Pocketful of Memory Cards

Any Chef worth his  or her salt will tell you the best way to make a good meal is to start with the best ingredients.  If you're going to take the time to hunt down fresh produce, and  purchase quality cuts of meat it would be a crying shame to add old herbs and spices to those favourite recipes.  Take heart!  If you live in the Okanagan, Abby's Spice & Tea Store has you covered. If you haven't visited Abby in the Stewart Centre on Kirschner, you don't know what you're missing!  She's brought in herbs and spices from the four corners of the globe:  smoky Paprika from Spain, Cloves from Madagascar, Allspice from Jamaica and Star Anise from China to name just a few.  And it's all so fresh!  The Marash pepper I buy from her is so moist with essential chili oils, I have to make sure I put it right into a jar so it doesn't eat through the plastic bag she sends home with me. And her teas are just as fresh.  The Market S...

Most years we throw two clumps of basil and a cilantro plant in with the tomatoes and carrots and that's the extent of our herb garden.  This year, instead of trudging down the back stairs in the sweltering heat, walking over to the garden and trying not to step on any of the other plants, hoping I'd picked all I herbs I needed, and trudging back up the stairs again, (I know it doesn't sound that bad, but I am on the lazy side), I planned to do a "kitchen garden" of herbs, in pots on our deck. I imagined myself stepping easily out the sliding glass door off the kitchen and cutting a bit of fresh basil or rosemary.  It sounded idyllic but it was not meant to be. Turns out I have a brown thumb when it comes to growing herbs from seed.  I'm wondering if I even planted the parsley... The only two plants to do anything were the rosemary and cilantro...which were not started from seed.  I know the cilantro looks bad, but I kept forge...

As many of you have discovered, I am not a shopper....but Monday is grocery day and since I do enjoy cooking (and eating), grocery shopping is a necessary evil.   After stops at Don-O-Ray, My Country Garden and Extra Foods - where I refused to pay $7.59 for 400 grams of Feta Cheese (when did Feta get so expensive??!!) I rewarded myself with a stop at Abby's Spice and Tea Store .  It's always a treat to visit with the knowledgeable and inspiring Abby to find out what new goodies she's added to her inventory.  In need of a good olive oil, I managed to snag a rich and peppery bottle of Canale 53 Extra Virgin Olive Oil after sampling three of the best choices for salads and other raw foods.  Abby also carries some amazing products from the Vinegar Works in Summerland.  At their Valentine Farm operation, they grow the grapes, make the wine and then turn it into several kinds of vinegar.  I tasted their Balsamico Rosso,  Blanco and also tr...