Made this little flick a few weeks back, while hanging out with my good pal, Sol…. first snow, first snowman test launch. Happy holidays! xodt

Hot on the heels of Canadian Thanksgiving, today’s World Food Day is “a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed,  year-around action to alleviate hunger.” JC Jones @ Healthline writes “This year the focus is on the issue of climate change and its impact on the poor. Food security for millions is an increasingly urgent global public health issue due to climate change. Each year, hunger claims as many lives as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Hunger and malnutrition are the number one risk to health worldwide.” You can go online to look for related events taking place today in your area. Or check out ‘10 Things You Can Do On World Food Day‘ @ World Food Programme.

Hello to all you sweet tooths out there. FYI- I will be selling my tasty balls + my gp aprons at tomorrow’s Bakers Market. I invite you to come by and visit me at 118-408 E Kent Ave. South between 11-3 and check out the yummy selection of fresh baking and treats. (Click here to read a recent Vancouver Courier article about the market).

My friend, Dave, just sent me this tasty little morsel….. found at kitchen scraps. Seems like I was right all along….. sandwiches are sexy!

My ‘Bird Seed Breakfast Balls’ that is. I’m the first to roll my eyes when someone else draws attention to the fact that a celebrity has used their product or service….. yet here I am doing the same dang thing. I simply couldn’t resist.

I started a little side business back in the beginning of August, the premise being to make healthy tasty food for a select few working on film sets. My fabulous friend, Gitte has been instrumental in getting it all up and running. She has used her job as a makeup artist to inadvertently allow me access to private customers that I would not otherwise have enjoyed. She sells my ‘balls’ onset (energy balls made with grains, nuts, dried fruit, nut butter, honey…..and rolled in toasted sesame seeds), prepackaged in singles or 4’s. Should she be busy making a star look beautiful (like putting body make-up on Zac), purchases can still be made by simply putting one’s cash in the piggy bank she has provided, placed directly beside said balls.

First ‘Varna’ leeks are harvested!

Some thing really are worth waiting for. My very first leeks ever were started from seed way back in February, at a time when summer’s harvest seemed literally years away. Our sun room had been converted into a makeshift sun room by using little more than a card table, an old door and several little trays full of starter mix (and a whole lotta hope). The ‘Varna’ variety purchased from West Coast Seeds promised to one day grow up and really be somebody….. and it did. They are now tall and gorgeous, simply begging to be plucked from the soil and transformed into something delicious.

Leek and Potato Soup

This soup is simple to make, and really showcases the simple, clean flavours of the leeks and the tender texture of summer’s local potatoes. And it’s flavours only get better when left in the fridge for a day or 2.

Leek and Potato Soup
(Serves 4)

1 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
3 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
4 medium, red skinned potatoes, cleaned and diced into 1/2″ cubes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 c water
2 1/2 T miso paste
1/2 t salt
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Bring a large soup pot to medium heat and add the olive oil. Let stand for one minute. Add the onions and stir occasionally, until they start to become yellow and translucent. Next stir in the leeks and saute until they start to become soft. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute, then the potatoes and stir for one more minute. Last, add the water, miso paste, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer the soup, covering it with a loosely fitting lid. Stir the soup occasionally, until the soup is fully cooked (about 40 minutes). Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Aaaaaahhhhh! My ‘100 Day Raw Challenge’ is finally over, and not a minute too soon. Yes, I am glad that I did it. I really enjoyed the recipe development component of the experience and am super stoked to have finally lost those last pesky five pounds. But now it is time to return to the pleasures of cooked food….. with a new found appreciation for my stove top, oven and bbq. I can finally dine with friends and family while enjoying all the same menu items as they do, and I can do so without guiltily looking over my shoulder for the Raw Police.

My pantry will be switched back this weekend, to include some of its former staples, such as rice, pasta, home preserves, maple syrup and cous cous. The food dehydrator that has been my trusty companion since June 1 has already been sold on Craigslist for fifty bucks. I plan to spend this money on exciting ingredients like bacon, cheese and baking flour. Aaaaaahhhhh! It’s good to be back.

Dang! Just got back into town and had forgotten all about this….. I thought this dining event sounded really interesting…. Diva Restaurant at the Metropolitan Hotel is serving up a unique dinner experience as I write this post. “Striving for zero greenhouse gas emissions produced during each dinner, while reducing the environmental footprint of the foods and beverages that are sourced …..”

Executive Chef Dino Renaerts and Sous Chef Jeff Van Geest (former owner of locally driven ‘Aurora Bistro’) are working their creative magic and preparing an imaginative 6 course meal that follow the evening’s guidelines, complete with candle-light and live jazz. Sounds like good times.