Halloween (“Old Hallows Even”) has been typically associated with the Celtic festival of Samhain.  The name means summer’s end.  The celebration is to denote the end of the lighter half of the year and the start of the darker part of the year.  Ginger loves Halloween, a big kid at heart he loves to buy the candy and hand it out to the many visitors who come by on that evening.  Ginger loves the interaction with all the ghosts, goblins, princesses, cats, action figures, pirates and anything else that shows up looking for a sweet hand-out.  Nutmeg is not as interested in this process of moving into the darker part of the year.  She does however, love to see how her brother (Papa Q) and sister-in-law (Sugar) celebrate the event with much joy and festivity (and crazy outfits). (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Food info in France, Healthy Pumpkin Recipes, Healthy Salads, Provence in Autumn, Provence Travel, What is Courge

As we pointed out in an earlier blog entry the French love administration.  So the fact that you have a visa stamp in your passport is only step number one.  Once you enter the country officially, you have to fill out another form, take photocopies of the proper pages in your passport and then send it all off to the correct bureau for review.  Once received they review the paperwork and schedule a meeting at their convenience (you are on holiday after all).  After all of that, you get another stamp/sticker for your passport to make you officially “welcome” in the country  ;-0.   So Nutmeg and Ginger are awaiting the results of this last step in the approval process…we will be back home soon if we do not pass the test. (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
European Travel Tips, French Visas, Provence Travel, Travel in France

A beautiful Saturday morning in Chamonix with Saffron as tour guide, Nutmeg, Ginger and Jade (the dog) all head to the Chamonix Centre farmers market.  The market runs Saturday mornings from 8am-12pm all year round.  This market is about 50/50 food vendors and other merchants (clothes, traditional crafts, household goods).  The food vendors run the full spectrum; of fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread, honey, fish, cured meats and flowers. There is lots of choice, and almost all of the food is “local” within a few hours drive.  However, the market does cater to tourists as well so buyer beware!  Our story below should serve to reconfirm that statement….
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Recipes & Travel:
Chamonix, Food info in France, French Food, Markets in Europe, Travel in France

Thanksgiving, it certainly feels like fall in Southern Alberta and in parts of France.  The mornings are crisp and more clothing layers are required for dog walks.  Nearby mountain peaks have some early season snow at the higher levels, and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn their autumn hues.  Nutmeg is not really a fall person, although she has many friends who embrace the transition season between summer (her favorite) and winter (skiing, second favorite). (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Alberta Farmers Markets, Alberta Organic Produce, Easy Casseroles, Food Nutritional Facts, Recipes with Potatoes, Vegeterian Recipes

A gift of time..
Nutmeg is happily jobless for the first time since the mid 1980s (you can do the math).  Ginger as you already know has been working very hard on a Masters degree for the last 10 months – and he has done it!  So what better way to celebrate by taking some well deserved time off than to travel?  Nutmeg has been negotiating with Ginger for awhile and it is finally happening, they are going to France for six months!  The planning began back in June and the list was very long.  The most important thing was the visa application to allow for an extended stay in the country (anything over 90 days requires a visa).
Several years ago, Nutmeg worked in France and she knows that if there is one thing the French love it is paperwork. What better way to emphasize the national love for bureaucracy than a lengthy visa application?  The process is 15 steps…

Recipes & Travel:
Coq au Vin Recipe, French Food, Healthy Chicken Recipes, Travel to France

Back in August, Nutmeg published a blog post on Nu-Roots Nutrition in Canmore.  In the past few weeks, she has had the pleasure of getting to know the three ladies involved a little better; Sam, Tori and Joanne.  These three ladies offer a winning business combination of holistic nutrition (individual and corporate) and a storefront where they sell fresh small batch quantities of gluten free, raw food.
If that sounds strange or yucky, think again….  Nutmeg has tried the “Nutella” spread and it is too die for AND good for you.  The granola comes in two varieties a buckwheat and a cacao version both delicious.  There are all sorts of other great things including; decadent brownies.  Want to learn more?  The store is open Tuesday – Friday and they offer raw cooking classes about every two weeks.  Below is an article from their most recent newsletter and a really easy recipe.  BE TEMPTED! (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Cobbler Recipe, Easy healthy desserts, Food Nutritional Facts, Healthy Apple Recipes, Raw food

The City of Calgary has spent $11.5 million and two years renovating Central Memorial Park, one of the oldest parks in the city it opened in 1912.  This centrally located park had fallen from a prominent memorial dedicated to those who fought in the two world wars, to an inner-city eyesore full of drug dealers and home to some of Calgary’s unfortunate street dwellers. The park was officially reopened on May 14, 2010.  The park construction and work on the new restaurant Boxwood Cafe is finally finished.  The restaurant opened on September 15th.  Nutmeg could hardly wait to check it out.  So the best way is to go for lunch with a great friend! (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Boxwood Cafe, Calgary Restaurants, Food in Calgary, Restaurant Reviews, Travel Alberta

Nutmeg is not really a brunch person.  Here is why:

Marginal coffee, as you may have gathered coffee is very important to Nutmeg, and generally speaking buffet style eating does not lend itself to good espresso and skinny lattes.
In addition to the coffee issue, the question is what to serve?  It is not breakfast, it is not lunch – hence the dilemma.
If you go out to a restaurant with a buffet it is typically a complex spread that runs the gambit of breakfast food to roast beef.
Ask any parent with young kids brunch is a disaster. They need to eat earlier and there is no way to keep them in their “Sunday best” until mid-morning.
Then there is the issue of timing, not too early, not too late…around 11am is typical, which compromises both morning and afternoon activities. (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Easy Casseroles, make ahead brunch recipes, Recipes with Blueberries

Nutmeg had the pleasure on a recent sunny Friday to convince restaurant owner Micheal Beamer, to leave his station behind the La Marzocco espresso machine (for serious baristas), for a few minutes and tell her his story about this small business success. Micheal Beamer headed out to Western Canada in the late 1980’s.  He made his way to the Rockies for the skiing and the scenery.  With a hotel management degree from Georgian College and a big smile he started work at the famed Chateau Lake Louise.  Micheal’s focus on customer service allowed him to move to the position of Assistant Beverage Manager within five years.  During that time, “coffee-culture” was growing south of the border in Seattle and heading North. (more…)

Recipes & Travel:
Beamers Coffee, Canadian Rockies, Canmore, Coffee Shops, Restaurant Reviews, restaurants

It is a funny thing, how Ginger and Nutmeg (both Virgos) have so many friends with the same birth sign.  It could be some sort of natural selection occurring, as it is  quite obvious that all the very cool, sporty, beautiful people are Virgos.  Or maybe it is the fact that November is typically a cold, dark month and what else are you going to do…babies arrive about nine months later.  In any case August and September are a great chance for Ginger and Nutmeg to celebrate birthdays with their buddies.
There is a restaurant in Canmore named  Wild Orchid Asian Bistro and Lounge, it is located the Silver Creek Lodge.  The lodge is located on “gasoline alley” just off the Trans-Canada.  The restaurant is at the back of the lodge and once you arrive you quickly forget that you are so close to a busy thoroughfare.  There is a small sushi bar and a fairly large dining area.  The…

Recipes & Travel:
Canadian Rockies, Canmore, Restaurant Reviews, restaurants, Travel Alberta, Wild Orchid Asian Bistro and Lounge