Heather McCoy had a dream that most of us would not dare execute – she wanted to open a café in a resort town.
Nourish is defined by the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary as:
• to promote the growth of
• to furnish or sustain with nutriment : feed
• to nurture, support or maintain
A hearty Mexican dinner erased the results of a terrible golf game, and the Cadillac margaritas could only be followed by “one more drink.”
Palm Desert bedtime hours be dammed!
Nutmeg is relatively certain that she does not need to layout the rest of the evening for you. It was late and the next morning required copious amounts of strong coffee.
The maze of construction hoarding is gone. Vehicle congestion is a mere shadow of its former chaos. As Cultural Capital of the year, Marseille is ready to welcome the world this summer.
The exact value of total funds dispensed for urban infrastructure projects, new artistic exhibition space, and other enhancement work would require a forensic accountant. The results of this massive undertaking are changing Marseille’s scruffy image and vastly improving the previously underwhelming waterfront.
Here are some of the highlights:
Nutmeg’s heartstrings are tethered to the State of Vermont. In fact, if Ginger had not entered the picture 20+ years ago, she likely would living in the Green Mountain State instead of Alberta.
Vermont is a near perfect destination all-year round. Well, maybe not during mud or black-fly season(s), but certainly the rest of the year. A natural beauty, graced with; pastoral farming scenes, gentle flowing rivers, rolling hills covered in iconic maple trees, black-diamond ski runs and refreshing swimming holes. Are you starting to get the picture?
Constructed on a rise, at the confluence of the Spray and Bow Rivers, this iconic ‘Castle in the Rockies,’ the Fairmont Banff Springs first opened its front doors to guests on June 1, 1888.
With the Internet, email and social media – does anyone get real mail these days?
Needless to say, Nutmeg was thrilled to find a copy of Judith Finlayson’s The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grains Cookbook, buried under the innumerable junk-mail fliers for duct cleaning, roof repair and debt consolidation.
Judith took some time one spring afternoon to talk about this book, and how her career path (from keyboard to slow cooker) got her to where she is today – working on her 15th cookbook!
Her professional life began in book publishing, in her words as a “glorified secretary.” Judith moved into editing and then to well known Canadian magazines such as MacLean’s. Her career stops included freelance work, recipe development and a long running Globe & Mail column. She was always interested in food related journalism, although her articles also covered a broad range of women’s and social issues. Even while juggling a busy career and editorial deadlines over a twenty-year period her passion for food remained constant.
Judith was not classically trained in the kitchen. She spent a few years “cooking my way through Julia Child’s book” – her introduction to French kitchen methodology. Subsequently, her passion has taken her to many global regions including Mexico, India and Thailand to work with masters in these cuisines.
The first book came together by hazard; her husband who is a publisher had the idea in the late 1990s to create a cookbook focused on high-end slow cooker meals. This was at a time when slow cookers were hardly the height of kitchen fashion. He approached at least seven top chefs to ask if they would be interested in working on this project. NO – was the resounding answer. Finally, he reached the end of his list and asked Judith whether she would consider the venture.
Literally as old as the hills, the fruit of the apricot tree are confirmed to have been domesticated since the Bronze Age. Although, the exact origin of the tree is debated;
Flawless green lawns, vivid crayon-coloured annuals, miniature potted palms and manicured golf courses all exist on land that was once desert scrub. Nutmeg disgusted with her golf game and not a dedicated shopper decided that it would be time well spent to understand more about their natural surroundings.
Good news – she found Desert Adventures. Not knowing much about the company she asked Kimberly Nilsson one of the co-owners for a bit of background.
The iconic vision of a French man or woman walking home with their baguette in hand is neither a myth nor a creation of the department in charge of French tourism. The classic baguette, long, thin, and crusty, remains an excellent carrier for fresh jam in the morning, or for soaking up tasty sauces at dinner.
Although, French daily bread consumption per person has declined significantly from the early 1900s to about 120 grams, from as high as 900 grams, the mighty loaf still remains a vital part of the national diet. Despite the decline, that still is a lot of bread, over 23 million baguettes a day (8 billion a year) for 65 million people.
Music to Nutmeg’s ears, by law bakeries in France, are not allowed to use preservatives in any bread. This means that boulangeries must bake several times a day, so their customers can always find a fresh loaf.
The name baguette first appeared around 1890, although it seems that a long, thin loaf was made well before that time. A law established in March 1919 forbade the employment of bread and pastry workers between the hours of 10pm and 4am.
The ordinary baguette is a simple mixture of all-purpose flour, water, salt and yeast. The dough once it has risen, is formed in a long length by hand, scored on the diagonal and baked in a hot (400F) deck oven. Steam injection, during baking, is the key to the crusty exterior. The size of baguette is not regulated, but mostly it falls between 65-70cm (25-27 inches) long and 6cm (2.5 inches) wide. The price of bread has not been government controlled since 1978. However, the combination of strong market competition and active consumer associations, ensures that what one pays for a regular baguette is fairly consistent.
So here is the problem, the huge growth in large-scale grocery stores and multiple store bakery chains has created a highly competitive market place. The small, local boulangerie gets squeezed from all sides; “Goliath” grocery stores, rising wheat prices and fickle consumers. Today, consumers expect a wide variety of choices: sourdough, fibre, multi-grain, organic (bio), bran, rye etc.
The classic baguette remains on the bakers’ shelves as it would be suicidal for a boulangerie not to offer it among their inventory. So nothing has happened to the baguette, it still remains remarkably part of the culture in France, the quality might just not be what it used to be; however, there are lots of choices.
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