Eating Local vs Global Bread Basket

I've had an idea for a blog post percolating in my mind and recently came across a cook book that fits in beautifully, so perhaps now is the time! I've been really struck lately by the way our food has evolved over the last decade, as it probably did in the decade before that but I just didn't notice. Our focus in recent years has been on eating organically, buying locally, staying in season, fair trade, growing our own and back to good old home cooking. But how does one meld those very lofty (and important) ideals with the amazing array of foods, flavors, wines and recipes that are coming to us from every corner of the globe - i.e. our Global Community? I must have missed the day the earth got smaller! What once was only available to people in one corner of the globe is now flooding the markets on the other side of the world (at least, on our side)! I'm very blessed to live on Commercial Drive in Vancouver where one can walk down the street and browse through umpteen little multi-nationality grocers, vegetable & fruit stands, bakeries and delicatessens - loaded with passion fruits, halloumi cheese, dragon fruit, persimmons, Rooibus and other tea flavors too numerous to count, and even cactus leaves (cactus pads?). Ten years ago I had probably never heard of a chipotle pepper, now I wouldn't make chili without them. And chevre - truly, I didn't live under a rock, I must have known it was a kind of cheese, but now I love it! In almost anything - the Vermont Brownie Company has created a decadent dark chocolate brownie that people say is amazing - www.vermontbrowniecompany.com/dark-chocolate-chevre). Our food has truly transformed! Perhaps more for me because I grew up on a farm in Northern Alberta where diets didn't change much - meat, potatoes and overcooked veggies! Can you imagine my dad coming in from a long, hot, dusty day on the tractor and grabbing a Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer out of the fridge??!! And my prairie farm grandmother (who made amazing watermelon rind pickles so no one can say she had no imagination!) would have been truly shocked to know that some people take sweet, luscious, fresh strawberries and douse them in black pepper & balsamic vinegar! Although I'm pretty sure she might have been tempted to sneak into the root cellar with a big spoon and sample my Grape Marguerita Jelly (made with tequila of course) or my Peach/Frangelico/Almond jam! Ah - back to the cook book - it's Williams-Sonoma "New Flavors for Desserts" by Raquel Pelzel. I borrowed it from the library but might just have to buy this one (my cupboard hasn't fallen off the wall yet, so I'm sure there's room for one more up there!). Some of the flavor combinations look very intriguing - Rosemary with Juniper Berries, Port & Black Pepper on fruit; Olive Oil, Madeira & Blood Oranges; Lavendar Creme Brulee; Roasted Pears with Greek Yogurt, Bay Leaves & Honey; Quince with Mascarpone, Caramel & Ginger; Baked Apples, Blue Cheese, Black Pepper & Honey; Salted Caramel; Raspberry Earl Grey Tart - well, and the list goes on.

Train Travel from Vancouver, Canada

I thought it would be interesting to do a post on a whole new discovery of mine - that we have easy and reasonably priced train travel to the U.S.! Sure - I know that you more worldly people out there have known this for years - but not me. However, when two of our recent guests came up from Seattle area on the Amtrak train, it inspired me to check out the travel possibilities available. My husband and I love to travel by train - it's often our primary mode of transportation when we put on our backpacks and head for Europe or Asia (sigh...it's been a while!). But it's never occurred to me to look into train travel in our own back yard. I looked at the Amtrak site a few days ago and thought the prices were very reasonable, the service frequent, and the station easily accessible from almost anywhere in Vancouver. Unfortunately, I'm not finding quite the same prices today, so maybe they had a special on or I hadn't put in quite the correct information. However, what I did find today would still make for a fun few days away, without flying, without the hassle of sitting in a border lineup in your car, but with the ability to look at the scenery or read a book instead of fighting traffic for that little getaway to Seattle or other points south! I selected a couple of random dates and found that a return trip on a Friday/Sunday to Seattle was approximately $75.00 per person, return trip (I didn't check out the taxes, etc. so there may be more costs attached to the base rate), to Eugene, Oregon was approximately $230 per person, and San Francisco (one of my favourite cities in the world!) was about $400 per person. Now all I need is a few days with nothing to do but plan a trip away! Okay, I don't see that coming up any time soon so it may be next year but I definitely would like to do this!