views of Vancouver

One last blog post about Vancouver, and then it's time to move on. In any case, there are plenty of photos of the trip on Flickr, and I am perfectly happy to rave on to friends about how much we love the city and what a good time it was there.

Alas, it's almost a week now since we came home, so it's time to blog about life as it moves forward.

Many things to reminisce over from the trip, but I want to go back to last Monday night. Conrad and I had invited my sister, Marie, and our friends Chris, Brian, and Sherri to go to the Club with us for cocktails (and then wine) and light bites in Cuvee, the wine bar. Such a fine evening for it, and we had a terrific time. Chris and Brian went on their way after that, but the four of us ended up at the revolving restaurant atop the Harbour Centre.





It was a joking suggestion, but it turned out to be an excellent one. The weather was good, the view was gorgeous, and if the wine was a bit cheap and simple and the desserts were a bit pre-packaged in nature, that didn't matter. We had four people in a terrific mood and some outstanding views to match.

In fact, I hope that Marie might take our family members there for dinner the day after the wedding while Conrad and I start on our honeymoon. A fine view for them, and truly, I think the dinner will be quite fine.

Enjoy the photos, check out the others, and stay tuned for more Vancouver later in the year!

rare achievement

Friends will know this: I am very critical of my own cooking. Badly and even unnecessarily so, but I think that's not unusual for people who enjoy cooking. I'm hard on myself, I know. Sorry.

Conrad is out of town for a handful of days, and rather than do my usual thing of putting together a selection of things I can nibble on idly while I sip wine and watch old episodes of Top Chef on my iTunes, I actually cooked and plated a real dinner for myself.

And you know what? It wasn't exactly refined, but by gosh did it taste good.

A nice piece of sockeye salmon, seasoned with kosher salt and ground cumin, sauteed in a pan. Asparagus cooked crispy-tender. A fresh salsa made with corn cut from the cob, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice, salt, and pepper.



And there I sat, a bit of Pinot Noir, Top Chef on iTunes, a dish of fresh cherries (rushing the season - oh! I can't wait until the cherries are in the thick of their season) awaiting me for dessert. And a nod to myself, a silent mental pat on the back for a job well done.

favourite coffee shop

One more post before heading to bed, and oddly (given the time of night), it's about coffee.

So much to write about with Vancouver, and each time we go there are some of our reliable favourites and new experiences. New this time? Bao Bei.


Good restaurant, nearby. We'll go back. Familiar to us? Campagnolo on the Friday night.



Shopping at Roots.
Granville Island.




And then there's Safari Cafe.

We go there everyone morning we're in Vancouver. A short stroll over for what we have come to think of as the best coffees in Vancouver.
They remind us of the flat whites we came to love so much on our New Zealand visits. It's not a big place, but there are some seats and free wireless. And regulars. We don't know them really, but the faces are familiar, and occasionally conversation flies across the room. Adam, the owner, takes good care of us. Breakfast items daily for us, though we are careful not to take that for granted.



And anyway, the banana loaves are quite satisfying.

I would find it interesting to know how many hours we've spent at Safari Cafe on past visits. It must add up into days, easily. I think it was 10-12 hours on this trip, though I tend to get there well before Conrad, who likes to sleep in a bit. My/our morning ritual in our second city.

By gosh, are those coffees good.

balcony dinner (Vancouver)

As I sit here watching Roger and Rafa play, it's a good opportunity to catch up on some blogging. Vancouver isn't that far behind us, and there are a few posts I'd like to write in the next few days. And first up? Cooking, of course!





Brian left us earlier this spring, heading from Chicago and the Smelts to Vancouver. A big loss to us, though a great gain for Giuseppe, who was already living up in Vancouver. At least we can invite him over for dinner when we're in town.

Conrad and I had a bunch of running around to do up in Vancouver on Sunday, though given the slow pace of our stroll to Granville Island (a blog posting in itself for another time), running around doesn't accurate describe our day. Dinner prep, though, was confined to a narrow window after our meeting with our wedding planner. No worries - we'd purchased smoked sablefish and cheese to snack on, we had wine chilling, and we had a pie from the Market for dessert.

Spot prawns are in season, and I couldn't resist. Spring in BC, an emphasis on local products. Conrad set up the balcony for us to sit out there as long as possible, and I set to work on a wild mushroom risotto with fiddleheads. The prawns needed only light cooking right before serving. Brian came by, we sat with wine and snacks, catching up and enjoying the fine weather. A bottle of a Seresin Sauvignon Blanc to start with, then on to a Joie Noble Blend with dinner.

Dinner was nice. The risotto wasn't as creamy as I'd like, and it ended up seeming a bit too salty against the sweetness of the prawns, though it did introduce Brian to fiddleheads. But ah, the prawns. Yes, a bit of a mess to get into (and we all decided against sucking out the heads), but cooked nicely, and delightfully tasty. Also, they look kind of cool on the plate!





We moved on to a BC Merlot and dessert, and Giuseppe was able to join us for a nightcap (and egg balls that Conrad picked up from the Night Market on a quick mission in search of dark chocolate)(though given the size of the martinis Marie was pouring for Giuseppe and Brian, I am glad I stuck with sparkling water as my nightcap). Two good friends originally from Chicago now very much part of our Vancouver life, and a meal to share. A fine Sunday evening indeed.

easy dinner

I feel like I'm a real throwback tonight, waaaaay back to the 80s or 90s when fruit salsas with proteins were the rage. We did that often at the restaurant, I can recall. And yet, there's something about it in warmer weather that is really appropriate.

I picked up a bunch of mangoes on the way home tonight, some fish, some other things. The mangoes have been good (and well-priced and plentiful) this season, I'm happy to say. I opted for some harder ones to give me time to figure out what I want to do with them all, but one was ripe enough (though still a bit hard and crispy, still somewhat tart) for me to cut into pieces, mix with red onion and pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper, and lime juice and call it all a salsa. It had zip to it, and if the knife skills were terribly imprecise, it still tasted fine. Some acid to cut against the sockeye and the sweetness of the corn I cooked.



We had this simple dinner in the kitchen - too cool outside to sit, though we hope to have balcony dinners soon! Just a nice, easy dinner together, a good way to return from vacation.