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In true Vancouver fashion, November has ushered itself in with rain which probably won’t depart until sometime in February, when we’ll be blessed with a week or 10 days of bright, crisp sunshine, to be followed by more rain through April.

And not much is better in that kind of weather than curling up with a hot beverage, wrapped in a warm blanket, completely absorbed by a good book.

So I decided to start a book club.

My idea came from looking at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks Eating Between the Leaves book club. Six cold, dark months, six captivating books, six great meals that tie into the story. But because I’m not a professional cook or doing this tied to a commercial enterprise, I’ve made mine a community effort, inviting some friends to participate where we’ll each pick a book and cook a meal for the group that ties into the story.

Of course, being that this was my hairbrained idea, I’m up first.

And this, dear readers, is where I ask for your input.

I’m hoping to make good use of some of the spices and cookbooks that I brought back from the Carribean with me - but I need a book-club-suitable fiction novel or memoir that contains some definite island flair. Any suggestions?

If you don’t have any grand ideas for that, drop me a comment with a creative reading/feeding idea of your own!

And while I wish I could invite each and every one of you into the group, I don’t cook for parties greater than 10. But don’t let that stop you from starting your own Books & Cooks Book Club! Gather some good friends, good books, good food and go to it! Just don’t forget to share what you’re reading and eating!

Further proof to add to the already overwhelming collection of evidence that I am O.L.D.

I am just so excited about this weekend that I could spit! (Though not until after a quick swirl, deep sniff, and roll-around in the mouth taste.)

What on earth am I going on about?

THE 2003 BORDEAUXS ARE HERE!

That’s wine for those who still haven’t clued in.

Summation? I am really excited about a wine release. Most of which I’ll immediately stuff in a dark box and put in the back of the closet for 3-10 years before drinking (unless the man can be convinced to adjust the budget to include one of these sooner rather than later).

But what makes these wines extra special? The extreme heat wave in 2003 caused massive chaos through most of Europe. Tens of thousands of people died and acres of crops were ruined by accellerated ripening.

However the unbearable conditions did something a bit magical to the grapes in the area. The lack of moisture made for a more concentrated juice, and the speed at which the grapes ripened meant a higher concentration of alcohol upon fermenting. This is an especially fantastic equation for wines in the Bordeaux region, whose full flavours depend on a decade or so of cellaring to mature and mellow. The extra potent juice and high alcohol will make for unusually robust and deep flavours through the wine as the years carry on.

Of course, there is a price to pay for such concentrated juices. The volatile conditions meant that while the quality of the harvests were superb, they also yielded only around half of the average volume of grapes that come out of the region. This release has been highly anticipated by wine enthusiasts ever since the early harvest in August of 2003, and promises to be one of those “legendary” vintages that collectors vie to include in their cellars.

Personally, one of my favourite fantasies includes owning a bottle of one of the extraordinary vintages of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild and opening it the day I board my sailboat and begin an epic voyage around the world.

Unfortunately, with the 2003’s starting somewhere around $750 a bottle, I believe I’ll have to wait a few years to realize that one. Luckily there are a number of Bordeaux selections available (.pdf) starting from just $30 arriving at the BCLDB Signature Stores tomorrow, with bottles ready for drinking now, all the way through to those that will be best sometime in 2015.

If this is what getting old holds? It tastes pretty sweet so far.

I drove into work today since I had to go visit a client before lunch. New job downside: No more free parking, which means I bus in most days. New job upside? Does not make me want to stab myself in the face daily, or ever.

Because I was more mobile than usual, I ventured over to 4th & Cypress for lunch to try out the Noodle Box that just opened.

Short Review: Yum.

Long Review: Everyone else thinks it’s pretty good too, and it was a 20 min. wait for my Nasi Goreng. But a generous portion of Nasi Goreng, in a box to go, for $10? Hell yes! In all fairness, the order-taker was upfront about the wait, and most people were willing to sit it out for the fresh, fresh, tasty noodles.

Since I spent my 20 minutes waiting (shopping) instead of eating I brought lunch back to the office with my set of chopsticks.

Then I opened the Noodle Box box and remembered that I ordered a rice dish. And now I (because I’m too lazy to go all the way across the building to the kitchen for a fork/spoon) am trying to eat fried rice with chopsticks.

Asian people, help me out here… HOW? Other than one grain at a time….

This is starting to remind me of eating in Korea, where the food was all good, but I never finished my soup/rice. Not because it wasn’t tasty, but because with broth and rice there is a critical threshold reached where it takes more effort to wrangle the food from vessel to mouth than caloric benefit you will receive from getting that extra bite into your gullet. I was hungry a lot in Korea.

But this is good enough (And I’m hungry enough) that I’m sure I can soldier on.

One other note for spice wimps: Mild+ is my limit. My lips are tingling and my tongue is swolen. There is only one level less spicy, and about 5 shades of heavier spice. Do people with that much gastrointestinal fortitude even have tastebuds left?

I don’t know where, when, or why the decision was made.

But I don’t like it.

I feel betrayed.

Abandoned.

Deceived.

I didn’t need to be consulted. But at least a little warning, and perhaps an explanation would be appreciated.

How could you just rip something like that away from me without as much as a “how d’ya do”?

Just because you didn’t feel you had a use for it anymore, doesn’t mean it didn’t make my life a little better.

Oh McDonald’s…

WHY did you discontinue the Hot Mustard Sauce?

My nuggets and fries will never be the same.

After our Tofino accommodation debacle, Neil and I changed plans abruptly, deciding to make our way down island to the Cowichan Valley and check out some of the wineries that have sprung up in the area over the past decade or so.

Late August is a bit of a dodgy time to visit wineries. Their previous year’s best releasesare most certainly sold out, and that year’s releases won’t be out for another 4-6 weeks.

That said, we did find an absolute gem of a winery that we’d never have thought twice bout had we not phoned.

Many wineries offer tours and tastings throughout the Spring and Summer months, though there are quite a few that will only accommodate visitors on an appointment-only basis.

And so, armed with our Wine Islands brochure, and a cell phone, Neil and I made our way around to do the circuit of North and South Cowichan wineries.

After visiting most of the more well-known wineries, such as Zanatta and Cherry Point, we decided to take our chances with a call to Venturi-Schulze Winery & Balsamic Vinegary - which only holds 2 or 3 tastings a year, and does tours rarely, and by appointment only.

Coincidentally, Marilyn was going out in fairly short order to take someone else on a tour of the vineyard, and if we could be there in 10 minutes, we were welcome to come along.

What an experience.

We were treated to over an hour exploring their meticulous vineyards, and spared the typical “this is how wine is made” rigamarole. Instead we were saturated with knowledge about the terroir, the grape species, the lengths that Venturi-Schulze has gone to - over and above those of any winery I’d seen before or since - toward sustainability, and an absolute and unquestionable love for creating pure wines from perfect grapes.

We were also fortunate enough to see the vinegary, where Giordano and Marilyn have crafted an ancient process production plant for balsamic vinegars. Creating a traditional vinegary isn’t a money-making process - in order to turn it into a sustainable business they have over $2 million in inventory, in order to produce a modest $150,000 in revenues each year. They make detailed production notes for their Grandchildren, who will be the first to see a profit from the business.

This just speaks further to their passion for perfecting the processes and the product, rather than making a profit.

We purchased our most expensive wine from Venturi-Schulze - a bottle of the amazing Brandenbug No. 3 dessert wine, as well as a bottle of the Balsamic Vinegar - the only two things she had available to taste that day.

But the fantastically personal and passionate tour, as well as the quality of their products, has ensured we’ll make a special effort to travel there for one of their full tastings, and look back fondly on such a special fluke, in a vacation where the all-to-frequent mishaps didn’t usually result in anything near as sweet.

Borrowing a page from Sue, I give you the Readers’ Digest version of what I’ve been up to the past week:

Approx. Kilometers Driven: 1200
Ferries Taken: 4
Coasts visited: 3 (mainland west coast, island east coast, island west coast)
Minutes waited in line for the Earl’s Cove-Powell River ferry: 4
Nights gone: 6
Hotels Stayed in: 5
Hotels the dog was snuck into because no pet-friendly rooms were available: 2
Destinations we’re already planning to return to for more extended stays: 2
Number of times our plans changed: 3
Wineries visited: 9
Wines tasted: too many to count
Corked wines served: one - which is one too many!
Bottles of wine purchased: 20
Cideries visited: 1
Bottles of cider purchased: 6
Cheeseries visited: 2 (Chris & Jill: Nancy @ Little Qualicum says “hi!”)
Cheeses purchased: 2
Chickens caught: 1 (and nothing is hotter than a city boy exhibiting his farming prowess by effortlessly scooping up barnyard fowl!)
Vinegaries visited: 1
Bottles of Ancient process Balsamic Vinegar purchased: 1
Number of times I’ve had to hold myself back from coating myself in the vinegar and licking it all off: countless
Hours waited in line for the Departure Bay-Horseshoe Bay ferry: 4
Hours of sleep caught up on: enough. finally, finally enough.
Scrambled eggs waiting for me to finish blogging: 2

Which means I’m going to go have some breakfast, and hopefully post some pictures and stories during the week.

Heather posted last week about how she’s trying to expand her cooking repertoire. I was going to leave my roast chicken recipe in her comments, but since it turns out so damn tasty, I thought I’d share it with everyone:

Rosemary Roast Chicken:

Obtain roasting chicken. Check centre cavity for giblets and remove if present. Icky Squicky dance appropriate and accepted.

Rinse bird and pat dry with paper towel.

Rub all over with olive oil, dried rosemary, fresh salt and pepper. Spank and/or dance with fleshy carcass if the mood strikes.

Play voodoo doll with one lemon and stab liberally with fork, pretending it’s a hated co-worker/ex-boyfriend/authority figure. YMMV.

Shove lemon inside carcass. Apologize to bird for violating it. Don’t necessarily mean it.

Stab chicken with Meat Thermometer in the thigh. Better it than you. Unless you like that salmonella thing.

Put dead, drowned, rubbed, violated, wounded chicken in small coffin (aka roasting pan) and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches “chicken done” range.

Bonus points for being clever enough to remember to take the lid off for the last 5 minutes so the skin gets all crispy. Don’t even pretend you’re not going to eat it like you’re on a diet or something. Everyone knows its the best part, and we also know you’re going to wolf it down as soon as you think nobody’s looking.

It’s ok, your pants will forgive you. You can have salad tomorrow.

Remove cooked and browned chicken from oven and place on tray to rest for a few minutes. cover with foil to keep warm.

While the meat is resting (it’s had a hard day!) throw together some side dishes. There is no shame in making something out of a box and/or can at this point. After all you just Roasted Meat, you June Cleaver you!

Find houseboy (or if you don’t have one, hot boyfriend) to wield tools and carve bird. Failing those, do it yourself, cuz you’re a superstar like that!

Pour glass of favourite libation - down that, then pour another - light some candles, and enjoy your dinner!

It’s that time again… Tim Horton’s Roll-up the Rim to Win contest is in full swing.

And as usual, I’m losing. The official count thus far for this year’s efforts is 0/7.

I wrote last year about how I never win unless something catastrophic happens. And I don’t remember (and didn’t post) whether or not I won anything in 2005 - so I can’t disprove my theory yet.

In the meantime, I’m highly caffeinated and gunning for a doughnut.

Does this mean I’ve been slash-fooded (check the dates)?

I suspect the world will never know.

Anyone who knows me, knows I appreciate good food. I do consider myself a bit of a foodie. Perhaps even a food snob.

However, were other foodies to find out about some of my guilty pleasures, my status would be immediately cancelled, and I’d be ostracized for crimes against reasonable cuisine.

I’m going to risk it.

Looking back, I blame it all on my mother. I was blessed to have a Stay at Home Mom until I was well into my teens. She’s a great cook, and always made me eat a healthy breakfast, packed a nutritious lunch, and had a balanced dinner on the table when my dad came home from work. Pizza nights at my house didn’t happen because she was too tired to cook - they happened as a treat because everyone genuinely wanted pizza.

Sounds pretty good, right?

All of this comes with a dark side.

Because there was always such an abundance of quality good and mostly good for me food around (because really, a house is not a home without cookies!), certain things were pretty much outlawed.

And now, of course, since I’m allegedly a grownup and have full reign over my own pantry the following items that I was never fed as a child make regular appearances in my diet:

- Lunchables
- Handy Snacks
- Pop Tarts
- Sugary Cereals
- Pizza Pops
- Chef Boyardee
- Eggo Waffles
- Kraft Singles

I’m sure there are quite a few other non-nutritive offenders out there that I’ve forgotten, but you get the gist.

I don’t make a regular habit of eating these, but if I’m especially ill or stressed out, I seem to crave them. I suppose the total lack of nutritional content or anything challenging to digest makes them a popular caloric option for an upstet tummy.

So if you see me chowing on white bread grilled cheese sandwiches or eggo waffles, you know something’s up.

And if you have any brilliant ideas about how to make me feel this way about something like broccoli, please pass them on.

And whatever you do, please don’t tell my mom!

Instead of revelling with the Halloween merry makers and hell raisers, I chose a different tactic entirely. I completely avoided the costumes and crowds, and went for dinner last night at Lucy Mae Brown instead. Hot damn was that a good decision!

Fifty years ago, an American widow named Lucy Mae Brown ran a bordello and opium den in Vancouver. Today, it’s the city’s most decadent dining destination, pairing a French restaurant with the Opium Den, a late-night lower-level lounge.

Despite lavish local praise, and the distinction of being rated one of Conde Nast’s “50 best tables in the world” the place was quite literally deserted when we walked in, and stayed that way until our dessert course arrived. A hidden gem indeed.

The upstairs dining room is cozy with red lights glowing over the midnight blue velvet booths. Exposed brickwork and natural wood floors bring in warming textures without seeming too busy and taking away from the sleek look of the place. The staff were knowledgeable and professional, and despite the fact that they didn’t have a whole lot else to do, weren’t overly attentive and left us mostly to ourselves.

Executive Chef Remi DuBois has put together a fabulous French-inspired menu with lots of fresh West Coast ingredients. As is the rage these days, most dishes are perfect for sharing, and they’ve gone as far as to set two price points for the main courses - half and full orders - which opens up your dining experience to try a few different dishes in one setting. Personally, I LOVE this. Many small courses is my favourite way to dine, and I’m glad Lucy Mae Brown has adopted this and suited it so well to their menu.

My date and I started off sharing the Russel Cream Ale Steamed Mussels. While I do enjoy a good mussel or two, he’s the enthusiast. But I couldn’t help but devour at least a dozen of the tasty shell-dewllers. Steamed in a beer & garlic broth, and topped with a tuft of shredded, fried onions the flavours were distinct, but subtle enough to let the flavour and texture of the incredibly fresh mussels shine through.

The mussels were followed by a Tart Flambe with Caramelized onions, bacon & herbs and boursin cheese. This was comfort food on a platter. A Phyllo pastry base, topped with creamy cheese, diced tomatoes, fresh herbs and bacon crumbles. I’ll definitely be returning for that!

For our main courses, my date had the Braised Veal with Crispy Sweetbreads. The flavours were incredible, and the dish was tossed with handmade herbed pappardelle, baby onions, celery root, asparagus, chestnuts and wild mushrooms. It looked and smelled phenomenal - and he maintained that it tasted even better than it looked.

I was too full by that point to focus on anything but my own dinner, which was the Seared Diver Scallops. It was an odd choice for me, since I tend to steer away from scallops (unless they’ve been wrapped in bacon) - but something about these ones called to me. I’m glad they did! I didn’t ask where the chef was sourcing his shellfish, but it may be worth finding out. The scallops were fresh and dense, without that characteristically chewy, fishy experience that turns most people off of the wee delectables. Seared and perched gently upon fried rissoto cakes, then surrounded by some fresh fall vegetables, the half-order was the perfect size to round out my meal.

Anyone who knows me well will know that I feel the dessert course will make or break a good meal. Thankfully Lucy Mae Brown delivered! We shared Lucy’s Chocolate Tasting. Mmmmm. It’s like a build-your-own smores plate! Sipping/Dipping chocolate (similar to the Starbucks Chantico beverage) accompanied by dense, moist double chocolate chip cookies, and homemade marshmallows. This dish is not for the faint of heart, or the diabetic among us. So much sugar I think I felt my heart palpatate with each bite. Totally worth it though!

While the restaurant has a fine wine list, and a nicely stocked bar when it comes to both cocktails and an after-dinner port & scotch selection, I didn’t manage to venture much further than a Vodka Martini and some Mint tea after dinner. Everything was served with the careful consideration that a discriminating diner would appreciate. Right down to the tea actually being served with a bone porcalin teacup, rather than the typical industrial restaurant grade mug. And they serve Mighty Leaf teas, which have a pretty incredible flavour.

Overall, I give Lucy Mae Brown three out of three enthusiastic thumbs up. I’ll be back for sure.

862 Richards St. Open 5:30pm - 2:00am nightly.

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.

It’s been 3 weeks since my last decent meal, and I have ingested the following chemical compounds in place of real food:

-Sapporo Ichiban, chicken flavour
-Pillsbury Pizza Pops, bacon & pepperoni flavour
-Microwave Burritos, bean & cheese flavour
-Kraft Dinner
-Pub food in many varieies, more commonly known as “deep fried anything”
-McDonald’s McDeals for every day of the week (with the exception of Fridays, because Fillet of Fish? Ew.)
-Pints upon Pints of Popcorn and Beer. Fine on their own, but not wisely considered “dinner”
-Powerbars. Because compared to the rest of this list, they seem healthy!

Of course, it hasn’t been all bad. I’ve managed to balance this out with um.. Fruit leathers and Caesar Salad (extra parmesan and croutons!). And I did have a lemon wedge in my iced tea the other day! And aren’t those kids’ breakfast cereals I’ve been eating fortified with a billion vitamins and minerals these days?

Ok, so it has been all bad.

For penance, I’ll recite “Cherry Garcia does not count as a serving of fruit even though it has cherries in it” 25 times, and try to eat better from here on in.

Amen.

I was just lamenting the other day to myself about how far away the annual Dine Out Vancouver event is.

But never fear! There’s a mini-version as Taste of Yaletown goes down from October 3-13!

If anyone’s interested in trying some of what’re arguably Vancouver’s finest resturants, let me know. My wallet’s up to probably three venues in that time period, and I’m hoping to try at least one of Circolo, Coast, Glowbal or Wilson’s.

Both Coast and Glowbal have some special bonuses for tables of 6+, so the more the merrier!

I went to a wine tasting last night (oh god, I’m becoming one of those people) and just wanted to do a little brain dump on some of the notables:

Stickleback White (Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho): it’s being marketed as “Fresh Crisp Zesty” and that’s exactly what this wine is. Stands up well to extreme chilling, and a perfect selection to drink ice cold in the hot, hot sun.

Angove’s 2002 McLaren Vale Shiraz (note: link to 2003 tasting notes): This is hands down the best Shiraz I’ve ever tasted. Big, bold, with all of the flavours you’d expect, and none that you wouldn’t. Other Shiraz’s should aspire to this.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Riesling 2003: Delightfully smooth and balanced. Very surprising for a Riesling - total flavour harmony.

DeBortoli Noble one Botrytis Semillon 2001 AH-MAY-ZING! A friend mentioned that he could lick late-harvest wine off of naked bodies all day, if only he could make money doing it. After tasting this one, I have to agree. I’m going to pick up at least a couple bottles of this ASAP - I recommend you do the same.

I should really invest in a wine fridge soon-ish. I have a feeling this could become a very expensive hobby.