saturday morning brunch with Don and Andrew. On the menu was: homemade coconut belgian waffles, bratwurst, chocolate spread, dolce de leche spread, potatoes with rosemary, fresh berries and mimosa. The dining table was filled with lots of food, conversation flowed, mimosa and coffee was consumed like water and the exchange of ideas inspired us all. Then we went for a walk to the beach by our house to give little Cooper the dog a bit of fresh air before Don and Andrew headed back home. Good food and good company at home is always the best way to start a weekend. We are also lucky to get a special little present from Don – homemade raspberry jam. Thanks again guys for the great time! So many ideas brewing in my mind.

Before we had Luna, Sunday brunch with friends was a favourite weekend activity. Now that we have a baby, it’s more challenging to wait in long lines and sit in jam-packed places. So our plan was to find a place big enough to be kid friendly while delicious enough to satisfy our brunch aficionado friends. That means no Denny’s, no IHOP, no White Spot. None of that. Sacrificing standards is no way to live, especially if you’re only going to meet up once a month. We were going to give, new lunch hotspot, Meat & Bread a try. I’ve been during the week. It gets really busy but I imagined we might get lucky on a Sunday. They have a big communal table and plenty of space. Unfortunately, they’re not open Sundays. Plan B was all-time favourite, Nuba, which we knew would work but they’re not open Sunday afternoon either. So, we headed deeper into Gastown/Railtown to go to Deacon’s Corner. Deacon’s is an old-school diner with some of the best pancakes and other traditional breakfast fare that you’ll find in Vancouver.

It’s not modern, eclectic, west-coast, fusion or any other commonly used Vancouver food adjective. We’re talking serious breakfast here. Len and Sophia had Pancakes with Sausage. Olga had the Corned Beef Hash. Nerissa had the Carolina Pancakes layered with Pulled Pork and I had the Biscuits with Sausage and Country Gravy. All the entrees came with eggs and toast. It’s all delicious but we didn’t get any good food shots because it’s not much to look at.

The food was both familiar and unexpected. It’s familiar because it’s reminiscent of vintage Americana, a type of nostalgia ingrained in our collective pop conciousness. But it’s unexpected because this is Vancouver, Canada where biscuits are more exotic than sushi. Come hungry; the portion sizes are enormous. Curiously, I noticed that between the five of us – not including potatoes – there weren’t any vegetables on our plates, not even a single slice of tomato. In another booth, I did see two girls munching on giant celery sticks but that was only because they were drinking Bloody Marys. I suppose that’s somewhat nutritious.

We found the layout and atmosphere of the restaurant to be very family-friendly. Most of the seating is made up of comfortable old-school dining booths and there’s space around the restaurant to park a stroller. They only have one highchair in the whole place, though. Luna sat in a booster seat which was not ideal but a workable solution. The ambience is so casual that you can make as much noise as you want and take all the time you need. We left full of laughter and full of food. Both signs of a good brunch.

We celebrated Luna’s birthday this weekend at home with family, friends and a whole lot of balloons hanging from the ceiling. We filled our dining table with food and treats for everyone to enjoy. It was a sweet little homey celebration and seeing Luna so happy playing with all her baby friends and being surrounded by so many balloons makes for a perfect 1st birthday.

On the dessert buffet menu: Chocolate mousse in little cups, marshmallow swirls in sticks, cupcake, yoghurt raisins, old fashioned lollipops, brownies, m&m cookies, strawberry wafer sticks, vanilla birthday cake and an assortment of little round mousses. I was happy to see it almost wiped out by the end of the party.

For the goody bags, I used little brown lunch bags and filled them all with a package of yoghurt raisins and sweet berries. I always have a lot of great little fabrics lying around my studio so I cut up two different fabrics using pinking shears to cut the edges. Pinking shears create a saw-tooth pattern that’s graphic and fun. Then I printed thank you notes on thick watercolour paper using my epson printer and cut the edges with pinking shears as well. Mini red & blue clothes pins were used to hold the thank you note and fabric in place. To finish it off, I wrapped bakers twine around the bag and tied it up like you would a ribbon.

It was so fun making these goody bags and the best thing about it is that it’s cheap and really easy to put together. There’s also a folky but modern feel to them which I really love. The little packages of yoghurt raisins and sugar berries were individually wrapped with paper I already had at home. For the yoghurt berries, I used these newsprint zine magazines we bought awhile back from WeWorkForThem. The sugar berries are wrapped with picnic cloth patterned paper that I’ve been waiting to use for a special occasion.

Below is the balloon-themed e-card invite we sent out. We hung up balloons on the ceiling of each room which created a sculptural mobile ceilingscape. It’s so fun and festive were keeping them up until they all deflate or fall down on their own.

Using inkjet sticker paper, I also created customized water bottles and cups. Each water bottle was a solid block of color with a celebratory word on it like “HIP”, “HOORAY”, “JOY” & “LOVE”

Fresh-baked bread, late season tomatoes, fresh oregano, fleur de sel with soft-boiled eggs – that was today’s breakfast. Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar was drizzled on after. That’s pretty much the last of the tomatoes for this year. Our oregano is relatively vibrant through the winter but it becomes a bit of a bother to hand-pick the tiny leaves when it’s cold and rainy. Enjoying every bite while it lasts.

This summer salad makes for a nice bright snack. The picture and title pretty much says it all: mix together cherry tomatoes with cantaloupe melon and slivers of basil with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with a good pinch of sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. For some acidity, you can add a squeeze of lemon or a splash of balsamic vinegar but these particular tomatoes had enough zing on their own.

Even though I ignored them all season long, my cherry tomato plant pulled through and produced a crop of sweet fruit all on its own. Having too much for a single family to eat, we always share our harvest with friends. For one package, I created a gift box packed full of cherry tomato goodness. These little guys are sweet like candy. Fittingly, both metaphorically and physically, I found an old bright red candy tin to use as a container. The ribbons are book headbands and the card is a vintage miniature playing card scavenged from eBay. The embossed overalled girl licking her lips on the front of the box is too cute for words. Delicious sweetness, indeed.

Today, we spent the afternoon picnicking at a semi-secret park, Crab Park at Portside with our friends Jonathan, Anita, Jamie and Heather. On the hottest day of the summer, the other city beach parks would have surely been jam packed. Jonathan and Anita live in the area and, to beat the weekend rush, suggested Crab Park instead. Sure enough, we had the whole park practically to ourselves. On the menu was a spectrum of finger foods: deli meats, baguette slices, cheese, mixed nuts, fresh berries, chips & salsa and, for dessert, a variety of chocolates. The meal was paired with Villa Teresa Rose’ Veneto and Old Style Pilsner for a high/low, old-world/new-world fusion. Conceptual? Yes. Purely coincidental? Um, maybe.

Crab Park isn’t well known to people who don’t live in the area. That’s, partly, because it’s surrounded by industry and, partly, because it borders the northern most tip of the Downtown Eastside. If you do make it to the park, you’ll see a 360° microcosm of Vancouver – old, new, rich, poor, scenesters, immigrants, families, singles, industry and nature. To the north are unobstructed views of the North Shore Mountains. To the south, loom the heritage buildings of Gastown and Railtown. To the west, you’ll see the downtown financial district and luxury cruise ships docked at Canada Place. While to the east, is the port with brightly coloured shipping containers that look like giant lego building blocks. Adding to the industrial romance, occasionally, a helicopter will fly by to land at the nearby heliport or a train will chug along the still active railroad. This is not Celebration, Florida, though. You’ll see homeless people and colourful locals dotted throughout the Park. For the most part, they’re just getting some rest in the sun like everyone else. If you’re comfortable with that part of the urban tapestry, give Crab Park a visit. It’s a diamond in the rough.

I decided to try Martha Stewarts Fish Tacos recipe but when I looked in the fridge, I realized I didn’t have any fish so I substitute it with steak instead. I marinated the steak with garlic, Maggi, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil & pepper. I also decided to add some avocado and cherry tomatoes which the recipe didn’t call for. It was pretty quick and easy to prepare everything and making the tacos made dinner a lot more fun too. I also grilled the tortillas directly on an electric burner which I had a lot of fun doing. Not bad for a Thursday night dinner.

Recipe taken from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

I made my first homemade pasta today! YUM. And, I had so much fun making them too. It wasn’t as hard as I thought. Though, it does take some time but hopefully with practice, I’ll be faster at it. There’s really nothing like eating homemade pasta. The freshness of the flavour exceeds any pasta you buy from a grocery store. I’m now inspired to make different types of pasta and ravioli might be the next one to make!

For the sauce, I wanted to keep it simple so it doesn’t over power the taste of the fresh pasta. I sauteed garlic and onions in olive oil, then mixed three medium sized chopped tomatoes, basil, oregano, dried chilli flakes, Parmigiano-Reggiano and fleur de sel. Mmm…. it was so good!

I seem to have an obsession with cups. I don’t know what it is but I think that my coffee tastes better in a cup that has a nice shape or pattern to it. Part of my enjoyment of drinking coffee is the cup itself – it’s part of the experience. As soon as I step into a vintage or a home store, I go straight for the cups. I always stop myself from buying them as we have way more then what we need but just admiring them makes me happy. A few that I absolutely love, but don’t have yet, are: Sentou-ti cups, cinq cups, zipper cups, Fellina Sok-Cham espresso cups, ABC Paper Cups, & Marimekko Oiva cups.

I found a great Roasted Corn and Black Bean vegan salad recipe which I decided to try yesterday and I was impressed. I found a new summer salad favourite. But it’s quite ironic as we paired our vegan salad with spicy Italian sausages which Peter barbequed. It’s very easy to make and would be great paired with a nice cold mojito!

I’m starting to feel the urge to start baking again and totally want to try this Rustic Sourdough Bread recipe. It doesn’t only look delicious, it also looks so pretty all packaged nicely with parchment paper and tied with Divine Twine. I’m also drooling just looking at this Peanut-Rice Crispy Treats recipe. I think i’m going to have a busy baking week if I can get myself to stay home!

Peter picked some strawberries from our garden over the weekend and they are so tasty and so sweet. The only problem is that we don’t have very many so we have to savour every bite.

Yesterday was Peter’s first Father’s day and I decided to surprise him with Jennifer Causey’s ‘Simply Breakfast More Please’ book as a present. I didn’t have the time to make him a special Father’s day breakfast as we had to rush out of the house in morning to meet the rest of the family for an all day Father’s day picnic at Kits beach. But I figured he can just feast his eyes in Jennifer’s breakfast photos instead. We’ve been a big fan of her blog with all her delicious breakfast photos so we are happy to add her book to our library. Happy belated Father’s Day to all the father’s out there!!

We had lunch at Nuba with Eileen & Jessica on Saturday and indulged ourselves in Lebanese food. We went to their new location on E 3rd and the space is so beautiful. Nuba is probably one of my favourite places to eat in the city. Their vegetable falafel is to die for. Try it if you’re there! The ingredients and the taste is very close to one of the best falafels I had ever tasted which happens to be located in Paris. It’s called L’as du Falafel in the Jewish neighbourhood. So tasty! Peter loves ordering the Najib’s Special which is crispy cauliflower tossed with lemon & sea salt. It doesn’t sound like much but it transcends cauliflower-ness. Who knew fried cauliflower could be so good? You also can’t go to Nuba without ordering their Turkish coffee. It’s brewed to order and is made with rose water and spiced with cardamom. The first sip will be shockingly exotic in taste but enjoy the experience. It’s like a mini-vacation. With the spicy floral aromatics of the rose water and cardamom you’ll feel transported to another world.

My favourite breakfast these days – homemade whole wheat bread, cream cheese (or avocado), fresh basil, pouched eggs, fleur de sel & a drizzle of olive oil. It’s so simple but so flavourful (the photo doesn’t do justice to how good it is but believe me, it’s so good!). Fresh basil is so good with anything really… I also received my Anthropolgie catalague so I happily ate my breakfast while dreaming of all the beautiful things I was looking at which I wish I could own. They are just way too expensive. But so beautiful! I heard from a friend that Athropologie might be opening a store in Vancouver to take over the Liberty space on Broadway. I’m so excited!!!!