Cherry Preserves- makes five 8-ounce jars

The Gourmandise School   of Sweets and Savories     Murray Farms' Brooks Cherries- click on photo to see their pick your own events. Bleeding heart. ...be still! The CHERRIES have arrived! The tart, juicy prelude to peaches made an early appearance on Wednesday when Murray Farms debuted nature's cupid. La Cerise. La Cereza. Mi corazon. Maybe it's because their season is so short, perhaps it's the blushing color, the intensity of flavor packed in a dense flesh whose thin membrane gives way so easily, but for me, NOTHING but a ripe peach matches the heavenly experience of the first cherry of the season. And then, just like that, they are gone, our stained lips a memory tempered only by lame stragglers in grocery bins trucked for far away places up North where the season starts and ends later than here. What are we left to do? Especially when weather and drought have affected a large part of the crop, raising prices and leading to sold-out stands early in the morning? HOARD (don't take more than you need but take as much as you can to live through the year- the farmers will tell us who took the last of the crate). Bake, preserve, candy and cherish. I like to preserve 75% of what we buy and eat the rest as I'm walking away from the stand, towards the car, on the ride home and in every dish I can until we run out. Check out our Cherry Preserves recipe below. You're welcome. Cherry Preserves- makes five 8-ounce jars 4 lbs. pitted cherries 2 lbs. sugar 6 ounces fresh lemon juice (not Meyer) 1. Wash and pit the cherries, careful to discard all the pits. 2. Place the cherries, sugar, lemon juice and optional vanilla bean in a large, non-reactive (stainless steel, enameled Dutch ovens and copper are great, aluminum is not) pot. If you can, leave this in the fridge overnight. 3. Place the pot over a medium-high flame (careful not to let the flame go beyond the pot or the sides will burn) and cook until you get a heavy boil. Continue at a heavy boil, stirring, for about 6-7 minutes. 4. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for about another half hour, stirring more frequently as the mixture thickens. Skim off foam from the top of your jam. 5. You'll know your jam is done when it passes the spoon test. Have a half dozen or so spoons on hand and test occasionally. Once you dip the spoon and see a thick coating on its back, you're close. When you lift the spoon and see the jam trying to fall off the spoon, with heavy drops, your jam is ready. Processing your jam: Step 1: Sterilize jars by either boiling them for 5 minutes or placing the empty jars (no lids) in a 350 degree oven on a tray lined with a towel for 5 minutes. Step 2: Pour jam into hot, sterilized jars. Step 3: Immediately put a lid on clean jars.  Place ring on 'fingertip' tight. Step 4: Place jars in a pot of boiling water so the water is at least 2" above the lid of the jar for 10 minutes. Step 5: Carefully pick up the jars, careful not to tip them sideways, and place on a towel-lined counter or cookie sheet. Step 6: Once cooled, put in your cupboard for one year. Tips for canning success (email us with any questions): 1. Sterilize everything. I do this in hot, boiling water with each instrument for 1o seconds. 2. Fill the jars only to a 1/4" mark. It's the middle line on the rings that circle the tops of the jars. Wishing you a delicious day,  Clémence and Hadley

Easy vegetarian meal

It does not look that good but it is fantastic Quick oat in the rice cooker with apple muscat grape & vanilla powder great breakfast.

Lunch steam peel pesto Chinese eggplant, quinoa, tofu, beans, tomatoes & some bok choy

Montreal trip here are some link for Summer Festivals

Montreal Jazz Festival

http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/default-en.aspx

Just for Laughs festival

http://www.hahaha.com/en

Restaurants

http://www.restaurant-toque.com/en

http://www.joebeef.ca

http://www.restaurantaupieddecochon.ca/index_e.html

http://schwartzsdeli.com/ca/en/



It always better to plan ahead have a great time in Montreal

Go crazy and try new and fun foods

 Rambutan fruits

 Calamansi like a small key lime  so much flavour, fun to freeze and use as ice in a drink

 So wonderfully pack with flavour  in any dishes or as well freeze them and add to a bloody mary instead of ice

 Another Vegan stew so tasty with s warm green salad with lemon and sesame vinaigrette

Of course the fun one, Truffle omelette! it Sunday after all 

Tofu and veggie stir fry and petite spring salad

Tofu and veggie stir fry and petite spring salad with almond  rice vinegar  garlic olive oil and salt & pepper

Nuba Vancouver Vegan option

 Lentil soup

Eggplant stew

Quick business trip to Victoria

  Vancouver - Victoria  for a business meeting 

 Lunch at Bliss Victoria so goodGreat vegan restaurant

 Victoria all in spring bloom 

  Dinner at bliss again  so Good 

  Well it time to get back to Vancouver what a beautiful spring day to get back home

 Lot of foot space at the door but a cold breeze for the 35 Min ride and this is the reason I love hoody's 

Super beautiful British Colombia 

Nougat! Recipe

The Gourmandise School   of Sweets and Savories

Scroll down for our Nougat recipe. So this bunny laid  an egg... ...and filled it with corn syrup and palm oil. Hmmm...I can taste the ensuing sugar high and subsequent brain drain as we speak. I like it sweet, I do, but I like the slow, flavorful kind, because sugar isn't a flavor. We have been working for the last couple of years to recreate childhood and modern favorites without the plasticized ingredients that commercial products use to manufacture candy. We've replaced those sticky sweeteners with honeys, molasses, agave nectar, coconut and date sugars and industrial fats with Straus butter, olive and coconut oils.  Hadley put up two Easter-ready classes for next week. Ruth's Spring Confections will focus on Homemade Peeps, some insane PB chocolate eggs (I love adding rice krispies to the recipe) and Fruit jellies, while Hadley'sGrain, Nut and Dairy free Candy class will make every kid in your life enjoy Caramel Chocolate Eggs, Gummy Candies and more. The recipes in these classes are simple to execute, totally customizable and leave you with the bright flavors that nature intended you to enjoy. We've mastered the art of coloring with natural and fruit colors and ordered some sweet bags and boxes for your adorable confections. Nougat! Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place a piece of wafer paper (about 6"x10") over the parchment, reserving another piece of wafer paper nearby. Made from rice, wafer paper can be purchased at Surfas, online or in cake and candy supply shops. In a small saucepot, place: 1/2 cup honey 1 1/2 cups sugar In the bowl of a stand mixer, place: 1-1/2egg whites Set aside: 1/4 cup powdered sugar Wafer paper Set aside (you can use any combination of dried fruits and nuts): 2 cups toasted whole almonds 1 cup dried apricots, sliced 2 cups toasted whole pistachios 1. Heat the sugar and honey to 310 degrees F. Remove from heat and cool to 290 F. 2. While cooling, beat the egg whites to soft peak stage.  Add powdered sugar and beat to just before stiff peaks. 3. Pour the sugar syrup, slowly, while the egg whites are beating at medium speed. 4. Beat for 3-4 minutes, or until very thick and sticky.  Fold in nuts. 5. Pour over wafer paper and press the second wafer over the nougat, pressing the top with another flat cookie sheet or flat, opened hand. Let set for an hour.  Cut with warm bread knife. Wishing you a delicious day,  Clémence and Hadley

Yesterday a Men end his life by jumping the Granville bridge

Yesterday a Man end his life by jumping down from the Granville Street Bridge to land on a car before it final drop on the pavement of Granville Island, his reason are unknown to me. No mentions of this event in any media & life have continued as it supposed to be, I do not understand what kind of pain this Men was to plunge to his death but today I did have a moment thinking about you.

requiescat in pace

Wonderful gifts again from my best friend from Hong kong

Yu you are the best