Shopping

Circle Farm Tour

Posted by Barb Wong on 11/2/07; 2:05:01 PM From the Shopping dept. In the Lower Mainland we are fortunate to be surrounded by rich agricultural land that produces food for our area as well as across Canada. Circle Farm Tours highlight some of the great food producers in the Fraser River area. The tours are self-guided and focus on a small region such as Abbotsford, Langley, Mission. This past weekend I checked out the Agassiz-Harrison Mills Circle Farm Tour and made a few stops. The Back Porch: Pottery meets freshly roasted coffee. The coffee is roasted in small batches in a 1919 Flame Roaster. I picked up some dark roast Columbian coffee. The barn houses some fabulous (and reasonably priced) antiques. Also picked up some tulip bulbs produced by A&B Tulips of the Valley. The Farm House Natural Cheeses: handmade artisan cheeses made from their own dairy cow and goat milk. The range of different cheese "styles" and types is impressive for a small cheese producer. I picked up a luscious round of Florette goat cheese (bloomy rind that is slightly gooey yet firm in the centre) and a piece of their Alpine Gold, a washed rind cheese similar to Oka. Limbert Mountain Farm: idyllic farm that specializes in organic herbs and herb products. They offer light lunches, delightful baked goods and afternoon tea. Definitely a spot to revisit in the summer for a guided herb walk and lunch. On the way to Agassiz, I also popped into the Fort Winery in Fort Langley and picked up a bottle of fruit wine. Their line of unique fruit wines capture the best of locally produced fruit. Link: # | Discuss | |

Help Steven my Belgian colleague find plain European Style Bread

Posted by Roland Tanglao on 1/22/07; 1:42:42 AM From the Shopping dept. Luckily the Old Country (light rye, $3.70) bread (middle right in photo above) from Breka (VanEats blurb on Breka) at Fraser near 49th that I bought for him on Sunday meets his requirements! Phew! But Steven doesn't have a car and so going to Fraser for bread is impractical. He lives in Yaletown. There must be something within walking distance! It doesn't have to be Belgian of course. German, Eastern European, etc. would all work too!. Leave a comment or email roland AT rolandtanglao.com with your suggestions FROM Vancouver: Report | Steven Wittens - Acko.net: QUOTE Lack of good bread. This might sound silly, but in Belgium (and the Netherlands), people tend to eat a lot more bread. We only eat one hot meal a day normally, while lunch is typically sandwiches. Because of this, we tend to eat higher quality bread with a much bigger variety of spreads, deli meat and cheeses. In Vancouver, the average supermarket bread is a sponge that you can squeeze like an accordeon only to have it expand back to its original form. It can stay fresh for weeks and tastes flat and dry. Now, I've managed to scout out some places that might offer better bread, but most of it tends to be speciality bread, usually heavy or flavored. Either that, or a simple baguette. But a proper, normal white or brown loaf seems impossible to find. END QUOTE Link: # | Discuss | |

ChocolaTas Belgian Chocolate

Posted by Barb Wong on 12/1/06; 10:15:53 PM From the Shopping dept. While vending Midnight Kitchen cookie dough at Granville Island over the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to get to know many talented local food producers. I am in love with the chocolates made by ChocolaTas! The chocolates are stunningly beautiful and equally delectable. Check them out this weekend until Sunday. Link: # | Discuss | |

Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Posted by Rachel Black on 9/16/06; 2:59:48 PM From the Shopping dept. [ROLAND's NOTE]: This looks great! Costs look reasonable for this kind of oil ($17.99 for 500ml to $120 for 5 litres). Rebecca or Rachel: It would be great if we could check your oil out over on this side of the bridge (we missed the West Van Market showing today). Any plans to be at one of the Farmers Markets or Granville Island? Amelia Oil Fresh pressed extra virgin olive oil from Umbria, Italy   When I first moved back to Vancouver from Umbria, Italy I knew the one thing I could not live without was the wonderful extra virgin olive oil that I was accustomed to drizzling over just about everything. The oil in Umbria is green and spicy and perfect for salads, grilled meat and bruschette. Before leaving, I decided to buy a huge stainless steal drum and 60 litres of olive oil from my friend Francesco at the olive mill down the road. I had helped harvest the olives and I wanted to take my bit of Umbria home with me to share with my friends and family. I knew no one at home had probably had the pleasure of tasting fresh pressed olive oil. In fact, when I got back to Vancouver I realised most of the fancy olive oil I saw in stores was being sold past its prime and at hefty prices. After tasting my olive oil, friends started to ask me if they could buy some. This is when my mother and I got the idea of importing olive oil from the town of Amelia where I had lived for the last two years. This is how we started Amelia Oil. We are taking orders (a bit like wine futures) for the coming year's olive harvest. Customers make a deposit for half of their purchase and then pay the balance when the olive arrives in February. Olives are harvested and pressed once a year in December and our shipment will arrive in early February. Our prices are unbeatable because we are selling directly from the producer to the consumer. Orders places before the end of September, 2006 qualify for free delivery in the greater Vancouver area. For a real taste of Umbria check out Amelia Oil - www.ameliaoil.com Link: # | Discuss | |

Caribbean food shops in Vancouver
Posted by Roland Tanglao on 6/5/06; 7:07:01 AM From the Shopping dept. A reader emailed us asking for suggestions where to purchase items such as plantain, breadfruit, spices, etc. for Caribbean recipes. And we came up blank. Can anybody suggest some Caribbean shops? Link: # | Discuss | |