1) Canadians and Americans make excellent neighbours.  I would describe the relationship more like “first cousins”; that is, with common blood and roots and history but the potential to be different because of our nurturing.  The small pack of Canadians in attendance at Eat, Write, Retreat, 2013 were frequently teased about out “politeness” and muttering “sorry” all the time, but I also felt respected and appreciated.

2) Food bloggers, no matter where they are from are warm, generous and fun-loving.  A conference like this one, is like hanging out on a golf course.  Everything shares tips, encourages excellence, and celebrates accomplishments, without there being hard feelings for an others’ success or that underlying competitiveness that sometimes occurs when professional organizations get together.

3) You never know what little tidbit you are going to take away from an event like this, that turns out to be “life-changing”.  Last year, for me it was hearing Monica Bhide speak about focus and passion.

4) This year that nugget was when Debbie Koenig spoke about time management.  After I looked at our “big” picture and did the exercise to list our life’s priorities, I then ranked all the tasks that I perform in a day/week, including how my blog fits into the scheme of it all.  I realized anew that my focus has been misdirected and that my blog, even though it is my passion, is not the end all and be all, that I sometime make it.  Grace, I have to give myself more grace….

5) I want to store food in jars!  Marisa’s Food in Jars presentation, truly inspired me.  I have always shied away from this notion, thinking that I didn’t have the right equipment and that the acquiring of such, would be too expensive.  I see now that preserving can be regarded like making another course at meal time, a tasty dish that you simply postpone eating.

6) My Dad was born in eastern Europe and his manners were impeccable.  He would  even say “I beg your parson” instead of “what?”.  He taught me that the day after you were invited to someone’s home for dinner, you call them and thank them for their invite and their kindness.  Joy Manning reiterated this for me in her presentation and I am going to be more diligent with my connections (and who knows what might come of it?).

7) Whereas, I have lived my life trying to get to the Caribbean and Europe, this amazing country full of beauty and rich history is right at my doorstep.  I have so enjoyed visiting Philadelphia and Washington, DC both for my first time, as a result of attending the EWR conference.  I do hope that they change locations again next year as I would love to explore further.

8)  I am proud to be a foodie and a blogger.  We are an impressive group and our craft is constantly being honed and appreciated.  Whereas, I once regarded it as one of my many hobbies, events like Eat Write Retreat teach me that it is one of my many “professions”.

9) I am often one of the eldest participants at events such as this and even though I am not “made” to feel on the peripheral of blogger circles, I sometimes do.  The BBQ Queens showed me how much respect there is for senior ambassadors of the love of food.

10) In the end, as I learn over and over again-Love, that is all.

 

Our first dinner together at Eat, Write, Retreat 2013 was a casual affair in one of the conference rooms at the Hilton, Doubletree.  The buffet style meal meant that I was able to accompany my oregano chicken with heaps of spring asparagus and heirloom tomatoes.  I recall thinking, this is a great way to start a weekend of taste indulgences.

I was sitting with the Carrot Cake gang.  Each table was designated with a different three tiered dessert tray and ours was laden with Carrot Cake.  We were encouraged to mix things up after dinner and visit other participants (and swap desserts).  This was a great way to arrange the seating plan and I am very much looking forward to adapting the principle, sometime in the future.  I made a beeline for the peanut butter chocolate brownies and added a fresh fruit tart-oh yum.

The next day at lunch time we meandered through the adjacent streets to Supper, for lunch.  I didn’t get a chance to take any food shots at the Canadian Lentil luncheon but I can tell you that the food was expertly prepared and each little plate, a surprise: “really, this has lentils in it?” Being a Canadian prairie girl with my roots in Eastern Europe my favourite was the “Ode to Borscht” Lentil Dip but the bread pudding dessert, came a very close second.  I was so delighted to finally meet Rachel Kehrig in person.  We have chatted together many times via email and only live one province away from each other, but had never met in person!

I would love to have the chance to return to the gorgeous Supper, perhaps next time for….supper.

That afternoon, we settled in for a fascinating session on growing and harvesting mushrooms.  What I love best of all about being a “foodie” is meeting farm families, first hand.  The brothers Tony and Joe D’Amico who led this session could rival the siblings that host the home renovation shows.  HGTV sign them up!

One of the best things that I ate, as a result of attending Eat, Write, Retreat 2013, I actually consumed just last night.  I sometimes make dinners ahead of time before we head out for weekends at our little beach house.  Last evening, I decided to refer to Mushroom’s “Trend to Blend” announcement.  I devised a meatball recipe that incorporated 1 1/2 pounds of cremini mushrooms that were first sauteed with onions and red peppers.  I used the OXO Mini Chopper that I was given last year at the conference, so that I didn’t have to lug out my food processor, to finely chopped the sauteed veggies.  Holy, moly, whadda meatball!  Absolutely jammed packed with earthly flavours and the texture was soft and inviting.  I simmered a sauce of tomatoes and fresh rosemary with lots of red wine and now I cannot wait for Saturday night’s dinner on the deck.

The Saturday evening gala featured the “secret ingredients” from the “Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge”.  I hung around the fig table most of the evening.  Remembering our mornings in Sicily when we would go out to the orchard and pick fresh figs and almonds to have with our breakfast, to my surprise, California figs are equally divine. My love of sweet and salty is beautifully satiated by a shard of salty cheese and a wedge of fresh fig.

This WOULD have been what was served, had I won the Culinary Challenge (speaking of Sicily).  I took my friend Concetta’s pasta recipe of cauliflower, pine nuts, and raisins and wrapped it into layers of phyllo dough-just saying…..

The next morning, I learned how to make this “Grilled Potato and Kale Pizza“.  My readers know that I am potato crazy and I absolutely loved the variety that the “BBQ Queens” quickly demonstrated on Sunday morning of the conference.  I plan to make every recipe in my “Get Grilling with Potatoes” pamphlet over the summer.  The pizza, by the way, was tender, funky (in a good way), and fused with delicious and nutritious new taste combinations.

To top it off-I won the Calphalon 5-in1 Grill that we used for the pizza!  I was thrilled.  Last year I won a Calphalon Panini maker and I didn’t have enough room in my luggage to take it home, so I traded it with another attendee.  I had been grieving that loss ever since.  This year, I brought an entire empty suitcase (thank you Air Canada) and the grill was the first thing that I found a spot for.  Atoosa, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  The grill has a place of honour on our counter top because we use it every single day.  Last night I seared the meatballs (above) before plunking them into the simmering sauce.

I was very full of potato pizza by the time we made our way across the street to the Williams Sonoma at the Bellevue for our “Taste of Philly Lunch”.  I did indulge in this fantastic nibble.  I followed directions and placed the entire spoonful in my mouth at and the varied tastes literally exploded in my mouth.

My roomie and I sat in the lobby and hugged new friends as they departed for home.  We had made arrangements to stay an extra night and so the eating adventure did not end with that farewell lunch.  Supper that evening was on a nearby sidewalk patio at Pietro’s Coal Oven Pizzeria. There will be more details to come regarding that delicious evening.

And of course, no visit to Philadelphia would be complete without a Philly Cheese-steak.  This too will be described in a future post-suffice it to say, the city and its food is calling me back.

Was that 10?  Who’s counting?

Kath’s quote: “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes
tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ”   Matthew 24:32

Love-that is all.

This is the first in a series, on my recent time in Philadelphia at Eat, Write, Retreat 2013.  Since this entry is a collection of my favourite sights, I’ll let my photos tell the story.

The Hilton Double-Tree was perfectly located, right in the heart of the city.

Everywhere I walked, I was thrilled with the gorgeous details of Center City.

We came across this gorgeous funkified area of downtown on our walk to our first lunch outing at Supper Restaurant .

This beauty is now luxurious condos.  She reminded me of the architecture of the “ladies” that line Central Park on the Upper West Side in NYC.  We discovered that Philadelphia’s urban park is 10 times the size of Central Park.

That evening we were 37 stories high at R2L Restaurant where the Gala Awards were given out.  I consoled myself for not winning with my California Raisins entry by gazing out at the Philadelphia skyline, in the setting sun!  Just kidding, I was thrilled for the lovely winner Roxanna with her Raisin Cheese Crackers.

I was also able to capture the Bellevue, where we had lunch at Williams Sonoma the next day.

After the conference had concluded, my roomie and I purchased a 24 hour pass for the double decker bus tours.  This was taken as we zipped by.  There was rain coming so we did the loop to decide what sites we would stop at the next day.

I thought that this view of what Rocky would have seen from the top of the steps after his triumphant run, was far more interesting than the stairs themselves (or the statue of Rocky for that matter).

I was so disappointed that the galleries in Philadelphia are closed on Mondays.  I would have loved to have seen the Impressionist collection and the Rodin exhibit.  Ah well, my memories of Paris will have to suffice.

Joannie, depicted here, was my symbol of all of the valiant women that I met at the conference.  One in particular, I know will be my lifelong friend.

Kath’s quote:  “I’d like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do.” Mae West

Love- that is all.

 

 

Sister #3 gets together with a group of long-time friends on a regular basis to eat, drink and be merry together.  Glee is an acronym for a phrase which I can’t recall at the moment.

“Gone are the days of stopping by the video store and picking up the movie you want to rent.  Sure there is Netflix but I’m still pretty old school and my computer equipment is not current enough to accommodate such things.  So with an upcoming Glee dinner to host, I sat down with my remote and searched MTS Video on Demand for a film I could build a dinner party around.  I decided on Woody Allen’s From Rome with Love. Primarily so I could make the theme: Italian.

The evening started with Heather’s bruschetta and sparkling Ruby’s; a combination of Italian Ruby port and prosecco. Kathy provided the salad, our best guess at Amici’s house salad made of butter lettuce and toasted pine nuts with a “from scratch” dressing.  I decided to be politically incorrect and make veal. Breaded in Italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, it was fried in olive oil and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella. I picked up my veal, port and prosecco at Piazza Di Nardi along with some of their fresh spaghetti and made a delightful clam sauce.

Here’s the recipe I found on-line.  I’m so glad I did as it was scrumptious!

Barb and the other Kathy did what they do best, went shopping!  Barb’s visit to Goodies Bakery resulted in a lovely variety of mini cakes for us to sample and Kathy provided the wine.  An integral part of any good dinner party.  As for the movie…..not so much, but the food was stellar and the company unsurpassable!”

Kath’s quote: Interestingly, according to modern astronomers, space is finite. This is a very comforting thought– particularly for people who can never remember where they have left things. -Woody Allen

Love-that is all.

We do not venture south on Pembina Hwy. very often and do not savour the complex tastes of Indian food frequently either, so this visit was unique on both accounts.  Our eldest daughter picked the Eat On Samoa (109-2800 Pembina Hwy.) for us.  She is an adventurous eater, as are all of our kids-what a blessing.  When we arrived, the little place was full but there was a large table right in a bright and sunny window, that seemed to be waiting for us.

Orders are placed at a quick-serve counter and we decided to try four varieties of somosas between the three of us.  The lovely lady behind the counter (we found out subsequently that she was the owner Manika Pradhan) encouraged us to select a half dozen instead.  She helpfully suggested, that the cost was lower and that there was no tax assessed when purchased in this manner.  So we chose two chicken, one vegetable, two beef and one bison samosa.  Upon tasting each, we decided that enjoying three out four varieties was a good thing.  We did not care for the gamey taste of the bison-not a criticism, just a preference.

Next up, we shared two butter chicken platters for the three of us and it was more than enough food.  We enjoyed the chick peas and mixed vegetables as much as the chicken itself.    Our palettes are not discerning enough to know if the curries were the same on both the veggies and the beans.  We didn’t mind, as both were delicious.

The butter chicken was perfection.  The chicken was still moist and tender, just like “butter”.  This is how the recipe got its name, as you may already know.  We enjoyed the extra tomato-based sauce on the jasmine rice and lopped up every droplet.

There are Dine –in, take out and catering menus available.  Be mindful of a slightly elevated lip at entrance; otherwise the restaurant is weheelchair accessible.  There is plenty of surface parking available.  Fort Richmond is fortunate to have this convenient place in their neighbourhood for eat in dining, take out and catering.

Kath’s quote: “Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”  –M.F.K. Fisher

Love-that is all.