Monday, December 13, 2010

Oh Canada!

I just took a look at my point and shoot camera.  There were 3000 pictures there that I have not shared with you.  Eons ago, my friend and colleague Christina and I attended an event at Cooking by the Book hosted by the Vancouver CVB.

camera 032

I loved the centerpieces.  I’m digging these cabbage-y flowers lately.camera 055

camera 049 

They had some yummy cheese, veggie and pigs in a blanket appetizers.  My personal favorites.

camera 030Cheers!!camera 047The decor was simple yet really cool.  Just bookcases full of all different cook books.   I wanted to steal them all.  Then again – I don’t have nearly this many bookshelves.   There were cake books.camera 054And vegetarian books…camera 050And everything in between.camera 053camera 051I thought the kitchen was more hands on friendly than Rustico, but Rustico was a lot less intense and a tad friendlier in my opinion.   CbtB was much more about us actually doing the cooking, and I learned a lot – but I like that the vibe at Rustico is more laid back.   I think, however, if I went to Rustico for a cooking class rather than teambuilding I’d have a different experience.camera 038camera 044   I was at the potato/celery root table.   The potatoes were parboiled but we had to work on the celery root.camera 034It was so nice to have a super sharp chef knife.  I definitely have crap knives at home.camera 036   We diced them into chunks.camera 039 until we filled the bowl.camera 040I typically don’t rice potatoes – but we did here.  It was…shall I say…annoying???camera 031Mmmmm. Butter.  Let the record show we used this whole thing!!!camera 043and also added chopped scallions.camera 041  Let the mashing commence.camera 042    We were done pretty early so then I wandered over to where Christina was and helped cook some crabcakes.  camera 046A little too much frisee.  I am not a frisee fan at all.camera 033Here is where the meal went south for me.  The main course was salmon.  I don’t like salmon but it sounded like a yummy presentation.  I took the teeniest of bites and realized I REALLY don’t like salmon. :)   I had a moment with the woman who runs the school where she was not happy that I don’t like salmon and kind of let me know it.  Well.  She was more unhappy that I didn’t tell her I didn’t like salmon.   I know that she simply wanted me to have food I enjoyed but I was really better off with bland food that night anyway.  And I tried.  I really did but salmon and me are not friends. Plus it didn’t help that it was right after I got over my stomach bug.  Which I finally told her about when she wouldn’t leave me alone.  The whole thing made me a tad uncomfortable.   But the overall experience was great and the celery root and veggies were delish.camera 052

All in all it was quite a lovely dinner and another place that I can put on my list for cooking classes (an early New Years resolution is to at least take 1 class next year).  I got a pair of Olympic mittens as a parting gift that I gave to Jen. 

redmittens_54imgFLead-Vi

So there you go.  A little blast from my recent past.  I’m trying to make myself go out and walk a bit on the treadmill now.  I think it’ll be good for my mental – not to mention physical – condition.

Hope you all are enjoying this holiday season. 

See you soon!

No comments:

Post a Comment