After leisurely coffees on the front porch, we piled into M’s gorgeous car to hit the local Farmer’s Market. I loved the car so much that a picture of me kissing it was captured!

I was fascinated by these PEI potatoes. I asked the growers if they had removed the potato eyes to make the product easier to prepare. “No” they said. “They grow that way!”

Peppers were plentiful in all shapes and sizes.

A beautiful sea of sprouts.

The colourful carrots also caught my eye.

We also went “home” with some delicious gluten free bread as well as a product we had never previously heard of -PEI Potato Garlic Jam. We haven’t found a use for it as of yet.

We intended to visit the PEI Shellfish Festival on the Saturday of their four day run. Tickets that we had purchased for a “Signature Experience” included admission to the Festival itself. Our intent was to visit the site until the time came to hook up with the tour leader . I will be frank, we were surprised when we arrived at the festival grounds that the entire event took place in one tent, it was a very large tent, mind you.

We visited the stalls and then found a spot to drink our Clamato Caesar and Moosehead Beer.

Of course we had to have food to go along with our libations so D scouted out some mussels and fries.

As we ate our late breakfast, Chef Lynn Crawford gave a seafood cooking demonstration. Actually she had members of the audience do the cooking as she supervised. There were some hilarious results to this.

So it was not long until we left the festival grounds and hooked up with our exceptional Experience PEI tour guide for a three restaurant shellfish tour of the waterfront.

The first stop was Lobster on the Warf where we could smell the saltiness of the bay.  Our tour guide first took us to the retail area where we learned more about PEI Lobster including how to determine a male lobster from a female one.  The attached restaurant was bustling with their late lunch crowd.

Our first taste was of Malpeque oysters. They are PEI’s most famous oyster and are grown wild in Malpeque Bay. Their taste was briny but not overly so and they easily slid down our open throats. The correct manner of this was demonstrated by one of the managers of the Lobster on the Wharf. The oysters came with a wedge of lemon and a couple of unique sauces.

The second seafood offering at Lobster on the Wharf was of both soft shell and quahog clams. These too were served with a wedge of lemon and salty melted butter for dipping. Both varieties are native to the eastern shores of North America from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula.

A short walk along the harbour took us to Peake’s Quay where scallops were the shellfish offering. If you wish to know what a scallop shell looks like, think of the logo of Shell gas stations. We are purists where scallops are concerned, loving when they are allowed to caramelize in a hot pan of butter. Peake’s Quay’s version were bacon wrapped and good too.

Our last stop on the tour was right next door at Brakish which you might think was an odd name for a restaurant. Blue mussels were the shellfish offering there. Next to scallops, mussels are our favourite as their subtle flavoured flesh take on whatever they are cooked in be it white wine, garlic and/or fresh herbs. Remember though, this was our second feed of mussels for the day!

PS What did we have for supper that evening? Pan fried scallops!

Kath’s quote: “I like seafood in general. I feel when you have really good quality Canadian seafood; you don’t really need to do much to it. It’s just some of the best in the world. It also has this kind of briny, salty quality to it, that you don’t have to season much. You can use the natural flavours of the ocean to your benefit”.- Chuck Hughes

Love never fails.

 

 

 

Down the stairs of a former Princess St. warehouse sits one of Winnipeg’s shining stars. Clementine is open for breakfast and lunch and for every one of the numerous times I have visited, it has been packed. On weekends you have to be particularly patient. It has always been well worth the wait. The morning I was at Clementine recently, two owners of other successful Winnipeg restaurants were noshing there as well.

I was accompanied by a friend from Toronto. He had a bit of a tough time deciding on his order as he thought everything looked amazing. When he indicated that he was torn between the Turkish Eggs and the Fried Chicken on Toast, I jumped in and suggested that we get both to share.

One of the perfectly cooked poached eggs of the Turkish dish was topped with a glistening tablespoon of zhoug. The Middle Eastern sauce was made from green chilies, garlic and cilantro resembling a pesto. Both eggs were cradled by a silky hummus and served with a side of sour dough toast. The dish was spicy perfection.

If you enjoy crispy but greaseless fried chicken, you will love Clementine’s version. The chicken crackles as you cut into it and was perfectly offset by the chipotle crema, pickled red onions and spicy sambal syrup.

My lunch mate didn’t entirely eat his half of the chicken. I was tempted to do so as well as finish off the Baby Red Potatoes with honey and lemon aioli. In fact I could eat an order of those potatoes myself with nothing else!  I love Clementine’s potatoes.

The dishes were a little tricky to divide up but when you are sharing with a good friend, it really doesn’t matter, does it?

Kath’s quote: “I have made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them.”-Nora Ephron

Love never fails.

 

 

Recently a friend texted me suggesting that we meet up for sushi at a restaurant on Corydon that she had forgotten the name of. When I responded “Sushi Ya”, she thought that I was exuberant about her food choice but in fact I was telling her the name of the restaurant! Kind of like the “who’s on first” routine by Abbot and Costello…

Our family have long been fans of this cheap and cheerful sushi spot. Typically when noshing on sushi we each order a roll or two to share all around. Our favourites have been the Winnipeg Dream Roll and any other roll that comes with “crunch”, that is toasted panko flakes. Their Vegetable Tempura Platter was another hit with us. One of my lunch mates was a regular customer and the owner kept sending complimentary treats over to our table.

On this day, three of us chose our own lunch boxes. These are often called Bento Boxes. The selection included a sushi or tempura box as well as a number of teriyaki choices. The latter struck my fancy and I enjoyed teriyaki shrimp with California roll, gyoza (dumplings), salad and rice. The $12.95 price was great value and I didn’t feel like I had to have a nap after lunch. My lunch mates enjoyed their teriyaki boxes as well.

Kath’s quote: “I’ve sat in sushi bars, really fine ones, and I know how hard this guy worked, how proud he is. I know you don’t need sauce. I know he doesn’t even want you to pour sauce. And I’ve seen customers come in and do that, and I’ve seen him, as stoic as he tries to remain, I’ve seen him die a little inside”-Anthony Bourdain

Love never fails.

Last year at the wind up of the 2017 Conference in Ottawa, the announcement was made to expect a different twist for 2018. Instead of filling a banquet room up with hundreds of food bloggers for three days, a decision was made that the FBC team would come to us. I was faced with a troubling dilemma. D had purchased tickets for us to go to Charlottetown on the weekend that the team would arrive in Winnipeg. I hastily made additional arrangements to catch up to the tour on their final stop in Toronto.

One of my many blogging friends who have come to Winnipeg over the years.

I have always contended that my favourite part about an FBC Conference are the relationships that come to be as a result of the gathering. This year, we had less time to make the rounds. Sitting to one side was Fables + Foccacia curator Jenny Arena as well as Stacy Blair from 27th and Olive. Both were a delight and I hope that we find a way to meet up again.

I was particularly impressed with two of the speakers. Suresh Doss of the CBC Metro Morning Show is an expert in the suburban food of Toronto, stating:

“We’re talking about places that are not your ‘typical’ restaurants,” Doss said. “They offer food that reminds people of life back home. They’re often times the best places to get good food.”

I understand that his back stories are fascinating tales of the lives of new Canadians and how they ease into the transition of settling into a new country by sharing familiar food from their home.

Afrim Pristine was the final speaker of the day and therefore the last presenter of the Great Canadian Road Trip. Afrim is a passionate lover of food and his family business: The Cheese Boutique. I was thrilled to come home with his new book: For The Love of Cheese.

“Afrim Pristine may possess the most distinguished professional title a cheesemonger could ask for–maître fromager–but if you ask him what business he’s in, he’ll tell you he sells happiness. That’s because cheese is inextricably linked to wonderful memories and celebrations for so many of us. No matter the occasion, cheese and cheesy dishes are always greeted with a smile.”

 

 

 

The part that I love most about being a food blogger are the friendships I have made over the years. They happen quite by accident like the morning a beautiful tall and shy redhead asked if she could sit in the seat next to me at my first blogging conference in Toronto. Little did I know that years latter we would still be kindred spirits. She calls me her angel, a title I don’t take lightly.

She lives in the same neighbourhood that I stayed in last weekend so it was easy for her to pick me up and find a spot not far away. Asking if I liked Thai food, I responded with a resounding yes!

We started with a Mango salad appetizer. The ribbons of mango were perfectly sweet and the slivers of red onion and crushed cashews added appropriate crunch. Acidity came from freshly squeezed lime juice and the freshness popped out with the subtle use of cilantro. I would visit Jatujak a 1,000 times for the taste of that salad!

My favourite Thai soup arrived next. I am not used to a red Tom yum but the carefully simmering of a variety of hearty ingredients was soothing and delicious.

I had read that Jatujak was one of the best Thai restaurants in Toronto, and the culinary measuring stick is often Pad Thai.

Jatujak brings street-style elements to its pad Thai dish. Made with stir-fried rice noodles, with egg and a house tamarind-based sauce. You can get the Pad Thai with just the noodles, or with the option of adding tofu and vegetables, chicken, beef or shrimp.

I added chicken and tofu also made an appearance. It appears under the Lunch Special section of their menu and this enormous portion was only $8.95! It was so good, I am vividly remembering the tastes now that I am back home in Winnipeg.

Although the time was brief with my lovely friend, our hearts connected once more.

Kath’s quote: “Food makes travel so exceptional, because you get to taste what it’s actually supposed to taste like. To eat the real Pad Thai or finally have a proper curry is something pretty amazing”. -Meghan Markle

Love never fails.