Tomatoes and the snow - my two homes

My day started with opening an email from my dad. He'd sent me pictures of the snowfall they'd just had. Even though it's December, I think living in the south has skewed my perception of Calgary weather. It's still shocking to see it look so cold. Although I have to say, the right snow day can be the most fun you can imagine.

Here's the view from my parent's place

To have it really hit home how far from "home" I am, I went to Jamison's. I actually went there to pick up some pickled beets (which I did get and then forgot to use in my supper but I digress). They had homegrown tomatoes there! Can you imagine the happy dance a girl from Alberta did to learn that I can buy homegrown tomatoes in DECEMBER?

I ended up making more of a "summer supper" and made tomato salads, a potato salad, fresh bread and some smoked salmon.

I don't want to ever have to go back to tasteless store tomatoes. I need a greenhouse.

~~~

On a slightly different note (and not food related, but health related), I took Jenna to the doctor's office yesterday. She finally had her last immunization shot and hopefully we are now done for a good long while. Poor Jenna hates shots and it's always filled with tears (hers and mine).

But, yesterday for me was extra awful. The waiting room was full, they were running late, and all the other people in the waiting room were sick  not just kind of sick, but hacking up a lung, running to throw up sick. One lady they had to remove from the waiting room and find her a place to lie down.

Now don't get me wrong, I felt really badly for all these other people. But we've already had a major bout of sick go through our house. I really didn't want us going through it again. I was cringing every time I saw them hack all over the chairs, tables and doors.

I had my hand sanitizer with me and as soon as Jenna and I left we sprayed each other down. And washed hands really well at home. But it made me think of my mom always telling me to wash off the outside yuck. And her telling me how my Grandma always used to tell her to wash off the city germs when they would go to town.

So winter me has reappeared and I'm on everyone to wash and to keep their hands out of their mouths.

Somehow I managed to survive a childhood spent using my horse's butt as a picnic table for whatever I was eating - but people germs gross me out!

Stay healthy and happy

Finally a reason to watch commercials

Quite a few years ago I started buying the gladware type stuff. I was trying to be more organized. I would like to say at that time I was also trying to be environmental, but that was not the case. Probably it started with my parents buying the gladware and me in my early (maybe late, sorry mom and dad) twenties going to their house to grocery shop. But I did start at some point not only grocery shopping on my own, but also buying food storage containers.

It became a nightmare. Both Glad and Ziploc seemed like nice products at first, but then BOTH of them would change their tops or bottoms and no new purchases would fit the old ones. So, then I was stuck with a bunch of bottoms and tops and I had no idea what belonged to what. I was so tired of opening cupboards and having them fall out at me and having the poor kids listen to me swear at the containers. It's just no fun for anyone.

When we moved to Roanoke, I decided enough was enough and I threw out all my old containers and I bought Rubbermaid containers from Target. $20 bought me several sizes and I probably have 3 of these. They are great because I know as long as the size is right the lid will fit. But still it was making quite the mess in the drawer as the containers and the lids take up a lot of space.



*but*

last weekend, Thanksgiving weekend, I was either watching Football or a cooking show and for some reason we had a commercial up. I *never* watch commercials. I think the best thing about digital tv is that I can record everything so I watch nothing in real time, but for whatever reason I was watching real time this day.

They had a lady in her kitchen talking about her food storage containers, then opened a cupboard and all the containers fell out on top of her. I laughed because I have so been there. Then, the commercial went on to talk about my Rubbermaid containers and how they all stack into each other and how the lids stack together and snap to the bottom of the containers.

I HAD NO IDEA.

I have had these for months! I felt like a fool, but I was telling a friend this weekend, and she said she had the same ones and also had no idea.

My drawer now is so organized! It's the absolute best it's been in 20 years. I am so excited. And I am aware of how my life has changed that I am now excited by the organization of my drawers. But, If you have the crazy drawer from hell get Rubbermaid  . It may not make your life all better, but it certainly will make a small change in making it more organized and happier!


I wish they had done a better job of advertising the stacking bonus. I was glad to find out I was not the only one. Maybe you have a stacking mess too?

Cheese picnic night with my two favourite people!

Tea time, the best time of the day....

I have a 1:00 pm crash time. I don't wear a watch and unless I *have* to know what time it is I don't bother with it. I have different alarms set on my iphone that tell me when to get up, go to the bus etc. But, no matter what I am doing or where I am I can always tell when it's 1:00.

I get crabby (crabbier than usual), tired and have an overwhelming need for a nap. So, whenever possible, I set myself up for my 1:00 pm ritual that usually keeps me sane for the rest of the day.

Ahhhhh, a cup of tea, homemade biscotti and a nice read. Honestly, the only thing that could make this better are the days that I can follow this up with a little cat nap in a sunbeam (bliss).

Tea has been an important part of my life since I can remember. Coffee and I have a really dysfunctional relationship, one which I think I have said goodbye to permanently (I hope). But tea- ahhh tea never lets me down. Tea is good when I'm happy, tea is good when I'm sad, tea is good when I'm cold, tea is good when I'm hot.

I remember years ago, I had a benign tumour in my neck (but we didn't know if it was benign at the time) and went to see a specialist in downtown Calgary. After the appointment my Mom said that since we were right at the Palliser Hotel that we should go and have a cup of tea. As we sat down Mom made some comment to the effect of what "Copithornes" we were being - here we were in a crisis and the first thing we did was run off for a cup of tea.

Another "Copithorne" tea cures all memory I have is of my Grandma. She had fallen and was in the hospital getting x-rays. She was pretty banged up and was quite a wreck. The doctors were worried about her beyond just broken bones too. They had her in the examining room and Grandma started asking for a cup of tea. They denied her saying that they needed her to stay there and have these important tests done on her to make sure she was ok. She kept on persisting that she would be ok if only she could have a cup of tea. After a while of this back and forth the doctors relented and let one of us go get her a cup of tea. As she sipped her tea, you could see her visibly calm down. Did it mend her broken bones? No, but it sure mended her spirit.

Tea as a cure all for what ails you!

I have to admit though, that some cups of tea are just a little bit better. Today I'm having one of my all time favourite cups of tea. Lavender tea from Murchies in Victoria, British Columbia.

When I was a kid, my parents used to take us to Vancouver Island for our vacations. Eventually they bought their retirement home near Sidney, BC. I have many fond memories of the Island, high among those are my trips to Murchies.... often followed by a trip to Rogers Chocolates. Hence my obsession with tea and chocolate I suppose.

Getting Murchie's tea in Calgary used to be somewhat of a challenge. One made a bit easier by the fact that my parents still were making annual treks out to the Cedarwood Inn and Suites. Then we moved to Montreal, but I was smart and brought along a stash. When we moved to Rhode Island, I learned to scrounge for boxes of tea (because I'm sure no one would miss them lol) when I would go home. Finally, my parents just started buying tea for me for Christmas to ensure their stock was not depleted too badly on my trips home. Last fall, I had a good friend visit me in RI from Victoria. She kindly brought me some Lavender tea which I have been thoroughly enjoying - although I am learning to use it sparsely.... it's getting close to running out. I guess I'll have to start getting it shipped to Virginia!

It's a cold rainy day, and honestly I can't think of anything I'd rather do right now than go enjoy a nice warm cup of tea and my biscotti. If I turn away I can ignore the massive stack of laundry behind me. If I turn off the lights, I can't see that the floors need to be cleaned. I can focus on my comforting cup of tea and enjoy the bliss of silence and calm it brings me.

Namaste.

Apple Crisp from Kripalu puts a little love in my heart

One of my favourite places on earth to go is Kripalu. I was incredibly fortunate when we lived in Rhode Island that it was only a 2 1/2 hour drive away. Over the course of the 4 years we lived there I was able to make the drive to the Berkshires 4 times. Now that we are living in southern Virginia, it would be more like a two day drive, so I am trying to bring a little Kripalu to my mountains here every chance I get.

If you have ever been to Kripalu then you know that the food there is out of this world. I always love learning about the many vegetarian options. Even my meat loving family (myself included) love the new recipes I come back wanting to try. So when I saw Kripalu's recipe for apple crisp come up on my twitter feed yesterday I knew I had to try it.

I was a little nervous because the recipe called for 1/2 cup of maple syrup. I'd had a recipe a few months ago that used up a lot of my maple syrup (the recipe was not from Kripalu - I don't even remember what it was from - obviously I have blocked a bad memory) and the recipe was terrible. Maple syrup to me is like gold. We lived in Quebec for two years and got a taste of what really, really good maple syrup should be. Whenever we have someone from Quebec come visit us we ask for them to cart down some syrup. The most recent friends who visited us own a restaurant and brought us a jug of the stuff unlike I had ever seen before.

(Even though I'm Canadian, I don't actually drink maple syrup by the glass - but it was the closest thing I could find to show a size comparison!)

 You have not lived until you've been at a cabane à sucre- but I digress....

I had all the ingredients - even spelt flour if you can believe it! And the kids were asking for dessert. Dessert in our house is saved for special occasions like birthdays, holidays or any time mom has a craving for something sweet.  Last night was definitely a sweet night.

We came home late from the Y and everyone was starving. I thought I was probably going to be out of luck, that there was no possible way I could throw together an apple crisp on top of trying to get supper into the oven, get the kids fed and get to bed at any decent kind of hour.

The apple crisp took under 5 minutes for me to prepare. Then it sat in the oven for 30 minutes, I had to uncover it and then it stayed for another 10 minutes. It was done just in time for us to enjoy it in our pyjamas with a nice hot cup of tisane.

Kripalu may no longer be "just down the road for me". But I'm trying every day to bring a little Kripalu to our lives. I may not have the wonder of the Berkshires to look at, or the peace that the entity of Kripalu instills in my soul, but the view from my back yard is none to shabby....

We are working at bringing a little *om* to our lives. Kripalu always puts a little love in my heart (and last night my belly too!)

Roanoke Natural Foods Coop. Good to be a member!

I love our local Co-op. We were lucky to find out about the Co-op while we were here house hunting -  so it's been part of my grocery shopping circuit since the get go. I love all the local dairy, meats and produce that are available there. And the bulk food aisle has become an important part of filling my pantry.

But, it's not just the *things* I can get there that I like. It truly is a community Co-op. Last Sunday they brought their community together for an owners' cookout (I still want to call it a BBQ - but BBQ means something entirely different here than it does where I come from). The Grandin area was the first real introduction to Roanoke that I had back in April when we were house hunting. We were in the area on Earth Day and spent a wonderful spring day walking up and down the street enjoying the festivities.

I was not sure exactly what to expect. But, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day, and history had taught us that chances were we would have a lot of fun -  so the kids and I thought "why not?"

We went early so they could play at the playground across the street. They always have fun at that park and usually it's a struggle to get them to leave. But, after a while the smell of the grill made its way up the hill and got our stomachs growling. This time the kids were pestering me to leave the park so they could go down to the Co-op parking lot.

And why not? Along with the wonderful smells there was music!

Of course since we were there so early we had to get a seat and a drink. Right across from where they were cooking and beside the band. The best spot according to the kids!

We didn't notice the line start to form. A bunch of happy people waiting their turn for some grub!

Jenna took one look at the grill and said "Mom, that's big enough to cook a bear on". Have I mentioned we had a bear problem at our house?








There was a fun lady who did caricatures while we waited.

She picked up on Jacob's big head. I told him his big head almost killed me!!!

Jenna's turn

Pretty accurate don't you think?

Here were our menu options. Pretty decent selection don't you think? Grass Fed Beef!!! Love it!

And the grill full of food (no bear)

Here was my meal. Beef burger, green salad, pasta salad and a cookie. You were supposed to get only one salad, but Jacob made a salad error so I got his too. :-)

Nothing else to do but enjoy the good food, fun people and wonderful evening!

What a party they put together. This was free to members.
Thank you Roanoke Natural Foods Coop!!!

Anderson Cooper.....who is the disordered eater?

I have admired Anderson Cooper for years now - ever since he was a host on the show The Mole. Ok, let's be honest, I thought he was hot, so it made me watch the show. But, then I discovered he was not only a reality TV host, but actually quite a respected CNN news reporter. The fact that he is a Vanderbilt is an added bonus.

I have watched him throughout the years. Recently when Hurricane Irene came roaring up the East Coast, I watched him report from NYC. I learned more that morning about hurricanes than I had my entire life. I actually commented to my husband that if Anderson Cooper had been my math and science teacher, I probably would have gone much farther!

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear that he was starting a daily talk show. I have been lucky enough to catch it a couple of times. One of those shows was titled: Anderson's Food Intervention where he discussed the peculiar diets some people (himself included) have. There were two ladies on the show who pretty much live on potatoes, or some form of potato.

The true tragedy for me was to discover that Anderson Cooper himself has an issue with food. He was told it's not an "eating disorder", but rather he has "disordered eating". As in, he really could care less about food and would be just as happy drinking a protein drink for every meal.

What?

He showed us the interior of his fridge which was pretty much filled with some pop and some sausages. He said he only had the sausages since it was the only thing he knew how to cook. Good thing he's rich!

Anderson Cooper went on to say that since he does have to eat, there are only certain things he will eat - about 4 things I believe. Egg whites, some dinner from the Boston Market, those sausages, and something else I can't remember. He does not like vegetables and had never had spinach.

I don't understand how he made it through his childhood never being forced to eat spinach - or something like that.

I have two childhood memories of being forced to eat food. One good, one not so good. My mom likes liver. Liver still makes me throw up in my mouth a little. I have a memory of sitting at the dinner table with the gross slab of liver on my plate and a huge mound of ketchup. I was not allowed to leave the supper table and go to my soccer game until that darn liver was cleaned off my plate. It still makes me want to cry, and no I still don't like liver.

On the other hand, we had a British lady who used to help look after us and she liked Brussel sprouts. It was much the same scenario - me crying at the table and her telling me I had to finish them. She did tell me that if I ate them often enough I would grow to like them. As it turns out, I now love Brussel sprouts.

(by the way, it's not like the Brussel sprouts were better prepared. Both the liver and the Brussel sprouts were nasty. But, I learned to bake Brussel sprouts and they're super yummy like that).

The point is, I think it's important to be open to trying new foods. To give Anderson Cooper credit, he did eat spinach on this show for the first time. Hated it, but he did eat it.

Here's where I was dumbfounded during this show. I *got* that his food issues were weird. I mean, being so picky - that's weird, right? But, then he went on to ask the therapist: well, what about those people who spend all their lives thinking about food? I know people who are either planning what to eat, eating, or thinking about what they just ate.

Well, the therapist said that's also a form of disordered eating.

What? I'm a disordered eater? I thought that was normal. What on earth do the rest of you do with all the hours in the day if you're not thinking about food?????

The therapist said that "these people" use this mechanism to block unpleasant thoughts. They think about food instead about worrying about bigger problems.

And the problem with that would be?????

*by the way, I just ate a pizza on an Ezekiel flatbread with leftover roast, onion confit and some sharp cheddar. I followed it with some yummy chocolate and a cup of tea. Supper I'm not sure of yet, but you can bet I'm thinking about it!!!*

My love affair with tomatoes continues.....

My kid really loves goat cheese

My tomato love story

Adventures with Anis et Marjolaine

We lived in St. Lazare, QC for 2 years. I think the food culture there was what really started to turn me into a hardcore foodie. One of the places that was a huge influence for me was a wonderful bistro called Anis et Marjolaine.

When we left Quebec and moved to Rhode Island, Alvaro and Ashley (the owners) delighted us with a visit. We pigged out on every kind of local seafood we could get our hands on, did all the touristy things (if you have not been to Block Island, RI - I highly recommend it).

So, how excited were we to find out they were going to come down to our new home in Roanoke, VA this summer to see us! Timing was not the greatest as they had planned on coming via NYC, but Irene had other ideas for them. After doing some other stops though, they made it to our place.

And we ate.

Most of what I know about cooking I learned from watching James Barber on CBC in my early 20s. I didn't even really start watching him because I wanted to know how to cook, but rather because I lived in the country and we only had 3 channels so my viewing choices were limited, and I was very bored. But, once I decided I liked cooking and liked food - there was no stopping me. So, to be able to work so close to a real chef - and one whose cooking I so enjoyed while we lived down the street from his bistro - oh my!!!

We started our cooking their first morning. I opened our freezer to have a look at what meat we could have for supper and found two HUGE bones that were labeled Osso Bucco. Now, traditional Osso Bucco has the bones cut to much smaller size, and we realized this could be a problem. Our bones were more like half of a cow leg!

Alvaro was sure this would not be a problem (I was ready to just give up) and that we would be able to figure out how to get the bone cut. We discussed taking it to a store here to see if they would do it, but I have not established a good enough relationship with any of the butchers (read: I don't know any of them at all) here to ask them for help with a cut of meat that I was not buying from them.

Next, Alvaro asks if we have a saw - any old saw. I was not sure so I texted my husband at work with the question "do we have a saw?". Sure enough, minutes after I sent the text I found a saw so texted him back with "never mind". We then decided to be punchy and send him another text saying "Do we have any duct tape?" Followed again by "Never mind". We were just about to text him "Do we have any duffel bags?" when he called all in a tizzy asking us what the heck we were doing. Laughed until my tummy hurt I tell you!

Alvaro and Ashley really took one for the team and sawed their way through the bone making our meat the right size (soooooo grateful for that!)

Then it was off to the market to get our ingredients. I could say every single day how lucky and grateful I am that we can buy our ingredients this way????

Home to start the cooking! Chop, chop, chop

And the kitchen started to smell like.....

um.....

OSSO BUCCO!!! Oh I wish my kitchen always smelled like that.

Not to be outdone, Jenna had to make her ma naan ma naan bread to go with dinner:

 And after a few hours, lots of laughs and a huge learning curve for me - supper was ready

Yep, we eat like this ever day....

I wish!!!!! A huge thank you to Alvaro and Ashley for all their hard work in the kitchen. I learned so much.

Homegrown Tomatoes - A True Love Story

Years ago I somehow stumbled across Guy Clark's song "Homegrown Tomatoes".  I believe I was listening to CKUA at the time. I remember, I was driving home from a long day being a substitute teacher, it was summer and when I heard the song - I thought to myself: OMG that is so true. There is nothing in the world like homegrown tomatoes.

Often when I am having my tomato bun at breakfast I catch myself singing this song:

YOU MUST LISTEN TO HIM SING:
http://youtu.be/1-QzLIjL1u4

(my morning homegrown tomato bun)




Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Every time I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with eggs, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the site put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes

~~~

I don't think I have ever loved tomatoes as much as I have this year - and I've grown tomatoes for years.

Today I'm making tabbouleh and fresh salsa.

There's nothing in the world that I like better.....

Limited by local food?

I was shopping at Jamiesons the other day and realized that I am really limited by local food. In that, if I am preparing a shopping list, I really can only plan out the paper and dry products I want to buy.

I don't normally have to buy meat. We bought a 1/4 of beef (not enough) and a 1/2 of pork from Sandy River Farms a month or so after we moved here. They also sell chicken at the local coop which I try to pick up when I see it. I need to put in an order for chicken from them so I always have some in my freezer. (I have a story about the chicken episode of 2008 which turned me off of chicken for 2 years - so finding chicken I love is a big deal).

So, the meat is already dealt with, now the veggies/fruit. I try to do about 80% veggie with our meals vs the 80% meat we want to have.

Here's a thing about me. I am either thinking about what I will eat, eating, or thinking about what I just ate. So, I spend time during my day planning out our supper. But, I have found here that I can't really plan it out. The other day I wanted a salad. I went to the coop to get lettuce (I have been growing it here, but I need better dirt - my garden sucks) and they only had lettuce from California. When I started looking, most of their produce was from USA, but not "local", so I didn't buy any. I went on. Because I was really there to buy goat cheese, which comes from a local farmer, I made my purchase - but then had to figure out how to get my veggies.

We have wonderful farmer's markets - but they're at their peak near the end of the week and this was a Monday - so that option was out. I went to Jamison's Orchard on the way home to see what they had. This was where I realized how truly, if you want to eat locally, you are limited.

The thing is, this is not a bad thing. Eating tomatoes has taken on a whole new passion for me the past month or so. Local, fresh, ripe tomatoes are so tasty! Have you noticed how store bought tomatoes have no taste? Same thing with all the other fruits and veggies.

If this kind of amazing food is how I am limited - please keep me limited forever!

If you're going to eat it... it should be a 10

I had a good (and very skinny) friend when I lived in Quebec who told me of her philosophy on having desserts. That was, that if she was going to eat a high calorie dessert, it had to be a 10 or else it was not worth it. And although I have the occasional slip (like Thursday when I practically ate my weight in M&M's even though I don't particularly care for them and would rate them maybe a 2) these are words I try to live by.

Searching out sweets that are a 10 can be harder than you would think. It has made me a picky dessert eater. Which is a good thing since I don't have much self control around the ones that I find that are a 10. Good baklava, good ice cream, Jenna's home made biscotti - these are among the top of my favourite list)

Last weekend we went to the Salem Farmer's Market for the first time. What an experience. We have gone to a few of the other Farmer's Markets in the area, but had not made this one yet. I love, love, love that I now live in an area where there is so much locally grown produce and local meats to choose from. But, there was a certain smell coming from the end of the Salem market that had my nose a twitching. Once I saw the sign, I knew I had reached my destination gastronomique:

What's that? Homemade doughnuts? Oh, the smell, I wish blogger had a smell button. My mouth was watering something fierce. You know I had to try one. We got our spot in line and I began watching them make the doughnuts. It was really something to see.

They started with the dough, cutting it and shaping it. Then into the pan with oil it goes.

It then gets all icing-ed up and hung for a few seconds...

Before going into tummies as fast as possible.

Oh they were definitely a 10. Healthy? Not at all, but we all have to indulge once in a while. If you're going to - I highly recommend this method!

The Farmer's Market

Roanoke has an excellent Farmer's Market. I love getting to know the people who grow my food. I love that there is so much fresh food produced so close to where we live. I was thinking of this last night as we were out at a "nicer" place for supper. This "nicer" place had lettuce in their salad that I'm pretty sure was brought across the country in a refrigerator truck, and the lamb I ordered that was mutton at it's best. I've met several farmers in the area who produce free range, grass fed animals and naturally grown produce. Why are local restaurants not making use of the excellent food that is being produced on their doorstep?

I missed going to the market today and sent my dear husband in my place. The kids were asleep and only one of us could go. He was off at 7am to get the best selection of produce (which he did). While he was gone I spent some time reading from the book The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid and came across a quote that describes exactly how I was feeling about food this morning:

I think we're happiest when our sense of purpose is intact and when we feel that our place in the universe is secure and harmonious. Producing and using foods in traditional, time-honored ways is in tune with something that resides very deep in the souls of humankind.... Going to farmers' markets and purchasing fresh cheeses, fruits and vegetables is a soul-nourishing activity.

Soul nourishing indeed. I find eating and providing my family with good quality, local (or better yet home grown) food makes my soul shine.

(Pictured are the fresh blueberries my husband brought home for our breakfast. They were added into my homemade pancakes - with milk from a local dairy and pork sausage from Sandy River Pork)

Yesterday, Jenna learned how to make her own peanut butter at the Natural Foods Coop

My box of groceries from Jamisons Orchard. Oh yeah!!!

Watermelon with SEEDS!  Have not had this since I was a kid. Fun fun

Free range chicken from Sandy River Pork accompanied by fresh, local veggies made for a fantastic meal last Sunday. 

I love berry season

Growing up in Alberta, I always anxiously awaited the arrival of BC fruit. Every year I would give myself a tummy ache gorging on cherries. Since leaving I have not had a lot of luck finding fruit that I enjoyed the same way (with the exception of the apples in Quebec). Until this year in Virginia.

We are very lucky in that there is a small farm quite close to us. I have developed the habit of stopping in with the kids to see what's available at Jamison's Orchard. Lately it's been blackberries, raspberries and peaches. As in the ones in the picture in my previous blog.

Yesterday they also had plums. I had to take a picture of the blackberries and plums. They have the biggest blackberries I have ever seen, but also the smallest plums I have ever seen. What do you think?

A new beginning in Roanoke

April 1, 2011 my husband packed most of his things into his car and drove the 10 hour drive from Rhode Island to Roanoke, Virginia to begin the next phase of our life. The kids and I followed (thankfully he came back up and drove with us) on May 8th - Mother's Day (let's save my feelings about the 12+ hour drive with the 4 of us, our dog and our 3 fish for another time!)

 He was offered a wonderful job here in Roanoke and it has given our family the opportunity to discover yet another beautiful part of the country, and continent.

As our third major move in 6 years (Calgary to Montreal in 2005, Montreal to Rhode Island in 2007, Rhode Island to Roanoke in 2011) we have been lucky enough to see areas I never dreamed I would be able to get to.

It is sure nice to be back in the mountains. I enjoyed the ocean, but I have discovered at the heart of it I am a mountain girl. I have a wonderful view from my house and I am grateful for it every day.

I am also grateful to be living in an area where so much food can be produced. And for so long. Now, I grew up eating vegetables from the garden, but the growing season in Alberta is just so much shorter. We have been discovering all the farmers markets, have bought a quarter of beef that is not only grass fed, but grass finished - and from the same farmer bought a half a pig, our weekly supply of eggs, and last week even got a chicken!

The kids and I have been enjoying adventures in the kitchen for some time now. Especially my daughter Jenna (hence the blog name). But, I think our kitchen adventures have just begun.

Here's a picture of Jenna enjoying the beater after making whipped cream to go on the top of our selection of local peaches, blackberries and raspberries.