September 13, 2018 · 8:56 pm

Stock up – there’s no time like the present to make soup

Zucchini Corn Chowder - photo credit - Karen Anderson - Savour It All blog

The crisp, cool days of fall have arrived in Alberta. Yesterday, instead of making salad, I got out my stock pot and made a big pot of soup for our dinner guests and we were all the warmer and cozier for it. The good people at Apple magazine anticipate the shifts in cook’s seasons so, back in June, they asked me for a “how-to” make soup stock column for the fall issue.

This assignment was easy and a pleasure because soup stock is one thing I always have on hand. I add it to my favourite linguini with clam sauce recipe, use it to add flavour to mashed potatoes and of course, I make a variety of great soups with it. Soup means a lot to me. I’m a volunteer for Soup Sisters and have even contributed to three of their best-selling cookbooks. Click the link below to read my column, stock up and have a happy fall making soup to your heart’s content.

 

Fall is the time to make soup. Check out my latest column for Alberta Health’s Apple Magazine and >
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Stock up

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August 20, 2018 · 3:33 am

Art Installation No. 28 – My Favourite Public Art in Calgary

 

Peace Bridge in Calgary

Peace Bridge (Calgary) – photo by Karen Anderson

When you go to a great city, what do you remember? For me after the people I meet and the food I eat, it’s the architecture, museums, parks AND – more and more – the public art. This post is about my favourite public art in Calgary. I haven’t captured it all yet, but this is a good start and if you find yourself in Calgary with a few spare hours, check out the link in this article to a map produced by the city.

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August 17, 2018 · 4:59 am

Art Installation No. 27 – An eternal encore for Aretha

I’ve written about my love of Aretha Franklin before. She’s left us now physically, but I will play my Aretha playlist loud and sing along in my car for all the days of my life. Just like dear old Murphy Brown’s character so wonderfully played by Candace Bergman in this 1991 video from her show, I will never sound like the Queen of Soul, but I appreciate that she knew how to make us all feel like a natural woman and that’s why I loved her so.

In my life Aretha, you will have an eternal encore. Thank you for helping me savour it all.

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August 15, 2018 · 5:11 am

Ultimate Summer Pancakes

peach, blue and blackberry pancakes with more peaches on the side

August is a time for fruit gluttony – at least in my home. I’m just back from a week in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley where the fruit trees were laden with late season apricots, plums and cherries and early season nectarines and peaches. A case of juicy peaches came home with me and I’ve eaten them standing at the sink with juice dripping down my arm, I’ve made cobbler and crisp and now I’ve made these glorious pancakes that completely satisfied my need to squeeze as much of summer into my body as possible. Read on for the recipe. Continue reading →

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August 10, 2018 · 6:10 pm

Shades of Green Salad with Alberta Vinaigrette

shades of green salad

Looking for an easy breezy summer salad? Here’s one that celebrates two great Alberta ingredients, honey and canola, while maximizing the enjoyment of summer’s bounty of green on your plate. It’s from my latest column for Alberta Health Services Apple magazine and you can read the article and get the full recipe here.

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July 22, 2018 · 8:15 pm

The Butler did it – with the chef – at The Wandering Long Table Dinner

Bjorgvin 1907 restaurant logo

This is a sponsored post. I was the guest of Bjorgvin 1907 at dinner on July 13, 2018. No other remuneration was received and the sponsor did not see this post before publication. All words are my own. Photo credits to Christopher Chow of #yycexplorer unless otherwise indicated. Truth in advertising is important to uphold in my relationship with you, dear reader. 

Cool Thing no. 56 on this blog

Alberta is full of culinary hidden gems and this is one of them. Bjorgvin 1907 is a rural culinary destination for long table dinners and afternoon teas about one hour north of Calgary in the tiny hamlet of Bergen, Alberta. Andrew Holmes, the founder of Bjorgvin 1907 and  The Wandering Long Table, was born in Calgary, Alberta but grew up in Namibia and South Africa. He studied at Silwood Culinary School in Cape Town and then when onto to do butler training in both Cape Town and in London, England where he sub-specialized in being a Gentleman’s butler.

A butler.

That’s not something most of us in North America know much about. It made me curious about what the role and duties of a butler are. This post will delve into that and share the beauty and elegance of a dinner I attended at Bjorgvin 1907. You can learn more about tickets and pricing for the afternoon teas and dinners here and here.

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June 30, 2018 · 6:58 am

Talking Food Travel and Food Artisans of Alberta on CBC Radio’s Alberta at Noon

Local cheeses and charcuterie

People spend 25 per cent or more of their travel budget on food. We need to eat three meals a day and thanks to the influence of TV chefs like the late, great Anthony Bourdain, we want them to be authentically local. That means the food should be made with recipes that are historically relevant for the place we are travelling and that those recipes should be made from ingredients that originate there as well.

While Eric Wolfe, the head of the World Food Travel Association says that Spain, France, Italy and Thailand are still the top food travel destinations (and the top destinations period!) he also says that with some brand building Alberta could become an increasingly popular food travel destination. Listen to this CBC Alberta at Noon podcast to hear how my co-author Matilde Sanchez-Turri and I are working to help build that brand for our province as we talk about our new book, Food Artisans of Alberta.

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